Happy Earth Week…

Apr 24, 2025 | Blog, Environment

Happy Earth Week!

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve written to you…..and there’s a great reason for that….I’ve been taking some time to pause, to rest, to spend time with my family, to BE with the people right in front of me, to spend time in nature, to walk barefoot in the grass, to look up at the sky, enjoy the singing of the birds. 

And, while I was president of my high school’s Environmental Club back in the ’90’s, I did NOT have Earth Day  on my radar until my daughter mentioned that she’s going to an event this week at the local University. 

Because I’m a conservationist (and I have been since my 7th grade science teacher showed us a National Geographic documentary about the Costa Rican rainforest, which lead my 35 vegetarian journey, for ethical and environmental reasons), I love being out, enjoying nature and want to keep it around for all of us to enjoy, as well as the people and animals that are following behind us. 

Do you enjoy being outside or enjoying a cup of tea and watching the trees, animals and flowers from your living room window? Do you love taking drives in the mountains or along country roads? 

Let me know your favorite ways to enjoy nature and even better, what are you doing to help preserve the water, soil and air for your own health and the health of the planet?

Being a healthcare provider, there’s a very gigantic correlation between the Earth’s health and human health. If the water is filled with plastic and chemicals from run-off, it affects the plant and bug life in the water, which affects the fish and the other animals that eat them, whether it’s birds of prey, bears, hippopotamus or human. 

We are inextricabley linked together: we can’t survive without clean air, water and soil. 

If you haven’t given that idea much thought, take a moment and reflect on what we call the ‘end life’ of a product.

Consider body lotion (we’ll take a simple one here). Whatever you put on our skin will end up in your water supply. Is that skincare product something that you’d feel comfortable drinking one day? Consider  whether you’d want your pet to end up drinking that water. Would you rinse that skincare product off your skin and be ok with drinking that water?

For those of you who hunt and fish, I know that you’re seeing the effects of the water supply immediately, because those animals only have natural water supply to drink. That upstream chemical run-off, plastics and other household solvents end up in the streams, lakes and rivers. 

If you’re curious about how your household cleaning supplies, make-up and body care products hold up to the test, we like to use the Environmental Working Group website to let me know which products are the best for me, my family, and the environment. 

I can’t tell you how many health conditions I see that are directly related to chemicals that are used in foods, along with the chemicals that come from dryer sheets and cleaning supplies, body care products and laundry detergents, that most people don’t even consider.

This last weekend, we made the 5 hour trek (through the biggest blizzard we’ve seen in New Mexico all season) down to Carlsbad Caverns. We camped in the desert, climbed down to the most splendid exhibit of rock formations you can imagine, and enjoyed our fire as we watched the sun set over the Guadalupe Mountains while acknowledging and honoring the Native Peoples who inhabited this land. 

I never thought I’d enjoy the desert, thinking that it was a wasteland of dryness, but to my surprise, there were little bursts of color in the small flowers that were able to survive and thrive in the rough climate. We saw birds of prey and heard the whispers of the wind as it swept down through the valley….and you know what?…..that whole valley used to be an ocean!! I learned something new. 

And then I marveled at the natural world and wonder why I spend so much time in my house, when the world outside is far beyond what we could ever create with our human hands, and in actuality, I think the world would be better off if we kept our hands off of it all.

I watched a little film on the Native Peoples who used to walk these lands, and I was in awe of all the plant life, that I considered to be dry, useless things poking up out of the cracked earth, and they used for food, shelter, clothing making and fermented drinks. This film opened up my eyes to the gifts of the desert, and during my 2 days there, I sank into the beauty that the desert had to offer us. 

And I realized that there is life EVERYWHERE! Even if something looks dead to me, it’s a habitat for a whole ecosystem of plants and animals and holds an important space for beings to live out there lives, as well as being a smaller player in our bigger world and how we call co-exist.

