Many of the products that we use every day contain harmful chemicals that, in addition to polluting the environment, continue to accumulate in our bodies and are not expelled
Living chemical free, or what is known as Biosmart Living, seeks to free our homes and our bodies from the damaging chemicals with which we coexist. This translates into a ‘smart lifestyle’, as it is based on the results of many recent studies that have proven the damages caused by many daily products.
The increase in some diseases, allergies and other ailments has led science to question many of the ingredients that are contained in articles that we handle on a daily basis and that—apparently—were not damaging to our health. These are harmful chemicals that form part of inedible products, but which people come into contact with every day, such as detergents, cosmetics and packaging. These synthetic chemical substances are added to products for different reasons: as foams, preservatives, antibacterials, and many more. And they penetrate our bodies via foods, water and air.
In the last 50 years, over 100,000 chemical substances have been produced that, when combined with each other, have given rise to hundreds of thousands of chemical substances that never before existed in nature.
Our body runs and functions well through a delicate balance of chemical reactions and, with the presence of all these synthetic chemicals in our lifecycle, this balance is broken, thus generating different health afflictions. A recent study by the World Wildlife Foundation reveals that at least 300 chemicals that we use each and every day have scant or no regulation, as they are supposedly not ingested by humans. Even so, these substances do end up appearing in our bodies, which is why we have to try to avoid sulphates and other unregulated substances.
Misinformation and the daily nature of their use mean that we do not truly perceive them as the danger that they are, and we keep consuming them without even realising it. We must also add that some products that were once rated as ‘safe’ have later been proven to also be damaging. Thus, we believe the time has come to seek alternatives to all of these products.
The WWF is conducting global campaigns with regard to these types of substances, with the aim of having them banned, ensuring their suitable regulation and the availability of safer alternatives. Some of these chemicals are:
-Hormonal disorder or endocrine disruptor: they can seriously damage natural biological processes and cause neurological, reproductive, behavioural and developmental disorders.
-Persistent: they persist in the environment for extremely long periods of time, as they do not decompose.
-Bioaccumulative: they are produced in our body or in other living beings, and can be passed on from one generation to the next.
We have to try to avoid these types of substances, replacing them with more natural products that are just as effective. Some tips for keeping our homes chemical free, and creating a healthy space:
- Clean without dirtying, using natural products
- Have plants, which help to purify the air
- Use healthy paints and materials
- Renew the air by ventilating the house and letting sunlight in
- Maintain a balanced and extremely varied diet, with locally produced and seasonal products
- Avoid processed foods
- Turn off the Wi-Fi and other devices at night that otherwise remain on standby