Health & Nutrition Goal - Week of August 29, 2010

I did very well with last week's goal to increase my hydration. I started bringing my water bottle to work and taking time to take swigs between customers, which really helped. I am still struggling with the restrictions on when I can eat while working (only on breaks every 2-3 hours, and I am usually forced to chow down with very limited time), but my hydration habits at work have improved tremendously. I've also starting drinking at least an 16 ounces of water before going to sleep each night and keeping not one but two full glasses of water on my bedside table (if I could have IV fluids all night I totally would). I made simple, manageable changes I will be able to continue moving forward so I'm happy. I also plan to treat myself to a new water bottle soon (I had to throw mine away at the gate entering a concert earlier this summer and have been using a $1.99 water bottle from Target ever since).

You may have noticed the title of this week's nutrition goal post has changed to include health as well as nutrition. As this is my blog (and my life) and I make the rules, I've decided to expand my weekly goals to include overall health goals in addition to nutrition. I want to incorporate all aspects of wellness into my goals. The primary reason in making this change now is my increasing interest in the safety of health and beauty products.

Did you know our body's absorb approximately 60% of the toxins and chemicals in the lotions, shampoos, hand soaps, cosmetics and other products we use every day? I was astonished to also find out that most of the ingredients in these products have never been tested by the FDA and are virtually unregulated by the government. Crazy, right?! In a world where scientists and medical professionals are frantically trying to understand why cancer, disease, illness and autoimmune conditions such as celiac disease are on the rise, I can't help by wonder how much of these issues can be attributed to our society's increasing obsession with personal appearance and the steps we take to achieve so-called perfection.

So my goal for this week is to pledge that each time I run out of a conventional beauty product, I will replace it with a safe, natural product. I can't afford to replace them all at once, nor do I like wasting anything, so I am looking forward to gradually implementing new items into my daily beauty and cleansing routine. As many products claim to be organic and natural but still contain carcinogens and other unwanted chemicals, I will be sure to thoroughly research my choices before purchasing. Naturally I am also concerned about the efficacy of these items; I'm very much a creature of habit when it comes to my simple beauty routine. I will be starting this process with my make-up removing cleansing cloths I use every evening before bed -- I am almost out of them and I buy them frequently so it will be a good first purchase.

If you have any interest in learning more about the potential dangers lurking in your medicine cabinet and make-up bag, a great resource is No More Dirty Looks, a book and Good Magazine column by Alexandra Spunt and Siobhan O'Connor. As this very informative interview in Time Magazine highlights, like me, these women were completely clueless until they realized they were blindly trusting the products they use daily were safe and harmless, which is false! Spunt and O'Connor are also realistic and do encourage using your favorite conventional products for special occasions, an idea I am very much behind.  You can also find out the toxicity levels of products you use at Skin Deep: Cosmetics Safety Database -- it's fascinating and disturbing how unsafe popular products are. Become an informed consumer today.