Monday Mix-up - Planning on starting a family in your 30s? Better chuck the makeup!

Women are bombarded from ALL sides with advertising telling them how to make themselves smell good, look younger, be skinnier, be more beautiful, less hairy etc etc. How ironic that all of that extra stuff they feel compelled to buy, and use, is the reason breast cancer, and plenty of other cancers, are becoming increasingly common, as well as infertility and the early onset of menopause.

Smelling good, looking young, being skinny, more attractive and less hairy actually have very little to do with being a woman in my opinion. If I think about what draws ME to a woman, it would have to be her confidence, strength of character, sense of humour and her respect for herself, for people, animals and the world in general. In my opinion, a woman that respects herself, looks after herself, which is also something I find appealing. I don't mean looking after yourself by using all the unhealthy, supposedly "good for you" products that advertisers try and sell to all of us, I simply mean that she needs to respect her body by eating right and exercising and basically treating her body like the temple that it is.

There are VERY few products out there for women that DON'T contain dangerous chemicals, like phthalates for example. I spoke about them at length in this blog. Phthalates are chemicals that are very commonly found in makeup, shampoo, body lotions, cleansers, perfume, nail polish, liquid soap and hair spray. You'll also find them in children’s toys (even toys for teething!), food packaging, air fresheners, paint, wax, print ink, and MANY other things. The reason that manufacturers use them is because they increase a product’s flexibility, transparency, and/or durability. In terms of beauty products, they are used because they keep the products smelling good for longer.

Here is the problem with phthalates when it comes to women being exposed to them as much as they are. An analysis was conducted by a team of scientists at Washington University, which involved examining the level of phthalates in the urine of 5,700 women. According to the study, women who had the highest levels of phthalates in their blood were found to start menopause a full 15 years before the other women. It's not the first time this has been researched either. Many other studies have been performed. It begs the question: Why has no-one been taken to task about it and why are they still being used!

The doctor in charge of this particular study, Dr Grindler, spoke at a medical conference in more detail about the study saying that some women might be going through menopause as early as their mid-thirties as a result of chemical overexposure.

Infertility has become a HUGE problem for women these days. Some might say it's because women are leaving it very late to start families, and that is true to an extent, but what's also very evident is that infertility is not just affecting women in their thirties. It is affecting women of all ages and those younger women are hitting menopause in their mid-thirties. That is just scary. Even more scary is how prevalent breast cancer has become and how often it is hitting women in their 20s and 30s when they are supposed to be low risk.

It's pretty evident, to me, that the level of toxins in our environment have reached critical amounts and age and genetics no longer have as much to do with getting cancer as they used to. What is making the difference is our constant over-exposure to toxic chemicals. Scientists can say what they want about how the levels are not high enough in beauty products to be toxic. The fact is that women are using SO MANY of these products, constantly and their systems are so over-exposed that their bodies are reacting in an entirely negative way. Never mind that, when we use these products, we wash them down the drain, sending them back into the environment thereby exposing others to the toxic chemicals. They don't just disappear. They stay for good. Remember that trickle-down effect I always speak about? What you use has a direct impact on your loved ones, your fellow human beings, the environment and wildlife.

However, this post is mostly about YOU and how you can stay healthy, cancer-free and fertile. So, what CAN you do to try and prevent early onset menopause and keep your body functioning the way all women expect it to function?

1. Stop using conventional makeup and beauty products - Your skin absorbs chemicals into the blood so easily. Did you know that the average women, who uses conventional makeup and other beauty products, absorbs over 1.8kgs of chemicals each and every year? That is entering your bloodstream and your body is using it to build cells and carry out normal bodily functions. It's no wonder we end up with cancer when our bodies are using fuel that is completely foreign to it. Your cells are being built out of chemicals and toxins. I find that frightening, I don't know about you.
2. Eat only fresh food and avoid anything that is processed and in packaging - Phthalates are used in the packaging of all processed foods, not to mention all sorts of other rubbish that goes into them. Give your body the proper fuel it needs to function. There really shouldn't even be a question about it.
3. Eat lots of homemade bone broth - Bone broth is very high in an amino acid called glycine which is essential to help the liver perform its detoxification duties. If there isn't enough glycine in your diet, your liver won't function at 100% of its ability which is going to have a serious effect on your body's ability to get rid of toxins. That's why it makes sense to get as much glycine into your body as possible and bone broth has glycine in a form that is very easily absorbed by the body.
4. Have a daily dose of true Vitamin A - true Vitamin A (retinol, NOT beta carotene), and vitamin A hormone (retinoic acid), are necessary for normal functioning of the immune system and for the protein synthesis processes involved in reproduction. Foods like cod liver oil (fermented), liver, cayenne pepper, sweet potatoes and dark leafy greens contain true Vitamin A. The problem with phthalates is that they interfere with the functioning of Vitamin A so you need to compensate by getting as much as possible into your system.
5. Avoid conventional air "fresheners" - I wrote a whole blog about these which you can read here. These are shockingly bad for you. If you want to know how to make your house smell good naturally, check out this blog post.

If you are not sure where to find yourself some natural makeup, check out Inthusiasm. They are a product of South Africa and totally natural. I use their products myself and I am more than happy with them. If you are not sure about beauty products, check out this blog. There are ALWAYS options.

If you think all of this sounds like too much hard work, consider possible early menopause, breast cancer or infertility. 

I'd imagine those would be pretty hard work.