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Tag: environment

Antibiotic Overuse

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As soon as we get the sniffles, a sore throat or a drippy nose, the first thing many of us do is reach for an antibiotic. They’re usually readily available in our medicine cabinets. They are available because they are over-prescribed by doctors and emergency rooms everywhere.

47,000,000 prescriptions in the U.S. are unnecessarily prescribed. Efforts need to be made to improve the way we take these drugs and the way physicians prescribe them. This should be a national priority.

The article below from the Centers for Disease Control outlines the dangers of overuse of antibiotics. Surprisingly at least 23,000 people a year die from antibiotic misuse.

The article states when antibiotics are needed and should be taken. Additionally, it explains when antibioticsare NOT needed and should not be taken. There are recommended alternatives that can be used (and things to do) to feel better. While antibiotics can be very effective when prescribed and taken properly, they can also cause physical problems like reductions in good bacteria and immunity to the antibiotics themselves.

Of course, the best way to fight disease is to stay healthy in the first place. A good diet, plenty of water and moderate to vigorous exercise are good lifestyle choices that help avoid the onset of disease. A pure and effective vitamin regimen can also be effective. Be sure that you research the supplements you choose and make sure there are studies that support your choice.

www.cdc.gov/features/antibioticuse/index.html

It’s never been more clear: Spraying a toxic chemical around your house is breathtakingly dangerous!

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If you’re using Windex® Original Glass Cleaner in your home, that’s exactly what you’re doing. Ammonia is a known toxin that doesn’t belong in any home. But many folks who wouldn’t dream of bringing ammonia into their home use Windex Original Glass Cleaner without a second thought—and yet, Windex is powered by ammonia!

As Windex cleans, inadvertent spray enters and irritates your respiratory system and eyes. Fumes fill the room you’re cleaning. Skin contact is warned against, but as you mist the product into the air, how can you help some of it settling on your skin?
If it gets on your hair, you continue the exposure until you wash your hair again. Imagine your hair getting it on your pillowcase and you breathing it in all night long!

Does all this really matter?

YES—more than we ever knew before. A recent study based on 20 years of research reveals a shocking truth: Cleaning your home with common, well-known grocery store brand cleaning products like Windex Original Glass Cleaner as little as once per week over time is as damaging to respiratory health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years!

You would never give your children cigarettes to smoke, so don’t give them ammonia to breathe.

My company launched and led the green movement to replace toxic cleaners with safer ingredients, and our glass and window cleaner is one of those highly effective and much safer products. This product will give you the sparkling windows, mirrors, fixtures, appliances,
stainless steel, and aluminum you want without any of the unhealthy side effects you don’t. It cuts through everything from grimy fingerprints to toothpaste, and breaks up and washes away more dirt and smudges—all without ammonia.

Instead, our product is powered by 99% biodegradable cleaning agents and contains absolutely no ammonia, chlorine bleach, formaldehyde or toxic chemicals of any kind. It’s so safe, no childproof cap is required! A gleaming, streak-free shine is all that is left behind.

Warning! All but two Windex Glass and Multi-Purpose Cleaners contain ammonia, so go through your house and garage, and dispose of them responsibly, then replace them with a glass-and-more cleaner that will take better care of your home, your family’s health, and our precious environment.

What you should know if you use bleach

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I don’t know about you, but I really am not a fan of those bleach commercials. You know, the ones where they tell you that to get something clean, you need to use bleach. Otherwise, you’re not cleaning properly, because bleach is the only thing can can get your house clean, fresh and bacteria free.

Common household bleach (sodium hydroxide) can be found in a variety of household products in both liquid and granular form and is not, technically speaking, considered corrosive or toxic, even if ingested. However, bleach exposure  is highly irritating and corrosive to the eyes, mouth and lungs. Fumes from bleach are very potent, as you can tell by the smell, and when inhaled can cause nervous system and brain damage, individuals with asthma or other breathing problems are particularly susceptible. In fact, inhaling the fumes is potentially carcinogenic.

Dermal contact of bleach can cause rash and burning. The longer the bleach is left on your skin,  the more likely it is that you will begin to experience burning, itching and other types of irritation. If the bleach is left on your skin for an inordinately long period of time, it can cause pigment lightening and permanent tissue damage.

