Toxins, Toxins Everywhere

How to navigate being a good steward without going crazy!

Thank you Google and social media. No really, thank you! Well sometimes. There is so much information out there these days right at our fingertips. This access to information can be beneficial or overwhelming. The world we live in is full of toxins and harmful substances, and while we want to make sure that we are being good stewards of our bodies, homes, and environment figuring out how to do it all can be overwhelming.

EMF’s and 5G

Chemicals in food (non-food!)

Personal Care Items

Fragrances

Household cleaning products

Vaccines/lack of vaccines (another conversation for another day – maybe)

Microplastics

and the list goes on….

How can we possibly eliminate the toxins exposed to our bodies?!?! They’re EVERYWHERE! Truth be told, we can’t eliminate all exposure to toxins. We live in a world where toxins are inevitable, and we’ve been given an amazing body that has been fearfully and wonderfully made by a powerful God that knows where we live! However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be aware of what we put in and around our bodies. That doesn’t mean we don’t have the responsibility to be good stewards of the one body and planet that God gave us. So what do we do?

About two years ago I began an educational journey that led me to discover a lot about some of the toxins we put in our bodies. This lead me down a path where there is no turning back because once you know you can’t un-know. The trick is knowing what to do with what you know. I believe there are only a few options:

1. Do nothing. “Pretend” you don’t know what you know and continue as normal.
2. Freak out! There are so many dangerous things out there trying to harm and kill us, and there’s no way we can escape them all so we become paranoid and either still do nothing or become consumed trying to do everything.
3. Take reasonable action. I say “reasonable” because if we don’t take manageable steps we can end up back in number 2 becoming consumed and paranoid. Educate yourself on the products you use, the things you put in your body etc… and then choose the ones you can most reasonably do something about and do something about them! (ok so that’s pretty vague….so stay tuned…)

I like to think I’ve chosen option 3 – although I can very easily find myself hanging out in number 2. When I find myself becoming consumed by all the information overload and the burden to reduce or eliminate all the things, it helps to take a step back. I will step away temporarily from social media and delete rather than read all the e-mails in my inbox from websites I’ve subscribed to. When I find myself starting to become paranoid about all the things I can’t control outside my home, I remind myself to focus on the small things I can do inside my own home.

Below I’ve listed some practical tips and things we’ve changed in our home as well as some links to certain products.

EMF/5G

1. We turn off our wifi on our phones and place them in another room at night.
2. We unplug devices when we aren’t using them (particularly those that require wifi/bluetooth).
3. In the car I’ve started opting for the regular old radio or an “old-fashioned” CD rather than using my bluetooth to stream music.
4. Our girls DO NOT own ANY kind of device. No tablets, cell phones etc… They don’t have a TV in their room, they use a CD player for music at night, and we try to limit TV time otherwise.

Food/Diet

1. We’ve changed our diets to include more fruits and veggies.
2. We all take supplements from Juice Plus to help our bodies receive the nutrition we need from fruits and veggies in a more natural form than you would get in a daily vitamin.
3. We go organic when we can.
4. We have all but eliminated most OTC medications and instead opt for elderberry syrup (We buy ours from a local friend. You can also opt for these gummies.) and essential oils when possible.
5. We don’t do soda or sugary drinks.

Persoanl Care/Frangrance/Household

1. We’ve switched to a natural homemade toothpaste. (baking soda, coconut oil, peppermint essential oil, calcium carbonate)
2. I’ve switched to natural deodorants (from Jordan Essentials. Use this link or find a rep near you!) and antiperspirants without aluminum.
3. We’ve changed laundry detergents (Norwex use this link or find a rep near you).
4. We stopped using candles, and use diffusers with Ameo essential oils by Zija Intl. instead.
5. We’ve eliminated cleaning chemicals by using Norwex products and EO’s.
6. We made our own natural bug spray using EO’s.
7. We switched to this great natural sunscreen.
8. We trashed the dryer sheets! Instead we use dryer balls (also from Norwex) with EO’s for added fragrance.
9. I found these awesome bath products for our kids. Hello Bello has organic plant-based products that are paraben free etc… We also use Babyganics.

Vaccines

1. Check out homeoprophylaxis to learn more about a healthy way to educate the immune system whether you vaccinate or don’t vaccinate.

Microplastics

1. We invested in a water purification system. (so no plastic water bottles for clean water)
2. We use glass or metal reusable water bottles.
3. I’ve stopped microwaving food in plastic containers!

This list is not exhaustive, and we don’t stick to these things all the time. There are also more things I’d like to start doing. But the trick is to start small in an attempt to not become overwhelmed by trying to do a massive overhaul all at once. Choose something that is either the most important to you or the thing that would be the easiest for you and your family and start there. Take small bites. Take baby steps. Make a habit of one of these new changes before diving into another. By taking your time, doing your research, and implementing strategically you will be more likely to get your family on board and be able to maintain the changes long term.

Once you know you can’t unknow, and once you know it will require you to make a choice.

My challenge to you is this:

Don’t avoid knowledge in an attempt to avoid making changes. (Not knowing doesn’t make true things untrue.)

Don’t freak out or panic. (This will get you nowhere fast.)

Instead, educate yourself and then take small steps towards improving quality of life for yourself, your family, and the environment.

And at the end of the day sleep well knowing that ultimately God is in control 🙂