If you’re just beginning to look at the world and the natural environment and how you can help out (or if you’re a pro and might find some new ideas that you haven’t thought of)…….

here are some of the actions I’ve taken for decades and, even though it may not be a lot, over time and with consistency, I feel like I’ve made some positive impacts: 

  • Take your own bags everytime you shop. I’ve been practicting this for about 30 years, and I calculate that I’ve saved close to 11,000 bags. This includes the produce bags, too!
  • As your running the water to heat up your shower, place a bucket to collect all of that water, and then you’ll have ‘free’ water for your house or garden plants
  • Place a large bowl in your kitchen sink and use this to collect water as you rinse veggies, rinse your hands from food prepping, or as you’re rinsing dishes. 
  • Compost your kitchen scraps. We’ve had compost piles for the last 20 years, and we’ve lived on city lots, so it’s really easy. We just make a little pile, keep turning it, and within a month we’ve got incredible soil to add to our garden and house plants
  • Reduce intake of waste. It seems like wherever I go, people offer me ‘swag’. And it’s usually a bunch of plastic junk with business names on it. I politely refuse those gifts. I get how fun it is to have our goodie bags when we’re out, but, if you’re being honest with yourself, do you really need one more letter opener, jar opener, key ring, or magnet? This stuff accumulates and it’s NOT going anywhere….just to our landfills
  • Straws (and other plastic to-go ware)  Do you truly need 20 paper napkins, 12 sets of bagged plasticware and 15 straws with every meal? 
  • Take your own utensils. I keep a little pouch with bamboo utensils and a metal straw with me, so that I don’t need to take on more plastic forks that I’m going to use once. 
  • Do you really need that shopping bag? As tempting as it is to carry your goods home in a cute bag from Victoria’s Secret, consider that you’re basically taking that item to your car. And then that very cute but very toxic bag will eventually end up in the trash. I have a few adorable shopping bags that I take with me everywhere (and yes, my favorite is my son’s gift to me made from an old coffeebean bag….and I feel just as cute and happy carrying that as the 14 other bags I may have picked up)
  • Can you get that item second hand? My daughter did a project on Fast Fashion a couple years ago, and oh my gosh, was it an eye-opener for me! Now I’m extra aware of what the clothing industry is doing. I try to buy as much as I can second hand….and I’ve found some amazing things! Havaiana’s in my size, fun holiday clothes that I’ll literally wear for one day, tank tops to work out in the garden.  If I need a new set of hooks, I just keep looking at second hand until I find something that’s usable. I do the same things for just about everything, and I can usually din what I’m looking for. 

This is my very short list of daily acts I take to try to decrease my footprint on the planet ……and if you are wondering, I will NEVER EVER GO UP INTO SPACE….not just because I have no interest, but because I feel it’s incredibly unfair, for a few minutes of selfish pleasure, to add all of the heat-raising carbon to our very delicate atmosphere. 

If you have other earth-loving practices that you would like to share with me, I’d love to hear about them! 

I always love hearing that others are doing things to help out, so I don’t feel like I’m the only crazy person out here!

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Here are some other ways we can work together right now! Here’s how:

During the cold and flu season, taking herbal and nutritional support is paramount for boosting your immune systems! I’ve had so many people cancel this last couple weeks due to sickness. Increase your chances of staying vital with taking good support. If you’re intersted in what I recommend, click here. 
If you’re here locally,
I’m offering quick Zinc tests at every appointment to see if you’re flush with this very important support for hundreds of functions in your body. 
Did you know that Zinc is essential to the synthesis of DNA, RNA, proteins and insulin? It also enhances wound healing and for your taste and smell?! 

Herbal Supplements I Trust: I’m here to support you every step of the way towards a healthier, happier you. One of the ways to help you is to get the right supplements. Here are some of the supplements that I recommend.
 
Telehealth Sessions For a number of reasons, meeting with me online might feel more supportive to you at the moment. My books are currently open for telehealth sessions where I can support you in reading your medical charts, finding solutions to your plaguing health issues, or providing alternative holistic support.

Thanks for the shared love. I appreciate you! 

Know that you’re making a difference: through your thoughts, your actions, your words. 

Life can be tough and uncertain. Know that you DO make a difference. 

Yours in Health, 

Dr. Arjan