Educate Yourself

Reading Toxic Bodies fueled my paranoia of toxins! Ahh! But it also provided constructive advice on how to reduce toxin exposure in our lives.

From Nancy Langston's list of ways to reduce toxins she recommends "before choosing to take supplemental hormones, whether for menopause or for contraception, educate yourself about the potential benefits and risks. No one can make that decision for you; each woman is different, and for many women, the decision to take supplemental hormones may be the best option. For other women, other alternatives may be better."

This brought to mind those Nexium commercials where they present a medical doctor struggling with a jackhammer, or doing horribly at violin; then show a construction worker, or violinist struggling to self medicate for their heartburn. Their message is "You wouldn't want your doctor doing your job, so why are you doing hers?"
Does this message conflict with the importance of educating ourselves and being responsible for our own personal health? Are we competent enough to know if we should buy antacids or seek professional help? 

There are most definitely things that experts can help us with especially trained medical experts when it comes to medications! Self medicating can go life-threateningly wrong. BUT I don't think our personal health should be solely "left up to professionals." My view is that patients are basically responsible for their own wellbeing. We can educate ourselves, and with the help of experts, make smart health choices. BUT as Nancy points out, "As individuals, we have many choices to make that allow us to reduce our own personal exposure. For women and men of reproductive age, these choices are particularly critical. Yet it's always important to remember that personal choices alone won't protect us: political action is a necessity." 

We are not in complete control of everything we are exposed to. Nancy recommends some action steps that reach beyond our personal policies into government. Voicing concerns to political leaders is a biggie. Here are some sample questions she linked on her site. (these ones are directed at candidates and elected officials regarding children and toxins)  
Questions

What Nancy brought to my mind is basically that we need to take responsibility for our personal health, which includes our relationship to the environment and ecosystem in which we live. (Holistic medicine anyone?) And also that we should stive to be educated and work to reduce exposure to toxins through individual and political action.