Our immune system learns daily from exposure to different bacteria, humans, places, etc. Thus if we try and “kill off” any and all bacteria/viruses that come our way, we will end up with no good/beneficial bacteria in our bodies and a weakened/uneducated immune system.

We are trying to protect them and ourselves from “germs” that may actually HELP our bodies over time to become more resistant to sickness and less likely to have massive reactions any time we are exposed.

This is incredibly important when it comes to children. They are born with very “uneducated” immune systems that NEED interaction in order to become stronger and smarter. We aren’t protecting our children by constantly having them sanitize their hands, wear masks and wipe everything down before they use it.

Antimicrobials Hurt Your Gut

Daily we are faced with antibacterial and antibiotic products, through hand soaps and sanitizers to even things like wall PAINT that claims to “sanitize the air” in your home. Antibiotics are being over-prescribed at doctor’s offices and are even being pumped into our conventional animal products/meats. All of this overuse is causing antibiotic resistance and antibacterials being stored in our tissues.

Companies are wising up and are starting to use essential oils to make consumers believe the products are healthier. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are but often they hide behind the “made with essential oils” phrase but still have fragrances and other chemicals in the product.

Further, essential oils are STRONG and still release VOCs when used (have an air purifier that kicks on to red when you diffuse oils? This is why!). Again, they are better than artificial fragrances, but be careful that you are using pure oils and not getting duped by marketing! Personally outside of our Truly Free Laundry Detergent, I don’t use any scented cleaning products for this reason.