How to live a low chemical exposed life on a budget
Chemicals are unfortunately ubiquitous, they are in the food we eat, in the water we drink and in the air we breathe, our personal care such as make up, hair care, body care, personal fragrances and in our home cleaning products. Now not to overwhelm you, we mustn’t stress ourselves to live a completely chemical free life instead to live as chemical free as possible for our own personal circumstances.
Why limit your exposure to chemicals in the first place? Chemicals can be endocrine disruptors (EDCs), meaning they interfere with our natural hormone system. Exposure to endocrine disruptors can have lifelong effects thus affecting next generations. Some of these endocrine disruptors are but not limited to; Diethylstilbestrol (DES), Bisphenol A (BPD), Phthalates, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, parabens and alkly penols such as nonylphenol. When exposed to such chemicals they can cause havoc in our human body affecting the bodies reproductive system, neurodevelopment, abnormal growth, immune health and gastrointestinal system.
How do we minimize our exposure to these chemicals and how do we do so on a budget?
The dream lifestyle would be, to be living remotely preferably near a beach with access to purchase organic produce and chemical free home cleaning agents. Simple right? Some of us may not have the luxury, some of us may be living in the city or the weekly budget is down to the dollars and cents. So how do we limit our exposure to these chemicals and how do we do so on a budget?
My 5 top tips on how to live a low chemical exposed lifestyle on a budget are;
In door plants are the saving grace to cleaning the air inside our homes, especially if you are living in the city or close to a busy road. Peace lilies and mother in law tongue plants are super easy to take care of, especially if you are a beginner and don’t really have a natural green thumb!
Farmers markets are accessible to city and country lifestyles, I don't know a city or a town, except for out in the middle of nowhere, where they do not have farmers markets on the weekends. Find out the hours of these markets and go close to when they are about to shut. At the end of the day the farmers mark down their produce to more affordable prices. I remember when I was a university student I attended a market one Sunday afternoon where the farmers gave me a box and I could fill it with as much fruit and vegetables as possible for $15!! Side note; make sure if your fruit and vegetables aren’t certified organic soak them in a sink full of water and roughly 200mls of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar for 30minutes, this will help to remove the external pesticides. Fruits and vegetables that have a thicker skin you can usually get away with eating non-organic as the thicker skin protects the flesh from absorbing the pesticides however the thinner skin produce such as berries, tomatoes apples capsicums try to eat organic or soak them as they will have a high content of pesticides in the flesh which isn’t ideal as some pesticides have been known to be carcinogenic.
Grow your own vegetables and if you have friendly neighbours, swap produce with one another, hello community vibe! Fun side fact; Humans crave connection, when we feel connected with a sense of belonging our mental health improves dramatically which decreases our chance of experiencing anxiety and depression.
Home cleaning agents, welcome to the world of bicarbonate soda! Bicarb mixed with some vinegar and lemon juice, well those three were a cleaning agent match made in budget heaven! I have a book called ‘Bicarbonate of Soda: Expert Advice’, definitely recommend buying it.
Lastly, hair care and skin care. Hair care, thank you to the rise of natural and organic there are ‘eco friendly’ hair salons opening up around cities and beach towns. Some hair care brands I use and recommend are Mukti and Oway Australia. Alternatively you can make your own hair care, a simple cost effect hair wash rinse is ¼ cup Apple cider vinegar and 2cups room temperature water (filtered preferably) rinse over hair leaving for 2minutes before rinsing with cool water. This is a great DIY for removing excess oil.
Skin care products can disrupt our skin microbiome and the pH of our skin which makes us more susceptible to experiencing dermatological conditions such as allergic dermatitis and acne. I would suggest having make-up free days, opt for skin care products that contain vitamin e, green tea extract, rosehip oil and grapeseed extract, these are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory for the skin. I would also recommend keeping an eye out in health food stores that sell organic skin care, occasionally they have a discounted “bin” where the products will be marked down by 50% or more. Buy when there are sales higher than 20% and make sure the Australian certified logo is on the product, if this logo is not on the product then it is not certified organic and most likely contains harsh chemicals. Lastly ‘Natural’ doesn’t mean chemical free or toxic free.
If the world of chemical free life interests you and you would like to know more I do offer a ‘Low tox hair and body care’ consultation. This consultation runs for 1hr, we will go through your home care, skin care and hair care products. Throughout the consultation I will help guide you to making more conscious decisions on reducing chemicals in your home with brand recommendations on what are the safer brands to use.
Want to know more or simply want to nerd out and read the scientific articles related to this blog post? Email me at hello@melitabaileynaturopath.com