There is always talk of healthy mind, healthy body. Meditation and yoga are said to make the more resilient and calm and this is thought to have a majorly beneficial effect on overall health. While this is true, it may not be enough. in the world that we live in today, we are surrounded with unhealthy options and to maintain a healthy life, it may be very important to learn to investigate and analyse even the simplest of choices.

Our homes and offices are filled with plastics and synthetic materials. We cook in plastic, eat from plastic and sometimes wear plastic too! It may seem a little out there, but can this have an adverse effect too? Undoubtedly, natural materials not only seem more habitable, but also look better, cedar roofing being a case in point!

They say we are what we eat. But we hardly know what it is we're eating nowadays! The food that we get in supermarkets, do we know where it comes from? How is it produced? Today, we know very little about what we put in our bodies. Whether it is vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, sweets or anything else, one can never be sure of what practices have been used to create it, and what long term effects these can have on our health.

What about household products? Or even personal care products such as shampoos and soaps. The list of ingredients on an average shampoo bottle is something that not many people can fathom. Why is it so complicated? Does soap have to be so full of chemicals? Does our hair honestly get so dirty that shampoo needs to contain engine cleaner?

This is not to say that everything we use is toxic and is going to kill us. But the point is, why not make more of an effort to understand the things we use. As consumers it is our right to know exactly how something is made and exactly what it contains, in plain and simple terms.