This post is more about information than anything, but is also about my journey to better health. Funny, as I thought I was very healthy before my cancer diagnosis – but clearly there is always room for improvement! Most of my adult life I have used the same makeup brand – MAC cosmetics and the same lip balm – Blistex. However, since my induction into Cancer College and the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Club, I have decided to take a closer look at all of the products that I use in my household, on my body, and the food I choose to put in my body. Next to food, makeup was the next thing on the list that was brought to my attention by both my chiropractor and my naturopath. They both recommended an app for my iPhone called Think Dirty®. Think Dirty® is an application that is specifically for cosmetics and personal care products. When you scan or enter a product into its database, it will rate it for toxicity on a scale from 0 – 10. It will also provide you with the list of ingredients within each product, also rating those ingredients on a scale from 0 – 10. Not only does it rate those ingredients however, it also tells you how each ingredient is affecting our health and environment, and shows any warnings from regulatory agencies. For example, I learned that a common ingredient in lip balms is petrolatum, which is 10/10 for toxicity. Petrolatum can not only be a skin irritant, it is a carcinogen, can disrupt hormones and as such, may be a link to breast cancer. Certain fragrances can also disrupt hormones, which may link to breast cancer. Finally, this amazing yet simple app provides suggestions for products that are less harmful to you. Are they paid to suggest these particular alternatives? That, I don’t know. I just know that I will certainly try some of their suggested products due to the lack of toxicity in their list of ingredients. Needless to say this app is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of a huge learning curve for many of us. As we become more ‘organically’ aware, it may seem like it is impossible to change everything around us. Individually, we cannot change the air we breathe (unless we relocate), or the pollution in our rivers, lakes and oceans. But we can make a small difference in the world by changing our own actions and choices. There are the obvious things we can do to contribute positively to our environment, such as picking up litter when we see it. However, I dare you to take it one step further and make it personal: stop supporting brands based on just habit and marketing. Instead, start making decisions and choices based upon your own health needs and knowledge. For starters, I am now looking for skin care products with a 0/10 rating for toxicity. I buy foods that are organically grown – without pesticides whenever I can. I avoid refined sugar and GMO corn products at all costs. I look at every ingredient listed on the packaged foods I buy now. I need my body to be as healthy as possible. I am not a believer that one can ‘beat cancer’ or any other disease via treatment alone – changes in our lifestyles are also needed! Why wait until tomorrow when we can each start today?