Using food and nature as medicine could serve as effective forms of EcoMedicine against diabetes. EcoMedicine maintains that your personal medical health and the health of your environment are two sides of the same coin. As you use nature to lower your blood pressure, assuage your anxiety, prevent and treat myopia, for example, you can also improve your surroundings, and make progress against climate change.
Air pollution is estimated to cause 150,000 U.S. cases of diabetes annually. But plant leaves remove toxins, dust and microorganisms from the air.
Be careful about food and plastics: many plastics contain hormone disruptors, which can lower testosterone levels in men, and are linked to prostate and breast cancer. Cost: $340 billion, from hormone disruptors alone.
How it works: nature exposure may stimulate the release of the anti-diabetic, anti-obesity hormones adiponectin and DHEA, and improve insulin sensitivity
Try: Investigate food as medicine and essential oils such as lavender, bergamot and yuzu. Avoid containers with numbers 3, 5 and 7; don’t put any plastics in the dishwasher or microwave. Use glass or ceramic for food and beverages.
Try: If you’re not a gardener, take a class at a local nursery. Buy a planter and organic herbs: they are hardy, transportable, edible, anti-inflammatory and delicious. Use organic everything: synthetic chemicals can mimic your hormones.
Choose one of the 16 NASA houseplants found to clean the petroleum products from your air, cleaning your home. Try dracaena Janet Craig, which removes tricholoroethylene, or a Boston fern, which removes formaldehyde. Try snake plant or peace lily. These four succulents require virtually no water or care; ditto air plants.
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