The world we live in is changing faster than it ever has before, and it isn’t going to slow down. Yet so many of us continue to live the way our parents did, and the way their parents did.
Except for one big difference – the pace of our life is so much faster, and our stress is through the roof. Long gone are the days of getting home from work at 5:00 pm to a clean house, drink and dinner waiting for you as you walk through the door, kids clean and waiting for you patiently on the couch.
Now you race through the door just in time to grab the kids and dinner and head off to the first activity with your cell phone attached to your body in case you get a call from a client. And you do it all again the next day!
I’ve mentioned before how our eating is almost cultural. And now lifestyle is right up there with religion, politics, and sports teams. If you don’t believe me, go comment to someone you know about their food choices or activity levels and you will see what I mean!
How we live is ingrained in us at an early age and we seem to stick with it no matter the evidence telling us to change.
So why should we look at changing our lifestyle?
The environment we live in has changed over the past 50 years.
Our lives, jobs, food, products, and technology have changed so much over the past 50 years that our bodies have not been able to adapt fast enough to keep up with all the change. The world we live in now is toxic. Physically and mentally toxic. And it is behind the rise in all the diseases and illness we are seeing.
I know this sounds crazy. But bear with me. If we want to get back to being healthy then we need to understand what is going on and how to change our lifestyle!
We need to find the balance between modern day advances and innovation and natural, holistic living that promotes health.
Last week we posted about Live Better Through A Holistic Lifestyle. If you didn’t see it, take a minute and give it a read.
This week are dive into how our environment has changed and some scary facts about what it is doing to our health.
How Our Environment Has Changed
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Water – drinking tap water in many cities around America is not advisable, and bottle water isn’t much better. But have you also thought about the chlorine in your tap water and its impact on your health with your daily hot shower?
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Food – our food is less nutritious than it used to be, we eat more empty calories than ever, we eat processed/boxed food, and modern farming technique (GMO, pesticides, hormones, etc…) put us at further risk.
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Air Pollution – populations are going to continue to grow and with it industry pollution and car pollution.
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Personal Care Products – the chemicals (phthalates, parabens) and heavy metals (aluminum) in our personal care products are wreaking havoc on our health. Your skin is your largest organ and all of these products get soaked into your skin, causing all kinds of problems.
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Plastics – we are coming in contact with plastic more than ever before. Food storage, bottled drinks, etc… Did you know that plastics have been shown to be endocrine disruptors? Even those that do not contain BPA.
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Cleaners – the cleaners we use around the house are chalked full of chemicals, and can lead to long term exposure risks and health issues.
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EMF (electromagnetic frequencies) – wireless technology isn’t going to decrease, and these electromagnetic frequencies can mess with our health. And they are much worse for children under 18!
Some Scary Statistics of How This Is Impacting Our Health
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The food we eat today is less nutritious than it was 30-50 years ago because of soil depletion, modern farming, etc…
- “Kushi Institute analysis of nutrient data from 1975 to 1997 found that average calcium levels in 12 fresh vegetables dropped 27 percent; iron levels 37 percent; vitamin A levels 21 percent, and vitamin C levels 30 percent. A similar study of British nutrient data from 1930 to 1980, published in the British Food Journal,found that in 20 vegetables the average calcium content had declined 19 percent; iron 22 percent; and potassium 14 percent. Yet another study concluded that one would have to eat eight oranges today to derive the same amount of Vitamin A as our grandparents would have gotten from one.” (Scientific American)
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Obesity is on the rise for people of all ages!
- “The obesity rate has skyrocketed by more than 185 percent among American adults over the last 50 years, the Centers for Disease Control said Monday, and rates of extreme obesity among children have tripled during the same time period.” (The Oregonian)
- “Americans between the ages of 20 and 74 saw their rate of obesity jump from 13.4 percent of the population in 1960 to more than 38 percent in 2014.” (The Oregonian)
- “Children did not fare much better. Since 1971, the earliest year full data was available, the childhood rate of obesity has grown from just 5.2 percent of the population between the ages of 2 and 19 to more than 17 percent, a jump of more than 230 percent.” (The Oregonian)
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Cancer is on the rise!
- “Between 2010 and 2020, we expect the number of new cancer cases in the United States to go up about 24% in men to more than 1 million cases per year, and by about 21% in women to more than 900,000 cases per year.” (CDC)
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Food allergies are on the rise!
- “The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reports that the prevalence of food allergy in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.” (FARE)
- “Between 1997 and 2008, the prevalence of peanut or tree nut allergy appears to have more than tripled in U.S. children.” (FARE)
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Mental Disorders are on the rise!
- Suicide rates per 100,000 people have increased to a 30-year high. Substance abuse, particularly of opiates, has become epidemic. Disability awards for mental disorders have dramatically increased since 1980, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is struggling to keep up with the surge in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (Scientific American)
These facts and figures represent the challenges we face in today’s world. And they are only a small part of the health challenges we face!
But not all hope is lost.
People are starting to figure out, little by little, how to make one lifestyle change at a time to work towards a healthier world.
Maybe you started buying organic, non-GMO food. Maybe you started carrying your phone in your bag instead of inside your bra. Maybe you stopped using laundry detergent with fragrance in it because you figured out it gave you a skin reaction.
You have probably already started making minor changes to your life that will make a huge difference over your life.
At Propello Life, yes, we sell supplements. But we are also here to guide people on their journey to a healthier lifestyle.
Learn how to clean the water you drink and use in your home for better health: click here
About the Author:
Duke Armstrong - co-founder & CEO of Propello Life
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References
The Oregonian: https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2016/07/adult_obesity_rates_up_185_per.html
FARE: https://www.foodallergy.org/life-with-food-allergies/food-allergy-101/facts-and-statistics
Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-mental-health-declining-in-the-u-s/
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/research/articles/cancer_2020.htm
Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/