Should I change to organic?
In a nutshell - YES!
Changing to Organic
Changing to organic is not a cheap or quick task but you can do it in stages. If you are suffering from cancer or another disease, then you may just want to change things as quickly as possible.
The first thing I did was change everything that goes on my skin. It turned out that my bathroom vanity was full of some very toxic stuff - I got a rubbish bag and filled it. I did it when I was in one of those ruthless moods so my clean out was pretty good although there was the odd thing that I couldn't bring myself to throw however because I knew what was in it, I haven't used it either. I need to go back to it and have another clean out. The quick wins were replacing soap, deodorant, toothpaste and shampoo and I did it for my whole family whether they liked it or not. My husband was using a shampoo that was loaded with toxic chemicals, so I changed it and threw out what was left. There are some products that you will want to throw out rather than wait until it is all used before you replace it. Remember that what you put on your skin is circulating in your blood stream within 26 seconds so it's something that you will need to decide for yourself.
Next step was to go through my kitchen pantry and remove anything that had ingredients that was toxic according to 'Chemical Maze'. Again, there was a lot! Some of it I gave away to those in need and some of it i could not bring myself to give away. I bought new cookbooks such as the Revive Cookbooks (www.revive.co.nz/collections/cookbooks). These books teach you how to cook using healthier ingredients such as dates for sweeteners, cashew nut based salad dressing, sweet and sour alternatives and much more. If these books are not available in your country look at websites such as Food Matters for healthy recipes.
Whenever I shopped, I looked at all my household products and I changed them over time. Every time something ran out, I replaced it with a chemical free or an organic alternative. You need to check what the organic certifications are in your country to make sure are buying ingredients that are not toxic in any way.
Makeup - woman's cosmetics are incredibly toxic (sorry ladies but I have to say that), but all is not lost there are companies that have got with it and are making non-toxic and very beautiful alternatives. You only have to go to a good organic shop and they should have some good alternatives for you. To name some;
Evohe - evohe.com.au/
Tailor Skincare - tailorskin.co/
Sundays Nail Polish - sundaysproduct.com/
Angel Hair Care - www.angel-haircare.com/products/index.php
Skincare and lipsticks - www.antipodesnature.com/
For perfume, I use essential oils - there are some lovely fragrances out there but you have to be prepared to try some to find something that works for you but there are heaps of recipes on line. The key to essential oils is to make sure you buy organic, so they are not toxic when you put them on your skin. There is reported to be over 400 chemicals are used in today's fragrances. According to a 1991 study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 95 percent of these chemicals are derived from petroleum and some are potentially hazardous. Common ingredients found in perfumes are: acetone, ethanol, benzaldehyde, formaldehyde, limonene, methylene chloride, camphor, ethyl acetate, linalool and benzyl alcohol. Phthalates and synthetic musks are also commonly used potentially hazardous ingredients. So while I still have some of my favorite perfumes in the bathroom vanity it's one of the products I can't bring myself to use.
Vegetables: You can buy organic vegetables however you can also soak your vegetables for 10 minutes in a mixture of filtered water (as pure as possible) and organic apple cider vinegar. This has been scientifically tested and proved to remove the pesticides. This should be a safe alternative to buying organic vegetables but my hope is that one day organic products will not be so expensive and available to all.
Try not to buy food in plastic - this is difficult!! I don't know why manufacturers have not been more proactive in removing the plastic and replacing it with something more environmentally friendly. I'm sure they will as people stop buying their products.
Education is important! I can't stress that enough. Yes, you need to spend time reading or understanding how to read food labels. Products like Chemical Maze or Think Dirty will help you to sort through the maze of products both food and cosmetics. Watch documentaries and research products - it's the only way to stay safe.
Changing to Organic
Changing to organic is not a cheap or quick task but you can do it in stages. If you are suffering from cancer or another disease, then you may just want to change things as quickly as possible.
The first thing I did was change everything that goes on my skin. It turned out that my bathroom vanity was full of some very toxic stuff - I got a rubbish bag and filled it. I did it when I was in one of those ruthless moods so my clean out was pretty good although there was the odd thing that I couldn't bring myself to throw however because I knew what was in it, I haven't used it either. I need to go back to it and have another clean out. The quick wins were replacing soap, deodorant, toothpaste and shampoo and I did it for my whole family whether they liked it or not. My husband was using a shampoo that was loaded with toxic chemicals, so I changed it and threw out what was left. There are some products that you will want to throw out rather than wait until it is all used before you replace it. Remember that what you put on your skin is circulating in your blood stream within 26 seconds so it's something that you will need to decide for yourself.
Next step was to go through my kitchen pantry and remove anything that had ingredients that was toxic according to 'Chemical Maze'. Again, there was a lot! Some of it I gave away to those in need and some of it i could not bring myself to give away. I bought new cookbooks such as the Revive Cookbooks (www.revive.co.nz/collections/cookbooks). These books teach you how to cook using healthier ingredients such as dates for sweeteners, cashew nut based salad dressing, sweet and sour alternatives and much more. If these books are not available in your country look at websites such as Food Matters for healthy recipes.
Whenever I shopped, I looked at all my household products and I changed them over time. Every time something ran out, I replaced it with a chemical free or an organic alternative. You need to check what the organic certifications are in your country to make sure are buying ingredients that are not toxic in any way.
Makeup - woman's cosmetics are incredibly toxic (sorry ladies but I have to say that), but all is not lost there are companies that have got with it and are making non-toxic and very beautiful alternatives. You only have to go to a good organic shop and they should have some good alternatives for you. To name some;
Evohe - evohe.com.au/
Tailor Skincare - tailorskin.co/
Sundays Nail Polish - sundaysproduct.com/
Angel Hair Care - www.angel-haircare.com/products/index.php
Skincare and lipsticks - www.antipodesnature.com/
For perfume, I use essential oils - there are some lovely fragrances out there but you have to be prepared to try some to find something that works for you but there are heaps of recipes on line. The key to essential oils is to make sure you buy organic, so they are not toxic when you put them on your skin. There is reported to be over 400 chemicals are used in today's fragrances. According to a 1991 study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 95 percent of these chemicals are derived from petroleum and some are potentially hazardous. Common ingredients found in perfumes are: acetone, ethanol, benzaldehyde, formaldehyde, limonene, methylene chloride, camphor, ethyl acetate, linalool and benzyl alcohol. Phthalates and synthetic musks are also commonly used potentially hazardous ingredients. So while I still have some of my favorite perfumes in the bathroom vanity it's one of the products I can't bring myself to use.
Vegetables: You can buy organic vegetables however you can also soak your vegetables for 10 minutes in a mixture of filtered water (as pure as possible) and organic apple cider vinegar. This has been scientifically tested and proved to remove the pesticides. This should be a safe alternative to buying organic vegetables but my hope is that one day organic products will not be so expensive and available to all.
Try not to buy food in plastic - this is difficult!! I don't know why manufacturers have not been more proactive in removing the plastic and replacing it with something more environmentally friendly. I'm sure they will as people stop buying their products.
Education is important! I can't stress that enough. Yes, you need to spend time reading or understanding how to read food labels. Products like Chemical Maze or Think Dirty will help you to sort through the maze of products both food and cosmetics. Watch documentaries and research products - it's the only way to stay safe.
