buildings and health Archives - Page 2 of 7

Support Your Health by Creating a Healthy Home

by Lucinda Curran | air pollution, buildings and health, environmental sensitivities, environmental stressors, grinding teeth, happiness, health, healthy home, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, mould, self-care, sleep, stress, ventilation, VOCs, water damage, wireless technology

Perhaps you’ve heard about “healthy homes” and wondered how a home could support your health?

Or maybe you’ve wondered what you could do to create a healthy home?

And, if you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll likely just be eager for more strategies to support your health.

Please know, that no matter where you’re at, every step you take is a step in the right direction.

Let's get started.

Does Your Home Support Your Health?

It could be! You don’t have to be bed-bound to be experiencing the effects of hidden hazards in your home – you might be fit and well but feel a bit off at times.

Since there are so many signs and symptoms which may suggest your home could be hampering your health, and many of these may also have medical causes… The best thing to do is to start by observing.

Here’s my key question: do you feel better when away from your home?

From my experience with clients over the last 9 years, the vast majority have reported that when they spend time away from their homes, their symptoms become less severe. For some, it’s almost instant. For others, it is gradual.

What are some of the common symptoms when your home doesn't support your health?

Given we’re all different, these will vary from person to person. However, here are some of the more common symptoms.

Headaches
Sore and/or dry eyes
Poor sleep
Heightened levels of stress or agitation
Sore and/or tight muscles
Feeling not quite right (aka malaise)
Foggy or muddled head
Low energy
Vertigo or losing balance (only when at home)
Grinding or clenching teeth (aka bruxism)
Runny nose
Depression, anxiety, rage, angry outbursts

Please remember, there can also be medical causes for some of these, and these should also be ruled out – as some of the medical causes could be sinister.

Let me tell you about Beth and Jo

Beth and Jo were renting, and not long after moving into their new place, they began to feel unwell. Things got worse day by day, and eventually they both needed time off from work.

Alarm bells started to ring for them when they found they felt worse when resting at home.

Jo spent the days outside weathering the cold Melbourne winter.

Beth felt so bad at home, she opted not to take time off – the fact was, she felt better there anyway.

When I attended their home, it was clear that they had some big issues with water ingress and mould. They decided to break their lease and get out of there A.S.A.P.

For Beth and Jo the link was super obvious. However, for many people, the changes can be subtle and not so readily noticed.

Let's consider some easy (and free) ways that you can get started on right away.

Cap Screen Time

Studies have established there is a variety of adverse health effects linked to screen time. Apart from the more obvious ones such as dry eyes, there can be a range of other effects.

The effects of shortwave light (SWL) from the LED lights in screens was studied by Israeli researchers, Green, et al, in 2017. They discovered that 2 hours of evening device use resulted in increased wakefulness at night, low-quality sleep, and suppressed melatonin production.

But wait – there’s more!

The research team also noticed symptoms the next day, including an elevated level of sleepiness, a decrease in the capacity to concentrate, poor mood, and reduced performance levels when performing actions.

What also came to light (excuse the pun!) was that dimming the lights on the screen didn't make much difference to the aftereffects that they had observed.

Here’s what I recommend –

Reducing screen time in the evening by setting a curfew. In my home, we started by selecting a time that worked for everyone to “down phones/devices.” For us, it's 7:00PM. Find a time that works for your household and stick to it.

Clean Your Air

Australians spend between 90 and 95 percent of their time indoors (State of Knowledge, 2001).

Knowing this can help us to understand the important role which our homes (and offices) have in our wellbeing.

I was shocked to discover that many people rarely open windows and doors, and that occupants rely on the heating and cooling systems to control the indoor environment.

This means that the indoor air is rarely (if ever) exchanged, and the result is that indoor air contaminants continuously increase. Often, too, I’ve seen a decrease in oxygen levels and an increase in carbon dioxide. There are statistics around that show that indoor air can be 5-10 times more polluted than outdoor air.

Ventilation is key and done regularly, will allow indoor air to be exchanged with and refreshed by outdoor air.

The quickest and easiest way to do this is to do a lap of your home, opening every single door and window. It can take as few as 2 minutes to exchange the air in your home. It is ideal to do this hourly.

