Dana's Story

The story of my “Natural Revolution”

(Radically changing my product and food choices to meet my new natural standards).

I am a very trusting individual; I always view things (and people) as innocent until proven guilty.  Up until a couple years ago, I really thought that any products on a shelf in a store were good for me.  After all, how could Johnson&Johnson, or Dove, or Nestle not have my best interest in mind? Companies that are well known = well trusted, right?....

Then my rose coloured, all-trusting bubble was burst and

I realized all companies are interested in is 
the bottom line.

So if that means cutting costs by replacing a wholesome ingredient with a synthetic chemical that may cause cancer or other serious side effects, they will do it without hesitation.

It all started with talking to a lady who shared a wealth of knowledge about what harmful ingredients are in food, cleaning and personal care products.  It was my introduction to “Parabens” which are the most widely used chemical preservatives found in liquid or gel personal care products and cause disruption of hormones and reproductive functions, and may cause cancer.  She also shared about other nasty ingredients commonly used such as BHA and BHT, PEG compounds, (For other common harmful ingredients click this article's title: 'Dirty Dozen' cosmetic chemicals to avoid.)  Some side effects of these harmful ingredients: contributing to antibiotic resistance, causing cancer, endocrine disrupter, reproductive toxicant, triggering allergies and asthma, contaminated with heavy metals toxic to the brain.  All of these are spread on our skin, which is like a sponge, absorbing over 60% of it into our bodies.

It was really hard to believe at first, how is this not Illegal!? Isn’t our government stopping these companies from adding all this poo into our products and food?! What I discovered shocked me: the cosmetic industry is self-policed, there is no pre-market testing done by the FDA or any third party! Cosmetics regulations haven’t really changed since 1938, and as you can imagine there are all sorts of new ingredients and technologies since 1938 that desperately need thorough safety reviews!! Europe’s standards are much stricter than North America’s and out of over 1,000 chemical ingredients Europe has banned from their products….only 9 of those are banned from ours!

Once I had this knowledge- I couldn’t go back! I didn’t look at products the same.  I would look at all the products in the drugstore flyer and think “Oh, look- cancer is on sale 2 for $10 this week”! All of this new information spurred me into doing a complete renovation of my cleaning, beauty, bath and food products.  I still have the same standards of how I want a product to perform, but I have really strict expectations for the ingredient lists now. So, I just slowly got rid of all my dirty products, and tried natural ones, until I found a substitute I was 100% satisfied with. Of course it costs more, but I value my health and body too much to poison it!!

I feel great so far, but will constantly be making more improvements to get back to “a more natural way of living”.  I am a real advocate for natural living, because I think our society is so brainwashed in to thinking dyes, preservatives and chemicals are normal, and that they won’t cause us any harm.    I can’t ignore the rising stats of cancers and other diseases- we are polluting ourselves! 

If you value your health & body, I encourage you to evaluate what harmful ingredients you are exposing yourself to through your cleaning, food, & beauty products, and make some changes!  (EWG website it a great resource.) You have to watch out for yourself, because those big “trusted companies” sure ain’t!

If you have any questions, or thoughts, I would love to hear from you!