While a more holistic and natural approach to life and wellness is certainly nothing new, there is definitely a growing interest from people of all walks of life. If you have a family, you may be particularly interested out of concern for your children, and keeping them as safe and healthy as possible. Here are some tips for incorporating more ‘natural’ into your life.
Don’t Worry about Doing a 180 Overnight
When we get a desire to make some sort of positive change in our lives, it is easy to go full-speed ahead in a manner that can overwhelm us a bit, or be difficult to sustain over the long-term. When that happens, we usually get off track and maybe never back on again. So, go easy with your desire to incorporate more natural products, or make changes to your family’s diet.
The latter is particularly important with kids because they can be quite particular about food. Slowly introduce new types of foods. Don’t just snatch away snacks one day never to return. Wean kids off; look for healthy alternatives and let them experiment a bit.
You may have a vision of one day living in a home free of sugar, chemicals and anything else ‘bad.’ It is certainly a good vision to have, but don’t feel the pressure to create it in a span of 72 hours.
Considerations for Natural Remedies
One of the reasons people are drawn towards natural remedies is safety. As stories about the dangers of various conventional medicines become more commonplace, people are re-evaluating how they are treating their various health issues, and there is a growing interest in natural medicine.
And, while it is true that natural treatments generally enjoy a much stronger safety profile, it is important you remember ‘natural’ and ‘safe’ are not interchangeable terms. When it comes to supplements, herbs, vitamins and minerals work just like drugs in the sense they produce certain changes in the body. This means a certain supplement may not be appropriate if you have certain medical conditions; like drugs, there can be negative interactions with other medications or natural supplements. Allergies to certain plants could indicate allergies to certain ingredients in internal or topical remedies.
It is important you educate yourself about these matters; if you want to give natural treatments to children, talk to your pediatrician first.
Use high quality supplements and topical treatments. The ‘GMP’ designation, which stands for good manufacturing practices, means a product was produced under stringent standards guaranteeing safety and potency. If you are interested in homeopathic treatments, for example, look for sites like amoils.com for products produced in accordance with Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS).
Natural treatments can be a bit slower to work their magic than conventional ones, so it is important to be patient with them. Some treatments, for example, may not show their full effects for as long as eight weeks. So, don’t dismiss something because you haven’t seen an improvement after only a few days. Different things work for different people, so you may need to experiment. Again, there will be a need for some patience.
Budget Considerations
There is an idea that living a healthier, holistic lifestyle costs big bucks. And, that can certainly be the case, but it doesn’t have to be. With some prioritizing and creativity, you can make big changes to your lifestyle without spending big bucks. For example, instead of spending lots of money on natural cleaning products, you can easily make them yourself. If you want to eat more organic food, don’t worry about every single items meeting this criteria. When it comes to produce, focus your efforts on the dirty dozen, which have the highest toxin loads when produced conventionally. Get a good fruit and vegetable wash for the rest. Don’t focus organic efforts on prepared and frozen foods—that is where it can get expensive. Prioritize your needs and wants to most effectively spread your budget.
By following these three tips, you can successfully incorporate more ‘holistic’ strategies into your family’s life, and improve health and well-being on every front.
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