Here are some small changes that you can do everyday to make your life a little healthier:
Leave shoes at the door. Every time you go outdoors, toxic chemicals are brought inside on the soles of your shoes. Asphalt, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals may be present where you walk.
When you walk around your home with toxic chemicals on the soles of your shoes, they come off on the floor. When you walk barefoot around your home, they can be absorbed through the soles of your feet. These chemicals are also being inhaled. If you have children playing on the floor, toxic chemicals can get on their hands and into their mouths. Because of this, children (infants especially) are more susceptable to the dangers of toxic chemicals and carcinogens than adults.
Leave your shoes at the door. Have a rack set up next to the door you enter most frequently, where you can leave your shoes when you enter your home. Have slippers or socks ready to put on if you don’t want to go barefoot.
Use natural cleaning products. House cleaning products contain many toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Air fresheners, all purpose cleaners, disinfectants, dry cleaned clothing, and mothballs are some of the worst.
Try making your own nontoxic house cleaning products at home. You can find natural house cleaning recipes throughout our past blogs.
Control pests. Pesticides can cause cancer. Instead of spraying carcinogens around your home, there are natural means for controlling pests.
Figure out how pests are getting into your home, and do something to keep them out. Fill holes and cracks, put screens on windows, put up chicken wire barriers or fences.
Make your home an unpleasant place for pests to be. Take away their food supply by keeping living areas clean. Sweep up crumbs, wipe up spills immediately, wash dishes after eating, store food in tightly closed containers, empty garbage and compost scraps frequently. Dry up their water supply. Repair leaky faucets, pipes, and clogged drains. Get rid of any clutter they can hide in. Clean out closets, attics, garages, basements, and anywhere else unused or infrequently used items pile up.
There are many simple things you can do to control pests, without buying any special products. You can shoo them away, vacuum them up, put a glass over an insect, slip a card under it and take it outdoors. Herbal repellents work well, too. Most pests do not like the smell of bay leaves, cloves, pennyroyal, lavender, or cedar. In the garden, use organic gardening methods.
Sleep in natural bedding. Most bedsheets are saturated with a non-iron finish that releases carcinogenic formaldehyde as you sleep. Synthetic mattresses are treated with cancer-causing brominated fire retardants. The PBDEs in polyurethane foam may be as toxic as PCSs and DDT, both banned for their toxicity.
The solution is a bed where every layer is made from untreated natural materials. Today you can buy natural beds of every firmness and style, from budget to luxurious.
Drink pure water. Drinking water can lower the risk of cancer by flushing carcinogens out of the body, but it is important to drink pure water. Arsenic, heavy metals, fluoride, and chlorination by-products are all toxic chemicals that can be found in most municipal tap water. Using a water filter is affordable and can help screen out these chemicals.
Eat organic food. Foods contain many different kinds of carcinogens. In fact, 25-30 percent of all cancer deaths are linked to diet.
Many food additives are linked to causing cancer or are suspected carcinogens. Artificial sweeteners, aluminum compounds, artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, nitrite and nitrates are all known to cause cancer. And then there are the pesticides in produce and in the fat of animal meats and dairy products. Alcohol depresses immune function, making it more difficult to fight cancer cells.
Eat whole, fresh, organically grown foods as much as possible, and especially raw vegetables and fruits. It has been found that people who eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily have only half the risk of developing cancer as people who eat only one to two servings each day.
Drink green tea. Green tea inhibits cancer-causing chemicals because of its high levels of antioxidants.
Maid Brigade House Cleaning Services cares about our environment and health of you and your family. For more information on healthy green living and green cleaning, please log on to greencleancertified.com and maidbrigade.com. Watch our video on achieving work/life balance at greencleancertified.com/greentv. To learn more about the hidden allergy and asthma triggers in your home, log on to greencleancertified.com/greentv.