Down the Device

Various exciting technologies over the last 15 years have made it easier for people to be hooked on their devices. Have you noticed anytime you have a question, you reach for your device and search for an answer?

We've already touched on the shortwave light from LEDs in screens, but there’s more to it than that.

Our energy, emotional and mental health can take a whack with the constant pings and interruptions when we’ve got an email, SMS or a notification from an app or social media. Our sleep is easily affected when we’ve seen/heard something distressing right before bed.

One of my guiding principles is “the precautionary principle.” This means that something has to be proven to be safe, and unless it has, then I limit use or access to it.

So while the scientists re debating the semantics about health vs biological effects, I choose to minimise my exposure to wireless radiation.

Apart from the potential health risks, there are the mental and emotional health risks that most have already experienced. On top of this, I value quiet time to reflect, form my own opinions, and rest my eyes from the eternal scrolls…

Thus, I recommend choosing times in your day where you are without your devices.

Instead, you could go for a walk in nature (and bring in the many health benefits of Shin-Rin Yoku, or “forest bathing”), read a book or magazine, play a board game, draw, dance, sing, play… I’m sure you can easily find joyful ways to spend your time.

BONUS TIP: Have a look at your screen time (your device measures this) and multiply it by 365 to see just how many hours (or weeks!!) you’re spending with your device. Then ponder what else you could do with that time.

Creating a Healthy Home Can Support Your Health and Wellbeing

Create an oasis for yourself at home in which you can feel safe, nourished, and happy…

Knowing that your home does support your health.

You can do this!

And if you want my help…

Book a Call Here

And if you'd like more tips, check this out.

Plastic-Free July (and every month)

by Lucinda Curran | air quality, building biology, building materials, buildings and health, chemical sensitivities, chemicals, cleaning, cleaning products, drinking water, endocrine disruptors, fragrances, health, healthy home, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, informed choice, personal care, personal care products, scents, self-care, simple life

Why Avoid Plastic?

Avoiding plastic has always been something high on my agenda.

When I was a teen and a twenty-something, it was about protecting the environment –

not creating waste,
minimising the creating of single-use items, and
protecting our beautiful planet (in a very general sense)

As I have gotten older, and understood more about the environment and health, it has become even more important.

Here are three really big reasons to avoid plastics.

1. Pollutants from Plastics

Plastic bottles and containers can leach phthalates, xenooestrogens and other pollutant into the food, personal care or cleaning product with them.

This can play havoc with our health, as they interfere with our hormones (“endocrine-disrupting chemicals”).

What is more, they can also effect other animals that are exposed to them.

2. Plastic Polluting

Most of us already know about the piles of plastics in the oceans that form islands…

Our PET bottles, condoms, bags, and so on, all sweep the oceans and accumulate in certain areas.

As well, very small particles can break off plastic items (including synthetic clothing) to form microplastics.

These tiny pieces are a massice problem in the environment.

3. Killing Wildlife

One example is seabirds.

I saw a documentary where seabirds needed humans to help them survive.

Parents were feeding their young plastic that they had “caught” in the oceans…

Of course, the young were not able to digest it…

So it accumulated in their stomachs.

There were three big consequences of this.

a) The presence of the plastics in stomachs of the youing birds could leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals… which might have devastating effects on the species.

b) The birds were not being nourished properly – as plastic isn't food!

c) The baby birds were heavy with all the plastic in their stomachs – which meant that as they headed out to sea, they would not be able to fly, and would then drown.

The scientists would catch the youngsters as they headed to the water…

And get them to vomit out all the plastic.

There was a surprisingly (and alarmingly) large amount of it!

By removing the plastic from their stomachs, they were being given the best chance to survive.

It was truly heartbreaking to see this.

So, what can you do about it?

Join the Challenge –

In my free Facebook group, we are doing a Plastic-Free Challenge.

Consider alternatives to plastic –

Reusable coffee cups – perfect option
Cotton Bags to store your fruit and veg – perfection right here
Cleaning brushes that don't contain plastic – how about these?
Microfibre cloths from renewable sources – like these
Safe and reusable water bottles – great choice for the whole family

Choose Your Tactic

PlasticFreeJuly.org has compiled this great resource – download it here – then review it and choose which ones that you can action.

