Before I begin, let me forewarn you, this post is full of reading "homework," so I apologize for that. If you're not interested, just skip it. :)
Apparently the FDA has forgotten its purpose. Please hop over to the address below, this is the FDA's mission statement. Their whole entire purpose is to protect us from toxic crap.
http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/whatwedo/default.htm
HERE, you will see a descriptor of propylene glycol. A substance added to shampoos, cosmetics, and sprayed on the outside of your bread to prevent spoilage. Oh, and did I mention, ANTI-FREEZE. Nice. Oh, and it causes kidney damage. The FDA allows this. Non-toxic? I think not.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=240
Here is an article about parabens. I know, it's not really known how harmful parabens are. The blogpost below is pretty thorough. And this is my view on the subject, even if I didn't write it.
http://chemicaloftheday.squarespace.com/most-controversial/2011/3/17/are-parabens-natural.html
Okay, and finally, here are some other foods that contain ingredients that are not listed on the packaging.
http://www.veganproducts.org/sugar.html
http://www.healthyeatingadvisor.com/food-labels.html
http://www.healthyeatingadvisor.com/geneticallymodifiedingredients.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/033162_food_ingredients_chemicals.html
Now, I do realize this is a lot of outside-my-blog reading... But if you're interested at all in this subject, you'll find these interesting.
Let me summarize the above information for you.
The FDA was created to, and still claims to, protect the public from toxic or hazardous substances in our medicines, food, cosmetics and other products. It not only is failing to do so, but is blatantly doing the opposite. Please note, I am a hard-core capitalist, and am NOT saying the FDA should be making everything ILLEGAL. It's a company's right to put poisonous crap in their products if that's what they want. What I AM saying is that the FDA should be informing people about what they're consuming, and make it illegal to put an ingredient in a product without it being stated on the label. Foods that are genetically modified should be so-labelled. Foods and cosmetics that have been treated with toxic chemicals like chlorine, or parabens, should be labelled. Why do they force cigarette companies put horrifying pictures on their packaging but not a diseased kidney on a product containing propylene glycol?
White sugar made from can sugar consistently contains cow bone char, but it's not labeled so! If you are vegan by moral choice, your white sugar probably contains an animal product! It's sick. This subject literally makes my stomach turn because I (and you, too) will never be able to fully trust that a product is as-labelled. I'll never be able to tell if something really is "all natural" "kosher" "vegan" or "organic." Because there are no hard guidelines for what those terms MEAN. How can we be voting with our purchases, encouraging our local stores to provide healthy, natural, chemical-free products if we can't even trust them to be providing the information to MAKE those decisions?
The FDA has failed us all.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
That awkward moment when reality runs up to you an kicks you in the FACE.
Since I had the PPP (Pretty pretty princess, our daughter), my focus on nutrition has... Died off. I am a BELIEVER in breastmilk. I believe whole-heartedly it's the most perfect food, that it provides everything your baby needs. The problem is, if there's nothing there for it to GIVE to your baby stored there in your body then your baby doesn't GET anything. With two children two and under it is VERY EASY to forget to take my multivitamins, or even EAT. On any given day you could ask me at the end of the day what I had eaten and I probably wouldn't be able to tell you.
And I was blissful in my ignorance.
Until there came reality to kick me in the face.
The PPP's first teeth were coming in. Started off like any baby's teeth coming in, just a little line. And we were excited for them, and glad that our sleeplessness would ebb soon. But then they came out more and formed the actual teeth.... And they were CLEAR. When I say clear here I don't mean like "free and clear" I mean like TRANSLUCENT. I completely freaked. But don't worry, this story has a happy ending!
And got on Google. I simply typed "translucent teeth" and voila, a whole new world of nutrition and deficiencies was revealed to me. I read as many sample pages of "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" as were available to me on Amazon. I thought, "oh God. This is MY fault. I did this to her!"
Why wasn't I more careful? I knew she was getting all her nutrients from me...
Aaaanyway, I kept up with my research, took notes, and finally came across a blogpost called "How I healed my child's cavity" and I was hooked. Riveted. I've suffered from thin enamel and weak teeth my entire life, and certainly more sensitive ones more recently.
