The home environment is where it all starts

We are living a paradox

Today, we have more information, more wellness trends, more supplements, more access to nourishing food, and more advanced medicine than ever before. Thus, we should be better placed to take care of our health than any prior generation. Yet, the rates of chronic illness are rising globally like never before. This includes autoimmune conditions, infertility, metabolic disease, neurological disorders, allergies, hormonal imbalances, skin conditions, gut dysfunction, obesity, and certain cancers.

Over the last 80 years, global chemical production has expanded dramatically. Thousands of synthetic substances are now woven into modern living and can be found in our homes, personal care products, cleaning products, cookware, furniture, clothing, packaging, water, and air. Many of these substances entered everyday life long before scientists fully understood how constant low-level chemical exposure may influence the body over longer periods of time.

In recent years, one of the growing conversations within functional and integrative medicine has been the role environmental chemicals may play in long-term human health. Tellingly, Mark Hyman, founder and senior advisor for the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, has stated that, “We should be just as concerned about environmental toxicity as we are about nutrition.”