Serious side effects of using bleach can include respiratory problems, skin burns, damage to the nervous system, asthma flares, extreme headaches, migraines, and vomiting. Inhalation of chlorine gas or drinking highly concentrated sources of chlorine (such as household bleach) can lead to vomiting, coma, and even death.

Athough it is not considered “technically toxic” stories abound concerning bleach and the side effects.

From the “Pharmaceutical Press”: A young girl had suffered episodes of vomiting, abdominal pain, and bronchopneumonia over a period of a year which was finally traced to her habit of sucking socks that had been bleached.

From Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products:  An 18 month old girl who swallowed a “few tablespoons” of liquid household bleach coughed, choked and vomited. Promptly thereafter she became lethargic and was admitted to a local hospital in a state of coma. Death occurred 19 hours after ingestion.

Why would you add a half cup of chemical toxins to your load of laundry?
Well, that’s what you’re doing when you add Clorox® Bleach to your wash. The culprit in Clorox Bleach is chlorine—that toxic chemical with vapors irritating to your eyes and damaging to your respiratory system. Products with the word bleach in its name obviously contain bleach, however; a variety of products contain bleach and it may not be obvious at first glance, or smell. Some examples are: Drano, Tilex, Palmolive, and Cascade.

The statistics are startling.

An estimated 61% of toilet bowl cleaners use chlorine bleach. Another 26% of adults use chlorine bleach directly in their toilets. That means 87% of all toilets are being cleaned with a known poison that is then flushed into city water systems. That water must then be treated with more chemicals before being released into our water ways.

Not only can bleach be toxic, but it can increase my risk of an asthma attack and make the condition worse, as well as lead to COPD or cancer. I admit it, I was an ardent user of bleach until I decided to spend time reading labels and go green 15 years ago when I discovered a manufacturer providing greener products through an online shopping club.

I now use an EPA-registered botanical disinfectant, powered by thyme oil and citric acid, which kills over 99.9% of common household germs—no caustic chlorine bleach or quats required. I admit disinfecting my home has never been easier! For toilets, there’s an alternative powered by organic cleaners and thyme oil that has the same environmental impact as
a bowl of lemons. It cleans beautifully, and smells great. I found a great way to get my home even cleaner than using bleach and my cleansers smell so much better! I know my home is safer too.

The link to the article below offers alternatives to using bleach in your laundry:
https://www.melaleucajournal.com/time-break-bleach-move-melabrite-plus-oxi/

Switching stores and switching from bleach allowed me to get rid of a lot more than just the stains and dirt, it got rid of Ammonia; Chlorine Bleach; Petroleum Distillates; Gloves; Toxic Ingredients; no special ventilation is required and I have NO WORRIES!

It’s time to talk about dishwashing

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I want to share something I learned a long time ago— you know it’s prohibited to vent your automatic dishwasher outdoors. Most dishwashers will have a vent on the outside of the door, others (like mine) will have a concealed vent located on the inside of the door, but both went the hot steam/air into your kitchen.

Why?

Because it’s prohibited to have chlorine gases emitted into the environment. Consider this, when you use an automatic dishwashing detergent that contains chlorine bleach, or other name-brand product containing a bleach chemical, it combines with the heat and steam which creates chlorine gas.

Since it’s not released outdoors, but released into our homes through the machines vents it creates an unhealthy or even toxic indoor air quality. That’s why it’s recommended to open your windows regularly to circulate air. If you don’t, those chlorine-based outgases can stay in your home for up to seven days! How unhealthy is that? No wonder so many children today suffer from asthma and other lung-related issues.

I stopped using those bleach-based toxic automatic dish soaps years ago.

I am so glad  I switched to a product that is free of phosphates and chlorine bleach. It’s also made with 100% nontoxic ingredients—because what’s on your dishes can also go into your body. The product also comes highly concentrated so the new resealable pouch uses 90% less plastic than the previous bottle, which was already significantly smaller than the competition!

It uses naturally derived water-softening agent naturally derived enzymes and all natural melaleuca oil. No bleach. No phosphates. No poisons. I love having sparkling dishes without endangering my family, and without polluting my home or the environment!

I like shopping with my online shopping club. Not only are the products non-toxic and the best of natural ingredients and science combined, but because I save so much money!