I knew some things had to change, mainly our diet. We were eating a lot of foods high in phytic acid. Bread, grains, nuts... now, at this point we have NOT gone grain-free. And I'm not even convinced it's GOOD for you to eat a grain-free diet. I'm not convinced that phytic acid is Public Enemy Number One. My take on this phytic acid debate (which, if you don't know what I'm talking about, definitely look it up and come to your own conclusions) is this: you need to be consuming more minerals than the phytic acid can steal from you. Do you have to remove all high phytic acid foods from your diet? No. If you are vegetarian or vegan you DO have to try to soak or sprout your beans, nuts and grains to remove most of the phytic acid and increase its other nutrients.
What I have been doing to help increase my nutrient intake is first, taking my multi (almost) every single day. Then I've also been trying to increase the whole meat foods in our diet (when I say whole meats, I mean meat that still has fat, bones and all still attached... So, whole roast chickens, bone-in chicken pieces for fried chicken, oxtail soup and the like), while decreasing the amount of grains-only or mostly-grain meals (like cereal and milk for breakfast). In addition to these I have started taking Fermented Cod Liver Oil/Butter Oil mix. I truly believe this has had the most effect. I've been taking it for two weeks at a double dose (1 full teaspoon instead of half a teaspoon) and seen an OBVIOUS, PHYSICAL change in the PPP's teeth. They're almost completely solid now.
In addition to her benefits, I've also had a SIGNIFICANT reduction in my own tooth sensitivity. This past Sunday I was eating some Kettle chips (a "junk" food I really enjoy, but one that had always caused me some pain in my teeth before), and my JAW got sore from chewing before my teeth did! Because they never did get sore!
I'm going to keep on with the double dose until this bottle is gone, and then I'll start taking the regular dosage. I'm so impressed with this fermented cod liver oil that I'm probably going to get Ely another flavor all for his own DESPITE the high cost. This will be a repurchase for as long as we are capable of purchasing it. And I'm gonna keep up with all the other high-mineral diet changes and post again in a few months with before-and-after photos of MY teeth, whether there's changes or not, so everyone will know definitively.
Whew! Don't wanna jump the gun, but, get on this band wagon! I'm lovin' it!
Thanks for readin'. Be blessed.
And I was blissful in my ignorance.
Until there came reality to kick me in the face.
The PPP's first teeth were coming in. Started off like any baby's teeth coming in, just a little line. And we were excited for them, and glad that our sleeplessness would ebb soon. But then they came out more and formed the actual teeth.... And they were CLEAR. When I say clear here I don't mean like "free and clear" I mean like TRANSLUCENT. I completely freaked. But don't worry, this story has a happy ending!
And got on Google. I simply typed "translucent teeth" and voila, a whole new world of nutrition and deficiencies was revealed to me. I read as many sample pages of "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" as were available to me on Amazon. I thought, "oh God. This is MY fault. I did this to her!"
Why wasn't I more careful? I knew she was getting all her nutrients from me...
Aaaanyway, I kept up with my research, took notes, and finally came across a blogpost called "How I healed my child's cavity" and I was hooked. Riveted. I've suffered from thin enamel and weak teeth my entire life, and certainly more sensitive ones more recently.
I knew some things had to change, mainly our diet. We were eating a lot of foods high in phytic acid. Bread, grains, nuts... now, at this point we have NOT gone grain-free. And I'm not even convinced it's GOOD for you to eat a grain-free diet. I'm not convinced that phytic acid is Public Enemy Number One. My take on this phytic acid debate (which, if you don't know what I'm talking about, definitely look it up and come to your own conclusions) is this: you need to be consuming more minerals than the phytic acid can steal from you. Do you have to remove all high phytic acid foods from your diet? No. If you are vegetarian or vegan you DO have to try to soak or sprout your beans, nuts and grains to remove most of the phytic acid and increase its other nutrients.
What I have been doing to help increase my nutrient intake is first, taking my multi (almost) every single day. Then I've also been trying to increase the whole meat foods in our diet (when I say whole meats, I mean meat that still has fat, bones and all still attached... So, whole roast chickens, bone-in chicken pieces for fried chicken, oxtail soup and the like), while decreasing the amount of grains-only or mostly-grain meals (like cereal and milk for breakfast). In addition to these I have started taking Fermented Cod Liver Oil/Butter Oil mix. I truly believe this has had the most effect. I've been taking it for two weeks at a double dose (1 full teaspoon instead of half a teaspoon) and seen an OBVIOUS, PHYSICAL change in the PPP's teeth. They're almost completely solid now.
In addition to her benefits, I've also had a SIGNIFICANT reduction in my own tooth sensitivity. This past Sunday I was eating some Kettle chips (a "junk" food I really enjoy, but one that had always caused me some pain in my teeth before), and my JAW got sore from chewing before my teeth did! Because they never did get sore!
