Going “organic”/clean/natural can mean different things to different people. It can mean eating cleaner, using alternatives to conventional cleaning or personal care products, going vegan/vegetarian/etc, or even reducing your carbon footprint. Whatever it might mean for you, what I often hear is “I want to go organic, but I don’t know where to start!”. I totally get it – it can be completely overwhelming! That’s why I’ve prepared a short series with tips, tricks and product suggestions to help you start moving in the direction you want to go. Over the next five days, I’ll be talking the good, the bad and the ugly in food, water, cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products. So if you’re wondering how you can start making the move to a more natural lifestyle, join me as I give you the scoop on what’s lurking in your home! Each day I’ll be posting a super short blog about a new subject to help lessen the overwhelm – be sure to catch it all as there will be helpful tips and suggestions each day!
Let’s dig right in! Here’s my very first piece of advice: whatever “going green” means to you, don’t do it all at once – it will be so overwhelming! Start with one thing that is most important to you. As I reflect back on my health journey, our first steps started with food. Specifically, our animal protein products. When my oldest daughter, Naiya, started eating solid foods, I became so focused on keeping her foods as clean as possible – I wanted to give her the best possible start in life. I started to became so much more aware of what was hiding in conventionally raised animal products: hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and not to mention the deplorable living conditions! (NOTE: if you’re interested in reading more, “The End of Food” by Thomas Pawlick is a great resource). The more I read, the more disgusted I became. For example, did you know that it is estimated that 80% of the antibiotics that are produced by big pharma in the US are for farm animals?!? No wonder there is such a prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria! We’re constantly taking in little bits of antibiotics each time we eat conventionally raised animal products. By the way, that also wreaks havoc on our gut, immune system and hormones… but more on that another time!
Conventionally raised farm animals are fed growth hormones, including estrogen, in order to “beef them up” (pun sort-of intended) for increased profit. The problem is, you’re also ingesting these hormones when you eat the meat! Unfortunately, estrogen specifically promotes inappropriate/abnormal growth of cells; to all my estrogen-dominant ladies (think PMS endometriosis, uterine fibroids/cysts, fibrocystic breast, etc.), definitely stay away from conventional animal products! So we made the switch to organic, grass-fed, pasture-raised meats and eggs, and sustainably caught fish. And honestly, you can taste the difference!
Anyway, I digress. The point being, focus on one thing that you want to change first. My suggestion is to start with food, but you can start with whatever is most meaningful to you – personal care products, cleaning products, reducing your energy consumption, etc. Once you’ve made that change and have successfully integrated it into your everyday, move on to the next!
In my next post, I’m going to continue with the food theme and talk about produce; including the clean 15 and dirty dozen.
Until next time!
Yours in balanced health,
Stephanie