Recently, I placed my online shopping order and received two packages of this fabulous Automatic Dishwashing product FREE with my loyalty shopping dollars, saving me $14.33. Each time I shop, I get loyalty rewards, up to 18% back! I’ve yet to find another store that offers this type of reward, Even after 15 years of shopping with this club, I still get excited each time I order because of the savings!

Can you say that about your store?

81 Percent of Dollar Store Products Tested Contain Chemicals Linked To Learning Disabilities, Cancer and Serious Illnesses

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HealthyStuff, in collaboration with the Campaign for Healthier Solutions, released a report today about toxic chemicals found in Dollar store products. The report — A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Discount Retailers are Falling Behind on Safer Chemicals — includes testing results for 164 dollar store products such as toys, jewelry, school supplies and other household items, that found over 81% (133 of 164) contained at least one hazardous chemical above levels of concern.

On average the dollar store products are some of the poorest peforming from a chemical hazard perspective. There is a comparatively high percentage of products containing hazardous plasticizers. The chemicals of concern found in Dollar store products tested for this report include: phthalates, linked to birth defects, reduced fertility, cancer, learning disabilities, diabetes, and other health
issues; polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC or vinyl), which creates hazards throughout its life cycle and has been linked to asthma and lung effects; and toxic metals such as lead, which harms brain development, leading to learning disabilities, lower IQ, and cause other serious health impacts, especially in children. Combined these discount chains have sales totaling over $36 billion
and operate more stores nationally than Walmart.

The attached article from Healthy Holistic Living gives a full report and explains what consumers can do.

In the meantime, families and communities let dollar store chains know that they want safer products, and join local and national efforts advocating for nontoxic products. Most importantly, consumers should read product labels to protect themselves and their families.

My company works hard every day to make sure that our products and business practices are environmentally friendly and safer for your home and family. We are passionate about and committed to eco-friendly practices that contribute to sustaining our environment and our customers health. Instead of harsh chemicals like chlorine bleach, ammonia, and formaldehyde, our products are powered by naturally derived ingredients including essential oils.

No matter how big or how small, nations, companies, communities, and families have the responsibility and opportunity to make a lasting, positive difference for our beautiful planet.

Are you at risk for harmful toxins in your home?

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Smoking can put you at risk for many diseases, including colorectal cancer. If you don’t smoke because of health risks, then you need to check out your cleaning products as well.

This remarkable 20-year study shows that the cleaning products you uses can be just as harmful as smoking and second-hand smoke.

I love that I switched stores and get everything I need for my healthy home in one place. I don’t have to make my own cleaners and they are super cost effective, good for the environment and, most of all, affordable!

If you are a smoker, and would like to improve the air quality in your home, Healthfinder.gov offers these steps to help you quit: http://bit.ly/2kuGwCh

We all need to breath healthy air in our own homes.

Lessons to learn from water

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Water a most important resource. Important because it is needed for life to exist. Yet only 2.5% of water on the Earth is fresh water, and more than two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. That means almost all of the water on Earth, more than 97 percent of it, is seawater in the oceans.

Water is also quite powerful. Longtime coastal community residents know the danger of water and storm surge all too well. If you ask coastal residents, ones who’ve experienced dozens of ocean storms, what their memories are of the most destructive storm surge or water events, you likely won’t hear them rattle off any hurricane names. It’s the large winter ocean storms that release a flood of bad memories.

Water can be a deadly enemy, yet it still serve as an essential component in our lives because over 70% of our body is made of it and we can’t survive a week without it.

Since  it is a vital part of life, we can learn a few lessons from water to apply to our everyday lives. Here are six of the best:

    1. Boiling water softens potatoes and hardens eggs.
      Its about what you’re made of; not your circumstances.
    2. Don’t water the concrete. Nothing grows there.
      Stay focused on doing what matters most.
    3. Don’t water yourself down, because you’ll be less palatable to yourself and cheating those who matter. Don’t water yourself down, simply because someone can’t handle you pure, undiluted and 100% proof.
    4. At 211 degrees fahrenheit, water doesn’t do very much, but at 212 degrees its boils and produces steam which can power trains weighing over 500 tons. That’s a change in temperature of less than half a percent. Small differences in behavior can create huge changes in results.
    5. Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. They sink because of the water that gets in them. Be careful who you let into your head.
      And finally…
    6. When life pees on you, remember the words of Billy Connolly who said, “Todays rain, is tomorrows whisky.”