I'm going to keep on with the double dose until this bottle is gone, and then I'll start taking the regular dosage. I'm so impressed with this fermented cod liver oil that I'm probably going to get Ely another flavor all for his own DESPITE the high cost. This will be a repurchase for as long as we are capable of purchasing it. And I'm gonna keep up with all the other high-mineral diet changes and post again in a few months with before-and-after photos of MY teeth, whether there's changes or not, so everyone will know definitively.
Whew! Don't wanna jump the gun, but, get on this band wagon! I'm lovin' it!
Thanks for readin'. Be blessed.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Surviving the life of a mom with young children.
Today is library day. A day I often sit back and consider my life. Reflect on the small changes for good I've made in the last weeks and shore-up my determination to do BETTER.
This week the kids have been getting up two hours earlier than they have all their lives. The sun is up earlier? They have been getting up earlier and therefore my days have been getting longer, and my normal store of patience is not lasting the whole day. I. Have. Been. Feeling. MEAN. And I hate it. The day creeps up to its end and I look at my attitude throughout the day and it makes me so mad at myself! Why do I act this way??? Are they related? I don't know, maybe.
I think to myself how much I want balance. How I want to have a "visitor-worthy" clean house, cook all our meals from scratch, make sure the kids are clean, fed and happy... And basically just make my husband proud to be married to me, and my God want to call me His good and faithful servant. When days don't go the way I wish they would, the kids need MORE of me than I think I have, and all I want in life is for us to be happy and look back on this time as the happiest in our lives, THIS is how I survive:
1. I freaking PRAY. "Be anxious for nothing, but in all things by prayer and supplication, and with thanksgiving, make your requests known to the Lord."
2. I sing songs of praise and thanksgiving to my Lord. I have found it's very difficult to maintain a bad attitude when singing.
3. I keep extra watch on my nutritional habits/frequency of eating. Ladies especially are susceptible to a hunger-induced bad attitude! Seriously, right?
4. I spend more time snuggling and hugging and kissing my babies! Oxytocin (the love hormone) will do wonders for happiness level!
5. I KEEP ON AND KEEP ON reminding myself WHAT KIND of children I want and then MODEL that for them. You want children of peace? Model a peaceful attitude for them. Be a parent they can be proud to have and they will be children you are proud to have.
6. I think back on my life before the Lord so graciously blessed us with children and I whisper to my son how grateful I am to have him. I think things you have to fight to have you are always more grateful you've got... And we waited a long long time for these kids. I am so grateful I literally can't even THINK about how grateful I am without my eyes tearing up a little.
7. I drink coffee. A lot. Probably too much, lol. But it makes me feel happy, and more peaceful, more focused.
8. I recognize that these years won't last forever and someday I WILL be able to have a "visitor-worthy" clean house all the time, but now is not that time. And then I see my boy cleaning up all by himself with no prompting and I think maybe those times will come sooner than I expect.
9. I spend time OUTSIDE! I have a tendency to feel SAD (seasonal affectiveness disorder) or cabin-fevery when I don't get enough outside time. I put the kids in the garden cart and drag them around while I weed and water, voila, everyone is happy.
10. I give us all, including myself here, some GRACE. Not all these days are like all the others. Some are better, some worse, but it's all fine.
HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE. Circumstances are not my master! It doesn't matter WHAT is happening, I can CHOOSE to be happy anyway.
This week the kids have been getting up two hours earlier than they have all their lives. The sun is up earlier? They have been getting up earlier and therefore my days have been getting longer, and my normal store of patience is not lasting the whole day. I. Have. Been. Feeling. MEAN. And I hate it. The day creeps up to its end and I look at my attitude throughout the day and it makes me so mad at myself! Why do I act this way??? Are they related? I don't know, maybe.
I think to myself how much I want balance. How I want to have a "visitor-worthy" clean house, cook all our meals from scratch, make sure the kids are clean, fed and happy... And basically just make my husband proud to be married to me, and my God want to call me His good and faithful servant. When days don't go the way I wish they would, the kids need MORE of me than I think I have, and all I want in life is for us to be happy and look back on this time as the happiest in our lives, THIS is how I survive:
1. I freaking PRAY. "Be anxious for nothing, but in all things by prayer and supplication, and with thanksgiving, make your requests known to the Lord."
2. I sing songs of praise and thanksgiving to my Lord. I have found it's very difficult to maintain a bad attitude when singing.
