Plastic and Health

It is really unbelievable how much plastic we use in our everyday lives. Most of this plastic is pretty obvious. There is plastic packaging from tupperware, shampoo bottles, water bottles, granola bar packaging, shopping bags, the impossible to open packaging on children's toys, and so on and so on. Then there are the spaces we live in including insulation, windows, flooring, and the list goes on. There is also all of the things we use from day to day from toothbrushes (the handle), to coffee makers, to computers (casings), to toys, to cars, and another endless list of items.

There are also some other uses of plastic which are slightly less obvious. Many of our clothes are made from polyester, which is a type of plastic. There is now plastic lumber and things that used to be made of wood, such as picnic tables and decks, can now be made of plastic. Acrylic is another type of plastic that can be found in many items including paint. Plastic is even used as an additive in some fuels.

There are so many benefits to using plastics: they're affordable, flexible, light-weight, durable, and, as can be seen above, can be changed to be used in almost any way imaginable. In a society such as ours, it is no wonder that we have let plastic take over. Unfortunately, there are also many disadvantages to plastic.

Only some plastics are recyclable, and those that aren't don't biodegrade easily so they sit in landfills for up to thousands of years. Often, plastics don't even end up in the landfill but land in our rivers, lakes and oceans where they disturb marine life. Plastic is made of oil and we already know some of the problems with oil including that there is only so much oil to go around.

There are also additives put into plastic that cause health problems in people. The most notable of these are BPA and phthalates.^[1] Other chemicals have been found to leach out of certain plastics. All of these chemicals affect our environment and ourselves. There are many health issues now being found related to these chemicals including asthma, lower immune response, obesity and reproductive issues.^[1]

So what can we do about all this? We certainly can't change society overnight, particularly considering all of the benefits of plastics. Well, step 1 is to become aware of plastic and how we use it. Reduce how much plastic you use when you can and recycle whenever possible. Perhaps one day, we can find a healthier balance in our use of plastics.

[1] Emily Main. Protect Your Health: Shrink Your Plastic Profile, 2010. Accessed February 21, 2011 from http://www.rodale.com/disadvantages-plastic
Plastic Bottles: Keattikorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Small Acts of Conservation

I hope I'm not overstating things when I say that most of us know that we should be conserving water and power. You can easily find all sorts of suggestions on how to conserve water and power online. Most home conservation efforts seem to be focused on these areas, but is there anything else you can do at home to help the environment?

The answer is, of course there is! And you might even be able to think of a few things right off the top of your head. I'm definitely not the model of conservation, and I have to say that parenthood has reduced my conservation efforts even further, but I have a strange personality quirk that has always pushed me to conserve certain little things that others may overlook.

My best example of this is paper towel. When I was growing up, we each took turn setting the table including putting down paper towel as napkins for each person. Before "select-a-size", or whenever my mother would buy a brand without that feature, I was bothered by the fact that the paper towels were so much bigger than what we really needed. I would actually fold each paper towel in half and rip them apart before setting them at the table. Now, I simply can't bring myself to buy paper towel that isn't "select-a-size-able."

Then there's soap-like products, namely shampoo. It seems like the last few handfuls of shampoo are almost impossible to get out of the bottle. But I will work at getting every last drop of shampoo out before I wash and recycle the bottle. As I see it, if I'm going to send chemicals down the drain, I'm going to make sure they've done something for me before they go. I can only imagine how much soap, shampoo and other chemicals from the bottom of the bottle gets flushed away unused or even gets thrown into the landfill. Another thing I do with shampoo is play a little game where I see if I can figure out what's the least amount I can use and still get a good lather. I always overdo it right after I get a haircut! I wonder how many bottles of shampoo I'll save myself from buying over the years?

I'm no great environmentalist though every little thing helps. Pick up even one small conservation habit a year and you can make a difference. What does this have to do with holistic health? The health of the environment affects the health of each and every one of us who live on this planet, and it might help your pocket-book a little too. You can use the money you save to treat yourself to an alternative health session.

I'm interested in picking up more small conservation habits. What small acts of conservation do you do?

Lip Balm Addiction

It's fall-time in Alberta, and that means it's time to pull out the old chap stick tubes and lip balm containers to prepare for the bitterly dry and cold winter. Many of us use these products to help protect and moisturize our lips. There are countless number of different options available, from various flavours, medicated balms, options of moisturizing ingredients, and different types of wax.

