My recent visit to the pristine waterfalls located in untouched areas well off the beaten path in Hawaii had a big impact on me. It was so cleansing to swim in the waterfall pools and breath the incredibly clean air of the rainforests there. The pools were always cold, and I can never help but wonder what is in water that I can’t see to the bottom of (ask me one day about my crocodile story from Kakadu, Australia! 🙂 ), but I was always so grateful and glad to feel that slightly scary and exhilarating chill of just diving into the unknown! While I’ve always been very conscious of living as chemical-free and clean a life as possible, being exposed to that ultimate clean environment really brought this topic to the forefront of my mind.
LA is not exactly known for its clean air… but living on the ocean here in Santa Monica and having more space definitely feels healthier- heck I even have lemon trees in my yard!
There is an estimated 80,000 chemicals in the market and in products in the United States, and what is really scary is that companies aren’t required to do any safety testing on these chemicals. It is tempting to reason that our exposure to these chemicals in certain products are so small that it can’t really hurt us. But the truth is that when we combine multiple different chemicals from many different sources, we can create toxic overload in our body, which can affect our body and prematurely age us.
Here are a few of the practices that I personally adopt to help keep reduce toxicity in my body:
1. Use a shower filter. There are an estimated 314 pollutants found in tap water, including arsenic, vinyl chloride, chlorine and benzene. When you take a hot shower your pores open up, thereby allowing some of these chemical compounds to enter your body and bloodstream. I’m so sensitive to non-filtered shower water that when I got to LA I could literally smell the chemicals on my skin— that is until I installed my shower filter a week after I moved in. Highly recommended!
2. Don’t wear your shoes in the house! My mother never allowed shoe-wearing in our house growing up, so it always seemed normal to me to take my shoes off upon entry. My friends know that they can’t walk past the first doormat in my NYC apt without taking their shoes off- otherwise they get the stink eye from me! The Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in NYC claims that the majority of dirt, pesticides and lead found in your home are brought in from the bottom of your shoes! EW!! It is even more gross if you throw yoga mats down and play all over the floor, the way I do. I always wear my super comfy open-toe white cotton slippers at home!
3. Don’t wear perfume. I love great smells just like the next gal, but I haven’t worn perfume in at least 6 years. 95% of the chemicals used in perfumes are synthetic and petroleum-based. Toxic!! Even when a product is labeled “fragrance-free”, beware that they can still contain other scary chemicals to cover up scents. Natural oils are acceptable, and sometimes I apply them. The only thing is that they fade rather quickly, so reapplication may be necessary.
4. If you ever eat processed food, look for “non-GMO” on the label. Upwards of 70% or more of processed foods contain GMO ingredients, and chances are if you see corn or soy on the label it is GMO. The DNA of these foods have been tampered with to grow bigger and faster, but they are low in nutrients and heavily sprayed with pesticides. Check labels- or better yet- do not eat processed foods at all!
Try out one of many of my favorite recipes, like my cauliflower soup recipe!
Please take care of that precious body of yours!
I send my love.
Kimberly
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Hi Kimberly – you may want to check out a site called safe cosmentics. I read your post today and it made me also think of this. Thanks for all your posts. Happy you are adjusting to your new life in LA! 🙂 Take care, Kara
Thanks Kara, I will!
I am loving LA very much – who knew!! I was always a visitor here but now it feels very comfy. Not home yet…but sort of getting there!! 🙂
Hey Kim,
I actually just bought a shower filter from aquasana 2 weeks ago upon your recommendation from a previous post. My skin and hair are so much softer. I havent needed to use lotion or even much conditioner. I also dont have that suspicious dry cough I used to get immediately after taking a shower. Thank you so much!!
I just learned that my primary dosha type is Vata. I have also been loosing too much weight with the green smoothies and raw salads. I try to eat a lot of avocados and coconut milk and ginger lemon tea for warmth but am still getting too skinny. Do you think I should add more cooked foods? Glad you enjoyed your trip to Maui 🙂
Thanks for all you do!
Amanda
Hi Amanda, for grounding nuts and seeds might do really well for you. Also cooked grains like quinoa and millet!! Add these things later in the day, but not in the morning.
Visit me again soon! xo Kimberly
I have a question about GMO pertaining to fruits/vegetables… I live in Chicago and the best option for organic produce is Whole Foods. On a recent trip I purchased organic apples and cucumbers that were suspiciously quite large. As consumers how can we be sure that organic produce is non-GMO?
Also, there are so many choices for shower filters… which one have you purchased for yourself? xoxo
Hi Kimberly,
I know exactly what you mean. In August, I spent time on the Big Island and hiked for 3 hours to a truly breathtaking waterfall called Hi’ilawe Falls. It is the tallest waterfall in all of Hawaii, 1,600 feet high with a 1,000 foot free-fall. It had just rained before I went, so the power I felt there was incredible. I sat on a rock at the base of the falls, feeling the hurricane-force winds and mist generated by the falling water, and just meditated for a little while. As I did, it occurred to me that the energy I was feeling from that waterfall was the exact same energy we get from living plant foods. Literally the exact same energy, it all comes from the sun.
