Tag Archives: Live Clean

Refreshing Summer Drink Ideas

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Summer is here! Well in Central California at least! Here’s a healthy & tasty way to keep cool!

Cucumbers are very refreshing and hydrating. While they are composed mostly of water, the skin is rich in fiber and contains silica, potassium, and magnesium. A lot of people don’t like the skins of cucumbers, but they are worth eating so you can get those minerals. Make sure you use organic cucumbers if you’re going to eat the skin.

Coconut water is very hydrating and is full of natural electrolytes.

Parsley is full of nutrition with a large amount of available vitamin K, C, and A, along with anti-oxidants that help cleanse the blood. Parsley is also a great source of folic acid, which is one of the most important B vitamins. To green smoothies and beverages, parsley adds a mild “green” flavor that is light and refreshing. Because of the high nutritional value of parsley, I’ve started keeping it on hand regularly and I use it in just about everything.

You could add a variety of ingredients to this recipe. Watermelon would be divine. Honeydew would also be a delicious flavor to compliment the cucumber and citrus.

Ingredients

• 2 cups coconut water

• 1 small cucumber, washed and thinly sliced or chopped

• ½ cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 large bunch parsley, chopped fine

• 1 tsp. fresh, grated ginger

• ½ tsp raw honey

• ice

Instructions

There are two ways you can make this – it’s delicious either way:

1. Chop the cucumber and parsley and add to a quart jar. Add the honey, coconut water, lemon juice, and ice. With a tight fitting lid, shake vigorously until combined. Serve immediately. When you get done with the beverage, you’ll have a fresh little salad in the bottom of your glass. Some people might think this is weird – I thought it was tasty.

2. In a blender, add all the ingredients, except the ice and pulse to combine. Pour over ice and serve. If you want it more like a slushee texture, add some ice and blend to desired consistency.

Laundry Hazards

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Lately I’ve noticed a big push in advertising for laundry sanitation products. As a mom it seems like I do hundreds of loads of laundry each week from germ covered kiddos so I figured I’d do some investigation.

After contacting the company I found out a lot about this product.

This product DOES GO in the fabric softener dispenser. It does NOT get added to detergent in the wash cycle. It absolutely CANNOT come into contact with laundry detergents, softeners or any other products.

It needs to go in the final rinse and remain for a minimum of 16 minutes to even be effective!

The warnings listed on the label are scary and the product specialist even stated “to take them 100% seriously.”

So should you have this in your home? Well I’ll tell you no way will it ever come into my home! There’s several ways to safely sanitize your laundry without risking your health or your families safety!

Here’s just some of the fine print on the product….

Product Warnings:

Eyes: Get medical attention immediately. Call a poison center or physician. Immediately flush eyes with plenty of water, occasionally lifting the upper and lower eyelids. Check for and remove any contact lenses. Continue to rinse for at least 10 minutes. Chemical burns must be treated promptly by a physician.

Inhaled: Get medical attention immediately. Call a poison center or physician. Remove victim to fresh air and keep at rest in a position comfortable for breathing. If it is suspected that fumes are still present, the rescuer should wear an appropriate mask or self-contained breathing apparatus. If not breathing, if breathing is irregular or if respiratory arrest occurs, provide artificial respiration or oxygen by trained personnel. It may be dangerous to the person providing aid to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. If unconscious, place in recovery position and get medical attention immediately. Maintain an open airway. Loosen tight clothing such as a collar, tie, belt or waistband.

Skin: Get medical attention immediately. Call a poison center or physician. Wash with plenty of soap and water. Remove contaminated clothing and shoes. Wash contaminated clothing thoroughly with water before removing it, or wear gloves. Continue to rinse for at least 10 minutes. Chemical burns must be treated promptly by a physician. In the event of any complaints or symptoms, avoid further exposure. Wash clothing before reuse. Clean shoes thoroughly before reuse.