Do you need to add vitamin D and calcium to your diet?

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Because vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, it plays a role in your bone health. Studies involving older adults have associated low vitamin D levels with an increased risk of falls and fractures. Another finding shows that at age 50, your kidneys may become less effective at metabolizing inactive vitamin D into its active form.

At age 70 and beyond, your body will produce about one-third less vitamin D through sun exposure than it did when you were 21. Plus melanin, which determines your skin pigmentation and protects your body from harmful ultraviolet radiation (UV),can also impair your skin’s ability to produce enough vitamin D from sunlight. Darker-skinned individuals may need up to 10 times more sun exposure to produce adequate vitamin D levels as compared to a person with lighter skin. Who knew?

Another good thing about getting adequate sun exposure is that your mood automatically elevates when you are in the sun, thanks to the brain hormone serotonin. Researchers examining the effects of vitamin D on the moods of 80 elderly patients found the ones with the lowest vitamin D levels were 11 times more likely to suffer from depression. So sunning daily and taking a vitamin D supplement can help ward off depression.

If you are obese, some experts recommend you increase your intake of vitamin D. Why? Because vitamin D is fat-soluble, when your fat cells uptake it, less is available for use elsewhere in your body.

Here is a list of vitamin D deficiency symptoms that most people ignore from Healthyway.com.

The optimal vitamin D level for general health ranges between 40 to 60 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). The ideal way to raise your vitamin D is by regularly and sensibly exposing large amounts of your skin, such as your arms, back, chest and legs, to sunshine. Getting outdoors at or around solar noon is the best time to soak up the sun. If for whatever reason you cannot get outdoors, or not frequently enough to receive sufficient UV exposure, consider taking an oral vitamin D3 supplement along with vitamin K2 and magnesium.

My company offers a wonderful K2-D3 supplement, offering the right balance of vitamins K2 and D3 is critical to regulating calcium and helping ensure you get optimal performance from this essential mineral.

Household Items can be Dangerous

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You have probably read about the new “trend” on the Internet. Young adults (teenagers) actually ingesting Tide laundry pods on digital videos. The article below from FOX Business will give you some gruesome details. Solving this problem is about common sense in our teens.

While common sense and mentoring can solve this practice, there are other dangers that exist in our homes that we expose ourselves and our families to that are not as obvious. More importantly, we voluntarily take these risks in the name of cleanliness and convenience.

If I were to take you into a grocery or drug store where you buy many of your household cleaning products, in a blindfold, your nose would direct you to the aisle where the cleaning products were displayed. The chemicals in these products fill the air with scents…and TOXINS.

The other article from House Beautiful explains how some of the household items expose our families and homes to unknown dangers. In a world of “going green”, it is counter-intuitive to continue exposing our domestic environment to these unnecessary risks.

There is a reason why many traditional products are equipped with “child-proof” packaging and warnings that guard against manufacturer liability as much as consumer safety. Be aware of the chances you take every day. Breathing and exposing skin to these products presents the real possibility of risks to your health. Everything from skin cancer to respiratory or gastrointestinal infections are just some of the possibilities.

I learned of a manufacturer that I can actually purchase directly from for products I use every day WITHOUT all the toxins. I have been getting my products, like laundry detergent, from them for a while now. I absolutely love how well they work. I’ve learned that cleaning products do not have to have skull and bones and child-proof safety caps on them to be effective.  As adults, we can take all the safety precautions in the world and a child will still figure out how to access things they shouldn’t! We should not have to worry about making a trip to the hospital if that happens. And thanks to the manufacturer I purchase from, I don’t worry. 

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/01/22/utah-state-university-student-hospitalized-after-eating-tide-pod.html

http://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/cleaning-tips/tips/a1492/dangerous-household-items/

Impact Of Product Packaging On The Environment

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In these times, when the environment is such an important concern, product packaging rightfully deserves some focus, as the attached article points out. For years manufacturers have made decisions regarding product freshness and protection. A proper balance in their decisions must be made or the protections we seek for quality will simply wind up in the garbage.

Companies have begun concentrating products to decrease packaging size and reduce waste. This is only one step. Recyclable packaging is another. As time goes by additional innovations will abound. I have been successful in finding companies that prioritize reducing their waste into the environment. It is our personal responsibility to the earth. What do you do to reduce your carbon footprint?