Au Natural

For those of my readers who feel eating whole grains is "radicalist" behavior this post will come as quite a shock. Some of you however are environmentally and/or health conscious so I thought I would share a little about the book I've been reading lately. It's called Healthy Child, Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home. While it is geared toward parents, it's a good resource for anyone wanting information about the potentially harmful chemicals in our homes and how to avoid them. I don't suscribe to alarmism or the idea that all chemicals are bad. Many medications for example save lives when used correctly. I do believe in exercising caution though, especially when it comes to synthetic chemicals our bodies were never designed to handle.

Many topics the book addresses I was already at least somewhat familiar with. However there were a few things I had never even considered, such as the harmful repercussions of household cleaners. Cleaning solutions are probably among the harshest and toxic chemicals in your home. If a child were to drink a bottle of Lysol or Bleach you would call poison control and have them rushed to the ER. Cleaning products have been linked to asthma, allergies, and possibly cancer. When washed down the drain they contaminate our water supply and eventually leach into the soil affecting our food supply.

I'm as germ-conscious as the next person and would not consider a solution that put my family at risk for disease, but fortunately there are some good and more natural alternatives you can buy or make. Considering that I would use these cleaners for the surfaces that David will eat off of, play with, bathe in, and crawl over I think it's worth a little extra caution.