Archive for June, 2010

This is unbelievable… the Environmental Law Foundation has found significant quantities of lead in up to 85% of juices.   Additionally, they found lead in many canned fruits and even fruits in glass jars, such as peaches and pears.  They even found lead in baby foods and in organic juices.  For a complete list of all products tested, click here.

There is so much lead in these products that in California, according to Prop 65, there needs to be a disclaimer on these products, letting the public know that they contain lead.

Under Proposition 65, California’s Governor publishes a list of chemicals “known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive harm.” Lead is listed as both. If any consumer product contains a listed chemical at a level that presents a “significant risk” the manufacturer and retailer must give a “clear and reasonable warning” about the exposure

Additionally, lead is a potent neurotoxin, with the potential to cause significant decreases in IQ and even mental retardation.  The American Academy of Pediatrics states that there is no safe level of lead in the body.

Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised, after all there is mercury in 40% of high fructose corn syrup (Hershey’s chocolate syrup, Poptarts, and Smuckers strawberry jelly to name a few top sellers)  and neither the media nor the medical community is talking about it much.

But I really expected more from organic products and Trader Joes.  I wonder if California will be putting Prop 65 labels on high fructose containing foods as well.

The good news is that juice isn’t good for us anyway. Even 100% juice is full of fructose which is damaging to the liver, increases inflammation in our bodies, rots our teeth, and increases our risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

So this just gives us another good reason to eat whole fruit and drink lots of water.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Looking for a non-toxic deodorant that actually works?

I’ve finally found it.  Well, truthfully, I didn’t find it, Drs. Brownstein, Ng and Nussbaum found it, but I finally discovered it for myself.

100% pure and natural Crystalux is the BEST!

I had used regular deodorant/antiperspirant for years and years.  Knowing that aluminum is not good in your body or on your body, I always felt wrong doing this but knew no other option. My sweat smelled like metal and I didn’t like it.  It’s a bad thing when you hate the way you smell.  So, last year, I decided to get rid of the aluminum.  After a few weeks, I stopped smelling of metal, but now I smelled like a man.   Not so great … but healthier and better than metal.

Since then, I tried multiple deodorants, however none did the trick.   Finally, I stuck with Tom’s deodorant which is aluminum free, however, while better than the rest, still didn’t really stop the smell.

Then this week, I was looking around my the Center for Holistic Medicine’s supplement/ vitamin area (there is so much in there that I’m always finding something new and interesting) when I glanced at some deodorant on a shelf, called Crystalux.

The label reads: Crystalux is a natural mineral salt roll-on that work by altering the skin’s pH and thus eliminating odor. Provides 24 hour maximum odor protection, guaranteed.  Crystalux stops odor causing bacteria before they multiply on the skin’s surface.

Hmmm….I bought both the liquid roll-on and the solid crystal block and decided to try out both – one for each pit.  (Sorry about the semi-raunchy nature to my writing today – I just sent my daughter off to overnight camp, so I’m still in camp mode.)  I couldn’t believe it.  Both worked and equally well.

Being hopeful,  I went to yoga yesterday – HOT room – I sweated.  Other people smelled, but not me!  And today, even in 84 degree weather and the stress of getting my daughter off to overnight camp, I still do not smell.  Believe it or not, this mineral salt really works.

My husband, the skeptic, will be the ultimate test.  Starting tomorrow.  I can’t wait to smell the results.

Drum Roll – dum dada dum…

Crytalux worked beautifully for my husband too!

After 3 days, he is convinced – It worked at home, at work, and under stress of throwing a party for his collegues.  What’s most amazing is that it is working as an antiperspirant as well.  I didn’t expect that.

So he’s using Crystalux and loving it too.  And I love knowing that we’re no longer putting toxic metals into our body and love just smelling him, not that horrible perfumy smell.

P.S. Both of us like the SOLID CRYSTAL BLOCK better than the roll-on (while you need to put a little water on the stick, the roll-on got smelly and was too watery for my husband.)

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

More Support for Buying Organic Produce

The Environmental Working Group researched conventionally grown fruits and vegetables and found 12 foods to have the most pesticide residue.  The produce on this list contain between 47 to 67 different pesticides.  Hence, if you are going to buy limited organic produce, the Dirty Dozen below are the ones to make sure are organic.  These include frozen produce as well.

The Dirty Dozen are :

• Celery

• Peaches

• Strawberries

• Apples

• Domestic blueberries

• Nectarines

• Sweet bell peppers

• Spinach, kale and collard greens

• Cherries

• Potatoes

• Imported grapes

• Lettuce

“It’s critical people know what they are consuming,” the Environmental Working Group’s Amy Rosenthal said. ” This list is based on pesticide tests conducted after the produce was washed with USDA high-power pressure water system. The numbers reflect the closest thing to what consumers are buying at the store.”

Babies and children are the most as risk due to their developing brains.  We don’t yet know why we are seeing so many more children with ADD, Autism, allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases and cancer.  Pesticide exposure during pregnancy and during early childhood certainly could play a part in the development of these chronic illnesses.

“To the extent you can afford to do so, [parents] should simply buy organic, because there have been some very good studies that shows people who eat mostly organic food reduce 95 percent of pesticides [in their body] in two weeks,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, chairman of the department of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/01/dirty.dozen.produce.pesticide/index.html

Bookmark It

Hide Sites