RENEWAL LAB
REDUCE YOUR TOXIC EXPOSURES
We’ve already described some basic precautions against plastics and pollution that could shorten—or dangerously lengthen—your telomeres. Here are some more advanced moves:
Eat less animal and dairy fat. The fatty parts of meat are where certain bioaccumulative compounds collect and concentrate. The same goes for the fat in large, long-lived fish, except that there is a balancing issue to weigh. Fatty fish such as salmon and tuna also contain omega-3s, which are good for your telomeres, so eat in moderation.
Think about the air when you turn up the heat with meat. If you cook meat on a grill or on a gas stove, use ventilation. Try to avoid exposing the food directly to open flames, and try not to eat the charred portions, no matter how tasty they are. A good idea for any food.
Avoid pesticides in your produce. Eat foods that are free of pesticides when possible; at the very least, wash your produce thoroughly before consuming. Purchase organic fruits, vegetables, and meats, or grow your own. Consider growing lettuce, basil, herbs, and tomatoes in pots on your balcony. Safe alternatives for dealing with pesky critters can be found here: http://www.pesticide.org/pests_and_alternatives.
Use housecleaning products containing natural ingredients. You can make many of these products yourself. We like the housecleaning “recipes” found at http://chemical-free-living.com/chemical-free-cleaning.html.
Find safe personal-care products. Carefully read the labels on personal-care products such as soap, shampoo, and makeup. You can also visit http://www.ewg.org/skindeep to identify which chemicals are in your beauty products. When in doubt, buy products that are organic or all natural.
Buy nontoxic house paints. Avoid paints that contain cadmium, lead, or benzene.
Go greener. Buy more house plants: two per one hundred square feet is ideal for keeping your air filtered. Good choices include philodendrons, Boston ferns, peace lilies, and English ivy.
Support urban forestry with your money or your labor. Green spaces offer so many benefits to mind and body, as well as to healthy communities. One newer idea can be considered in dense urban megacities, where one cannot plant enough trees to rid the air of toxins. If you live in a city, consider lobbying your municipal government to install air-purifying billboards. These billboards do the work of 1,200 trees, cleaning a space of up to 100,000 cubic meters by removing pollutants such as dust particles and metals from the air.50
Stay up to date about toxic products by downloading the “Detox Me” app by Silent Spring: http://www.silentspring.org/.
INCREASE THE HEALTH OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: SMALL CHANGES ADD UP
To brighten a corner of your own neighborhood, follow the example of our San Francisco neighbors and place a few benches and tables on a bare cement sidewalk, along with a little greenery. These “parklets” attract neighbors and promote socializing and peaceful lounging. Or consider one of these:
Add art. A mural or even a beautiful poster can infuse a drab area with hope, truth, faith, and positivity. Residents in a Seattle neighborhood painted boarded-up shop windows with pictures of the businesses they hoped to attract: an ice-cream parlor, a dance studio, a bookshop, and so on. The paintings helped entrepreneurs see the potential of the neighborhood. They brought their small businesses to the block, revitalizing the area and bringing economic growth to the community.51
Get greener, especially if you are a city dweller. More green space in a neighborhood is associated with lower cortisol and lower rates of depression and anxiety.52 Turn a vacant lot into a sustainable community fruit or vegetable patch, or plant trees and flowers in a small park space. “Greening” a vacant lot has been associated with a decrease in gun violence and vandalism and an increase in the residents’ general feeling of safety.53
Warm your neighborhood tone. Social capital is an invaluable resource that predicts good health. It’s defined by the level of community engagement and positive activities and resources that exist in a neighborhood, and one of its most important ingredients is trust. So be the one to make the first move. Cook or bake a little extra and drop it off at your neighbors’ house on a small plate. Share vegetables or flowers from your garden. Help out by shoveling snow, giving a ride to an elderly person, or starting a neighborhood watch. Leave a welcoming note for newcomers to the neighborhood, or plan a block party. You could also join the trend of opening a Little Free Library in front of your house by putting out a wooden cabinet where books are shared. (See https://Little FreeLibrary.org.)
Smiles matter. Acknowledge people you pass on the street. As social animals, we are exquisitely sensitive to social cues, noticing signs of acceptance and especially rejection. Each day, we interact with strangers or acquaintances, and we can either feel separate from them—or we can connect with them in a small way that has a positive effect. Give people an “air gaze” (looking past the face, with no eye contact) and they will tend to feel more disconnected from others. Give them a smile and eye contact, and they feel more connected.54 Plus, when people are given a smile, they are more likely to help someone else in their next moments.55
STRENGTHEN YOUR CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
Then there are the people we wake up to almost every day—our family, and colleagues we work with. The quality of these relationships is important to our health. It is easy to be neutral, to take those we see all the time for granted. Investigate what it is like to really acknowledge your close ones in a significant way:
Show gratitude and appreciation. Say, “Thanks for doing the dishes” or “Thanks for supporting me at the meeting.”
Be present. This means not looking at a screen or around the room. Give your full, sincere attention. That is a gift you can give another person, and it doesn’t cost a dime.
Hug or touch your loved ones more often. Touch releases oxytocin.