Entheos Academy - How to Live Healthy in a Toxic World

If you want to get healthy and stay healthy in 2014, begin by taking small steps to make your home toxin- free. It’s really pretty simple. There are easy, simple things you can do right now. (Check out the Top 10 Big Ideas from the class below!)

Your Professor
Beth Greer, aka Super Natural Mom®, is an award-winning journalist, author, green holistic health educator, former President of The Learning Annex, and healthy home expert and impassioned champion of toxin-free living.


How to Live Healthy in a Toxic World

Your health starts in your home. Insomnia, allergies, digestive disorders, headaches, skin problems, body pain, frequent colds, weight gain, hormonal issues, or fatigue could be caused by the everyday products you use inside your home. If you want to get healthy and stay healthy in 2014, begin by taking small steps to make your home toxin- free. It’s really pretty simple. Start by first becoming aware that what goes IN you, ON you and SURROUNDS you has a high impact on your health and well-being. Did you know that your food, water, personal care products, makeup, cleaners and even your vitamins, contain untested chemicals and additives?

Many of these chemicals have been banned in many countries around the world but are available here in the U.S., without warning labels. Plus, you are being bombarded by dangerous, untested electromagnetic fields from cordless phones, cell phones, microwaves and the wiring in your walls. Lacking regulation by our government, it falls on us as consumers to watch out for ourselves and our families. If you feel confused about the simple, practical things you can do to minimize your exposure and maximize your health, don’t worry. There are easy, simple things you can do right now. Here are my Top 10 ideas to live healthy in a toxic world.
The Top 10 Big Ideas
1
Avoid Artificial Sweeteners
The artificial sweetener aspartame is a synthetic chemical composed found in NutraSweet, Equal, Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, as well as sugar-free gums, candies, yogurts, breakfast cereals, and hundreds of other products that kids and adults eat (like sugar-free Kool-Aid, Jell-O pudding and some Popsicles). There now appears to be a link between brain lesions found in MS patients and aspartame. Plus, it can make you gain weight. A 2008 Univ of Minnesota study of almost 10,000 adults, said that even just one diet soda/day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, causing belly fat and high cholesterol.
2
Opt for Organic Produce
Organic foods contain no pesticides, which are toxic to us and to our environment. They also don’t contain chemical fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides, all known to cause health problems, including cancer and nervous system and reproductive disorders. But what organic foods do contain is a higher nutritional value…important for growing children and can help fight disease in our body.
3
Forgo Food Additives
Commit to eliminate food additives from your menu. Food additives are synthetic chemicals added to food and at least 100 new synthetic additives are added to the food supply each year, so it’s important to read labels. Some food additives like colorings cause allergy-like symptoms or are suspected carcinogens. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Blue 1 and 2, Green 3, Red 3, and Yellow 6 found in beverages, candy, baked goods are unsafe in the amounts consumed or are very poorly tested and should be avoided Preservatives in bread and baked goods are know to cause ADHD behavior in lab animals.
4
Choose Chemical Free Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
Use natural, chemical-free body care products and cosmetics with the fewest and safest ingredients. Watch out for parabens, as well as the chemicals DEA (used as a foaming agent in shampoo and baby wash) and BHT (used as a solvent in lipstick and nail polish).
5
Say "No" To Synthetic Fragrances
Avoid artificially scented air fresheners, including aerosols and plug-ins, because they are made with synthetic fragrances that contain phthalates. These are chemicals that can cause hormonal abnormalities, birth defects and reproductive problems. The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) found that 12 out of 14 popular air freshener brands contained phthalates. Also avoid synthetic fragrances in your personal care products as well. There are potentially hundreds of chemicals in a single product's secret fragrance mixture. Fragrances can contain neurotoxins and are among the top 5 allergens in the world.
6
Don’t Take Clean to Extreme
It may seem surprising, but using the everyday tried and true products to clean our homes is a terribly toxic thing to do.

Researchers around the world are now finding links between the increase in asthma and allergies and household cleansers. In Great Britain, for example, researchers found that children were twice as likely to develop breathing problems like asthma and wheezing if their mother/father regularly used bleach, disinfectants, and air fresheners. Triclosan, found in antibacterial soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and acne cream is actually a pesticide and is proven to be an endocrine disruptor in laboratory animals. Look for the word "antibacterial" on the label as a clue that the product contains triclosan.
7
Wonder About What’s in Your Water
If you think the water coming out of your tap is clean and health-giving … you'd be mistaken. In 2008, an investigation by the Associated Press showed that America's tap water is contaminated with prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including antibiotics, pain medications, antidepressants and sex hormones "in significant quantities." Scientists are concerned that, even in small concentrations, these drugs could harm us over time because water is consumed in such large amounts every day. Our bodies may be able to deal with a big one-time dose of a chemical, but if a small amount is consumed continuously over years … no one really knows what can happen to our health.
8
Beware of BPA and Its Substitute
BPA or Bisphenol A, mimics the hormone estrogen if it's introduced into your body. It can get there by leaching out of hard plastic water bottles, especially if they are heated (in microwave ovens or dishwashers) or exposed to acidic solutions (tomato sauce). BPA is also found in plastic reusable food containers, canned soup, soda cans, and cash register and ATM receipts. Companies are now replacing BPA with BPS, but that is untested for its health affects.
9
Educate Yourself on EMFs
Both cellphones and portable cordless phones, (as well as wireless internet), emit EMFs or electro-magnetic fields. These may be affecting your health in profound ways including feeling stressed, having headaches, fatigue, and low energy, which, by the way, are symptoms often associated with chronic radiation sickness. While there is currently no practical way to eliminate these detrimental fields from our modern lives, there are ways to significantly reduce one’s exposure, by making simple, informed choices.
10
Make Small Shifts For Success
Start slowly. For example, each month pick one food or beverage (one you eat most often like dairy) to buy organic; pick one personal care product (like deodorant or toothpaste) or makeup item (like lipstick or face cream) to buy without synthetic chemicals; and eliminate one plastic container from your pantry. Read labels carefully. You will be well on your way to being healthier, having more vitality.