Earth Day

Being Earth Day, I thought I would share with you one of my most requested items and most requested recipe. Laundry Detergent: If you can make a cake, you can do this and it is much easier. I used to make this on a large scale and sell it in the store, but now I just make it by request since I carry Laundry Berries, which I also love.

First some exciting money facts:

Cost to make your own: Around $2 per batch. This is about 5.7 cents per load (using 2 tablespoons for each load, you get about 35 loads). Arm & Hammer laundry detergent about 12.4 cents per load. Tide detergent is 30 cents and more per load. Wouldn't you love to make laundry cost less!! This can revolutionize your budget, since we also provide you with a fabric softener that will cost pennies on the dollar compared to some of the costly and harmful fabric softeners you may be or may have used.

Fels Naptha Laundry Powder

1. 1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated (comes out to about 2 cups) - You can find this in the grocery store laundry aisle, probably on the bottom shelf. It is only about $1

2. 1 c Borax - Found in the grocery store laundry aisle and some hardware stores. It is a wonderful multi-purpose cleaning agent that used to be a household name. There are plenty of uses listed on the box and more can be found online.


3. 1 c Washing Soda - Also found in the grocery store laundry aisle. I use Arm & Hammer brand since that is all I have ever found. It is one of those little know useful items, so it may be on the bottom shelf, also.

4. 1/4 c OxyClean (optional, though I don't use it)

Mix it all together into a bumpy, granular mix. Don’t worry about stuff getting correctly dispersed, even if it doesn’t quite look like it does. Use 1T for a light load. Use 2T for a large or dirty load (It’s true! Only 2 Tablespoons per load!)

Fels Naptha Laundry Detergent

This is basically the same formula as above, but in a liquid form.

Simply melt the Fels Naptha gratings in 2 cups water on the stove. Stir gently, but constantly, not letting it boil or suds over, until it is all melted, looking much like orange juice. Once melted, pour the water slurry into a 5 gallon pail and add 1 gallon hottest tap water.

Add the remaining powders and stir gently. Once fully stirred, add hottest tap water to about 3 gallons, or 2/3 to 3/4 full in the bucket. Let sit overnight. This WILL GEL. Stir in the morning, and it is ready to use. It makes kind of a gelatinous sludge, but it works GREAT!!!!

Use 1 -2 cups per load, depending on soil and load levels.

Laundry Rinse (instead of fabric softener which is so bad for you and the environment, you don’t even want to know)

1 gal white or apple cider vinegar

25-30 drops essential oil - optional (Straight vinegar works just fine though.)

Use 1/4 c in the rinse cycle. NO, your clothes won’t smell like vinegar. The vinegar clears the last bit of soap remaining on all your clothes and reduces static while softening the clothes and neutralizing foul odors. Towels that are washed with fabric softener will absorb less water, but when you use vinegar, the towels will actually absorb more water. Fantastic!!

And now you’re on your way to a cheaper, greener and healthier cleaning strategy. Don’t you feel good?

Dangers of Soy Consumption

Soy Dangers Summarized

You are probably well acquainted with all the wonderful things soy is purported to do for you. That's because the multi-million dollar soy marketing machine has done its job on you. But are you aware that there is a darker side of soy?

For instance did you know that soy contains several types of natural toxins? The soy industry has known about them for years.

SOY DANGERS:

• High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
  
  
• Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic orders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.
  
  
• Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
  
  
• Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
  
  
• Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body’s requirement for B12.
  
  
• Soy foods increase the body’s requirement for vitamin D.
  
  
• Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.
  
  
• Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
  
  
• Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and added to many soy foods.
  
  
• Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.

SOY INFANT FORMULA — BIRTH CONTROL PILLS FOR BABIES

• Babies fed soy-based formula have 13,000 to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula.
  
  
• Infants exclusively fed soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day.
  
  
• Male infants undergo a “testosterone surge” during the first few months of life, when testosterone levels may be as high as those of an adult male. During this period, baby boys are programmed to express male characteristics after puberty, not only in the development of their sexual organs and other masculine physical traits, but also in setting patterns in the brain characteristic of male behavior.
  
  
• Pediatricians are noticing greater numbers of boys whose physical maturation is delayed, or does not occur at all, including lack of development of the sexual organs. Learning disabilities, especially in male children, have reached epidemic proportions.
  
  
• Soy infant feeding—which floods the bloodstream with female hormones that inhibit testosterone—cannot be ignored as a possible cause for these tragic developments. In animals, soy feeding indicates that phytoestrogens in soy are powerful endocrine disrupters.
  
  
• Almost 15 percent of white girls and 50 percent of African-American girls show signs of puberty such as breast development and pubic hair, before the age of eight. Some girls are showing sexual development before the age of three. Premature development of girls has been linked to the use of soy formula and exposure to environmental estrogens such as PCBs and DDE.

• The health claims of the soy industry have one purpose and one purpose alone - to sell more soy! That's why you'll only hear about the benefits of soy from the industry, but we think all consumers deserve the right to make an informed choice about what they are eating and feeding to their children, their household pets and their livestock.

  We have found a wealth of evidence that the soy toxins cause both acute and chronic effects in both animals and humans. The industry refers to the soy toxins as 'anti-nutrients' but, in fact, they are classed with environmental toxins and they are present in every food product that contains soy.