P.S. This is a great one to involve the kids with 😉

Time for New Habits

by Lucinda Curran | air pollution, air quality, buildings and health, carbon monoxide, chemicals, cleaning, earthing, electric fields, electromagnetic radiation, EME, EMF, EMR, grounding, health, healthy home, humidity, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, magnetic fields, mold, mould, personal care, self-care, simple life, sleep, traffic related air pollution, ventilation, VOCs

The end of the year is a time when we look to create new habits.

We reflect back on the year that we have had.

And decide what we would like to do differently.

Do you do that?

I do.

I love this practice and tend to do it way more often.

Here’s are 5 new habits that support health!

New Habit 1: Turn Off the Tech

Research shows that evening use of devices containing LED lights in their screens can have a large effect on our wellbeing.

Research out of Israel by Green, et al., discovered that 2-hours of evening exposure to these screens resulted in:

Increased waking through the night,
Poorer quality sleep, and
Suppressed melatonin production.

The effects were also seen the following day, with:

Increased sleepiness,
A decrease in the ability to concentrate, and
Reduced accuracy

Sl eep in incredibly important not only for your mood and ability to concentrate, but also for your health and ability to tolerate environmental stressors.

So, when can you turn off the tech?

Habit #2: Easy & Breezy

Did you know that the air inside our homes can be 5-10 times more polluted than outdoors?

This is due to all sorts of reasons, from what we bring into our homes, to what our homes are made of, how we cook and what our pots and pans are made of…

And that is just for starters.

When we add pesticides, cleaning products and scented reeds into the mix, we are really cooking up a storm!

Then we’re there.

Breathing, eating, using the bathroom…

Sweating (or “perspiring” 😉 for those who don’t sweat), cooking, sleeping…

Everything we bring into our homes can affect the quality of the indoor air.

If our home is nicely energy efficient, it is very likely that it is well-sealed, keeping the indoor air in, and the outdoor air out.

This can lead to a build-up of volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, house dust mites, mould spores, combustion gases and more.

To make matters worse, if you never exchange the air in your home…

It never gets diluted.

And –

That is how the indoor air can be so much worse than the outdoor air.

Where in your day can you open your windows and doors?

Habit #3: Healing Naturally

I always see nature as our baseline…

The ideal to which we strive…

The harmony and balance of nature is so supportive and healing.

The Japanese embrace this through their practise of Shinrin Yoku – or “forest bathing.”

The idea is that you wander out into nature, ideally under a canopy of trees, and sit or lay there for at least an hour.

I see so many benefits of this…

You get to breathe fresh natural air, instead of indoor air
Being in nature in this way can allow you to discharge accumulated EMF – it is a form of grounding
I suspect that the air you breathe is full of natural antimicrobials – let’s face it, trees survive in a forest because of their natural antimicrobials
If you do this free from devices, it can be deeply relaxing, which can be incredibly healing
It can help us to reconnect with nature – which traditionally we have always been well aware of

I have seen research some years ago now, that found that the benefits of one-hour of forest bathing last for 7 days.

So even if you live in the city, you should be able to carve out an hour a week to do this.

Where can you create some time to be in nature?

Habit #4: Be a Labels Sleuth

Whilst there is a lot to learn about reading labels, there is a lot you can learn by doing this.

If you took a moment to review the labels of products as you pick them off the shelf, you might be surprised at what you see.

If I could encourage you to eliminate one ingredient…

It would be fragrance (also listed as perfume or parfum).

By cutting out fragrances, you could reduce your daily chemical exposure dramatically because…

Fragrances require so many chemicals to make them!

There are loads of other ingredients you can omit, too…

But fragrances are the best place to start.

Also, some products don’t necessarily have an ingredients list…

So, this is where you can put your nose to use and have a sniff of it.

Tip: toilet paper and sanitary products are often fragranced…

Instead, you may choose to focus on an ingredient in food.

Which ingredient are you going to target?

Habit #5: Need or Want?

When you are about to make a purchase, stop and think:

Do I actually need it?

If not, then consider why you want it.

The goal here is not to accumulate too much “stuff.”

Accumulating can lead to issues in terms of safety (trip-hazards), pests, dust (and house dust mites) and may even become a hygiene issue if cleaning becomes difficult.

