SHARAN

My love affair with plastic began when I was living abroad, where I purchased so-called ‘best’ and ‘safe’ brands. All those boxes were so convenient! They were recyclable too, which gave me the illusion that I was being a responsible inhabitant of planet Earth!

Being a very busy mom, I often used to buy a few ready meals to supplement what I cooked for the family. They came in plastic ‘microwaveable’ tubs, sealed with plastic film.

Slowly, health issues started developing. I continued to gain weight until I was moderately obese, was chronically sleepy and fatigued, had IBS and severe eczema. I consulted GPs because I felt that something was not quite right and I was convinced that it was something physical. The GPs could find nothing wrong with me at all.

I moved back to India and started developing severe perimenopausal symptoms. It was then that I started googling and came across the role of plastic in hormone disruption. That was when I started consciously replacing and reducing plastic. I did see improvements in symptoms as I commenced my journey towards better health. With the whole-hearted adoption of the SHARAN diet and lifestyle in September 2018, my life has been transformed! I have shed kilos, IBS is a thing of the past, the eczema is gone, I am no longer chronically fatigued and the journey continues…

My kids are now young adults – conscious and responsible. With them, I have adopted several measures. Some of them are:

• Reusable glass and stainless steel food containers and water bottles, for home and travel
• Parchment paper instead of cling wrap for wrapping food to go
• Bamboo toothbrushes
• Carrying own cutlery and toiletry items when travelling, to avoid using airlines and hotels ones
• Carrying cloth bags for shopping, including fabric net bags for veggies
• Shopping from farmers’ markets in pre-Covid days. Avoiding produce wrapped in plastic
• Cooking food at home and having fruits for snacks means less plastic packaging
• Using home-made soapnut liquid and coconut fibre for dishes
• Use of menstrual cups by my daughter