It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the new, seemingly natural products on the market—just walk down the beauty aisle of your grocery store or step into a Sephora. What’s not so clear is what’s genuinely better for our overall health. Organic products cost more—sometimes a lot more. Are they really worth the extra money?

PARABENS—As Bad as They Sound?

Parabens are used to extend the shelf-life of most of our beauty products, but having products that stick around for long periods of time may not be as desirable as you may think. According to the American Cancer Society, “Studies have shown that parabens, which are used as preservatives in many skin care products (like lotion, make-up, and sunscreen), can be absorbed through the skin. In 2004, a small study found traces of parabens in some samples of breast cancer tumors.” What’s more, parabens have estrogen-like properties, which cause your cells (cancerous or not) to grow and divide. However, it’s important to note that the study did not look at paraben levels in normal tissue.

More cause for concern lies in the fact that the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act doesn’t authorize the FDA to approve cosmetic ingredients. Within the FDA, there is virtually no regulation of the ingredients in our makeup, hair care, or lotions. Instead, companiesvoluntarily test their products with the Cosmetic Industry Review (CIR) process. This is in stark contrast to the European Union that has some of the strictest cosmetic laws in the world. To put things in perspective, the EU Cosmetic Directive bans 1100 ingredients, whereas the FDA has banned only nine. In a 2008 statement given by Jane Houlihan, the Vice President of Research at the Environmental Working Group, she said, “Companies are free to use almost any ingredient they choose in personal care products, with no proof of safety required.”

PHTHALATES—The Truth About Plastics

Phthalates are found in plastics—plastic storage containers, water bottles, and some food packaging. They have become a part of our modern lifestyle. The Environmental Working Group has found, “Phthalate plasticizers [are] linked to birth defects of the male reproductive system.” The statement went on to say, “Over the past four years, scientists have published at least 10 epidemiology studies linking phthalates to birth defects in baby boys, reproductive problems in men, abdominal obesity, increased diabetes risk, thyroid problems, as well as asthma and dermal diseases in children.”

It should come as no surprise to learn that the EU has banned several types of phthalates, whereas none are banned in the U.S., though the evidence of the harmful effects phthalates have on the human body is very clear. Not only do these plasticizers interfere with human development, evidence also suggests these chemicals weaken bones, and current research is being done to determine whether or not phthalates are endocrine disrupters.

FRAGRANCES—Should We Avoid What Smells Good?

Who doesn’t want to use fabric softeners or dishwashing liquid that smells like lemons or lavender? The fragrance-free versions often seem bland in comparison. But a lot of people are highly sensitive to fragrances which should lead us to wonder, what’s in those fragrances? And more importantly, what are the effects of using fragrances on our skin, on our clothes, and in our cleaning products?

According to the Cancer Prevention Coalition, “Fragrances and perfumes in cosmetics, personal and household products are leading causes of allergy, sensitization, and irritation. Animal toxicity studies have found many to be hazardous. Fragrances are called ‘indoor air-pollutants’ by chemically sensitive individuals.”

Thousands of synthetic ingredients are used by the fragrance industry to create the perfumes and lotions we love to spritz and slather on. What’s more, fragranced products contain phthalates, which pose countless health concerns. In America, individual perfume ingredients don’t have to be listed on the product. Typically we only see “fragrance” on the label when in fact it may have taken twenty-five or more ingredients to make that one unique fragrance.

Is The Tide Turning?

Over the last few years there has been increased pressure on cosmetic companies to produce cleaner, safer products—and it looks like the companies are starting to listen. According to the Environmental Working Group, Whole Foods, the largest natural food retailer in the U.S., has disallowed the use of phthalates in products bearing its Whole Body Premium Standard Seal. It’s also worth noting that The Body Shop has already phased out many phthalates in its line of products.

But there is still more work to do. If you are interested in getting involved in the fight for better regulation of our cosmetic products, make a point of contacting your local government officials or state officials. Let them know cosmetic industry regulation is important to you and your families. Another way to get involved is to simply buy from companies that have taken measures to eliminate toxic chemicals. Look for products that are paraben-free and fragrance-free or better yet, 100% organic. And pay attention to the packaging of your foods and beauty products, which all too often contain phthalates. Look for glass containers. Remember, you can send a message with every dollar you spend.