We created a rule many years ago that you might like to adapt or adopt…

For every item that we buy, we need to pass on three to charity.

When I do this, I tend to really get into it, and often can fill a large garbage bag with goodies that would benefit from a new home.

It is surprisingly liberating to pass things on to charity…

What can you put in place, so you remember to ask, “Do I really need it?” when making a purchase?

5 New Habits

There you go – there are five new habits to propel you towards a home or workplace that supports your health.

Let me know how you go with them!

Would You Like More Help? Book a Hidden Hazards Hotline Call here >>

References:

A. Green, M. Cohen-Zion, A. Haim & Y. Dagan (2017): Evening light exposure to computer screens disrupts human sleep, biological rhythms, and attention abilities, Chronobiology International, DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2017.1324878

Time Indoors – Is it Affecting Your Health?

by Lucinda Curran | air pollution, air quality, buildings and health, environmental sensitivities, grinding teeth, health, healthy home, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, sleep, ventilation, VOCs, wifi

Spending more time indoors, you may discover that your place is not supporting your health.

Did you know that on average Australians generally spending 90+% of their time indoors?

This can include home, work, in vehicles and places of worship.

Whether it be a change in employment, circumstances or, due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, all of a sudden, you might find yourself at home a lot more than previously.

Like André.

His contract finished, and instead of being on the road all the time for work, he was at home until he arranged new employment.

All of a sudden, his voice got raspy, he felt sick, but not sick enough to spend the day in bed, his energy was low. He didn’t feel great, so found that he spent even more time indoors.

Quickly, he realised that something was wrong.

He got in touch with me, and we uncovered some hidden hazards, otherwise known as environmental stressors.

Once these were addressed properly, he was 100% a-okay in his home.

He was sweet, he called me every week to say, “I’m still okay!”

That is exactly why I do what I do!

Being able to help someone take back the reins of their life, to return to full health and be able to do whatever they choose… that is what is all about.

All too often, when something goes wrong health-wise, people immediately think there is something wrong with them.

Yet, like in André’s case, sometimes the problem is within the environment, not the person.

You fix the environmental stressors, and the person returns to normal.

In so many instances, when you clean up the environment the problem goes away.

I believe that more people are affected by the environment than they realise.

A good example of this is a headache. What do you do when you get a headache?

Do you…

Reach for the painkillers like many people do?
Drink extra water and have some downtime?
Explore your environment for changes?

My #1 go-to is always to explore any changes in the environment.

I would rather fix the environment (cause) than take medication to temporarily ease the symptoms and never get to the bottom of it.

We’re all different, I get it. No judgement here. ☺

Have you noticed any changes since spending more time indoors ?

Here’s a list to get you thinking – but do note, there are medical causes for some of these too – so do check in with your doctor or health practitioner for certainty.

Headaches
Poor sleep
Aching eyes
Muscle tension
Feeling off (malaise)
Ringing in your ears (tinnitus)
Grinding your teeth (bruxism)
Runny nose
Cough
Low energy
Foggy head
Poor concentration

These can all have environmental causes.

So, you might want to check things out.

The best way to determine if your place is playing a role is…

Notice how you feel when you are out of the building?

OPTION 1

If you are in lockdown, you can’t stay somewhere else, but if you aren’t in lockdown, see how you feel when you are away from your place for a few days.

OPTION 2

Go for a walk, ideally in nature (the beach, a park, a reserve). Ideally spend a few hours enjoying the sunshine, fresh air and natural world.

If you notice your symptoms ease off when you are away, it begins to point to an issue in your place.

If you find that they ease off and then when you return, the symptoms do too, then it confirms that there is an environmental stressor there that is affecting you.

Simple Steps to Ease the Symptoms when you are Spending Time Indoors

Here are some simple steps that you can use to ease the symptoms. Do be aware that these are temporary measures and until the cause is addressed, the issue remains.

1. Ventilate.
If there is a build-up of indoor air contaminants, open your doors and windows to exchange the air and dilute the levels of contaminants.

2. Spend time in nature.
Shinrin Yoku is the Japanese practise of “forest bathing” and it is seen to be highly beneficial for health (including mental health).

60 minutes of time in nature, especially under a canopy of trees can result in 7 days of benefits. Make some time, at least, every week to get out in nature.

