How many times have you heard ‘Low Tox Living’, ‘Clean Living’, ‘Toxic Chemical Free’ and ‘Natural Cleaning’? More than a few times, I would think, and they all mean pretty much the same thing: it is about removing, eliminating, and reducing the chemical exposure internally and externally, from our day-to-day lives.

Chemical exposure you say? Well I don’t work with chemicals so I cannot possibly have chemical exposure, can I?

Well you will be surprised to learn that you absolutely can be exposed to chemicals during your daily life, and more than likely have already exposed your system to quite a few chemicals by simply having a shower, doing the dishes or putting a load of washing on.

Many of us have learnt to do our housework from our mothers and she in turn learnt from her mother. So many of our cleaning routines and feelings of satisfaction are deeply rooted in these memories. I see this with my own daughter and although fascinating, it is something to consider. Can you admit that the smell of bleach makes you feel like you have given the bathroom a good going over? When you lift the lid off the loo and that artificial pine scent rises up, we think ‘oh yeah, all good.’ I totally admit to being smell obsessed. I needed the toilet to smell clean, turn blue when flushed, and have an astringent swimming pool odour to feel good.

Not anymore!! ?

 

I have replaced the toilet cleaner, the bleach, the oven cleaner, the floor cleaner, the window cleaner, and the all-purpose cleaner with a low-tox alternative. So basically Low-tox means that you are reducing your chemical exposure when you choose to use products that are manufactured without the use of toxic chemicals.

We are for the most part not surprised to learn that bleach is a chemical or that oven cleaners need gloves and a mask to use because it is chemicals. But here is the surprising fact: most companies are hiding chemicals from you in plain sight. Your shampoo, conditioner, soap, and body wash are full of chemicals that are proven to create skin irritations and often linked to more sinister health concerns. Your dishwashing detergent hides over 3000 raw chemical products in the word ‘fragrance’. The plug-in that smells is so carcinogenic with direct links to things like cancer.

Consider this for a moment, where has all the ADD, ADHD, Autism and extreme behavioural issues that our children are negotiating coming from? Why is auto-immune part of our everyday language? You know this means the body is attacking itself right?

Why has the occurrence of any kind of cancers risen from 1 in 10000 to 1 in 100 in ? years?

 

TRUE!

I have chickens and ducks so we are very careful about what we use in our garden. I let the grandsons go mad with the spray bottle of vinegar and clove oil and they do the weeding for me! The animals love it and it is good for the environment. Win, Win, Win! Oh, and no weeds!

True Fact: 

Fragrance falls into the category of perfume and is considered a manufacturing secret, however the word ‘fragrance’ in our products can hide up to and beyond 3000 different chemical components. And because it is deemed a secret they do not have to list them.

COMPARISONS

In the early 1900’s the top causes of death were from infectious diseases such as:

• Tuberculosis
• Influenza
• Diphtheria
• Typhoid

Compared to 2017 when the top causes of death were:

• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Chronic lower respiratory diseases
• Stroke
• Alzheimer disease
• Diabetes

I am not a physician, I do not have a medical degree or work in the medical profession, my observation is just an observation. I can read and research with the best of them and the information is actually out there if you look for it.

WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE LAST 100 YEARS?

So, what has changed since 1900? The early 20th century saw a shift in lifestyle, diet and daily habits, and our environment underwent the greatest movement history has seen. We were exposed to over 100,000 industrial toxins never before seen in the history of mankind released into the environment by the hundreds of thousands of tons. We began the mass use of known carcinogens such as chlorine and fluoride in the public water supply And in our toothpaste!

I encourage you to get curious, do some research, ask questions, read the back of your deodorant, and follow the links. My suggestions below are free of harmful chemicals, better for our environment and in many cases are far cheaper alternatives.