Now Where Did I Put Those Keys?

I don't know about you, but I forget things from time to time. For me, it's usually just a matter of too many things on my mind distracting me at the time and I forget something small - like my keys.

Alzheimers patients have it much worse due to their disease for which scientists are still trying to determine a cause. These people forget those small things, and then bigger, potentially life threatening things like turning off the stove top burner.

According to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research, "What is clear is that Alzheimer’s develops as a result of a complex cascade of biological processes that take place over many years inside the brain."

It has been determined that some Alzheimers patients may have been affected by a lifetime of abuse to their bodies by a number of things including poor diet, blood sugar spikes, food additives and household toxins.

My focus here is on that last item - household toxins. In my house I have always had a variety of products. Some Eco-friendly, some not. A few years back I decided I wanted to be more Eco-friendly so I started by looking inside my own cabinets and one by one, checked the ingredients on the products I used everyday as I replaced them with all natural, eco-friendly products.

I was horrified at what I found! What horrified me even more was the facts I found when I started to research the things I found in my own home on the Internet. With my elderly mom living with me, I focused my attention on what effects household toxins have on our bodies as we age.  

I found was that there is significant data and research surrounding Alzheimers and how those household toxins affect our brains. The most interesting find was that though there is no known cure for Alzheimers it MAY be preventable! Doctors and scientists are not 100 percent sure what causes it and there may be a number of things that attribute to it, but one of the big ones that came up in my research was a lifetime of exposure to household chemicals! Something that is easily avoidable!

To think, something completely within our control but due to the big companies and their great marketing ads, I fell for it! My toilet bowl cleaner promised me a fresh scent and a sparkling clean hopper - and it was a great scent and it did sparkle! Then I found out what created that scent and sparkle.

My shampoo promised me soft, manageable hair - and it did! My hair was beautiful! Then I read the ingredients and wondered why I am not already bald!

My air freshener promised  that when I walked into my home I would feel like I was stepping into a wildflower field. With three cats living in the house - I definitely fell for that one and bought it right away! It worked. No more cat smell. Then I found out how it worked to block those smells. (OMG!) The list goes on and on and on. 

One by one I have replaced my old trusted products with new, natural, eco-friendly products. I don't know that at my age I have the chance of reversing a lifetime of damage I may have done to my own body, but what I do know is that I can start to make a change and help to educate as many people as I can of the dangers of common, everyday, household products so that future generations may see a decrease in diseases of the eldery such as Alzheimers.

That "green revolution" thing we hear about? People should start paying attention.  The big companies have finally started to. All the new "green" products on the market today are helpng but even some of those are not as "green" as you think. I challenge you this week to look at the label on just one of your household cleaners that you have been using for years and see just what you are putting into your body. 

Remember, not only are you putting them into yourself but you are putting them into every member of your household. Choose to age well. Choose a healthy future.