Monday, January 24, 2011

Why am I doing this?

I have always been a relatively health-conscious, physically active person. I have always tried to eat healthy, stay active, and seek out appropriate health care. After all, accomplishing those things are easy when your only responsibilities are yourself, school, and a part-time job.

But my life made a complete "180" when I became pregnant and engaged at 18. In less than nine months, I became engaged, we completely gutted and renovated an 1,100 square foot condo, I moved permanently out of my parents' home for the first and only time, I both attended school and worked full time, I went on maternity leave, gave birth to my first child, and for the first time in my life, became completely responsible for myself, as well as the life of another. Needless to say, life became chaotic.

I have now been a stay-at-home mom and full-time student for the better half of two years, sporadically working part-time. Money is usually tight, so my husband and I make every effort to spend as little money as possible on nearly everything. We buy the cheapest groceries, the cheapest personal care products, the cheapest home cleaning products etc., all without any concern regarding the content of the products we purchase. The truth is, our main focus has become the monetary cost of things, rather than the physical well-being of our family. But what good has this done for us?

The answer is, nothing good has come of this frugality and lack of research. We have become fat, inactive, tired, broke, and have likely contributed to the possibilities of one of us developing cancer or some other major medical concern.

In all honesty, I was always aware of the potential risk factors (or the lack of knowledge regarding such scientific procedures) associated with foods produced or altered through genetic engineering, the risks of using home cleaning products containing harmful chemicals, and all the other potential health hazards that we as humans encounter on a daily basis. But I did not concern myself with these potential killers, instead I turned a blind eye and continued to use products that I had used for years, and continued to try new ones. It was not until this past fall semester when I sat through a group presentation in my Introduction to Sociology class that I became concerned with the amount of potentially harmful products that my family is exposed to every day.

The group presented the topic of the dangers of personal care or cosmetic items, and brought to my attention the following website: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

This site is so simple, yet so valuable and frightening. It lists thousands of personal care items that millions use daily, and rates them on a scale of toxicity to the human body. I was shocked to learn that so many personal care items like face and body wash, along with shampoos and conditioners contain human carcinogens (that is, ingredients that cause cancer in humans), and was deeply disturbed when I looked up the toxicity ratings of the products my husband, my daughter, and I use on a daily basis. Here are just a few that shocked me:

Johnson's Bedtime Lotion                                                                                Toxicity Rating: 6 out of 10
Johnson & Johnson No More Tears Baby Shampoo                                        Toxicity Rating: 5 out of 10
Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturizing Lotion                                                 Toxicity Rating: 8 out of 10
Crest 3D White Vivid Flouride Anticavity Toothpaste, Radiant Mint                 Toxicity Rating: 5 out of 10

After having watched my grandmother battle cancer four out of five times, and ultimately losing her to the disease last year, it was nearly impossible for me to ignore this kind of information. These little slaps in the face only kept coming as I watched Inga Tritt explain  how any why she created her line of natural personal care products called Original Sprout (http://www.originalsprout.com/), and as I read the bottles to the products kept inside my medicine cabinet and realized the amount of chemicals my family takes into their bodies daily.

So I am now determined to make every possible effort to create a naturally pure, happy, and healthy lifestyle for my family by educating myself on the ingredients of personal care products, home cleaning products, and the processes used to produce the groceries we purchase. This is my attempt to create a naturally healthy way of life for myself and my family.

I hope you join me on this journey toward naturally pure, happy health.

~K.D. Bugs

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