3. Turn off your devices, wi-fi and smartphones – at least while you sleep.
Sleep is the most important time of the day it is when our body heals. So, give it the best chance to do this, and turn everything off.

I call this “digital downtime” and you can do it more often than just overnight. 😉

Let's talk. If you want to find out more about what could be going on, book a call with me here

Environmental Stressors Can Cause Blindness??

by Lucinda Curran | air fresheners, air quality, babies, buildings and health, condensation, electromagnetic radiation, EMF, EMR, environmental sensitivities, environmental stressors, fragrances, gases, health, healthy home, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health, informed choice, lead, mold, mould, particulate matter, perfumes, water damage, wifi

Environmental Stressors Can Cause Blindness??

Say what? Environmental stressors can cause blindness????

Yup.

Let me illustrate this with a story about Billie.

Billie (not her real name) is a young Mum who is super keen to ensure her bubba is safe. She’d heard about 5G and noticed some of the attention it was getting. So she asked Dr Google, she joined FB groups, she sought out information from everywhere.

Out came Protective Mamma Bear.

5G became an obsession. It consumed every available moment between changing nappies, feeding, washing, playing with bubba and sleep…. Well, to be honest, it even started to creep in there too – as she dreamed about #5G.

Billie was so obsessed with 5G that she thought nothing of using her tablet while bubba slept, while it connected to the wi-fi.

The humidifier in bubba’s room that was causing mould to grow on the ceiling didn’t even enter her mind.

The perfume she spritzed on her body and clothes didn’t get a mention.

She was so caught up in the one issue, that she saw nothing else.

Not surprisingly, she was blinded by her obsession with one environmental stressor.

Billie is not alone. Environmental Stressors are Hugely Important

Billie’s story is not unique. I see this time and time again – be it around #SmartMeters, #fragrances, #lead, #mould… any #EnvironmentalStressor.

Whilst it is valid to be informed and proactive, there are quite a lot of issues with this kind of blinkered focus on one thing.

In a nutshell, the issues are:

🤷🏽‍♂️ There is a lot of mis-information, hype and well-marketed nonsense. As a result, you can end up spending a lot of time and money on unnecessary things

🔎 With all the mis-information, you might end up doing something that could make things worse

🔍 Usually, when my team and I assess homes of people like Billie, we find all sorts of other problems that are much larger issues than the one they are stressing about… the blinkers need to come off to be able to address the bigger picture

And yet, there is much more to this…

It is one small word that has massive ramifications.

🔎 It is #stress 🔎

Stress can cause a whole gamut of problems. It can:

😡 Reduce your ability to #detoxify

😞 Negatively impact your #sleep (and as a result, your mood)

😕 Cause a release of all sorts of chemicals in the body that ultimately reduce your #resilience

AND, this next one is the worst of all, in my opinion.

😔 Stress can cause you to freeze up, become #overwhelmed and take NO action

I believe strongly in taking #empowered action.

There is always something you can do to make a difference.

Even if it feels small, it is enormous!

So, I urge you to keep perspective, to open your heart to the wonderful things in life, and draw inspiration to take empowered action.

One of my favourite recommendations is to put flowering plants in your garden (or balcony). This will help the birds, bees, insects and your loved ones.

Take a moment to imagine how the world would benefit if every single person did this?

🌻🐝🌸🐾💐🦉🌞🦆🌿

House Hunting?

by Lucinda Curran | building biology, buildings and health, chemical sensitivities, chemically sensitive, ehs, electric fields, electromagnetic radiation, EMF, EMR, family, gases, health, heavy metals, house hunting, indoor air quality, informed choice, lead, mold, mould

Moving (and house hunting) is a highly stressful time…

Add to the mix the need to avoid environmental stressors, keep to a tight budget and manage with low tolerance – house hunting becomes almost impossible.

Sound familiar?

I get it – not only have I been there myself, but I've also guided many clients through this process.

I have also seen things go pear-shaped. Very pear-shaped… Like one of my earliest pre-purchase inspections.

You would not believe what happened…

My client arranged for me to do the inspection… So I arrived on this sunny afternoon, excited to determine if this house was suitable for him.

“Let's go in!” I said.