…And when I finished my meditation, in between the rock I was sitting on and another nearby rock was the most beautifully constructed spider web with a spider perfectly positioned right in the middle, all the while being blasted by wind and mist and yet remaining perfectly unchanging and beautiful. In fact, the mist helped to accentuate the beauty of the web my creating droplets at its vertexes. Nature is so wonderful, and we’re never separate from it…ever.
Peter, 18 year-old fan of yours
Shower filters run the gamut–what should I be looking for? Anything specific?
The BEST shower filter is from a company called Rainshow’r. It is under $30 on Amazon, lasts around 6-8 months, and effectively reduces chlorine by about 99%. Plus, it uses quartz crystal to create negative ions and soften the water.
Here’s the link to the company’s website: http://www.rainshowermfg.com/ And you can order on on Amazon.
Truly the best shower filter you can buy, I know this because I looked into shower filter technology when I decided to buy one, and there are really only 3 types of shower filters: activated carbon, KDF and vitamin c. The carbon ones sound like they’d be good since that’s what household water filters are that create drinking-quality purified water… but they’re terrible for a shower filter since they don’t work in hot water, and they don’t work with high flow rates as found in a shower. Plus, all the stuff they do absorb ends up being concentrated in the carbon and then re-released into the shower water due to the hot water and high flow rate. Vitamin c only works to remove chlorine, nothing else. And KDF is simply a zinc/copper alloy that removes chlorine. The Rainshow’r filter uses KDF, plus stainless steel mesh and quartz crystal.
After using mine, I love it! No more red, dry skin from toxic chlorine.
I love these kinds of posts. I’m always looking for ways to live more health-and-environmentally-conscious. Wish I could afford a shower filter.
About the part about the chemicals in water, pores don’t actually open and close. They soften and harden. In order to open and close, they would need a muscle, like a sphincter. And that would be icky.
Can you recommend any cheap but effective shower filters?
Good point Jade.
Yes! Expansion and contraction is more what I meant. Thanks for the clarification. 🙂
Thanks for all the great suggestions. Reminds me I need to ‘change’ my shower filters. Oh, is there a filter you use for an in the kitchen, if your renting scenario? Trying to find one that does reverse osmosis.
Very helpful post Kim. Thanks for sharing.
I have a friendly “no shoes sign” on my front door and people follow it. I don’t have to ask them. Even the kids in the neighborhood follow it. It keeps the house a lot cleaner.
That’s wonderful Carmen! I will get a nice one for my apt too. 🙂
Hi Kimberly,
These pictures are spectacular! Your positive attitude is wonderful. I have a question: when I make the green smoothie, it makes enough for 3 days. In one of your posts, you indicate that it is ok to chill it overnight, and suggest to drink it within 3 days. I read in the Skinny Bitch that the enzymes disintegrate quickly and it is best to consume the drink immediately. Is it better to freeze the smoothie immediately or do you think it is ok to drink it over 3 days? What happens to the enzymes? Is the drink less nutritious as it ages?
Hi Debbie! When you make a juice, you pulverize the vegetables and there is more exposure to oxidation. Juices should be drank in 15 minutes or less. With the blend of the Green Smoothie, you are not pulverizing the vegetables and separating the juice and fiber, as you do in a juice. Fresh is always best, and I make mine daily. But if you are busy you can keep the smoothie fresh and enjoy over 2 days. Beyond that I would freeze the portions!
xo Kimberly
Pei Pa Koa (www.geocities.jp/ninjiom_hong_kong/index_e.htm ) is one of the few Chinese natural cough remedies that have been scientifically studied. it’s something like herb plus honey, and it’s sweet, thick and black in color. If you have a cough, look for it! It used to be one of my favourite natural cough remedies.
if your cough persists, seek professional help such as traditional Chinese medicine physicians – I have had very good experiences with them.
Its ok if you buy organic soy milk, organic tofu because organic means that its not genetically modified/tampered with right? Thats what I usually do.
Interesting article about cancer being a modern disease from our toxic lifestyle:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8064554/Cancer-caused-by-modern-man-as-it-was-virtually-non-existent-in-ancient-world.html
Its rare for me to discover something on the internet thats as entertaining and intriguing as what youve got here. Your page is lovely, your graphics are outstanding, and whats more, you use reference that are relevant to what you are saying. Youre definitely one in a million, good job!
Thank you very much! Come visit again!
What a great post! No idea how you wrote this post..it’d take me long hours. Well worth it though, I’d assume.
Very useful and interesting article. I have to say that you have very good sense for writing.
Your other articles are also very good. I bookmarked your blog.
Thank you! I love sharing info that has been personally useful to me. xx
Hi Kimberly,
I would love to know what kind of perfume you recommend? I haven’t worn perfume for about 7 years and sometimes I would just love to put some on…any suggestions would be great! 🙂
Hello,
I actually have bought and tried a shower filter called Rainshow’r that uses KDF-55 technology. I think it actually started to burn my skin. I did some research online and found out that the KDF-55 produces free radicals that can burn your skin. Can you please tell us exactly which shower filter you used and if you have done any research into the safety for them. Also how long have you been using it?
Hello,
Can you please tell us exactly which shower filter you use? I bought a shower filter called “Rainshow’r” that uses kdf-55 to filter the water. I started to get red skin after using it. I did some research and found out that the by-products of the filter are free radicals. Can you tell us if you use a similar filter or a different one and how you determined that its safe?