Creating A Healthy Home
I know that creating a healthy home is a top priority for many of my clients in Oceanside, CA. They want to build a healthy lifestyle to enjoy more years with their family and also help their family live healthier by encouraging the same and living in an environment that’s devoid of health hazards. There are a lot of things you can do to make your home a healthier place to live. It starts with how you clean.
Ditch the toxic chemicals and go natural.
You don’t have to use chemicals to have a clean home. In fact, your ancestors probably had a home as clean as yours without any. Best of all, using natural products can save tons of money. Distilled—white—vinegar is one of the best bathroom and kitchen cleaners available. It takes off soap scum quickly. Just spray it on liberally and wait, then wipe it off. If you have some tough areas, no problem. Baking soda makes a great soft scrub and is also inexpensive. Pour vinegar in the toilet, allow it to work and then brush away the loosened buildup. Hydrogen peroxide and baking soda remove sink stains and Borax is good for mold and stains, too.
Cut out the pesticides.
Lots of insects can be eliminated by sprinkling food grade diatomaceous earth and letting it set overnight. Be aware, it’s hard to sweep up, so when put on darker cloth, it will take multiple attempts to sweep it to get it out, so avoid it in on that furniture. There are two types, only use the food grade type. There’s also the pure white one and the brown diatomaceous earth that’s mixed with Bentonite clay. The white works best. If you’re fighting fleas, it will take lots of vacuuming and sprinkling for six weeks, because it doesn’t kill the eggs. Use it in the garden, too. It has microscopic shards of shell that cuts the hard outer body of insects, so they dehydrate. It’s good for bedbugs, and roaches. For roaches, Borax mixed with sugar also works.
Sweep and dust frequently.
Dust collects and causes allergies to act up. It also can contain the chemicals and harmful toxins from everything around you. Rather than moving the dust around with a duster, vacuum it up and change the bag often. If you have an option to choose wood, tile, cork or non-vinyl linoleum floors over carpeting, do it. It’s easier to keep dust free than carpeting that requires a lot more elbow grease to get rid of dust. Don’t forget to change the vacuum bag frequently.
- If you smoke, take it outside. Not only will your walls stay cleaner, the air in your house will be cleaner too. While studies still don’t clearly identify second hand smoke as a health culprit, some point to it. Why take chances with your family’s health. Even better, if you smoke, quit.
- Get the home tested for radon, lead based paint and if there are any signs of mold, have that checked immediately.
- Encourage your family to wash hands frequently, but ditch the hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap. There are studies that show it actually may make immune systems weaker and may be linked to antibiotic resistant bacteria.
- Stick with organic when eating the dirty dozen fruits and veggies. The non-organic type have the highest amount of pesticide concentration. They include strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, grapes, peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, celery, potatoes and sweet bell peppers.
Don’t fret about getting older. It’s far better than the alternative, especially when you realize that it doesn’t have to mean getting weak and frail. In Oceanside, CA, my clients don’t worry about age, they know it’s just a number. The true test is how good you feel and how much you enjoy life. One thing that will keep you feeling great and looking good is eating healthy and regular workouts. Unless there’s a magic pill that can turn back the hands of time, a healthy lifestyle is the best thing yet to maintain strength and agility.
Working out regularly can provide endless energy. It’s true! It might not seem like it if you’ve never worked out regularly, simply because it looks like a lot of work. However, once you start working out, within a few weeks, you’ll notice that you’re getting tasks completed more quickly and have energy at the end of the work day. Sometimes, when you’re feeling exhausted, forcing yourself to go to your workout can give you that second wind, boost of energy to keep you going at top speed. How can this be? It seems like the more you work, the more exhausted you should be. While that may be true initially, once your body gets stronger, you’ll see a huge difference in your energy level.
If you’re in a relationship and decided to start a program of regular exercise, why not bring your life partner with you. Exercise is good for your sex life, so you probably want to include them, too! It all starts with helping your overall health and making you feel good. It can help lower blood pressure, boost your energy level and give you an overall good feeling, which plays a role in how active you are when it comes to sex.
Hormones aren’t just for controlling sexual desire and characteristics, hormones affect your weight, too. Your body has a wide variety of other hormones that keep it functioning at its best. In fact, there’s a huge link between the right balance of hormones and your health. Hormones influence all bodily functions from how much energy you have to how much fat you store. Even your brain health depends on the right balance of hormones. You probably already realize that a low production of thyroid hormone will make you gain weight or too much estrogen can pack on the pounds. There are other hormones that affect weight gain.
If you’ve tried clean eating and found it way too hard to maintain, the problem probably isn’t with clean eating, even though there are situations where it’s tougher than when you’re eating at home. Eating clean doesn’t have to be expensive or tough to do. There are ways to actually make it easy and inexpensive.If you’re in a rush and simply don’t have time to cook at home for a week or two, it’s not a problem. There are inexpensive, quick healthy meals you can find already made at the grocery, in the frozen food department or from your favorite healthy restaurant.
If you’re focused more on what’s in the refrigerator than the television program you’re watching, learning how to crush nighttime cravings can help you lose weight or eat healthier. Nighttime cravings occur for a number of reasons. Sometimes the reasons are simple, such as you didn’t eat enough during the day or it’s a habit you formed years ago. It can come from psychological problems, such as depression or eating disorders. You can crush those cravings by using a few of these tricks to tame your desire.
You might be surprised to find that there are good snacks for weight loss. Your mother was right. Snacking does spoil your appetite and eating healthy snacks that are low in calories may be just what the diet doctor ordered. Snacking is a perfect tool for weight loss, when you eat healthy snacks, because it fills you up without adding extra calories, so you’ll eat less at the next meal. The ideal snack is lower in calories and higher in nutrients. Here are some of my favorites that you’ll easily find in Oceanside.