Green Living Equals Healthy Living

Today, a lot of people focus on "living green" and on their personal health. What most people don't realize is that living a lifestyle that makes our environment more healthy can also lead to us living healtheir lives. Here are some examples of eco friendly products that are healthy for the environment as well as our bodies

1. Using reusable shopping bags versus disposable paper and plastic bags

Okay, probably not exactly what you were expecting right off the bat, but believe it or not, our health can benefit from using reusable bags. The production of the billions of paper and plastic bags that are produced every year creates a lot of pollution in the form of environmental toxins. We then take these toxins in to our bodies which can lead to cardiovascular disease, weakened immunity, and cancer.

By using reusable bags, we essentially prevent those bags from being produced. The more people that stop using disposable bags in favor of reusable bags there are, the less demand there will be for disposable bags, which will lead to decreased production. Decreased production means less pollution, which makes the environment healthier for us to live in. Additionally, less demand for paper bags means that fewer trees will need to be cut down to produce those bags, which will result in cleaner air for all of us.

2. Walk or ride your bike instead of driving

Sometimes the distance will make this more of a hassle than most of us would like, and the reality is that this may not be possible for all of us to do on a daily basis (such as a daily commute to work). However, quick trips to the store or other errands that are within a reasonable distance can be accomplished on a bike or by walking.

A big, big part of the growing obesity problem in the US is the sedentary lifestyle that we lead. Spicing things up a bit by walking or riding a bike to get around will have plenty of health benefits. The exercise will be great for your body and the amount of pollution you prevent from driving will add up to quite a bit over time.

3. Buy Organic Products

Organic products are free from pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and whatever other chemicals are put on the majority of the foods we eat. Simply put, they are much better for our bodies. Additionally, when you buy eco friendly products like organic household cleaners, you get products that do not contain harsh chemicals that can be bad for our health.

What most people don't realize is that purchasing organic foods also has indirect postive environmental impacts. Conventional farming relies on the heavy use of land and chemicals that ruin the soil over time. Produce grown organically, free from the chemicals, does not harm the soil as much as conventional farming. As a result, few chemicals make their way in to our water system and our bodies.

Three simple things - using resuable bags, walking or riding a bike, and buying organic products can help improve the health of our citizen and our planet. If you haven't already, I encourage you to strongly consider changing the way you live your life to implement one or more of these activities.