3. I keep extra watch on my nutritional habits/frequency of eating. Ladies especially are susceptible to a hunger-induced bad attitude! Seriously, right?
4. I spend more time snuggling and hugging and kissing my babies! Oxytocin (the love hormone) will do wonders for happiness level!
5. I KEEP ON AND KEEP ON reminding myself WHAT KIND of children I want and then MODEL that for them. You want children of peace? Model a peaceful attitude for them. Be a parent they can be proud to have and they will be children you are proud to have.
6. I think back on my life before the Lord so graciously blessed us with children and I whisper to my son how grateful I am to have him. I think things you have to fight to have you are always more grateful you've got... And we waited a long long time for these kids. I am so grateful I literally can't even THINK about how grateful I am without my eyes tearing up a little.
7. I drink coffee. A lot. Probably too much, lol. But it makes me feel happy, and more peaceful, more focused.
8. I recognize that these years won't last forever and someday I WILL be able to have a "visitor-worthy" clean house all the time, but now is not that time. And then I see my boy cleaning up all by himself with no prompting and I think maybe those times will come sooner than I expect.
9. I spend time OUTSIDE! I have a tendency to feel SAD (seasonal affectiveness disorder) or cabin-fevery when I don't get enough outside time. I put the kids in the garden cart and drag them around while I weed and water, voila, everyone is happy.
10. I give us all, including myself here, some GRACE. Not all these days are like all the others. Some are better, some worse, but it's all fine.
HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE. Circumstances are not my master! It doesn't matter WHAT is happening, I can CHOOSE to be happy anyway.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
That weird thing I tried: oil pulling
Day 1. Did it after breakfast. Oops! A couple things other people haven't mentioned: the oil (coconut) starts to taste bad the closer you get to the allotted time, like... Milk on its way out. Also, my TONGUE felt really really clean! Gums had no visible change. Teeth whiteness, no visible change (of course). I did brush my teeth first, I'm not sure if you're supposed to or not...
Day 2. Did it first thing in the morning. DIDN'T brush my teeth first. Tasted WAY grosser towards the end than the first day. I choose to look at it as a good sign. It's weird. It's really weird... But my mouth does feel cleaner. I don't know if this has to do with oil pulling, but I've had a headache all day, and my throat feels sore.
Day 3. I think I might be sold. I know I know, ALREADY?!? But this morning I woke up sick still, and my gums were sore, so then I brushed my teeth and did the pulling and they STOPPED HURTING!!! It felt great. I know some people get the gag reflex from the coconut oil, but it's been fine for me... So whatever. Gums are less sore feeling, but not necessarily a lighter pink or healthier looking yet. Teeth are DEFinitely not whiter. We're getting together the ingredients for remineralizing toothpaste, so I'll add that to this whole thing when we do.
Day 4. Okay, so full blown sick with cough this morning. Decided to still pull, but after 12 minutes I started to cough, accidentally swallowed some of my oil, choked and threw up. Freaking fantastic. Ugh. SO, I only got 12 minutes in, and I wish someone had posted a warning about doing this when ill. Side note: gums are starting to feel amazing... Teeth still the same as far as I can tell.
Day 5. No pulling, still coughing. Day 6. No pulling. Day 7. No pulling.
Day 8. I pulled today, first thing in the morning before drinking anything, after brushing. But only for 15 minutes. It felt great!! So, you're supposed to rinse with warm water three times after, but today I rinsed twice with warm and the final with cold, and I could feel the water GOING BETWEEN EVERY TOOTH!!! Something I literally haven't felt in years. Like I said, my teeth are too crooked to floss very well. Ew! Sorry. Anyway, gums, pinker! Less sore! They even feel... Like... TIGHTER against my teeth. Firmer. Teeth, I THINK I noticed them being whiter for the first time today. We'll see. Tongue feeling cleaner too! YOH can notice the difference breath-wise at the end of the day on days that I do oil pulling too. Hm.
Days 9+10. Pulled 15 minutes first thing in the morning, rinsed and finished with brushing with the remineralizing toothpaste. Mouth feeling good gums and tongue-wise... Definitely healthier... But I have a tooth I'm concerned about. Next week I'll be adding fermented cod liver oil to this regime, hoping to strengthen my teeth enough so that they don't hurt when I eat really hard foods (like kettle chips), and get Pru-Pru's top primary incisors completely opaque instead of half transparent like they are.
Days 11-14. Yay! I've been faithful! Even on Sunday when we needed to get ready for church.
