I have been attempting to minimize the amount of chemicals that enter my body. My doctor and I have been slowly weaning me from some of the medications that I have been taking because overall my rheumatoid arthritis is improving. My ultimate goal would be to be completely off of all medication but I am a realist and I have been down the no medication road before. That led to me not being able to do the most basic of tasks. My last attempt was without the help of my doctor and I have learned so much since then.
Whenever possible I cook with organic food and I try to avoid any harsh chemicals in cleaning around the house. I have to believe that additional chemical compounds entering my body whether they have been ingested or applied topically, or just leaching through the skin cannot be helping and already confused immune system.
In my quest to understand what is really in the everyday products that I use, I came across this site www.GoodGuide.com. GoodGuide is a product rating web site that evaluates products based on potentially hazardous content. It rates food, household and personal care products based on the environmental and social impact.
Products are rated from 0 being the worst and 10 being the best based on 3 criteria; health performance, environmental performance and social impact. Health performance includes cancer risk, reproductive risks, endocrine disruption as well as other risk factors. Environmental performance covers natural resource impacts and emissions and the social impact is based on labor and human rights practices as well as working conditions. When an issue is noted, there is a clear explanation as to what the problem is and the possible implications.
I have checked on many of the products that my family and I use on a daily practice and I have to be honest when I finish this post I”m off to the store to purchase some less toxic products. I really had no idea what was in the shampoo and conditioner that I used just this morning. Even after reading the ingredient list, it really meant nothing to me. I wanted shiny full hair and I really had no idea the significant toxic substances that I was putting on my head. It turns out the products that my family was using was rated among the lowest of all the products listed. This has really made me look at the common items we use everyday in a new light.
I was focusing my energy on cleaning products around the house, using vinegar and other natural products to get the task done and eating non processed and organic foods when possible. It hadn’t occurred to me that the personal care products that me and my family use could be contaminating our bodies with toxic chemicals. I really wasn’t seeing the big picture. I am now taking a look at the skin care items, contact solutions, soaps, shampoos, well the list goes on.
They even have an application for the iPhone so that when I am out shopping I have all the information that I need at my finger tips. I plan on using this site on a regular basis before and during my shopping trips.
Tags: application, arthritis, cancer, chemicals, environmental, GoodGuide, health, iPhone, medications, product, rating, rheumatoid, toxic
Subscribe to LivingRheum with RSS
Jo-Ann, True so true..
In Indian Ayurveda, RA is treated as a immune reaction to lodged toxins in the joints. Interesting no?
The first year I visited the US, I noted that most of the chemicals were very harsh.. I had tried to hand wash some clothes using 2 spoons of liquid laundry detergent in a bucket of water , and ended up with skin burn
My perception – there are four industries who have the country by the short hair, the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the insurance industry and the food industry. Cleaning the mess up is a huge task..
What started as radical change has attained critical mass and has a momentum of its own now..
Rgds….
I can’t wait to check out this site. It is new to me. I really believe that a lot of the toxins we take in affect our bodies more than we want to believe. We too have been trying to eliminate the chemicals by using safe cleaning supplies, cosmetics, and more.
[...] See the original post: LivingRheum Find of the Month: GoodGuide.com « LivingRheum [...]