Switching to organic foods and natural everyday-use products

[7thLetter]

I'm starting to realize how much garbage is put into products that we consume everyday, and these garbage ingredients either have a minor or major detrimental effect on our overall health over the long run. We may not be aware of these detrimental effects in the moment, because the changes are very subtle. So the idea of switching to organic foods or natural products don't often cross the minds of the average person. Or they just don't care about their health.

So, I've decided that I'm switching the type of food and products I consume. I usually shop at the Dollar Store for my every day items, and its pretty obvious the ingredients in the Dollar Store products contain a lot of garbage in it, that's why its so cheap. The whole entire Fluoride thing in toothpaste was a big reason for my decision to switch. I just ordered a whole bunch of natural products like toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, a bar of soap, etc. I've already been eating an organic breakfast every single day which is oatmeal, but I've been drinking regular Tetley tea thinking its healthy. Of course there's benefits to it, but I'm deciding to switch to an organic tea brand like Stash. And this for me is going to be a gradual process during the year of 2021. Hopefully by the end of the year I will have made the switch completely.

Hopefully this thread inspires someone out there to do the same.

What are some of your ideas for 'healthy switches' that we can make when it comes to the products we use on a regular basis?

Edited December 29, 2020 by 7thLetter

[mandyjw]

Good for you!

I'm big on using natural, unscented laundry detergents. If someone loans me a sweater that is washed in a fragranced detergent, I notice it constantly.   Fragranced detergents and fabric softeners cause us to lose sensitivity to smell and can cause head aches and brain fog that we don't even know are there. 

Natural deodorants are a good change to make but it takes time to find the right one. You don't need an antiperspirant. Usually body odor is caused by poor diet and stress. 

[7thLetter]

1 hour ago, mandyjw said:

I'm big on using natural, unscented laundry detergents. If someone loans me a sweater that is washed in a fragranced detergent, I notice it constantly.   Fragranced detergents and fabric softeners cause us to lose sensitivity to smell and can cause head aches and brain fog that we don't even know are there.

Oh that's a good one too!

I've been using air freshener like Febreze a lot over the past few years, might have to give those up too. Smells good but when I inhale it too much or while I'm sleeping, I get a headache. One product that I really don't like are the ones you plug in the electric socket and it automatically releases a scent, that one also gives me such a big headache.

1 hour ago, mandyjw said:

Natural deodorants are a good change to make but it takes time to find the right one. You don't need an antiperspirant. Usually body odor is caused by poor diet and stress. 

Forgot to mention that too, I also switched out my deodorant to a natural one recently. I always used Pure Sport Old Spice for a long while, until it started giving me some pretty bad rashes. Might've been the aluminum in it possibly? I tried applying it onto my armpits on top of my clothes but the same thing kept happening so I switched.

[Average Investor]

You should check out the app called Think Dirty. You can use it to scan the barcodes of the items you have and it will tell you harmful ingredients in them, then suggest better ones. A lot of household cleaners are super toxic, so start there. 

[Leo Gura]

You'll be shocked to learn that organic products can have more toxic stuff them than inorganic.

[mandyjw]

8 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

You'll be shocked to learn that organic products can have more toxic stuff them than inorganic.

Who pissed in your organic cornflakes? 

[North Sea]

@Leo Gura how is this possible? What foods are you talking about?

How to find the least toxic food?

[7thLetter]

10 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

You'll be shocked to learn that organic products can have more toxic stuff them than inorganic.

Examples?

[Village]

@7thLetter Organic = they sprayed the crops with organic toxins instead of chemicals.

[Leo Gura]

8 hours ago, mandyjw said:

Who pissed in your organic cornflakes? 

Monsanto?