Okay, so now that I've been doing this for two weeks, here are my conclusions: I am totally sold! It is WEIRD. But you get used to it! After the first few days using the coconut oil solid at first I started putting the jar under hot water in the sink (it literally takes like ten seconds to heat enough for you to pull), and that's a lot better, ick-factor-wise. Gums are definitely feeling better overall, that was the first change I noticed and the goodness has continued. If you "pull" hard enough I really think this is as good as flossing and your gums don't accidentally get damaged. Tongue is SO clean feeling every day after I do this! I've always been a serious tongue brusher, but it's never felt so clean as pulling makes it feel. And like I said, hubby noticed how nice my breath is, even first thing in the morning. Teeth are slightly whiter. I was really skeptical of this one. I DON'T think they feel less sensitive, but I haven't started using the fermented cod liver oil yet, so we'll do an update after that, but they are slightly whiter. Hm! I'm going to continue this and write another update with all the other dental changes I've made, but that's what I have to report so far.
Day 2. Did it first thing in the morning. DIDN'T brush my teeth first. Tasted WAY grosser towards the end than the first day. I choose to look at it as a good sign. It's weird. It's really weird... But my mouth does feel cleaner. I don't know if this has to do with oil pulling, but I've had a headache all day, and my throat feels sore.
Day 3. I think I might be sold. I know I know, ALREADY?!? But this morning I woke up sick still, and my gums were sore, so then I brushed my teeth and did the pulling and they STOPPED HURTING!!! It felt great. I know some people get the gag reflex from the coconut oil, but it's been fine for me... So whatever. Gums are less sore feeling, but not necessarily a lighter pink or healthier looking yet. Teeth are DEFinitely not whiter. We're getting together the ingredients for remineralizing toothpaste, so I'll add that to this whole thing when we do.
Day 4. Okay, so full blown sick with cough this morning. Decided to still pull, but after 12 minutes I started to cough, accidentally swallowed some of my oil, choked and threw up. Freaking fantastic. Ugh. SO, I only got 12 minutes in, and I wish someone had posted a warning about doing this when ill. Side note: gums are starting to feel amazing... Teeth still the same as far as I can tell.
Day 5. No pulling, still coughing. Day 6. No pulling. Day 7. No pulling.
Day 8. I pulled today, first thing in the morning before drinking anything, after brushing. But only for 15 minutes. It felt great!! So, you're supposed to rinse with warm water three times after, but today I rinsed twice with warm and the final with cold, and I could feel the water GOING BETWEEN EVERY TOOTH!!! Something I literally haven't felt in years. Like I said, my teeth are too crooked to floss very well. Ew! Sorry. Anyway, gums, pinker! Less sore! They even feel... Like... TIGHTER against my teeth. Firmer. Teeth, I THINK I noticed them being whiter for the first time today. We'll see. Tongue feeling cleaner too! YOH can notice the difference breath-wise at the end of the day on days that I do oil pulling too. Hm.
Days 9+10. Pulled 15 minutes first thing in the morning, rinsed and finished with brushing with the remineralizing toothpaste. Mouth feeling good gums and tongue-wise... Definitely healthier... But I have a tooth I'm concerned about. Next week I'll be adding fermented cod liver oil to this regime, hoping to strengthen my teeth enough so that they don't hurt when I eat really hard foods (like kettle chips), and get Pru-Pru's top primary incisors completely opaque instead of half transparent like they are.
Days 11-14. Yay! I've been faithful! Even on Sunday when we needed to get ready for church.
Okay, so now that I've been doing this for two weeks, here are my conclusions: I am totally sold! It is WEIRD. But you get used to it! After the first few days using the coconut oil solid at first I started putting the jar under hot water in the sink (it literally takes like ten seconds to heat enough for you to pull), and that's a lot better, ick-factor-wise. Gums are definitely feeling better overall, that was the first change I noticed and the goodness has continued. If you "pull" hard enough I really think this is as good as flossing and your gums don't accidentally get damaged. Tongue is SO clean feeling every day after I do this! I've always been a serious tongue brusher, but it's never felt so clean as pulling makes it feel. And like I said, hubby noticed how nice my breath is, even first thing in the morning. Teeth are slightly whiter. I was really skeptical of this one. I DON'T think they feel less sensitive, but I haven't started using the fermented cod liver oil yet, so we'll do an update after that, but they are slightly whiter. Hm! I'm going to continue this and write another update with all the other dental changes I've made, but that's what I have to report so far.
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