But how do you feel about eating petroleum products? And what about taking in artificial colours and flavours? And are you happy about the possibility of ingesting a long list of other chemicals? If you aren't interested in eating any of these things, it's probably not the best idea to be putting them on your lips.

And then there's lip balm addiction. Some people use lip balm so much and have their lips so moisturized that the lips stop moisturizing themselves. Then they're stuck using more and more lip balm. Also, there are so many chemicals in lip balms that your skin may become irritated by any of those chemicals, causing them to feel dry, once again leading you to think that you need more lip balm.

So in the land of winter, what can you do to keep your lips moisturized? Well, avoid most commercial chap sticks and lip balms - they may be bad for your lips and bad for your health in general. You may be able to find some healthier options online or in some health stores. But the best option is to make your own lip balm. There are dozens of recipes to be found online. You'll need to find your petroleum wax substitute such as beeswax, cocoa butter, or shea butter, and then some carrier oil like sunflower, canola, or grapeseed oil. You can add some essential oils to make them smell fabulous (you can make it your own personalized aromatherapy lip balm), and some honey or other flavour to make it taste good (a little bit is bound to make it into your mouth).

True, it will take some time to make your own lip balm. But you can make enough at one time to last for ages and maybe even make enough to give as stocking stuffers. And this little bit of time will not be for nothing - it will be an investment into your health.

Whether you choose to buy your lip balm or make it yourself, try to limit how much you use it. If you feel the need to apply more as soon as it has worn off, you are probably using too much. Try a different brand of lip balm in case you are reacting to some ingredient in the lip balm. Or better yet, try fulfilling your need for moisture from the inside out - drink more water!

Cluttered Emotions, Cluttered House

Have you ever considered that your environment can sometimes reflect your internal state? Sometimes clutter in your home might be caused by your emotional clutter getting in the way of cleaning and letting go. Sometimes the clutter in your home might prevent you from emptying your emotional clutter. Either way doesn't cleaning up sound like a good idea?

Now I'm not trying to talk to full-on hoarders here. Anyone who has so much as a junk drawer or an overly full purse can benefit from a little de-cluttering. Those of us who have rooms full of boxes and piles of junk (yep, that's me) have all the more reason to consider this.

Removing the clutter in your life won't only help you find things more quickly, it can promote healing for your body, mind and spirit. You can feel the difference between a cluttered space and an open space. And you can go too far - being stressed about disturbing a hair on a pristine carpet isn't really that much better than jumping over a junk pile.

How do you get started? If you think "one day I'll find the time," chances are it'll sit on the back-burner indefinitely... trust me, I know. Try devoting 10 minutes per day to de-cluttering. Make a specific time of day (like during the kids' nap, right after work, or during the commercials of your favourite show) and stick to it as much as possible. I find that if I get started, I get motivated and do more than 10 minutes per day, and I'll stick with it until at least one room is done.

Remember, de-cluttering doesn't mean only finding new ways to organize old junk. Buying new shelves and organizing systems is only really useful if you're only keeping the things that are important to you. For each item you're dealing with, ask yourself why it is important enough to keep. Is it adding something to your life or is it just adding to your physical and emotional clutter?

I'm going to start de-cluttering my house by going through the boxes in my garage on Monday. How about you?

Antibacterial Hand Soap

I have a pet peeve and it's this whole antibacterial hand soap craze! I can't understand why, in an age where superbugs are starting to emerge and kill people and everyone is talking about the overuse of antibiotics in medicine, people would jump on another antibacterial craze.

Do you know what has been used for hundreds of years, is safe (at least when you leave out colours and fragrances), doesn't lead to antibacterial resistance and eliminates enough bacteria to keep you healthy? It's called soap!

A review of various scientific studies has found that your average made-for-home use antibacterial soaps were no more effective than plain soaps.^[1] In addition, researchers say that the main active ingredient in many antibacterial soaps "may cause some bacteria to become resistant to commonly used drugs such as amoxicillin."^[1]

If that's not enough to discourage you from using antibacterial soaps, another study has shown that a common antibacterial chemical used in soaps interfere with normal hormone action in a way that may contribute to health problems including cancer, reproductive failure and developmental anomalies.^[2] This hormone interruption may not be a "big deal" on its own but there are lots of chemicals out there that can affect us so we hardly need one more, especially one that is not really providing us with any benefit.

So please consider doing your body a favour... Throw out your antibacterial soaps and stick with plain old soap.

[1] The Risk. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 31, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070815173055.htm.
[2] Activities, Study Finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 31, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2007/12/071207150713.htm.