ReadersDigestAustraliaNewZealand-March2018

March• 2018 | 105

ENVIRONMENT

GetinTheBikeLane

IT’S BODY-BOOSTING BECAUSE ...

Overthepastfewyears,muchofthe

Westernworldhasbeencolloqui-

allydiagnosedwith‘sittingdisease’,

whichislinkedtoheartdiseaseand

obesity. Technolog y is making our

lifestyles increasingly inactive, but

takingafewsimplesteps(orpedals)

togetmovingcanhelp.“It’ssoauto-

matic...thatifwewanttogoany-

where, even if it’s just a few minutes

away,wehopincars,”saysAdria

Vasil, an environmental journalist

andauthorofthebestsellingEco-

holicseries.“We’dallbehealthierif

we hopped on bikes instead.” A 2016

study found that those who com-

mute to work by walking or cycling

have less body fat and a lower body

mass index.

IT’S PLANET-PLEASING BECAUSE ...

“Ifwetrytobiketoworkortothestore

instead of hop in a car all the time,

we’re not just going to be helping our

waistlines; we’re going to be slashing

our carbon footprint in a massive

way,” says Vasil. About a third of all

greenhouse gas emissions in Australia

are from transportation, cars making

up 46 per cent of these emissions. Re-

ducing even a fraction of our carbon

footprint can go a long way.

Ditch Disinfectants
IT’S BODY-BOOSTING BECAUSE ...
You’ve likely heard the call to rid
yourself of antibacterial hand soaps
that are waiting to wreak havoc on
your microbiome, but don’t stop
there.Vasalsaysthatshehasfound
antibacterials on the ingredient lists
of toothpastes, deodorants, acne
products and dry shampoos.
In the US, 19 antibacterial ingre-
dients, including triclosan, have
beenbannedbytheFDAforlackof
evidencethattheyaresafeoreffec-
tive.Therearecallsfortriclosanto
be banned in Australia, New Zea-
land and other countries, too. And
it isn’t just personal care products:
cleaning products also contribute to
theproblem.MicrobiologistB.Brett
Finlay, who co-authored the book
Let Them Eat Dirt,saysourover-
sanitised world is a contributing fac-
tor for conditions such as asthma,
allergies, diabetes and obesity. “We
have to respect these microbes and
understand that they’re part of us,”
PHOTOS: iSTOCK he says.