Personal Care
Your Immune System
Supporting your body's natural immune system with healthy living is so essential.
Exercise, suitable nutrition, a healthy personal environment, adequate
sleep in clean air, daily intake of pure water; and mental, emotional and spiritual
renewal are important elements in an overall plan for personal health.
If you are using prescribed medication for air
pollution related illness, do not discontinue without your
doctor's supervision. After spending time
in cleaner air and boosting your immune system, your symptoms
might decrease and your need for medication might be reduced;
check with your doctor first.
Further immune support can be found with nutraceuticals
(natural food supplements with therapeutic benefits), botanicals and homeopathic remedies
which enhance the body's own systems. Research what might work best for you, and seek the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.
Product Ingredients
Check the personal care products you use on your body for a complete
list of ingredients. Unfortunately, this is sometimes only
available by calling the manufacturer, and even then it may
not be disclosed, especially when it comes to ingredients
in a 'fragrance'. They may say 'it is proprietary information'.
'Fragrance'
Did you know that one 'fragrance' can include hundreds of chemicals,
many not tested for toxicity? In fact they can cause serious
health problems. Some of the chemicals commonly found in perfumes
and other scented products are the same chemicals found
in tobacco and gasoline! Ugh!
Your pretty fragrance could be hazardous to your health! Some of these chemicals are neurotoxic,
psychotropic, and addictive substances. If you
find you are continuing to use a scent even if it gives you
or your spouse a headache, you could be addicted!
Remember, when it comes to fragrance…
"What we wear is in the air we share!"
The Canadian Lung Association recommends that if you use perfumes or other scented products,
don't keep them in your bedroom; wear a lighter
fragrance (or no fragrance at all) during warm weather, since
fragrance intensifies with heat; and make sure you
wear only a reasonable amount of fragrance—no one more than
an arm's length away from you should be able to smell your fragrance.
Minimizing After-Effects of VOCs
For 'canaries' like me who are very sensitive to fragrances,
you might benefit from my experience.
When I come home after exposure to scents I take remedial action. I change my clothes. If they have picked
up fragrances, I hang them outside or wash them in unscented
liquid laundry detergent with vinegar in the water. I wash
my face and, if necessary, even my hair with shampoo and soap that are unscented,
or lightly scented from natural ingredients or essential oils
that I know work for me (for example, Neutrogena fragrance free bar soap and Ferlow Botanicals hemp shampoo). It takes a bit of effort,
but it's worth it to prevent having to take medication for pain and sinus.
And of course I often sleep with my Austin Air HM 200 or my AllerAir 5000 Vocarb air purifier operating on low in my bedroom.
(I have AllerAir and Austin air purifiers operating throughout my home and office.)
Usually this is enough to prevent serious after-effects of exposure, so I don't have to take medication
for symptoms that would otherwise have presented, such as a migraine headache, body ache,
asthma, coughing, or congestion.
My Favorite Products
In this section I feature products that work for me. I do not sell these products.
After researching many personal care product lines, I discovered Ferlow Botanicals, a family-run company in Vancouver, British Columbia, committed to producing “zero-harm” medicinal and personal care products with non-toxic and wildcrafted herbal ingredients. They produce the most wonderful skin moisturizers with calendula, comfrey, chamomile, grapeseed oil,
vegetable glycerine, aloe vera gel, and organic grapefruit seed extract. With these ingredients their lotions and creams have antihistaminic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal
properties—very soothing for minor skin irritations. They also enhance the natural softness
and smoothness of your skin.
Their shampoos are formulated with natural, organic, and therapeutic plant extracts to help restore lustre, volume, body and shine. These shampoos are so gentle and moisturizing they can be used daily. My favorite Ferlow products are their Herbal Body Lotion (unscented), Hemp Shampoo (unscented), and Calendula Shampoo (with sweet orange and lemon essential oils).
To me Neutrogena fragrance free bar soap really is fragrance free.
For dishes I use Seventh Generation 'free and clear natural dish liquid' and for laundry I use Nature Clean 'unscented laundry liquid'. To remove fragrance picked up in my clothes from being around perfume, I add a bit of vinegar to my wash water. I never use fabric softener liquid or dryer sheets.
Water
Most of the human body is made up of water, with cells consisting
of 65–90% water by weight. 99% of the human body
is made up of six elements; the top three are oxygen (65%),
carbon (18%), and hydrogen (10%).
It is said that 4 cups of good water per 50 lbs of body weight is required daily to maintain
optimum health.
(As in all our information, this may need to be modified for each individual depending on body chemistry, state of health and medications.)