Ingested: Get medical attention immediately. Call a poison center or physician. Wash out mouth with water. Remove dentures if any. Remove victim to fresh air and keep at rest in a position comfortable for breathing. If material has been swallowed and the exposed person is conscious, give small quantities of water to drink. Stop if the exposed person feels sick as vomiting may be dangerous. Do not induce vomiting unless directed to do so by medical personnel. If vomiting occurs, the head should be kept low so that vomit does not enter the lungs. Chemical burns must be treated promptly by a physician. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. If unconscious, place in recovery position and get medical attention immediately. Maintain an open airway. Loosen tight clothing such as a collar, tie, belt or waistband.

Handling Instructions:

Eyes: Safety eyewear complying with an approved standard should be used when a risk assessment indicates this is necessary to avoid exposure to liquid splashes, mists, gases or dusts. If contact is possible, the following protection should be worn, unless the assessment indicates a higher degree of protection: chemical splash goggles and/ or face shield. If inhalation hazards exist, a full-face respirator may be required instead.

Skin: Chemical-resistant, impervious gloves complying with an approved standard should be worn at all times when handling chemical products if a risk assessment indicates this is necessary. Considering the parameters specified by the glove manufacturer, check during use that the gloves are still retaining their protective properties. It should be noted that the time to breakthrough for any glove material may be different for different glove manufacturers. In the case of mixtures, consisting of several substances, the protection time of the gloves cannot be accurately estimated.

Body: Personal protective equipment for the body should be selected based on the task being performed and the risks involved and should be approved by a specialist before handling this product.

Respiratory: Use a properly fitted, air-purifying or air-fed respirator complying with an approved standard if a risk assessment indicates this is necessary. Respirator selection must be based on known or anticipated exposure levels, the hazards of the product and the safe working limits of the selected respirator.

Then if that’s not enough information for you… here’s the statement that sealed my decision:

Potential chronic health effects:

Once sensitized, a severe allergic reaction may occur when subsequently exposed to very low levels.

Other information:

They openly state their product was tested on animals. Specifically rats, rabbits & guinea pigs.

Here’s the real dirt on laundry:

Fresh clothes are dirtier than you’d think and you have no idea about it. It just not hygiene, there are plenty of issues that make clothes dirty even after washing. Here are few reasons:

The first reason is that washing machines are generally teaming up with microbes.

Even if you sanitize washing machines, you’ll end up washing mixed loads. So by the time wash cycle is complete, the clothes would still be dirty.

Ordinary detergents just remove dirt from the top layer. The deeper layers and clothe fiber remains home to pathogens even after washing.

The use of natural laundry sanitizer or some home remedies can ensure that clothes not only sparkle, but become really clean inside out.

Listed below are some options which you can consider for disinfecting laundry:

1. Lavender – This aromatic herb is used for variety of issues, in form of essence and oil. The most basic use is of its aroma. It is also used for improving immune system, getting relief from allergies and relaxing. But where can it be used as fabric sanitizer?

By just adding 1- 2 drops along with unscented detergent will render clothes pleasant smell, and disinfect them. Lavender has anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.

2. Tea Tree oil –Another good and natural solution to disinfect laundry. Tea Tree essential oil has been noted for its antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. This is why it is an important ingredient base for most cosmetics, detergent etc. Putting 2-3 drops of Tea Tree oil in the washing machine, with preferably unscented detergent sanitizes laundry. Besides, it gives a tinge of good smell to clothes.

3. Vinegar and Baking Soda – This combination not only works for white clothes, but has many uses for laundry care. Vinegar can be used as a fabric softener. A drop of essential oils like Lavender, Pine, Tea Tree Oil, spruce, pine, orange etc can be added to give clothes a pleasant smell. This mixture can be added during the rinse cycle.

If you use vinegar and baking soda together it will work brilliantly to remove hardest stains and help keep white clothes white. Vinegar also acts as natural disinfectant, killing germs, bacteria or mold present in the laundry, and removing soap residue as well. The backing soda acts as a natural cleaners and scrub.

Use 5 to 6 cups of vinegar, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of baking soda and 12 and 15 drops of your favorite essential oil. For a super fresh smell, lemongrass, orange, lime or lemon are good choices. Combine all the ingredients in a plastic container and use 1 cup per load as you choose

Another easy fabric softener blend is…

• 6 cups Vinegar

• 1 cup Water

• 15 drops Lemon, Orange, Lime, or Lemongrass oil

Combine all ingredients in a heavy-duty plastic container. Add 1 cup to rinse cycle for each load. You can also choose a spice oil or spice blend for the essential oil(s).

