Wellness starts AT HOME.

What we eat, drink, apply to our body, and use to clean our home all influence our gut, liver and hormonal health, immune resilience and long-term vitality!

In this day and age, families can be exposed to countless (inflammatory) environmental exposures, including engineered ‘food’ ingredients and scents, heavy metals, hormone-disrupting chemicals, plastics and pollution. They’re so prevalent! 

By deepening our awareness and understanding of what’s in the items we rely on day-to-day, and the impacts particular ingredients can have, we’re in a better position to start adopting gradual, sustainable and anti-inflammatory swaps over time.

A lower-toxin environment significantly reduces triggers that fuel inflammation and chronic symptoms in the body, capable of lending to poor health outcomes (or exacerbating already-existent ones).

 

FAMILY WELLNESS FROM A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE

 

PILLAR 1: Anti-inflammatory Nutrition - Building a Healthy, Energizing Plate!

 

Step 1: Establish and Maintain a Whole Food-Based Foundation

• Build meals by focusing on the 3, nutrient-dense macronutrients:
• Colourful, diverse, fiber from plants
• Lean, varied proteins
• Minimally refined/processed fats and oils

 

Step 2: Reduce Hidden Additives/Preservatives and Sugar Intake

• Ensure you look beyond the marketing on the front of packaged products, directing your focus to the ingredients list on the reverse
• How long is the ingredient list? Do you recognize and can you easily pronounce the ingredients? Where do the ingredients come from?
• Common culprits lurking in ingredient lists include:
  • Artificial colors, flavours, additives and preservatives
  • 1 + sources of sugar (includes any ingredient ending in ‘-ose’ - fructose, glucose, maltose, sucrose, etc.)
    • Look for nutritional labels on packaged products that indicate 0 grams of ‘Added Sugars’ (or minimal, as a start)

• Rely on modest use of natural sweeteners, such as raw/unpasteurized honey, pure maple syrup and monk fruit! When you add natural sweetener sources to your cooking/baking, you can effectively direct how much ends up in your food. This is an invaluable way to become more connected to your family’s overall sugar intake!

 

Step 3: Consider What You Can Easily Make From Scratch

• Creating in the kitchen, as a family, is invaluable. There is so much learning and reward embedded in learning a new recipe and preparing your own food!
• When your anti-inflammatory pantry, fridge and freezer staples are built up over time, preparing items from scratch becomes easy and efficient, including:
  • Salad dressings
  • Dips and sauces
  • Pickled veggies and raw ferments, and
  • Sprouts

 

Step 4: Filter Your Tap Water

• A reliable filtration system further removes contaminants
• Depending on the system, filters may remove fluoride, re-mineralize, and/or gently alkalize your water, as well
• Improved taste, appeal and nutrient-density are the result!

 

Our nutritional fuel and hydration form the foundation of our wellness! 

 

PILLAR 2: High-Quality, Natural Supplementation Supports

 

Stocking strategic natural supplementation options in your household ensures everyone has what they need, when they need it!

 

Look For:

• Understandable ingredient lists of reasonable length
• Allergen-free labels (free of gluten, dairy, peanuts, soy, shellfish, etc.)
• Absence of artificial colours/flavours
• Third-party testing

 

Items like Omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins, probiotics and natural immune supports (lozenges, bee propolis throat spray, elderberry syrup, Vitamin C…) are a few examples of supplementation that can elevate your family’s food and beverage foundation!

 

PILLAR 3: Family-Friendly Personal Care Products

 

What is applied to our skin matters as much as our daily diet. Therefore, I encourage you, over time, to grow your awareness of the ingredient lists of your personal care products, too. This includes high-use items like shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion, sunscreen and cosmetics.

 

Avoid:

• Formaldehyde & Formaldehyde Releasing Agents
• Oxybenzone
• N–methyl–2–pyrrolidone (NMP) & N–ethyl–2–pyrrolidone (NEP)
• Parabens
• Petrolatum
• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
• Phthalates
• Toluene
• Triclosan
• Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) & Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
• Siloxanes

 

Look For:

• Plant-based sourcing
  • From flowers, leaves, roots, stems, seeds, bark, fruit…
• Essential oils
  • Eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, tea tree…

• Natural carrier oils
  • Argan, coconut, jojoba, sweet almond…
• Food-based colourings/dyes

• Beet, berry, paprika, turmeric…

• Mineral-based, active ingredients (e.g. in sunscreen)

• Zinc oxide, titanium dioxide…

 

Community Natural Foods, here in Calgary, carefully screens all products on its shelves, to safeguard your health and the well-being of our planet. Stringent standards and ingredient review fast-track you to brands and products worth exploring! 

View the MyCNF Verified standards HERE.

 

PILLAR 4: Family-Friendly House Cleaning Products 

 

Your home environment, including air quality, also plays a significant role in your state of health.

Like conventional personal care products, conventional cleaning products, including conventional ‘air fresheners’, can contain harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrance that impact our gut, liver, lungs and skin…particularly with repeated exposures.

Consider making gradual product swaps with more plant-derived cleaners. For some types of products, like a multi-surface cleaner, you could also take a DIY approach. Vinegar, baking soda, and purity-tested essential oils (like lemon or tea tree), go a long way!

High-impact house cleaning areas of focus include:

• Kitchen surfaces (countertops, tabletops, interior/exterior of appliances)
• Laundry soap, bleach and dryer sheets
• Dishwashing soap and dishwasher detergent
• Air quality/ambiance (use of candles, air fresheners, etc.)

Natural reed diffusers (of essential oils) and soy or beeswax-based candles are wonderful options that provide a pleasant ambiance while emitting non-toxic scents. 

 

PILLAR 5: Family Wellness Beyond Product Use

 

Getting outdoors, moving our body, adopting calming and energizing habits that support our Nervous System, prioritizing social connection, giving back to our community, and prioritizing a bedtime routine, round out family wellness and anti-inflammatory living!

 

HOW TO GET STARTED…SUSTAINABLY

 

Adopt a ‘3-2-1’ Approach

Over the next 30-60 days (or a timeline sustainable for your household), research and make:

• 3 packaged food product swaps
• 2 personal care product swaps
• 1 house cleaning product swap

 

OR….

 

Adopt a ‘One-Aisle’ Approach

Choose 1 food, 1 personal care and 1 house cleaning product aisle. Over a defined period of time, decide on some number of anti-inflammatory swaps that are an upgrade in terms of ingredient content.

 

Pro Tip: Tap into the store experts when you’re shopping. They’re a wealth of knowledge and experience in speaking to products on the shelves, and how they benefit you and your family!

 

Enjoy!