This month I did a fascinating webinar with Dr Jenny Goodman, author of Staying Alive in Toxic Times, and more recently Getting Healthy in Toxic Times. Jenny is an ecological Doctor, very well respected author and rigorous researcher. The webinar was about her top 7 strategies, based on her up to date findings and research. The book will cover many more issues of course.
We all know now that everything is connected and we need to become kinder and more loving to everything, and everyone, especially nature. But how do we tackle this on an individual and daily basis? Her top three were nutrition, water filtration and cleaning up the home from indoor pollution. The issues covered in the book can cause overwhelm but as a practising Doctor she is an advocate of what I call ‘meeting people where they are’. So she includes advice regarding prioritisation and practical suggestions and ideas to tackle each area.
For example the first area ‘nutrition’ is a subject close to my heart but not everyone can afford top quality organic produce. My advice is always to buy the best you can afford. If you eat meat this is critical as animals concentrate toxicity through a process called bio-transformation. The body stores these toxins in fats to try to shield the body from harm.
There are useful strategies though such as avoiding those vegetables grown with the most pesticides such as grapes, strawberries and lettuce. You can sign up for a list of the ‘dirty dozen’ here https://mailchi.mp/pan-uk/dirty-dozen-23. There is of course also a prioritisation issue. According to Tim Spector we are one of the sickest countries in Europe but little attention is being paid to this. 33% of our income used to be spent on food, today just 8% so this is no doubt part of the problem.
Water filtration seems to be a rapidly developing area. I do have a hand-out on this if anyone is interested I am happy to send it out. She doesn’t give specific recommendations anymore because the companies themselves change what their products filter so the advice dates very quickly. What she outlines in her book are the questions which need to be checked before making a buying decision. The challenge of course is to filter out the harmful toxicity but retain or replenish the mineral content that can be lost in the process.
I was fascinated to learn that the Netherlands use physical filters and ultraviolet light to kill bacteria rather than chlorine as per the UK. This means they don’t drink ‘disinfection by- products’.
Where the home is concerned Jenny highlighted chemicals from cookware and soft furnishings, which are relatively easy to address. The most at risk are pregnant women and young children but pre conception couples should also take note here. Again there are options so if you can’t afford the organic mattress, you buy them in the summer and leave them to ‘detox’ with the windows open. Don’t paint the nursery very close to the birth etc.
The final tip I took away was to check cosmetics and skin care products. They can be labelled organic even if only 1% of what’s included qualifies. So check with Cosmos and/or the Soil Association for brands and products that are certified. See here https://www.cosmos-standard.org/en/databases/products-directory/ and/or https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Cosmos+re+cosmetics+organic.
I should add that there is also a lot of encouraging work being done by enterprising individuals, organisation’s and companies all of which is covered in the book. Her website if of interest is www.drjennygoodman.com.
Photo credit: Photo by Demure Storyteller on Unsplash Acera Palm known for it's ability to absorb toxic VOC compounds from the air.