4. Grapefruit Seed Extract – With 10 percent extract in 90 percent water you can create a great disinfecting liquid and dip laundry one by one in it. Or you can run the grapefruit extract in between the rinse cycle to make your laundry hygienic.

5. Some Other Important Tips:

• Try washing clothes with hot water. Often cold water is used to save electricity.

• Avoid mixed loads. If not this, then at least exclude undergarments. Wash them separately.

• Clean washing machines regularly with hot water and detergent.

• Use a good laundry sanitizer disinfectant to ensure clean clothes.

• Soak kitchen towels and rugs in  a few drops of Tea Tree oil, Eucalyptus oil or Lavender in water before washing them in the machines.

Energy Drinks Truth & Lies

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In the US, the energy drink and shot industry grew 60% between 2008-2012 and was worth $12.5 billion in 2012. Sales are projected to reach $21.5 billion by 2017. These enormous sales numbers are due to the effective marketing strategies geared toward adolescents. Companies use different strategies to attract the young consumer. Cans and bottles usually consist of colorful graphics and catchy names. Commercials are placed on television networks including MTV, MTV2, Adult Swim and Comedy Central that are predominantly viewed by adolescents. Extreme sports competitions such as the X Games are mostly watched by the young population and therefore are heavily sponsored by energy drink companies. These companies also sponsor the athletes. Young consumers see their favorite athlete drinking and promoting an energy drink and want to imitate their favorite superstar athletes by acting, dressing and drinking just like their idol. They do this to try to live their idol’s lifestyle and maybe one day walk in their shoes. A recent study showed that in 2010 adolescents saw an average of 124 television ads for energy drinks/shots and 122 soda ads. The same study also showed that children between the ages of 2-11 saw almost the same amount of 5-Hour Energy commercials as they saw Capri Sun fruit drink commercials.

Many health risks arise from the consumption of energy drinks, especially for the young consumer. The main issue is due to the large amount of caffeine in these drinks. In 2007, there were 5,488 cases of caffeine overdose in the US. Forty-six percent of those cases occurred in individuals under 19 years of age. Drinking too much caffeine, especially if the individual does not consume large amounts of caffeine on a regular basis, can have rapid cardiovascular effects. Caffeine causes heart rate and blood pressure to increase. This in turn can lead to irregular heart activity, seizures, diabetes, mood and behavioral disorders, sleep disturbances, caffeine dependence and withdrawal. Genetic factors also determine if an individual is at a greater risk for complications with the consumption of caffeine. Caffeine is also a diuretic and may lead to dehydration. It is important to stay well hydrated and not consume large amounts of caffeine before or during exercise. The combination of altered cardiovascular activity along with dehydration may lead to many complications and even death. It is also important not to mix energy drinks/shots with medications or alcohol.

Sugar in energy drinks can lead to a variety of health problems. A diet high in sugar can overwork the pancreas, which generates insulin to balance sugar intake, and makes the individual more susceptible to diabetes. Sugar also makes blood very thick and sticky, preventing it from flowing in small capillaries that supply the gums and teeth with nutrients. Teens consuming about 2,000 daily calories should limit their daily sugar intake to 20-32 grams (5-8 teaspoons). It is important to consume natural sugars found in fruits, vegetables and dairy, while avoiding added sugars found in foods such as desserts, sodas and energy drinks. Main complications from energy drink consumption develop because of the high concentration of different ingredients that act to stimulate the body and mind.

The ingredients in energy drinks all have specific effects and can affect a person differently, depending on their characteristics. Focus on trying to get enough sleep, proper nutrition and exercise regularly to keep your energy level up.

What to do if you REALLY need an extra boost???

There’s no doubt that life in general – and modern life in particular, places incredible demands on our individual resources. Let’s face it, life can be exhausting! Plus when you’re parenting 4 tiny humans you can bet your lucky stars momma needs some extra energy!

When it comes time for an energy boost, it’s most likely the best solution isn’t a “pick me up” that is full of synthetic ingredients and refined sugar, that gives you a quick buzz then causes you to crash.

