Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

07 May 2025

5-minute read

Holistic nutrition counsellor in training and owner of Safe Beauty, an all-natural and organic online store, Safiyya Bhabha uses food to heal alongside healthier products for a more natural lifestyle.

Safiyya was born and raised in Canada by her South African parents. She lived in the Middle East and in Cape Town for short periods before moving back to Canada and then settling in Johannesburg. As a child, Safiyya suffered from eczema while her father was affected by chronic bronchitis.

Her journey towards better health began while in Canada, where most products are not halal certified, which meant she would have to check that the ingredients in the products she bought were safe for consumption. About a decade ago, Safiyya began to discover the toxic chemicals in almost all the products we consume and those we use on our bodies and in our home. This prompted her to “make the switch” to more natural alternatives, leading to an improvement in her overall health.

The ingredients in our food, skincare, and cleaning products are destroying our health. In small quantities, most of the toxic ingredients in our foods are okay to consume. However, because we consume these chemicals in almost everything that we eat, the toxins build up and begin to affect our health.

So where do we start figuring out which chemicals are safe, and which are toxic? “If it’s a name we can’t pronounce or we don’t understand, I would just put it down,” says Safiyya. Start by looking for products which have the least amount of ingredients and the most natural ingredients. E-numbers usually refer to food colourings or dyes which affect the mental and physical health of children and adults, and additives, preservatives and MSG are to be avoided at all costs.

Surprisingly, Safiyya mentioned that “sugar is the least of our worries,” when it comes to flavour enhancers. In certain products, sugar is substituted with even more harmful sweeteners. Her advice is to use natural alternatives when preparing food at home so that when eating out occasionally, the food does not have such a bad effect on us.

Encountering challenges like difficulty in finding products that use more natural ingredients and the higher prices of such items, Safiyya discovered that in the long run, natural products do work out cheaper as they save on expenses like medical bills. The perks of natural skincare products are that they work so much better than conventional products, have no skin-irritants, and make us less wasteful when using them. Household products that we inhale can cause health problems, and effective household products can be made using simple ingredients that most of us have in the home. While many products available on the market claim to be sulphate-free or paraben-free, oftentimes, these ingredients are substituted with other chemicals that can be just as harmful to the body.

Commercial skin care products have toxic ingredients to enhance the fragrance, texture and the colour, as well as to make them easy to lather. Many of these items have known carcinogens that rarely contribute to the overall health of your skin. These products also have very small quantities of the natural ingredients that they profess to be made up of. However, with natural products, every ingredient benefits the skin. After developing and using her own all-natural skincare range, Safiyya says that her skin issues disappeared, and she got sick less often for shorter periods of time.

A sedentary lifestyle is harmful for our health. Natural products also boost our digestive system, while our immune system is enhanced through vitamin D from sunlight, vitamin C through fruits, and improved circulation from exercise and walking. Moving to more natural products that Allah has provided for us from nature heals our bodies, while not relying on pharmaceutical products for wellness makes us aware of the benefits in the sunnah foods and practices.

To make the mindset shift to a healthier, toxin-free lifestyle, we need to be open to the idea that natural products do work. We don’t have to be sucked in to the push towards commercial products that harm more than heal. Cook from scratch and try to mix your own spices and sauces to cut out MSG, additives and preservatives. Safiyya concluded that we should minimise harmful ingredients while maintaining a balance to stay motivated.

Listen to the full interview here.