By Narelle McDonald
Last month we touched on chemicals and allergens, and how common these were in the home. This is an important topic, as we all know today’s population is highly allergy prone and a factor generally not considered is the total chemical load that we are exposed to daily.
Following on with this theme, we move into the kitchen, as this plays a vital role both in building biology and feng shui; it is the hub and heart of the home. What is produced in this room provides our nourishment, therefore the products and items we use in the kitchen to cook and store food makes a difference.
Other elements worth noting are ensuring your range hood is in good working order and vented externally (not into the roof cavity) and maintaining and regularly servicing all of your gas appliances.
These days navigating the food isles can be a minefield. Conventional fruit and vegies often have pesticide residue and many foods contain additives, colourings, and preservatives and may be genetically modified. Many of you would have heard of BPA (Bisphenol A) and due to this consumer awareness, some manufacturers have removed this chemical from their products. Which sounds like great news. However, in some products BPA was replaced with BPS as an alternative. Unfortunately this didn’t solve the problems that were brought to light with BPA.
Some of the options below take the guesswork out of choosing products without chemicals by using alternatives where BPA and other endocrine disrupting chemicals are not present.
Healthy Kitchen Options
- Avoid storing and freezing your food in plastic. Glass, ceramic and stainless steel are much better options. Never heat food or liquid in plastics.
- Invest in a good quality water filter; building biologists consider this a necessity not a luxury. Drink from glass or stainless steel.
- Ditch the non-stick cookware that contains perfluorooctanoic acid.
- Read labels on your food and go organic wherever possible with minimal packaging.
- Be conscious when it comes to baby food and formulas, as the tins often contain BPA.
- Opt for dishwashing powders that are free from chlorine, phosphates, zeolites and synthetic fragrance. Consider the Abode range, it meets all this criteria and is available at health food shops in Yarraville.
- Use microfibre cloths they do all the hard work for you. They hold up to 7x their weight in dirt and bacteria due to their unique weave. This allows you to use fewer chemicals.
Try these healthy kitchen options for you and your family. Get to know your plastics at http://www.healthylivingspaces.com.au/resources