However there IS a natural way to get more energy. Modere’s Energy Shot has only natural ingredients, with none of the junk! One 90ml bottle a day:

• promotes a natural energy boost

• promotes alertness and concentration

• delays fatigue

• naturally stimulating

• revitalizes mind and body

• helps you meet mental and physical challenges

It contains natural caffeine from Guarana and Green Tea, acai berries and B1 vitamins, and a range of other fruit extracts with NO artificial colors or other junk ingredients!! They are the perfect replacement for mainstream energy drinks or coffee.

Other natural ways to boost your energy

• Stay hydrated – regularly drink filtered alkaline water

• Consume protein with every meal (snack on nuts and low GI fruit)

• When working from a desk, get up every half hour for fresh air and stretch your legs

Give it a try! Use this link & get $10.00 OFF your first purchase: CLICK HERE

Mediterranean Chicken

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Put dinner on the table in minutes with this Healthy Instant Pot Mediterranean Chicken recipe. It has traditional Greek flavors using tomatoes, kalamata olives and oregano. So tasty and so simple to prepare. 

• Prep Time: 5 minutes

• Cook Time: 15 minutes

• Total Time: 20 minutes

• 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 3-4 Skinless boneless chicken breasts

• 1 can no salt diced tomatoes

• 1/2 onion diced

• 2 TBS minced garlic

• 20-25 pitted Kalamata olives

• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

• 2 TBS All Purpose Greek Seasonings

• 1 TBS dried oregano

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut each chicken breast into 4-5 large pieces.

2. Turn Instant Pot on Saute

3. Add oil, diced onions, and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes.

4. Sprinkle both sides of chicken pieces with Greek seasoning.

5. Place 1/2 of the chicken breasts into the Instant Pot and brown on both sides (this will take about 3 minutes per side). Working in batches, remove and set aside the first batch and add the second batch. Remove all of the chicken once browned.

6. Add the canned tomatoes, olives and dried oregano.

7. Using a wooden spoon scrape up all of the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the Instant Pot.

8. Arrange the chicken breasts into the tomato-olive mixture.

9. Set the Instant Pot on Manual/High for 15 minutes.

10. Allow it to self-release for 10 minutes, then pressure release until all of the steam has escaped.

11. Serve over a bed of fresh mixed greens!

Gluten Free Gingerbread

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Gluten Free & Vegan Gingerbread This recipe makes moist and cake-like gingerbread that packs a sneaky serving of black beans in each bite. They are loaded with protein, fiber, and nutrients for a healthier treat. (I’ll be adding another more crisp option)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans , or 1 (15 oz.) can drained and rinsed

• 1/2 cup gluten-free flour blend

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon coarse granulated sugar , for topping (optional)

Instructions

1 Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with an “S” blade, combine the black beans, flour, oil, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, baking soda, vanilla, molasses, and vinegar. Process until a smooth batter is formed.

2 Pour the batter into the lined baking dish and sprinkle the top with the tablespoon of coarse sugar, if desired. Bake until the top feels firm to a light touch, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely before removing the bars from the pan and slicing.

3 These bars will keep well at room temperature for up to 48 hours tightly covered, but for best shelf life keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Cucumber Greek Salad

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This Cucumber Greek Salad is light and refreshing, and full of healthy ingredients. With minimal prep, it makes an easy side dish for any meal!
🕑10 minutes

Ingredients: Vegetarian, Gluten free
∙ Serves 8

Produce

2 Cucumbers
2 tsp Oregano, dried
1/2 Red onion
4 Roma tomatoes

Condiments

1 Black olives, pitted and sliced
1 1/2 tbsp Lemon juice

Spices

1 Salt and pepper

Oils & Vinegars

1/4 cup Olive oil

Dairy

1/2 cup Feta cheese

Beauty Counter Foundation

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What initially drew my eye: Beautycounter’s commitment to products with safe ingredients. They have a list of over 1,500 ingredients that they promise to never use. They regularly pour over all sorts of studies and even commission some of their own to examine ingredients for toxicity. That’s awesome. But that’s not the whole story.