We need an adequate intake of water to thin our lymph fluid so that it flows easily around
the body, moving toxins from the body's cells to the liver. From there the toxins are removed
from the body via the bowels and kidneys.
Sufficient water is also necessary to keep the body's eliminating mechanisms working properly.
Freshly squeezed lemon in a glass of room temperature, pure water helps to balance the body's
pH and support the liver in detoxifying the body.
Quiet, Please
It's a really helpful practice to 'retreat' from time to time. This doesn't necessarily mean
travelling anywhere, but creating a more tranquil environment for your mind to relax.
Like turning off the TV and computer and picking up a good book to read, or doing a puzzle,
or getting back to your favorite hobby or musical instrument. Or having a quiet dinner and
evening with friends and family might be surprisingly renewing.
(Remember to turn off your mobile communications device!)
Sleep
One of the most important things we can do to promote good health is to have a good sleep.
Our immune system is strengthened as our body totally relaxes for a period of 8 hours.
Our quality of sleep affects our level of success. The reality is that
tired people do not fulfill their potential. Children
who have allergies preventing them from sleeping are at a
disadvantage in school. Adults who miss sleep
face the same disadvantages at work. A good, sound sleep cannot
be over emphasized.
A good air purifier in your bedroom will help your body to fully relax and rejuvenate.
These tips might be helpful for preparing to sleep:
- • An hour or two before bedtime, turn lights down.
- • Soft music and a hot bath with dimmed light can
help you to relax—just don't fall asleep in the tub! Have all your evening chores done, and
your bed clothes and bed ready before you get into your
bath; the least amount of effort required after your bath
will keep you nicely relaxed.
- • You might enjoy having your pj's or nightgown warmed
in a clothes dryer before you put them on. Cozy!
- • Reduce and gradually eliminate from your regular diet
(although treats can be workable) coffee, chocolate, and any other caffeine-containing
food and drinks—even green tea if you are prone to having trouble sleeping.
- • Try herbal tea with chamomile and other soothing herbs.
(Make sure the tea is 'caffeine free'. 'De-caffeinated' tea has residual caffeine.)
- • Be very cautious in using tranquilizers/sedatives. They can be very addicting
and cause major challenges in withdrawal. In fact their 'rebound' effect can cause
far worse symptoms than the original symptoms for which they were taken! We highly recommend discussing this with your healthcare professional and
first using natural means and healthy, daily coping strategies to reduce stress, before taking medications.
- • Plan to get 8 hours of sleep—the earlier the bedtime hour and the more regular the sleeping schedule, the more effective the sleep.
- • Before falling asleep, if your mind is still active, try reading something soothing and comforting.
Nutrition
Healthy eating habits are, of course, a core element in healthy living. There are many opinions on what constitutes the most beneficial healthy diet
for the human body. There does seem to be a general consensus
that whole foods are healthier than processed, depleted foods;
for example, whole grains such as rice and wheat rather than
'white' which has had the bran or outer portion of the grain
removed.
Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables are important
for good health. It has been said that fruit helps to cleanse
the body, whereas vegetables build up
the body. Sounds interesting, but we have not researched this.
An alkaline diet is worth consideration. The idea is to keep the body's
pH balanced appropriately which reduces the risk of disease. Human blood stays in a
very narrow pH range right around 7.3.
A healthy diet might consist of about 75% alkaline foods and 25% acidic.
.You might be surprised to find out which foods are which. Fruits and vegetables are generally alkaline; whereas sweetened foods, grains, nuts, dairy, beans
and legumes, and animal protein—beef, pork, fish, etc.—are generally acidic to varying degrees.
Another helpful gauge for choosing nutritional foods is the Glycemic Index which measures how much sugar is added to the body by eating each food. Again, it is surprising to find out that a white potatoe, for example,
metabolizes into twice the sugar of a sweet potato or yam! It is equivalent to 17 tsp of sugar!
Foods with a high glycemic index will cause a rapid increase and then a rapid decrease in blood sugar.
Healthy food choices will go a long way in strengthening your body, which in turn will affect your energy level and productivity.
The important thing is to find which type of diet works best for you, and to be consistent in maintaining it without being rigid.
Exercise
The lymph system which the body uses to de-toxify does
not have a pump like the circulatory system has the heart.
This is one reason why exercise is so important in keeping
our bodies healthy. Lymph fluid picks up toxins from the cells
and transports it to the liver. Since it tends to thicken
without sufficient water, and to be sluggish without exercise,
we need to proactively help it along by drinking water and by being active.
Your Ideas
If you would like to share your tips on healthy living and reducing indoor air pollution, please contact us.
We will select some of your ideas and add to this section periodically.
And if you see any items that need correcting, please let us know! We appreciate your feedback!
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