For more information on product safety check out:

Healthystuff.org—A comprehensive website that allows you to search by brand to see what may be lurking in your apparel, children’s toys, and pet products. Healthystuff.org has tested thousands of products and keeps consumers informed of the latest news in consumer protection

Cosmeticdatabase.org—This site contains the Skin Deep database created by the Environmental Working Group. This database is very comprehensive—you search for a brand and you can immediately learn whether your product is considered to be a low hazard product or a high hazard product. You can also learn safer shopping tips and explore the frequently asked questions page, which offers an abundance of good information.

No Shampoo!

I am a clean freak as well as a water baby. A Cancer with Pisces rising and a Cancer moon, I always loved the water so much I should have been born a mermaid. For most of my life, I bathed or showered every morning and often at night as well.

A few years ago, my son presented me with a gift—a basket full of organic soaps. They were wonderful! I loved the shape, the smell, the texture. But the strangest thing happened—by using organic soaps I discovered that I no longer needed to use deodorant. Seriously. No body odor, not even on hot sweaty days.

I don’t know the science behind it, but my best guess is that antibacterial soap strips the body’s natural oils that protect the skin and kills off the good bacteria that keep the bad bacteria on our skin in check.

These days I refuse to use any soap that isn’t organic. I know my skin soaks up toxins and chemicals from anything I put on it, so I am organic all the way. Due to organic soap, I don’t need to bathe more than every other day to every three days. But I’ve always showered or bathed every morning just to wash my hair! If I washed it at night, it would still look good in the morning, but by the afternoon—yuck.

For years I’ve tried to train my hair to need less washing. Remember the good old days when women washed their hair once a week? It’s just a matter of discipline, right? I knew over-cleansing my hair, washing it once a day since I was thirteen, had screwed up the natural balance of oils. But I could never seem to go more than two days without washing, and day two had to be a stay-at-home day. So imagine my interest when I kept seeing articles from women who have stopped shampooing their hair and raved about the results. These “no-poo” gals say it takes up to six weeks of not shampooing for the scalp’s oil glands to readjust and start working properly again. They said the change after six weeks was remarkable, that their hair was healthier and more beautiful than ever before, that they would never use shampoo again!

So I thought about the similarity between the cause and effect of antibacterialsoap and body odor and the cause and effect of shampoos and excessive hair oil and decided I would take the challenge. From day two through day four I scraped my hair into a ponytail and suffered—until I couldn’t stand it anymore. On the fourth night I gave up and washed my hair.

A few weeks later, I decided to try again. On day six, my hair looked like it was full of gel. I could hold it up or out and it would stay put for a while. But instead of giving up again, I went back to the net and did more research.  I read one article about four women who committed to a six week trial. Two loved the results; two never adjusted. Then I found several articles where the successful “no-poo” gals talked about rinsing their hair with baking soda mixed in water as needed. They also recommended an additional rinse with water and apple cider vinegar if the hair was dry. Dry? With all this oil?

Well, I decided to give it a try. I used a tablespoon of baking soda in a cup of water and poured it through my hair, then rinsed with plain water. When my hair dried, it felt like silk. Each individual shaft of hair was coated in natural oil, not too much, not too little, just enough. My hair was full, shiny, and showing off its natural wave. It was beautiful! And it felt better than it has ever felt after any conditioner or oil treatment. And today? The day after? Perfect! It looks like I washed it and conditioned it this morning, only better. It shines and curls and is completely manageable. My fine hair has body and volume it never had before. I have officially joined the ranks of the “no-poo” gals. I don’t need another five weeks. I’m a convert!

Note: it has now been three months since I originally wrote this article and I am still a convert. My hair is wonderful. I rinse it with baking soda water once or twice a week and occasionally rinse it in between. A final rinse with apple cider vinegar and water closes the cuticle on the hair shaft. This helps prevent breakage. My hair is stronger, thicker, and easier to manage than ever before. To think I used to wash my hair every morning just to remove excess oil that was caused by my shampoo.