They don’t claim to be all-natural, “Over 80% of the ingredients in our products are organic, natural or plant derived. The others are synthetic…but that doesn’t mean that they are unsafe.” I get it. To mass-produce things economically and safely, you often have to include synthetic preservatives to make sure your products don’t spoil and kill someone. That is always my answer when a reader asks why I don’t sell my own products. And I’ve said time and again that natural skincare is not an all or nothing process. Any little step helps in the journey towards a healthier life. To foster transparency, Beautycounter even provides a complete glossary of their ingredients.

I’ve tried a lot of safer make-up brands but have yet to fall in love with the whole line. I have been on the hunt for a safer foundation so my awesome friend Stephanie invited me to try Beautycounter foundation. I decided to give it a try, so I bought the Tint Skin Foundation for $41 +tax & shipping. The price doesn’t really bother me cause before switching to safer brands I still bought high end products. I am extremely fair skinned so I purchased the porcelain shade which turned out to be a perfect match.

I applied with a brush. It went on smoothly and evenly. A little bit of product went a long way. It is a very light weight foundation so I used about a dime sized amount to get a full coverage. I tend to have oily skin and found that this did not add to my oiliness nor did it dry me out. It stayed in place well over 14 hours of rigorous mom life of 4 kids ages 1-10! When it was time to hit the hay I usually notice that when removing my make-up my skin will feel dry or even flakey, but not with this foundation. My skin felt soft and plump!

Overall thoughts
I applaud Beautycounter for their mission. I believe in it, I support it, and I want to do everything I can to bring awareness to the brand in the hope that more and more women will recognize the chemicals in their products and start choosing safer alternatives.

That said, from trying out their face products, I get the impression that these are designed more for the woman who doesn’t like to wear a lot of makeup, prefers a very natural look when she does wear makeup or for a woman that already has beautiful skin. These products are formulated to enhance what you already have, but if you’re looking for something with the ability to transform, hide or cover, these products are probably not the best choice for you. I would love to see Beautycounter come out with a face line that provides a broader range of coverage options, but understand that they’re bound by their ability to do so while sourcing from ingredients that are healthy and sustainable.

Are You Consuming Fake Sugar?

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As few as one diet soda daily may increase the risk for leukemia in men and women, and for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in men, according to new results from the longest-ever running study on aspartame as a carcinogen in humans. Importantly, this is the most comprehensive, long-term study ever completed on this topic, so it holds more weight than other past studies which appeared to show no risk. And disturbingly, it may also open the door for further similar findings on other cancers in future studies.

 

The most thorough study yet on aspartame done, on over two million people, in years

For this study, researchers prospectively analyzed data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study for a 22-year period. A total of 77,218 women and 47,810 men were included in the analysis, for a total of 2,278,396 person-years of data. Apart from sheer size, what makes this study superior to other past studies is the thoroughness with which aspartame intake was assessed. Every two years, participants were given a detailed dietary questionnaire, and their diets were reassessed every four years. Previous studies which found no link to cancer only ever assessed participants’ aspartame intake at one point in time, which could be a major weakness affecting their accuracy.

 

One diet soda a day increases leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas

The combined results of this new study showed that just one 12-fl oz. can (355 ml) of diet soda daily leads to:

– 42 percent higher leukemia risk in men and women (pooled analysis)
– 102 percent higher multiple myeloma risk (in men only)
– 31 percent higher non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk (in men only)

These results were based on multi-variable relative risk models, all in comparison to participants who drank no diet soda. It is unknown why only men drinking higher amounts of diet soda showed increased risk for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Note that diet soda is the largest dietary source of aspartame (by far) in the U.S. Every year, Americans consume about 5,250 tons of aspartame in total, of which about 86 percent (4,500 tons) is found in diet sodas.