7 hours ago, North Sea said:

@Leo Gura how is this possible? What foods are you talking about?

https://risk-monger.com/2016/04/13/the-risk-mongers-dirty-dozen-12-highly-toxic-pesticides-approved-for-use-in-organic-farming/

Here's one example of organic apple sauce tested by a lab:

https://www.puremarket.com/365-everyday-value-organic-apple-sauce-cinnamon-24-oz

Here's some organic peanut butter filled with heavy metals:

https://www.puremarket.com/365-everyday-value-organic-creamy-peanut-butter-unsweetened-no-salt-454-g

Here's some vegan organic plant protein powder filled will heavy metals:

https://www.puremarket.com/garden-of-life-meal-replacement-organic-raw-plant-based-protein-powder-chocolate-cacao-509-g

Quote

How to find the least toxic food?

There is no perfect method.

But here's a decent place to start:

https://www.puremarket.com/search/food

6 hours ago, 7thLetter said:

Examples?

Look, for example, at how many organic foods get F ratings on heavy metal toxicity:

https://www.puremarket.com/search/food?menu[facet_lab_grade]=F&refinementList[taxonomies.pm-product-diet][0]=Organic

You can even compare them to the non-organic versions which sometimes get A ratings.

It all depends. There's no simple formula here. Any product can be bad, no matter what the label or brand.

[Leo Gura]

Of course, all else being equal I still buy organic vs not.

Just don't naively assume that "organic" means it's safe. There's plenty of "organic" poison on the market shelves.

[eggopm3]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

Here's some vegan organic plant protein powder filled will heavy metals:

https://www.puremarket.com/garden-of-life-meal-replacement-organic-raw-plant-based-protein-powder-chocolate-cacao-509-g

Dammit, Garden of Life powder tastes so much better than every other plant protein I've tried. You gotta ruin everything. 

Edited December 30, 2020 by eggopm3

[StarStruck]

I buy organic meat, all other is bullshit.

[Leo Gura]

43 minutes ago, eggopm3 said:

Dammit, Garden of Life powder tastes so much better than every other plant protein I've tried.

Must be all that heavy metal seasoning -- YUM!

[Claymoree]

To clarify from what I understand, it is not that some organic foods are toxic, but that they are made more toxic by organic pesticides , not to mention that it is also not always clear if something that has been labelled organic, has not been in contact with synthetic pesticides.

Another thing to note that nutrition values are highly dependant on quality of soil, so label organic, does  not mean  it will have better nutrition values.

 

There seems to be some controversy about whatever organic pesticides really make food heavy in metals and it would be quite a long time to find source that I could trust, but it does make sense. 

 

[Leo Gura]

It's not just about pesticides. All animals and plants need water, soil, and food to grow. If you feed them dirty water, food, or soil, they will absorb the bad stuff from it.

Do you really think giant farm companies are watering your apple tree with spring water? They use the cheapest sewage water they can find, probably from some toxic factory -- to save a few pennies.

[levani]

@Leo Gura so other than a mercury detox, what other detoxes or "things" you recommend for one who wants optimal health

[Leo Gura]

13 minutes ago, levani said:

@Leo Gura so other than a mercury detox, what other detoxes or "things" you recommend for one who wants optimal health

Topic too deep to get into here.

[7thLetter]

@Leo Gura So then basically the best way to get the highest quality, natural, food is to stay away from the grocery stores, grow your own crops, raise your own animals and/or hunt for your own meat?

Society really is pushing us to become more and more independent huh, seems like this is just the best way to live life.

For natural products though like body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. There's no way these natural products contain more toxic ingredients than non-natural every day use products, so I guess it gets the green light for the switch then right

[Villager Albert]

On 28. 12. 2020 at 10:51 AM, 7thLetter said:

What are some of your ideas for 'healthy switches' that we can make when it comes to the products we use on a regular basis?

Hey man, switching PUFA oils (canola oil, soybean oil etc.) for EVOO is effortless and it's one of the best things you can do. Same for eating Himalayan salt instead of table salt. Also if you fry your food I encourage you to go for cast iron instead of teflon or alluminum. And replacing plastic cups and containers with glass ones also will pay off.