When I remodeled my home several years ago I went “green”. My neighbors wondered why I spent more money when it wouldn’t raise my house value? Well, it boosts my brain value.

Harvard research now shows that people who work in well-ventilated spaces with below-average levels of indoor pollutants and carbon dioxide have significantly higher cognitive functioning scores, than those who work in offices with typical levels.

In lay terms, the less gunk in your air, the less gunk in your brains.

 

13 protective to-dos?

  1. Paint homes with no-VOC paints. They are really no completely non-VOC paints as advertised, but they are better than regular VOC-full paints. They will swear they are NO VOC but testing has shown otherwise say Walter Crinnion, our environmental guru. Especially avoid VOCs in baby and kid’s rooms.
  2. Get high quality air filters (not in ceiling, but free standing) as makes big proven brain difference in all of us, especially kids and seniors.
  3. Do not spray with chemicals in house or on lawn where tracked in. Figure something else out it’s your brains we are talking about. The synthetic chrysanthemum’s are not a great “natural” alternative and have been linked to brain and behavior changes in kids.
  4. Leave windows open a few inches here and there. Even in winter. Especially when doing the laundry and/or running the dishwasher. Get in the “open the window” habit.
  5. Leave garage door, if attached to home, open 10 minutes after parking.
  6. Don’t use regular dry-cleaning but green ones.
  7. Have water filters on whole house or if can’t, then on showers and use on as many water sources as you can.
  8. Eat organically as much as you can afford.
  9. Don’t microwave in plastic.
  10. Don’t buy a new car, consider slightly used ones when purchasing. Especially if pregnant or have young kids as the phthalates that out-gas affect the health of brains and much more.
  11. Exercise and sweat heavily as much as possible as this boosts natural detox mechanisms.
  12. Take alkaline source of vitamin C, kids and adults both, i.e. 1000 mg twice a day, to boost natural liver detox mechanisms to clear this stuff out of you and your family.
  13. Medical Detoxes are a good idea if overseen by an in the know professional like a medical nutritionist.