Fri May 18, 2012
Sharyn Wynters
Sustainability and Toxic Free Living
By Sharyn Wynters, California – September 2010
When you are in your 20s with lots of energy and enthusiasm, there are not many things that hold you back. But failing health can put a crimp on just about anyone’s style. That’s where I found myself when I was diagnosed with a degenerative disease. Rather than accept the medical prognosis for my future I chose to re-evaluate almost everything in my life.
I discovered the role of toxins in the development of disease. As I eliminated them from food, water, personal care products, cleaners, and other areas of my environment, my health improved. Eventually, I was pronounced disease-free. My experience changed my life and it gave me a new passion.
I studied naturopathic medicine and many other disciplines—all the while paying close attention to the growing deluge of environmental toxins around us. Ultimately, I realized that going toxin-free did more than just support my health—it supported the health of the entire planet.
The industrial revolution brought many advances in technology, but as scientists began to manipulate natural substances in a well-meaning attempt to create better, stronger, longer-lasting, more resilient, more colorful, and more potent products, they also unwittingly created more toxins.
Unrecognized at first, and often discovered by accident, technology had produced products (as well as wastes and byproducts) that were foreign to the human body. They were also foreign to the ecosystem. At first, the solution was simple: bury them, dump them in the water, or burn them. (These are also the body’s initial strategies to deal with foreign wastes).
But an “out of sight—out of mind” mentality can only last so long. As more and more toxins resulted from the continual development of glues and adhesives, dyes and paints, plastics and polymers, preservatives, synthetics, etc., it eventually became obvious that there were consequences from our technological advances.
Today, the human race has chemically-altered products for every purpose imaginable. In agriculture, there are chemicals to kill pests, to make foods ripen faster, to make foods grow bigger, and to lengthen their shelf life. In the food-processing industry, chemicals are used to bleach flour, to add colors to food, to preserve freshness, to line cans and boxes, and to trick your taste buds.
The textile industry uses chemicals to make fabric. More chemicals are used to soften the fabric, to add color to it, to keep it from wrinkling, to make it fire retardant, to create resistance to stains, to keep it from collecting static, and to make it water resistant. In the personal care industry, chemicals are used to create suds, remove grease, stiffen your hair, make your skin feel smooth, stop you from perspiring, change your hair color, lengthen your eyelashes, and make you smell good.
Unfortunately, these unnatural substances are now known to cause birth defects, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, early onset of puberty, and developmental problems. Many of these chemicals are known to cause allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems. Others are known to cause neurological disorders, sexual dysfunction, and cancer.
A careful examination of the ecosystem reveals similar problems for the Earth itself. Certainly the correlation to respiratory problems is obvious, as well as the correlation between cancer and toxic waste dumps. Choked waterways struggling to move wastes out to sea are similar to our sluggish lymphatic systems working overtime to pump wastes from the human body.
What is the solution? My personal journey has shown me the connection between the human body and the Earth itself. My attempts to live toxin-free have repeatedly led me to sustainable options. They are everywhere from organic farming and chemical-free agriculture to sustainable building practices that shun non-degradable plastics, formaldehyde-ridden lumber, and mercury-containing fluorescent lights. Sustainability and toxin-free living both attempt to bring balance and harmony—the only real solution. They go hand in hand. They support each other—they support us all.
Sharyn Wynters, ND, is the author of the new book, SURVIVE! A Family guide to Thriving in a Toxic World. The book provides valuable information and real solutions for thriving in our toxic world. It also inspires an awareness of our connection with the Earth.
For more information you can go to:www.wyntersway.com and www.sharynwynters.com.
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I purchased and read Dr. Wynters book on Surviving in a toxic free world and am impressed with the clarity, vision and complex insights reduced to a very understandable level which makes this volume stand out. One chapter discusses “alkaline water” which is being heavily promoted by aggressive marketing companies, to the detriment of public health. Dr. Wynter’s book takes on what is wrong with this technology and backs up her statements with factual research. Kudos for this landmark volume, which has set a new standard for years to come.
Sharyn Wynters is a sane voice in the Wilderness of Toxic insanity. Every medical professional worth his weight, now knows that Cancers and a multitude of other illnesses, are directly related to toxicity — a Message that is so nobly championed by Dr. Wynters. Thank you, Sharyn for giving a clear explanation to end the confusion that is our Toxic World today!