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Throw
away all pesticides, herbicides, fungicides. Take a class in organic
gardening and read up on natural pest control. Do not tent your
house and fumigate it with pesticides, or "bomb" it, or
have your lawn sprayed with chemicals.
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Check
your cosmetics for toxic ingredients and try as much as possible
to use "clean" cosmetics. It's unlikely that there's any
truly nontoxic hair spray on the market. Throw away the nail polish
and nail polish remover; they're toxic both when you breathe them
and when you put them on your nails. There is no safe nail polish
at this time.
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Don't
use fabric softeners; this puts petrochemicals directly onto your
skin, which as you know by now is quite capable of absorbing all
kinds of substances.
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Most
scented products and perfumes are petrochemically based, and when
you inhale them they go directly to your brain. Don't use petrochemically
based perfumes or air fresheners. Try some of the natural aromatic
oils and combinations if you want to change the way you, your house,
or your car smell. In the same vein, use unscented laundry soaps
and naturally scented shampoos and conditioners.
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Don't
use tap or bottled water as a source of drinking water; get a good-quality
filter for your whole house or for taps that are used for drinking
and cooking water.
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Be
aware that all plastics leach into the environment; some leach faster
and some are more potent. The soft plastics such as found in many
baby toys and in some water bottles leach the most. Do not let your
child chew on plastic toys.
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Do
not microwave food in plastic containers, and especially avoid microwaving
food covered by plastic wrap.
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Eliminate
or decrease consumption of foods most likely to be contaminated
with petrochemicals. If you eat red meat, poultry, eggs, other meat,
and fish, they should be organic and hormone- and antibiotic-free.
A primarily plant-based diet of fresh, unprocessed organically grown
plants of all sorts is a foundation for good health and longevity
for us and the environment.
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Avoid
surfactants such as nonoxonyl (spermicides) found in many condoms
and diaphragm gels.
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A
new home or office can be a toxic soup of noxious gases coming from
glues, fiberboard, new carpet, and new paint. If your new home makes
you feel sick, it's probably not all I your head; have the air tested.
Chances are it's loaded with formaldehyde and solvent fumes. When
you're pregnant or have an infant, it's not a good idea to move
into a newly built home, to remodel, or even to paint. This can
be challenging for a pregnant woman when the nesting instinct kicks
in, but first consider the future health or your baby.