 

Confirmation of previous high quality research on animals

This new study shows the importance of the quality of research. Most of the past studies showing no link between aspartame and cancer have been criticized for being too short in duration and too inaccurate in assessing long-term aspartame intake. This new study solves both of those issues. The fact that it also shows a positive link to cancer should come as no surprise, because a previous best-in-class research study done on animals (900 rats over their entire natural lifetimes) showed strikingly similar results back in 2006: aspartame significantly increased the risk for lymphomas and leukemia in both males and females. More worrying is the follow on mega-study, which started aspartame exposure of the rats at the fetal stage. Increased lymphoma and leukemia risks were confirmed, and this time the female rats also showed significantly increased breast (mammary) cancer rates. This raises a critical question: will future, high-quality studies uncover links to the other cancers in which aspartame has been implicated (brain, breast, prostate, etc.)?

There is now more reason than ever to completely avoid aspartame in our daily diet. For those who are tempted to go back to sugary sodas as a “healthy” alternative, this study had a surprise finding: men consuming one or more sugar-sweetened sodas daily saw a 66 percent increase in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (even worse than for diet soda). Clearly the healthiest soda is no soda at all.

Here’s just a few of the other possible side effects:

We need to stop looking for quick easy fixes and get back to enjoying real food and real activities. We can’t expect great health and an enjoyable life when we don’t fuel our bodies right.

Toxic Detergents

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It sounds extreme, but the truth is your laundry detergent most likely contains carcinogens. You are using toxic laundry detergent to clean your families clothes! According to studies, a full 1/3 of all scented detergents contain at least 1 chemical flagged by the EPA as potentially causing cancer.

First, let’s look at that study. Researchers from the University of Washington studied top-selling laundry and air-freshening products and found that they emitted dozens of different chemicals. All of them gave off at least one identified as toxic or hazardous under federal laws!

Worse—none of these chemicals were listed on the label.

Among the products tested were a dryer sheet, a fabric softener, and a laundry detergent, as well as spray and plug-in air fresheners. Results showed nearly 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the six products, and none were on the label. “Five of the six products emitted one or more carcinogenic ‘hazardous air pollutants,’ which are considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to have no safe exposure level,” said study author Anne Steinemann.

That’s not all. A later 2011 study by the same researchers found that air vented from machines using top-selling scented liquid laundry detergent and scented dryer sheets contained hazardous chemicals, including two classified as carcinogens.

For the study, researchers ran a load of laundry once with no products, once with a leading brand of scented liquid laundry detergent, and once with both the detergent and a dryer sheet. They captured the exhaust from the dryer vent with a canister.

An analysis of the captured air showed more than 25 VOCs, including seven hazardous air pollutants. The two carcinogens were acetaldehyde and benzene.

“These products can affect not only personal health,” said Steinemann, “but also public and environmental health. The chemicals can go into the air, down the drain and into water bodies.”

7 Toxic Chemicals in Laundry Detergents

Let’s look more closely at what manufacturers are putting into laundry detergents that may not be good for our health:

Fragrance: This is one of the main problems, and the focus of the two studies above. Manufacturers combine a number of chemicals to produce a fragrance—so you’ll believe your clothes are clean because they smell clean—and they don’t have to list those chemicals on the label because of trade protection. As we’ve seen, some of those chemicals can be very toxic.

Cleaning agents (surfactants): These are included in the formula to help the product clean better. Examples include chemicals like quaternium-15 (known to release formaldehyde, a known carcinogen), diethanolamine (linked with skin and eye irritation and possibly liver problems), nonlphenol ethoxylate or NPE (toxic to nerves, irritating to skin, potential hormone disruptor, toxic to aquatic life), linear alkyl benzene sulfonates or LAS (irritating to skin and eyes and toxic to aquatic life; benzene on its own is a carcinogen), and petroleum distillates (linked to cancer and lung damage).

Stabilizers: These chemicals help stabilize the formula, so that it lasts longer on the shelf. Examples include polyalkylene oxide or ethylene oxide, which are linked with eye and lung irritation, and even dermatitis.

Bleach: Bleach may be used separately or may be included in the detergent itself. It’s known to irritate skin, eyes, and lungs, and when it mixes with wastewater, it can form toxic organic compounds that have been linked with respiratory issues, liver, and kidney damage.

1,4-dioxane: This is a chemical by-product of detergent manufacturing. In independent tests, Women’s Voices for the Earth found 89 parts per million (ppm) in Tide Free & Gentle and 63 ppm in regular Tide. They helped increase awareness, and Proctor & Gamble agreed to reformulate to reduce levels to below 25 ppm. Future tests should show whether they made good on that promise.