  As often occurs in cases of environmental poisoning, Soy Online Services first became aware of the toxicity of soy because of its effects on animals. The harm that soy causes animals has been known for decades, but this fact currently appears to be ignored by manufacturers of animal feeds who are ever eager to utilise cheap sources of protein in their products.

  The use of new generation bird feeds that contained soy coincided with thousands of bird deaths and disorders. These effects were widespread and were reported by many of New Zealand's leading parrot breeders.

  Among the effects seen by these bird breeders were:

  beak and bone deformities.

  goitre.

  immune system disorders.

  infertility.

  premature maturation.

Lawsuit Filed Regarding Baby Products

2009-03-24 | 07:48

Manufacturers questioned about ingredients used

Some of the nation's largest child-product companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Proctor and Gamble and Kimberly Clark, are the target of a nationwide class-action lawsuit by parents after a study revealed that many of the companies' products contain questionable chemicals.

The suit, filed March 19 in U.S. District Court in Chicago, will represent parents or other consumers who purchased any of an extensive list of products, if the court certifies the action, according to law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro.

The findings were part of a study conducted by nonprofit, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which tested commonly used baby products and found amounts of carcinogens such as formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. According to the report, manufacturers say the levels of the potentially cancer-causing toxins are so small that they do not pose a risk to the public, and are within government guidelines.

The defendants include Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Gerber Products Company, The Proctor and Gamble Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Expanscience Laboratories Inc. doing business as Mustela, and Limited Brands Inc

Perfluorochemicals

Perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, are widely-used water, grease and stain repellents.

What are perfluorochemicals?

They’re found in carpets and on clothes, on fast-food wrappers, and on the inner lining of pet food bags. You might know them as Teflon®, Scotchgard^TM, Stainmaster® and Gore-Tex®. They pollute water, are persistent in the environment, and remain in the human body for years. Companies that manufacture PFCs have agreed to phase out one variety, called PFOA, by 2015. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that the chemicals being used to replace it are any safer.

What problems are associated with PFCs?

PFCs are associated with smaller birth weight and size in newborn babies, elevated cholesterol, abnormal thyroid hormone levels, liver inflammation, and weaker immune defense against disease--all good reasons to reduce your exposure.

HOW TO AVOID PFCS

• Forgo the optional stain treatment on new carpets and furniture.
  Find products that haven’t been pre-treated, and if the couch you own is treated, get a cover for it.
• Choose clothing that doesn’t carry Teflon® or Scotchgard^TM tags.
  This includes fabric labeled stain- or water-repellent. When possible, opt for untreated cotton and wool.
• Avoid non-stick pans and kitchen utensils.
  Opt for stainless steel or cast iron instead.
• Cut back on greasy packaged and fast foods.
  These foods often come in treated wrappers.
• Use real plates instead of paper.
• Pop popcorn the old-fashioned way on the stovetop.
  Microwaveable popcorn bags are often coated with PFCs on the inside.
• Choose personal care products without “PTFE” or “perfluoro” in the ingredients.
  Use EWG’s Skin Deep at cosmeticsdatabase.com to find safer choices.

from http://www.ewg.org/node/26667

10 tips to stay healthy during the holidays

1) Brush your teeth often. If you get used to the feeling of a clean mouth, you will be less likely to want to put sugar and junk in it. That sugar teeth feeling is the worst! As an added bonus, you will have fresh breath at all those holiday gatherings.


2) Don't forget to eat. It's so easy to get so busy that we skip breakfast and lunch. I'm sure you can guess what happens... you head for the garbage cookies to give your blood sugar a boost. Make sure to eat every 3 hours so that the junk loses some of its allure.

Now, to make sure you do this, plan your snacks. Make them easy. Cheese, crackers, and apples. Toast or frozen waffles. Yes, those aren't the healthiest options in the world, but that brings us to the next point...


3) Avoid "all or nothing," AKA perfection mindset. We are all busy. Who has time to make steamed veggies with sesame oil every time they get hungry? NO ONE except Oprah and Martha Stewart.

If you are set on only eating healthy stuff, you are probably going to fail. And when you fail, it invites an avalanche of binging. "I can't stay on my holiday diet," you might say, "so I might as
well not try."

Give yourself permission to eat things that may not be the most nutrient-packed snacks and meals. Do the best you can in the time you're got. Aim for eating one veggie or fruit with
everything. So, mac and cheese with broccoli, PB&J with carrot, eggs with mushrooms. Hamburger, fries, and an orange.


4) Go ahead, eat the treats if you really want them! Just do something active to make up for them. Walk the dog or go to the park. It will burn a few extra calories, but more importantly -
it will make your body and mind feel good.


5) You know those stupid health "mantras" that you can never truly believe? Like, "I am thin, healthy and fit." Most people have never been able to make those work.

Try this "I am getting healthier every day." That is totally believable! Just eating a cracker instead of a cookie for less sugar and fat will make that come true. Take ten minutes to
stretch your aching legs and back before going to bed. Voila! You are getting healthier every day.

Try it - and when you fulfill that statement, you feel great about yourself.


6) GET SLEEP. For some people, not enough sleep kills the immune system. Sleep is *so* important; it's how the body recovers from stress and repairs itself.

Don't sacrifice your sleep time for holiday business. It never, ever pays off. Delegate tasks. Hire or recruit people to help you. You will never enjoy your holiday if you're sick, get mouth sores, or feel tired and cranky all the time.