Conventional Choices And The Everyday Compromise That We Can End Up Making With Our Health

Meet Aparna. She’s 35, an architect and mother of two. Between managing work, running home and looking after the kids, her days are packed.  

She begins her day early with yoga and meditation. It’s her “me-time” before the frenzy of the day sets in. After that, she usually settles down with a cup of chai with her husband; their time to catch up before work schedules kick in. The sweet, milky chai is comforting and the sugary cookie dipped in it offers joy in every bite. The thought of the hidden sugar in the cookie never crosses her mind.

Soon, her children are up and it’s a mad rush. They brush their teeth with the popular conventional toothpaste brand – little does Aparna realise how the fluoride and glycerin can harm their teeth, especially her younger one who is six and has just started getting her permanent teeth.  

Breakfast is usually a rushed affair as work beckons. To make it nutrient-dense, Aparna usually puts regular cornflakes, A1 milk, eggs, whole-wheat bread and chocolate-coated energy bars on the table. But what she doesn’t see are the hidden sugars in cornflakes, the candy bars masquerading as energy bars, the hormones in A1 milk and regular eggs that are nutritionally poorer than free-range ones. Her store-bought pancake mix is filled with refined flour, the dosa batter laced with preservatives. The plastic packaging joins the 8 million tonnes of plastic that get added to our oceans every year. 

Dishes have to be washed; the floors swapped. Aparna gives little thought to the toxic chemicals she is encountering in her detergents and soap bars. They make their way to the surfaces in her home, the air she is breathing in, and ultimately to the sea. Her dog keeps sneezing. “Probably just the fluctuating weather,” says her husband. But could it be that the artificial fragrance in the floor cleaning liquid is what is actually bothering Scooby?   

Her older child points to a bothersome rash on his arm. “It’s just an allergic reaction from an insect bite,” Aparna reasons. She hasn’t for a moment, considered that it could be a reaction to the chemicals in her washing machine soap.

It’s a similar story through the day. Parabens and sulfates in shampoos. Papaya seeds mixed into whole peppercorns. Cauliflowers with high level of pesticides. BPA in plastic.

Our everyday life is filled with chemicals. Some we are aware of. But most, we are either unaware of or don’t realise how harmful they can be. Have we ever thought about just how the fruits and vegetables are sourced when we dine out? We get annoyed when we see the truck in front of ours belching smoke into the air but have we thought about the chemicals polluting the air in our home when we use a conventional mosquito repellent?

We cannot change the world in a day. Not all chemicals need to be banned. But what we can do is become more aware. Aware of just what we are eating and using. Aware of what goes into them. Aware of the health compromise we make when we choose them for ourselves and our family. And of how they impact the planet. And then make an informed, mindful choice.  

Which is why we are here to empower you to make those better choices. We realise change doesn’t come easily. Or quickly. Let us join you on that journey