“Uh-uh! Not me. Every time I go in there, I get sick. You go in and assess it.”

I did a double-take.

Why would he want me to assess the place if he can't be in while I inspect it????

I explained the scenario to him – all set to head back to the office. But he wanted to go ahead. So, I did. And my report recommended that he keep looking. My professional advice was disregarded. He bought the place…

And moved out almost as fast as he had moved in.

There is no need to make the same mistakes.

If you have been looking for a new place no doubt money is tight. You may not have enough time to organise a professional indoor environmental health assessment done. Stress levels are through the roof.

You've moved before, and it is essential that you don't have to move again because you can't end up in another place that is unsafe, nay, uninhabitable.

The track running in your mind goes something like this:

What do I do?

How can I avoid the things that make me sick?

How can I protect your health and that of my loved ones?

Am I right?

So here's what you can do:

Learn my “Crystal Ball” method;
Draw on my training, experience and insight so that you can keep a property on or your list or cross it off with confidence; and
Become EMPOWERED to make sound decisions for your health and that of your loved ones.

You don't need to invest tens of thousands of dollars or years of time training and equipment…

You just need someone to show you #PROtips and tricks so that you can shortlist properties for yourself with confidence…

Thus, I have curated this course.

I want you to:

Be able to confidently cross places off your list, keeping only the good ones;
Avoid having to gather the energy to look at places, only to be sick for weeks after;
Save time, money and energy.

All of my years of training, experience, up skilling and knowledge have been consolidated into 13 online lessons, complete with worksheets, my black book of online resources and the essential 122-point checklist so you know you've covered all bases.

Just what the doctor ordered, hey?

Do you suffer from environmental sensitivities?
Desperately trying to find a home that isn’t going to make you sick, or sicker?
Feel forced to settle on a less-than-ideal home because funds are tight?
Multiple home assessments haven’t helped you find the perfect place, but you can’t afford to keep coughing up cash?

A LIFE-CHANGING ONLINE COURSE THAT’S ONE-OF-A-KIND

In Looking for a New Place? How to Avoid the Pitfalls, indoor environmental health expert Lucinda Curran reveals how to streamline the house-hunting process, eliminate uninhabitable homes with confidence, and make a promising shortlist of homes for professional assessments.

No more:

Time wasted on pointless inspections
Money spent on unnecessary assessments
Needless exposure to toxins at inspections
Settling for uninhabitable properties
Heartache on learning that the ‘perfect’ home wasn’t right after all

“THIS COURSE IS A MUST”

“I am now better able to rule out unsuitable properties from the comfort of my home which saves me time, energy and cuts down on exposures. The checklist of what to look for in and around the property is very comprehensive and makes it so easy to look for the potential dangers that may be lurking. This course is a must have for anyone wanting to know what to look for and avoid when searching for a healthy home.”

– Genevieve, VIC

Check it out here. 👉

Please note: this course does NOT take the place of a professional Indoor Environmental Health Assessment.

BUT it does mean you don't have to have so many! 🙂

Lead Poisoning Prevention

by Lucinda Curran | air pollution, building biology, building materials, buildings and health, death, diet and lifestyle, health, heavy metals, indoor environmental health, lead

Lead Poisoning Prevention

Lead exposure and poisoning can occur in three different ways – primary, secondary and tertiary.

The primary way, is through direct exposure – eating paint chips, accidentally swallowing a lead sinker, consuming water or food that has been contaminated.

The secondary way includes exposure to dust from leaded petrol, consume plants that are grown in contaminated soil, and similar.

These first two methods of exposure can result in lead being stored in the bones, and potentially also the brain.

The tertiary way occurs when lead is released from its storage sites within the body and re-poisons you.

This can happen when you are pregnant, lactate and go through menopause.

This is because as people age, generally their bones leach lead back into the body.

It is interesting when you look at the list of health issues that can be related to lead poisoning and you see that many of them are generally considered to be “diseases of ageing” – dementia, cataracts, hypertension (high blood pressure) and more.

To share more about this topic, I had the privilege to discuss this topic with Lead Advocate, Elizabeth O’Brien.

Elizabeth O’Brien

In 2004, Elizabeth O’Brien was awarded the United Nations of Australia Association World Environment Day Award for Outstanding Service to the Environment.