Recommended Reading:

• Hypothyroidism – Prevention and Natural Remedies
• The Power of Our Hormones and How To Balance Them
• Reverse Gray Hair Naturally
• Natural Hair Loss Baldness Remedies and Cures

Hansel and Gretel Had It Easy

We have all read, seen or listened to some variation of Hansel & Gretel from the Brothers Grimm. A witch lives in a deep forest luring children with an edible house and sweet treats hoping to fatten them up for her cannibalistic urges. The children turn the tables as befits fairy tale heroes and get out alive.

Well, according to the newest research from Princeton University published officially in Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior1 and for the mass market in Science Daily2, Hansel and Gretel would be even fatter, slower and more lethargic eating today’s sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup because the weight gain from HFCS is far greater than ordinary sucrose. This would put the outcome of tricking the witch into her own oven in doubt.

HFCS is a corn derivative that typically has 55-percent fructose, 42-glucose and 3-percent other larger sugars. It is cheaper than sucrose in the United States where it is easier to grow corn than sugar cane or sugar beets. Sucrose is a naturally occurring blend of equally balanced fructose and glucose. HFCS replaced sucrose in the early 1970s and the rate of obesity as a population percentage has doubled from 15 to 33-percent since then according to CDC figures cited by Science Daily.

The researchers conducted two experiments. One compared male rats eating rat chow and HFCS water to similar rats eating rat chow and sucrose flavored water. The weight gain was described as “much for the rats eating the HFCS water. Thereally interesting fact about this study: the sucrose water was highly concentrated at levels similar to the few sodas sweetened with sucrose still in the US marketplace, but the HFCS water was half the concentration of the typical HFCS soda.

The second study lasting six months looked at high fructose corn syrup versus water. Here the rats ballooned up with 48-percent weight gains over rats just eating food and unsweetened water. The researchers described the high-fructose corn syrup rats as obese.

“These rats aren’t just getting fat; they’re demonstrating characteristics of obesity, including substantial increases in abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides,” researcher Miriam Bocarsly reported. “In humans, these same characteristics are known risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes.”

The researchers speculated on the reasons why HFCS might be more fattening than sucrose. Apparently, fructose molecules in sucrose are bound to glucose molecules and take longer to hit the bloodstream than the fructose in HFCS, which aren’t bound to anything. The researchers also mentioned that fructose seems to be processed in the liver into fat, while sucrose is metabolized by insulin from the pancreas and is more readily used as an energy source.

“Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn’t true, at least under the conditions of our tests,” says psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. “When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese—every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this; they don’t all gain extra weight.”3

The researchers cite previous research articles that show fructose affects hormones like leptin that work with insulin to control satiety, the feeling of being full.

This excerpt from the abstract says it all – “The combined effects of lowered circulating leptin and insulin in individuals who consume diets that are high in dietary fructose could therefore increase the likelihood of weight gain and its associated metabolic sequelae. In addition, fructose, compared with glucose, is preferentially metabolized to lipid in the liver.”4

Not feeling full induces more eating. In the meantime, we can imagine Hansel and Gretel being fed soda and other fructose-laden foods and winding up in the witch’s meat pie. End of story.

Sources for this Article:

1. Bocarsly, ME, et al. “High-fructose corn syrup causes characteristic of obesity in rats:
2. sciencedaily.com viewed 3/30/2010
3. sciencedaily.com viewed 3/30/2010
4. Elliott, SS, et al. “Fructose, weight gain, and the insulin resistance syndrome.” Am J
5. Increased body weight, body fat and triglyceride levels.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 2010; DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2010.02.012
6. Clin Nutr. 2002 Nov;76(5):911-22.

Baking soda is a natural, inexpensive odor eliminator and cleanser with many personal and household uses.

Most of us know to place an open box or dish of baking soda in the fridge and freezer. But as an odor eliminator, baking soda has many other uses. It can be shaken into the bottom of trash cans, added to laundry hampers, and mixed into cat litter boxes. Sprinkle it on the carpet or the doggie bed and vacuum. Pour it down the sink to remove odors from the drain and garbage disposal. Leave an open box on the shelf in your closet. Add ½ cup to the wash to take smells out of laundry. And use it as an odor eater in smelly shoes.

