What Matters More, Your Health or the Planet?

Here at Latex Mattress Australia, we like to chew on meaty morality topics and the things that truly matter.

 World Health Day and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have themed  “Our planet, our health”. The key idea is that the health of our planet directly affects human health. Which, of course is true, but it’s got us debating… what’s actually more important? Your personal health or the health of the planet?

Let’s dive in and explore both sides.

Team Planet Health

According to WHO, planet pollution increases diseases such cancer, asthma and heart disease. They estimate there are more than 13 million deaths around the world each year result from entirely avoidable environmental causes. This includes the climate crisis, which they suggest is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. In other words, the climate crisis is also a health crisis.

Around the world, over 90% of the population breathe unhealthy air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. This unhealthy air is driving changes to the climate and we will continue seeing more and more extreme weather events, land degradation and water scarcity as a result. All of this is displacing people and impacting on their health. The temperature rise is also facilitating the spread of mosquito borne diseases which are reaching further and faster than ever before. Our oceans, waterways, earth and even our bodies – thanks to the presence of them in our food – are riddled with plastics. We truly have no idea what impact this will have on our health down the track.

Okay, that got serious pretty quick, didn’t it? Let’s see what the other camp has to say.

Team personal health

There’s no doubt that your health is an absolutely vital part of your overall wellbeing. You want to be able to enjoy all the seasons of your life, and the quality of your health plays the most important role. Too often, it’s not until we’ve experienced a significant health crisis that we realise how important our health is. It’s a case of the old adage, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’. So, whether you’re currently super healthy or needing a bit of a health overhaul, focusing on your own personal health should be your number one priority.

Even minor health challenges – things like aches, pains, digestive upsets, recurring headaches, poor energy or regularly coming down with colds and flus – can overshadow every other part of your life. Besides, without your own health, will you even have the energy or the brainpower to focus on the health of the planet? After all, you have to feel and be well to be able to contribute in the first place. When you are healthier, you are happier, and you have more energy to put back into making a difference to the world around you.

What do you think? Are you team planet or team humans?

We can’t really decide but the good news is, we don’t really have to. So many of the choices we make for our own health also support the health of the planet. And that’s why we are so passionate about using natural, sustainable and eco-friendly materials here at Pure Trio.

We spend about a third of our lives in our beds, so what we sleep on matters. If there are chemicals in your mattress – and in conventionally produced mattresses there are plenty of them – you will be breathing these in while you sleep. These off-gassing chemicals are also harmful to the planet, contributing to the overall picture of greenhouse gas emissions and volatile global climates. In contrast, natural latex is an organic compound sourced from the sap of rubber trees. It is one of nature’s most pure resources. So, by making clean and green choices that support your own health, you’re also helping the health of the planet.

This principle applies across so many other aspects of our lives too. Choosing organic food and vegetables is better for our bodies and better for the soil. Making informed decisions about meat, fish and poultry is grown and farmed is better for our animals, our oceans, land and us. And maybe, at the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to: informing yourself. Being mindful and aware of the impact that the choices you make have on your health and the environment around you. After all, we rely on the environment and the environment relies on us.