Earth Day is held annually on April 22 to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the environment. It’s not surprising that many of the choices we can make to support the environment, also support our health. Here are my top tips for ‘Investing in the Planet” and in your own health:
- Be prepared – take a few minutes to plan your meals for the week and shop with a grocery list – in Canada half of all food waste happens at home. Besides being a waste of money, time, energy and nutrients unused food in landfills is one of the main sources of greenhouse gasses.
- Cook more meals at home – food delivery means food packaging which means more waste. Food packaging not only uses a lot of resources to manufacture, but the majority contain toxins that are harmful to our health, particularly when heated.
- Eat foods in season – they contain more nutrients than foods picked before they were ripe and transported half way around the world.
- Support local farmers – consider of how far your food has travelled to get on your plate. Bonus points for supporting farmers who use regenerative farming practices.
- Avoid highly processed foods – watch for seed oils and sugars and beware of “greenwashing” as many of these ‘green’ foods or packaging are equally or more processed than conventional ones.
- Stop using plastics – Microplastics, which can form through the breakdown of larger plastics, pose a huge risk to humans are toxic for the environment and for your health. They are know to cause a multitude of health issues including to infertility, obesity, diabetes and some cancers (and more…).
- Use green cleaners or make your own – Canada does not require warnings about chronic health and environmental hazards from chemicals in cleaning products so chose carefully. You can clean your house effectively with just a few simple ingredients.
© ONFORM coaching 2023