As a cleanser, baking soda can be used dry, as a paste, or as a solution in waater. Use it with a damp sponge to clean the sink, tub, counter tops, or stove top. Use it as a paste to clean scuff marks, crayon on the walls, or any hard to clean item such as the outdoor grill, the oven, chrome on your car, or your silver. Baking soda in water can be used to soak items or to clean floors and walls.

Baking soda is also an amazing product for personal care. Use it as a toothpaste or mix it with water and work it through your hair instead of shampoo. A paste is great for bug bites and you can use it dry as a simple but effective deodorant.  A paste can also be used to exfoliate the skin or you can add baking soda to your bathwater for a soak. But be careful when you use it in the bath; it can make the bottom of the tub or shower quite slippery.

Last, but not least, don’t forget to leave an open box where you can quickly reach it in case of a fire on the stove.

If you concerned with aluminum in baking soda, checkout this article, The Great Baking Soda Anti-Hoax

When it comes to produce, should we choose organic or local? The obvious answer is “both.” But when local, organic produce is not available, which is the greener and healthier choice?

People who vote for organic will argue that organic is always healthier because it is not genetically modified and is not sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. On the other hand, many of the eco-conscious cite the enormous carbon footprint involved in the transportation of produce. It is a bit ridiculous to buy organic California grown oranges in Florida and vice-versa. Buying locally not only saves on fossil fuels, it also keeps money in the local economy.

So, if you’re buying for health, you should always buy organic, and if you’re buying for environmental reasons, you should always buy local, right? Not necessarily.

Which is Healthier?

Locally grown fruits and vegetables may actually be healthier than organic fruits and vegetables shipped in from afar. While GMOs should be avoided at all costs, if health is your primary concern, try to find out if the farmer practices crop rotation. This is necessary to determine the nutritional value of the produce. Consider the distance organic produce travels with the substantial loss of enzymes and nutrients compared to fresh produce. And remember that organic farmers are allowed to use some harmful pesticides under many circumstances. Then consider the significant increase in vitamin and mineral content in produce grown on local farms that practice crop rotation.

The vitamins and mineral content of produce is not always higher when produce is organic, not when the nutrition is determined by the health of the soil and the freshness of the produce. While organic practices typically do promote healthier soil and more nutritious produce, with big business fully on the organic bandwagon soil quality is not always taken into consideration. Consequently, crop rotation, one of the best ways to help restore the soil, can be ignored.

The average person, that is, a person whose health is not degraded to the point where chemical sensitivities are an issue, would do better to ingest a little more pesticides with a lot more vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and enzymes. It behooves the consumer who shops in this manner to choose wisely. If buying conventional for health’s sake, conventional produce that typically contain the highest concentrations of pesticides, like berries and apples, should be avoided. It is likely that the increased benefits of local fresh strawberries are nullified by the enormous amounts of pesticides conventional farmers use to grow them.

Which is Greener?

When purchasing produce, we should consider long term ramifications of decisions. Voting with the pocketbook is the most powerful vote anyone can make considering its frequency and potential to evoke real change. Money talks. Every time a purchase of conventional produce is made a vote is cast for non-organic, environmentally harmful practices. Buying non-organic produce encourages everything the environmentally conscious stand against. Purchasing local conventional produce for the purpose of saving carbon emissions is penny wise and pound foolish.

To further complicate matters, the way food miles are calculated often misses a big piece of the puzzle. When purchasing an apple grown locally, for example, one should take into account the fact that the apple grown on a small scale farm may have arrived to the market via a small farmer’s pickup truck that traveled 65 miles to the market with around 100 apples or so. Compare this to a semi truck carrying two or three thousand apples. We can do the math to calculate the fuel consumed per apple, but in most cases, the math gets way too complicated. Farmers often bring their produce to large farmer’s markets in their area via their pickups and flatbeds, where the produce is shipped all over the country via tractor trailers.