Brighteners: You’ll find these in detergents advertising their “brightening” powers. Brighter whites! Brighter colors! What’s creating all this brightness? Chemicals that actually remain on the clothes to absorb UV light and help clothes “appear” brighter. We’re talking things like naphthotriazolystilbenes (linked with developmental and reproductive effects), benzoxazolyl, diaminostilbene disulfonate, and more. Since these remain on the clothes, they are likely to come into contact with skin.

Phosphates & EDTA: Manufacturers use these to make detergents more effective in hard water, and to help prevent dirt from settling back on clothes when they’re washing. These chemicals have long been associated with environmental damage, particularly in our streams and waterways. They cause algae blooms that damage ecosystems. Many detergents have eliminated these, but they’re often using ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) in its place, which does not readily biodegrade, and has been found to be toxic in animal studies.

 

 

Well if you’re looking to ditch the hazardous waste be sure you do your research before you’re next purchase. A lot of companies try to look “green” just by putting natural in their wording or using photos from nature. Here’s a tip: Look for gray water certified products. This means that after using these products, the resulting waste water is safe enough to water your plants.

 

Here’s an excellent safe laundry brand to get you started on a healthier path:

Click Here To Find Out More & Get $10 Off Your First Purchase

 

Sources:
University of Washington, “Toxic Chemicals Found in Common Scented Laundry Products, Air Fresheners,” Science Daily, July 24, 2008,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080723134438.htm
Anne C. Steinemann, Lisa G. Gallagher, Amy L. Davis, Ian C. MacGregor, “Chemical emissions from residential dryer vents during use of fragranced laundry products,” Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 2011; http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11869-011-0156-1

Foods Artificial Sweeteners Are Hiding In

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Walk into any big box grocery store and you’ll find that artificial sweeteners are everywhere.

They’re tucked into soft drinks, baked goods, and fruit juices to make them taste sweet without the extra calories.

Most products that contain artificial sweeteners are usually labeled as “diet” or “reduced sugar,” but not all are (you can even find some in foods that claim to have “natural” ingredients).

Because they’re not always clearly labeled on food packaging, consumers may not realize that they’re eating them.

These include sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda®), aspartame (NutraSweet®, Equal®), and acesulfame-K (Sunett®, Sweet One®).

It’s worth noting, however, that although many artificial sweeteners have gotten a bad rap, most are FDA-approved and don’t appear to be bad for you in moderation.

The approval process means that these compounds gone through a series of scientific tests that suggest they’re safe for human consumption. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about how they affect the body.

For instance, they’re marketed toward those trying to lose weight, but some studies suggest that consuming artificially-sweetened foods long-term is linked to weight gain & cancers. It’s also unclear how eating these super-sweet compounds for years can affect children, so it’s best for young people to avoid them.

Sucralose, the main ingredient in Splenda®, is structurally very similar to sugar except for one slight modification that allows it to pass through the body without getting broken down. It’s 600 times sweeter than sugar and was FDA-approved in 1999.

Acesulfame potassium, also known as acesulfame K (K is the symbol for potassium) or Ace K, is a calorie-free sugar substitute (artificial sweetener) often marketed under the trade names Sunett and Sweet One. Ace K is an older, more bitter sweetener that hasn’t been as extensively studied as other artificial sweeteners. It’s usually paired with sucralose to cut down the bitterness and is often found in soft drinks. Acesulfame Potassium contains methylene chloride, a known carcinogen.

Aspartame has many studies that linked it to cancer. Plus those with a rare disorder called phenylketonuria (PKU) may be sensitive to the chemical.

We went to a local grocery store to see where these ingredients are popping up. Here are just a few food products we found artificial sweeteners hiding in. (Click the photo to zoom in & details are in the caption)

 
So what did we learn? A ton — and I mean, a ton — of processed low-calorie and diet foods contain artificial sweeteners, but we also found it in unexpected places!

It’s always good to be informed about what you eat. Read labels. Shop along the perimeter of the grocery store where the vegetables are. Eat real food. Amen.