I carefully chose the above symptoms because they are
all displayed by members of my own family, the flea bites are 'preservative
223', the itchy nose and even skin rashes can be the extra chemicals in
commercial soaps, so we will give you a recipe for low
allergy home made soap powder, hopefully without the side effects.
While not usually fatal, there are cases
where food allergies and chemical sensitivty can be so serious as to be life
threatening. Luckily for most of us our symptons are mild enough just to be
annoying, but we can still do some thing about it !!!
The first thing you have to do is monitor your envinment
and diet to find out whther it is foods or chemicals that cause your
problems, or both.
Most of us do not even know what is in the foods we
are eating. While you might find this unrealistic, I challenge you to take a
jar or other package of regular store bought food from your pantry and read
the label.
- Do you know what preservative 201 is ?
- Do you know what is in
'yellow number 5' ?
I recently found a list of all these additives that you find
in modern, pre-packaged food and was astounded by what I read. The list was
in a high school science book; not a publication most people would find
themselves reading. The allergic reactions people suffer from all these
chemicals are wide ranging. My own family members suffer several of them, to
the point that we can no longer safely serve up this concoction called
food.
As we advance technologically, we move further and further
away from the earth and its natural abundance of food. Unfortunately, man’s
quest for instant gratification; quick meals that come out of a package,
that can last on the shelf indefinitely, is leaving many of us behind.
For people who can not, or do not want to, ingest the
chemicals needed for long shelf life, and that were never meant for human
consumption in the first place, there are solutions.
Health-food stores
offer a range of foods that are natural and do not contain all the
preservatives, artificial flavours and artificial colours found in most
grocery store products. Some grocery stores even have a small selection of
natural products
that are more traditionally only found
in the health food store. The down side to this is that these products are
much more expensive than the regular grocery store products and the
selection is much smaller.
The other alternative is to
DO IT
YOURSELF. Making and
preserving your own
foods
can be a
rich and rewarding experience. Once done in most homes, preserving has
become a lost art, practiced by only the few. Remember back to the taste of
home made preserves that your mother or grandmother used to make and I am
sure you will agree that those were the best tasting foods you can
recall.
Ask yourself why did they taste so good? Because
they were made with all natural ingredients, with no preservatives,
artificial flavours or colours. They were real food , not some substitute for food that was created to look good
and last for years, to ensure company profits, at the expense of your
health.
What do
you think the nutritional value of 'yellow number 5' is anyway ?
In our modern society there is an ever-increasing number of
people suffering from what has come to be known as chemical sensitivity.
This new disease can come in a number of different forms. Some people suffer
direct and noticeable reactions to the chemicals in their environment in the
form or rashes, dermatitis and other itchy and sometime very painful skin
complaints. Other people suffer sinus problems and even headaches from
chemical exposure. Most of the victims of this disease do not even know that
have it, and may even be on the medical merry-go-round trying to find out
what is wrong with them.
Everyday we are all exposed to a multitude of chemicals that
are toxic, and dangerous to our health, and most people do not even think
about it. Just walk down the isle with all the cleaning products and washing
powders in the grocery store and see if you have a reaction. That is
chemical exposure. We go shopping and bring these toxic chemicals into our
homes and think that we are doing the right thing in order to keep clean
and; therefore, keep it healthy. What we do not realize is that in some
cases we are doing more harm to our health than good.
If you are one of the
thousands
of Australians that suffer from
chemical
sensitivity
, or think you may be, you need to take immediate action
to
detox your home
environment by removing
as many chemicals as possible.
Environmental Allergies
Unfortunately some of
us are sensative to the very environment around us and even
mother nature's bounty, my mother for example is highly sensative to ordinary
grass seeds. Airborne pollens and the pollutants spewed into the air
by cars, trucks and industry cuase many people to suffer.
While some environmental allergens like pollens are
unavoidable we can reduce our exposure thus minimizing the impact on our
lives. We can also work toward the future by cleaning our environment and
encouraging others to do the same. We also need to encourage our politicians
to think green, it would be great to see more investment into "Green
Energy Research" and the eventual reduction of our reliance on
highly pollutant petro-chemical technology.