A Better Idea

Ask the local grocery store manager if s/he carries local, organic produce. When shopping at farmer’s markets ask the vendors if they have organic produce and if they practice crop rotation. When the answer is no, move on. This is how change happens.

Even Better

Grow as much of your own food as you can.

Healthy Cooking Methods

How healthy are the various cooking methods? The answer depends on what you cook and how you cook it. If your idea of a healthy main course is blackened fish, crispy fried chicken, or caramelized ribs, you’ve probably never heard of advanced Glycated End Products (also known as advanced glycated end products).

Advanced glycated end products, which were discovered by Louis Maillard in 1912, are a class of chemical byproducts that result from the combination of protein and sugar (usually glucose) when food is cooked by excessive heat.1

Advanced glycated end products can also be formed by the body when too much refined sugar is eaten and elevated blood sugar levels are maintained for too long a time. And food manufacturers intentionally increase the number of advanced glycated end products in food, either by adding sugar or by browning food elements.

Advanced glycated end products aren’t to be confused with glycoproteins, even though they share the same building blocks. A glycoprotein forms when glucose and proteins bind using the normal digestive enzymes with which we all come equipped. This process presupposes gently cooked food and moderate sugar intake from whole fruits and vegetables and very little or no refined sugar. Glycoproteins are part of how the body feeds itself. Advanced glycated end products are something else entirely.

Humans evolved eating raw food and food cooked slowly over a small open flame. Today we cook food quickly and at high heat by flash heating, microwaving, deep-frying, and barbecuing. All of these methods form advanced glycated end products, which are difficult to metabolize and nearly indestructible.

Our immune system reacts to advanced glycated end products as foreign bodies. When our diet is inundated with advanced glycated end products, the immune system is overworked and becomes exhausted, which may lead to allergies or disease. advanced glycated end products spur the release of cytokines, which are part of the inflammatory process. Cytokines collect in the joints of people with arthritis. Another interesting fact about advanced glycated end products and inflammation is that free radical production is nearly five times greater with glycated protein compared to regular protein.4

Not all cooking methods are created equal. Studies have shown that boiling, steaming, or any method involving water tends to greatly limit the number of advanced glycated end products that form. Turning down the heat and extending the cooking time can also create fewer advanced glycated end products than other methods.

There are two different temperature ranges to be aware of: the heat labile point around 245° F and the much lower advanced glycated end products threshold between 120° F and 180° F. The heat labile point applies to fats and proteins that change chemically without the presence of sugar and has similar health risk as the advanced glycated end products discussed here.

How to Avoid Advanced Glycated End Products

• Turn down the heat and extend the cooking time
• Stop eating sugar (The average American eats 140 pounds of sugar per year.3)
• Cook with water (boil, steam and poach)
• Avoid processed foods which are likely to have sugar or browned food elements
• Drink green tea (Recent studies have shown that green tea help remove advanced glycated end products from your body.4)

The following is a small sample of diseases and conditions that can be helped by limiting advanced glycated end products either by changing how we cook or cutting out the sugar:

• Inflammation
• Aging
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Macular Degeneration
• Hypertension
• Arthritis
• Kidney Disease

This list is not inclusive, but is just enough for all of us to be mindful that how we cook our food is at least as important as what foods we eat.

Eating raw can help a person be healthier, but it can be a hard choice. In some cases, cooking is necessary for economic reasons like extending the shelf life of food. For example, cooking turns stale bread into toast, which tastes the same regardless of how fresh the bread was. Striking the balance between killing off pathogens in poorly stored raw food and overcooking has always been delicate. And for many people the practice of cooking is so ingrained in their culture that eating raw food is unthinkable.  So if you must cook, cook gently.

1.  “Effects of High Temperatures on Meats.” Food and Chemical Toxicology Apr 1985:23(12).
2. Mullarkey, CJ., et al. “Free Radical Generation by Early Gycation Products: A Mechanism for Acceleration of Arthogenesis in Diabetes.”

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• Hypothyroidism – Natural Remedies, Causes, and How To Heal the Thyroid
• How to Cure Lyme Disease and Virtually Any Other Bacterial Infection, Naturally

Crazy… – Letter from the Editor

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Cultural Cognition and Alternative Medicine

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