Natural Living ~ Natural Health ~ The Environment
What’s good for you tends to be what’s good for the Earth, and vice versa. Healthy living and environmentalism are inextricably intertwined. In a culture in which faith in technology seems ever-increasing, many of us remain skeptics, and prefer the purity of nature.
Healthy Eating
These days, it’s easy to feel like you need a degree in nutrition to know what groceries to buy, but the first step is to stop shopping in mainstream supermarkets. Look for natural food stores. Do an online search for health food in your area. If there aren’t any in your area, just go here. If you stick to natural food stores, you have a much better chance of finding healthy food. Some people complain that natural foods are more expensive, but I disagree. The foods in natural food stores contain more nutrients per unit of volume, so it may look like less food for the same amount of money, but you’re actually getting more nutrients per dollar. Not to mention the fact that healthy eating will save you in medical expenses down the road.
Click here for more reasons to eat organically.
Herbs vs. Allopathic Drugs
I’m tired of hearing the argument that “herbs can’t be any safer than allopathic drugs since 80% of drugs are made from herbs.”
Therefore, I would like to explain the difference between herbs and allopathic drugs. It’s quite simple. An herb contains one or more active ingredients, AS WELL AS several protective compounds, which help the body deal with the active ingredient(s). When an allopathic drug is made, the active ingredient is extracted from the herb, then synthesized, and then a concentrated dose of it is made into a pill. The finished product contains an unnaturally high dose of synthesized active ingredient(s), and none of the protective compounds. This is why allopathic drugs cause side effects, and herbs do not. [Source: Herbs For Health And Healing by Kathi Keville]
Just because something is made from an herb does not make it equivalent or comparable to an herb. The moral of the story is, don’t mess with nature. Men in lab coats may think they know everything, but they obviously lack the humility to fully realize and appreciate the fact that humans and plants have been evolving side by side for millions of years, resulting in a natural system of compatibility and mutual benefit that our own limited knowledge is woefully inadequate to interfere with. I hope no one thinks I am anti-science. I am very very very much in favor of True Science and the study of healing. The problem is that Western Medicine is no longer true science. It has been corrupted by money and greed. Doctors have become mere drug-pushers, and pharmaceutical companies care only about what they can sell, and for how much.
Organic herbs provide a refreshing alternative. : )
(It’s the same thing with white sugar. The part of the sugar that is removed when it is refined is the part that helps your body metabolize the sugar. We need to eat WHOLE foods!)
(Don’t even get me started on what’s removed when whole-grain flour is made into white flour. Ok, I’m done now.)
Natural Clothing and Skin Care
Skin is not impervious. It is porous. It absorbs substances it comes in contact with. This is one of the reasons it is important to ensure that water is pure and uncontaminated, to seek out organic, natural-fabric clothing, and to buy natural organic skin care products. Here is one source for natural personal care products.
Click here to learn why you should use cloth diapers instead of disposables. Then go here, because they have stuff you’ll want. : )
Natural Household Cleaning
Stop buying your household cleaning products in mainstream stores. They are toxic. If you can’t find truly natural cleaning products (read all the ingredients) in a local natural food store, go to Butterfly and Bee, Butter Me Up, Earthley, Helyn’s or Mia Rose or Ecos or any of these other companies.
Avoid Plastic
Plastic contains carcinogens, hormone-altering chemicals, chemicals that can cause allergic reactions such as breathing difficulties, and who knows what else, because the industry isn’t regulated. We are not informed of which chemicals are present in which plastics. The only way to play it safe is to avoid them all. Do you really need that plastic thing you are buying? Is there a natural alternative? Start with your kids’ toys, since children are especially susceptible to the toxic chemicals found in plastic!
Vote With Your Mouse
Normally, I say “vote with your feet” ~~ make it known that healthy, safe products are important to consumers by doing your shopping in, for example, natural food stores instead of mainstream supermarkets. However, this is cyberspace ~~ so vote with your mouse. Click here to shop for organic and natural products of all kinds. Also visit the other sources of organic and natural goods listed below:
Where To Find
Click here for environmental links, Organic Food, Organic Cotton, Other Healthy Products, and natural health links.
Click here for Homebirth, Midwifery, and Natural Parenting links, and Organic Baby Clothes, Organic Cotton Diapers and other Natural Baby Products.
Click on the links and/or banners below to shop for organic and natural products:
The Stay-At-Home Feminist’s T-Shirts, Tote Bags & Bumper Stickers Page