As we try to improve our health care, it’s also prudent to curb the risks from the chemicals that envelop us.As Sean noted a few days ago, Michelle Obama has been on a campaign to fight childhood obesity. Childhood obesity, like autism, has exploded in recent decades. Diseases like heart disease and cancer are huge killers in America, but are preventable in many cases through a healthy lifestyle (of course not all are preventable, and the link of autism to toxins is not absolutely proven). These diseases place a large strain on an already broken health care system and contribute to rising health costs. If we could just work to reduce the number of preventable lifestyle diseases, this strain would be eased.
We do, without a doubt, need reform in the insurance industry and in hospital care. There is no end to this problem without it. Yet we can't sit around and wait for the government to magically fix the health of this nation. Shouldn't we, as a nation, take a stand against unhealthy living that contributes to these diseases? Shouldn't we demand more research and regulation against carcinogens and other harmful chemicals in household substances? Shouldn't we work to improve our own individual health? Yes.
This is a piece to the health care puzzle that we need to take ownership of.
Yes, you are absolutely correct. In addition to health insurance reform, we as individuals need to take responsibility for our own health by making simple lifestyle changes. One of which is choosing to purchase safer alternatives of cleaning products, cosmetic and hygiene products. Most of us assume that if products are sold in stores, they are safe; and that our government has laws to protect us against harmful products. That is not the case. The Consumer Product Safety Commission connects 150 chemicals routinely found in our homes to allergies, birth defects and cancer. The National Cancer Institute has a list of twenty known carcinogens and over 2,200 chemicals that are likely carcinogens. Many of these chemicals are in the cleaners and personal care products you buy at the grocery store. Children are at highest risk from the effects of hazardous chemicals, but others at high risk include the elderly, pregnant women, those with chronic disease, cancer patients and those with allergies, migraines and asthma. The remainder of the population is also at risk when exposed to chemicals on a daily basis in their homes. Make the choice to purchase and use safer alternatives. Melaleuca has been manufacturing safer alternatives for almost 25 years. Contact me for more information.
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