Reducing your daily dose of chemicals!

Let me start this blog off with quoting a snippet from my all time idol, Alice Nicholls.

“The BEST way for woman to detox, is to have a baby, because we literally can dump our toxins directly into the child. US studies show over 200 synthetic chemicals presenting in the umbilical cords of newborn infants.” This is greatly due to our lifestyle factors! Reading this was a life and mindset changing moment for me! It reinforced a major goal of mine in life, to create a home as toxic free as possible for my future bubs and family.

Our genetic code and microbiome has been greatly altered, bringing forth a new world of 21st century auto immune disorders such as eczema, asthma, IBS and autism. Long gone are the days of smallpox, measles or polio being common killers within the community. As the 21st century unfolded, so did the magic of antibiotics and vaccinations. Our 21st century lives are somewhat sterile and although we are no longer threatened by the acute and dangerous bouts of infectious disease, we have seen a rise in what we class as chronic “21st century illnesses”.

Think of all of your family and friends. Now i'm sure you know at least one of these people:

-Your brother who has to carry an epipen where ever he goes incase he comes in contact with a peanut.

-That friend who has to inject themselves with insulin several times a day because they are a type 1 diabetic.

-Your friends child who can't use certain soaps or laundry liquids because their eczema will flare up.

-Or how about your annoying friend who has to make sure every restaurant you go to has a gluten free option, or else they will spend the night with painful diarrhoea.

Asthma, eczema, diabetes type 1, allergies, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, these are all just becoming the norm. But surely this cannot be normal? Irritable bowel syndrome affects up to 15% of people and, as a previous Gastrointestinal Nurse, I first hand witnessed chrons disease and colitis on the rise also. I saw far too many patients with a bag attached to their abdomen.

So the big question arises! Why are these 21st century illness on the rise? Sure, genetic makeup does have an impact. One person may carry a gene that makes them slightly more susceptible to say, obesity, however the rise in obesity is happening too intensely to correlate with the laws of progress of human evolution. Our 21st century lifestyle has a lot to answer for! The refined sugar filled foods we eat along with the toxic chemicals we apply to our bodies daily! Think plastic sanitary pads, chemical deodorants, hairspray, carcinogenic makeup. Also our homes are filled with disinfectant sprays killing off bad and GOOD bacteria, leaving us with completely impaired microbiomes and pathetic immune systems.

I am certainly not perfect, especially considering my job as an RN in the hospital and the Cosmetic Nursing world. I am surrounded by chemicals daily. My passion for my jobs remains the same and not something I can control, however, I can certainly control my daily use of chemicals in my home and on my body. Starting the journey to reducing the daily chemicals in your life can be daunting. I know I certainly felt that way, however I started small and am improving daily.

I looked at what I was using every single day on my body. Makeup, deodorant and perfume were three things I rarely left the house without. So I started there. My makeup is now Lamav organics. In an ideal world, no makeup would be best, but hey, I am a makeup wearing gal, so I choose organics! Now I can feel far less guilty and it actually looks so much nicer and dewier than normal heavy duty Priceline makeup anyway!!!

My deodorant is a funny topic in my home. I switched to 'schmidts natural deodorant' about a year ago. Now the base of this deodorant is baking soda and is quite thick, so I manage to get it all over my black scrubs of a morning. But it smells absolutely divine! Clancy (my beautiful partner) always jokes before we leave the house “have you got your cake batter on babes?”. This was such an easy transition for me, as I am a big sweater! But natural deodorant is seriously ten times better at masking smells and reducing sweaty patches.

Next came perfume. Now this has always been a game changer for me, as growing up I have always been super sensitive to synthetic smells and a trip through Myers perfume section, would result in the biggest headache! I switched to essential oils as my perfume around one year ago and it has honestly been life changing. I use certain oils as my perfume to suit/ alter my moods for the day.

It has only just been the last year or so where I have learnt the medicinal properties and the actual power that my oils hold. After finding lavender oils ‘sedative’ properties, helped me much greater than sleeping pills after night shifts, I started to incorporate my oils into my medication kit. I slowly learnt how to replace certain prescriptive/ over the counter drugs with my oils. I’ll leave more information on my medicinal use of my oils and my home cleaning products for another, more in depth blog ( as I could talk about this topic for days).

I use doTERRA essential oils now and I am obsessed. I have dabbled in the past with cheaper options, however when using my oils daily and medicinally, to support my endocrine, adrenal and central nervous system, I am super fussy. I only use oils that are 100% pure and free from herbicide, pesticides and no toxic added fillers.

As I said, I am far from completely chemical free yet (and I don't know if I ever will be) but the changes I have made already have had such a positive impact in my life, from my moods, to my skin and gut health. I find great joy in spreading the message in hope that you can achieve a healthier, happy body and mind also.