As well, she has been involved in lead poisoning prevention for almost three decades and is the instigator of the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action.

I had the honour of catching up with this incredible environmental activist… here’s our interview.

We discussed how this Week of Action came about, and what the World Health Organisation is working on
Why it is important to act in prevention of lead poisoning (which includes safely removing it from the body)
The effects of lead on the body
Diseases of “ageing”
How to test for lead and the optimal limit
What sort of testing is reliable
The pros and cons of spot testing
Unexpected sources of lead – including in our diet (you will be surprised!)
Action that you can take
Where to get more help

Book a Virtual Indoor Environmental Health Assessnt and I can take you through sampling for BOOK HERE

#lead #leadpoisoningprevention #elizabethobrien #theleadgroup #leadsafeworld #interview #heavymetals

Is My House Making Me Sick? Pt 1

by Lucinda Curran | air fresheners, air pollution, building biology, buildings and health, detoxification, dust mites, gases, health, indoor air quality, indoor environmental health

Is my house making me sick?

PART 1

You’re not quite on your game. Your health has declined – your energy is low, you feel “off”, when you wake up you definitely don’t feel vibrant and refreshed any more. Each day has become a struggle and even a morning coffee doesn’t get you through the day.

The doctor says everything is fine, but your gut tells you it isn’t.

You’ve been to numerous health professionals, medical doctors, complementary medicine practitioners, and jeepers, with the amount you have forked out on testing, you are wishing you had bought shares in the pathology labs!

Something isn’t quite right, and you know it.

You’ve started to notice that when you are away from your home that you feel better, and not just because you are on holidays! When you return, so do your symptoms. You being to wonder…

“Could my house be making me sick?”

Before we go any further, I want to share with you some basics of health and detoxification which many people seem to forget about.

Detoxification 101

I’m talking the absolute foundations… and that is why I call it “Detoxification 101.”

Our bodies are truly amazing – we are like finely-tuned machines. We like to keep everything at “normal” – so we remove, address and deal with whatever throws our “normal” out (medically speaking, this is homeostasis).

If we follow the rhythms of nature, we rise to greet the sun, and we sleep while the sun does. The days are shorter in winter, so ours are too.

Because we are designed to sleep at night time, this is the time our body is programmed to clean everything up and actively work to return us to “normal” so that we are completely ready to “do it all again” the next day.

At a minute level, our cells are cleaning everything up, we detoxify, we heal.

However, in the presence of stress, these functions don’t happen.

It is a little like a see-saw. Stress goes up, so detoxification goes down.

And when we are talking stress, we are talking any and every kind of stress.

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1. Breathe…easy!

The air inside our homes is unique and the quality of it is affected by anything and everything that comes into our homes. Research has shown that the indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than the outdoor air! Alarming, right?

Add to that the fact that the majority of people spend around 90-95% of their day indoors, and it starts to become clear why all of this is so important.

When we keep our doors and windows closed, the levels of indoor air contaminants build up and conversely, oxygen levels are reduced.

This can make us feel groggy, confused, itchy, sick… all depending on what is in our homes.

When we open our windows and doors and let the fresh air in, we end up exchanging the air and diluting these levels.

As a result, we often feel fresher, brighter and clear-headed.

Did You Know?

Did you know it is possible to exchange the air in your home in as little as 2 minutes?

By opening all external and internal doors and windows, it can take as few as 2 minutes to change all the air in your home over to fresh air!

“What Can I Do?”

At the very least, exchange the air inside your home each morning, each afternoon and each evening.

Start at your front door and do a lap of your home opening every door and window. Wait two minutes, and the do a lap and close the doors and windows you want closed.

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2. Barefoot… and healthy!

Our shoes get to walk in all sorts of unpleasant things (I’ll leave it with you to think of some. My mind always goes back to the train I used to have to catch that was so foul, I would have a good shower when I got home, too!).

Apart from that, there are also pesticides, pollutants from traffic and roads, heavy metals, dust and so on.

When we wear our shoes inside, we can easily traipse all of this through our homes. From here it either moves about the place as dust, or if you have carpets or rugs, it becomes embedded deep within the pile.

Even a good clean may not remove all of these contaminants.

It is wiser, in my opinion, not to bring them into our homes to start with.