R is for Read Labels to Avoid Chemicals

ABCs for healthy living are quick takes on simple strategies for creating a healthier life.

Commercially manufactured bread contains chemical additives.

I used to think that choosing healthy foods meant counting calories, fat grams, and carbs so that I could lose weight. I gave no thought at all to the ingredients used to create highly processed low calorie foods. I compromised my health every single time I ate something that came out of a box or carton no matter how low the calorie count was.

And then I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. While searching for ways to improve my symptoms, I learned that chemicals we are exposed to every day in common household products, cosmetics, and processed food make us sick. Exposure to these chemicals has been identified a a causal factor in almost all autoimmune illnesses, including fibromyalgia, as well as Alzheimer's Disease, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and many types of cancer.

Our bodies are designed to break down and utilize real food for energy, stamina, and to maintain health. Our bodies are not designed to deal with artificial chemical ingredients used by big food manufacturing companies to increase the shelf life of packaged products. Most food conglomerates are interested in profit margins, not health.

The label in the above picture is from a typical commercially manufactured loaf of whole wheat bread. When I make wheat bread, I use just a few real food ingredients: flour, wheat, salt, yeast, milk, butter, and a little sugar to activate the yeast.

Look at what has been added to the commercially manufactured loaf. And this is a brand that contains fewer added ingredients than many of the others sitting on the supermarket shelves. Consider just one of the added chemical ingredients. Monoglycerides are additives used as an emulsifier to keep oil and fat from separating. Monoglycerides (and diglycerides) often contain trace amounts of trans fats which have been banned for use in food production but don't have to be listed as a trans fat because of the level per serving calculations.They have been linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and raising bad cholesterol levels.The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has correlated consuming trans fats to increased rates of death.There is no safe level of them to eat.

I don't always have time to make my own bread. So I have become an avid label reader. When I buy a commercially produced loaf of bread, I read the ingredients labels, understand what each ingredient is, and make an informed decision about the purchase. My goal is to eat real food 90% of the time.That leaves 10% leeway for eating some processed food.

I also reduced my exposure to toxic chemicals by eliminating household cleaners that contain harmful ingredients and switching to safer cosmetics. For more info on how to reduce your exposure to toxic chemicals, check out these five ideas.

Eliminate These 3 Toxic Things Now

How to Clean Your Entire Bathroom Without Toxic Chemicals

How to Find Less Toxic Cosmetics

Why Fragrances are Harmful to Our Health

3 Nontoxic Household Cleaner Recipes

I was so debilitated from the pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia that there were many days I could barely function. I stopped eating most processed food, started eating real food with a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients, and switched to cleaning products and personal care items with fewer chemicals.It takes time and energy to make lifestyle changes but it is certainly worth the effort. Next month, I will celebrate four years of being completely symptom free.

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E is for Eliminate 3 Toxic Things Now

ABCs for healthy living are quick takes on simple strategies for creating a healthier life.

Eat real food like quinoa patties and avocado instead of processed food.

Making healthy living a priority is compromised by our exposure to toxic food, chemicals, people, and mindsets. We can minimize the damage by making smart choices for our body, soul, mind, and spirit every day.

Where do we start? There are 3 toxic things most people are exposed to on a daily basis. Eliminating these potentially harmful substances from our home environment is a good way to move toward a healthier life. Many of these toxic chemicals are linked to a wide variety of illnesses including most autoimmune diseases and many types of cancer.

Highly Processed Food

Food that is manufactured in a plant is often made with ingredients that adversely affect our health.Some of the worst offenders are artificial colors, nitrates and nitrites, high fructose corn syrup, BHA and BHT preservatives, MSG, artificial sweeteners, and the trans fats found in hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils.

Eat real food instead. Focus on nuts, fruits, and vegetables that have a lot of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. Try this. Set a target goal of at least 80-90% of your diet being composed of real food. Eliminate processed food a little at a time until you reach your goal. Try real food recipes like quinoa patties and fresh avocado.

Check out this post for a cool video on how to peel an avocado A is for Avocado

Try this recipe for Quinoa Kale Patties. Once you get the hang of these you can add different vegetables and seasonings to change up the taste. Just keep the amount of quinoa to vegetables the same.Try spinach instead of kale, add a finely chopped carrot, use purple onion instead of yellow, use chopped bell peppers instead of jalapeno if you want to reduce the spiciness..Quinoa Kale Patties

Household Cleaners Full  of Chemicals

Residue from the products we use to clean our homes stays on the surfaces on which they are used, gets on our skin, and is inhaled through our lungs. Anything made with an artificial fragrance pollutes the air in your home. Perfume, air fresheners, and many cleaning products contain artificial fragrances.These products are made with toxic volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), phthalates, and many other harmful chemicals. You breathe in everything you put into the air in your home and it all eventually ends up in your bloodstream causing damage to your health on a cellular level. 

Use non toxic natural cleaners like vinegar and baking soda instead. You can make your own all-purpose cleaner by mixing half white vinegar and half warm water in a spray bottle. Or buy organic cleaners made without toxic ingredients.Two brands to check out are Seventh Generation and Method. 

Personal Care Items with Potentially Harmful Ingredients

Think of how many personal care items you use each day: perfume, cosmetics, antiperspirants, shampoo, sunscreen, lotions.Do you know what ingredients you are slathering and spraying on your body? Many of these items contain petroleum derived ingredients, VOCs, parabens, aluminum compounds, oxybenzone, and other harmful chemical ingredients. Permanent hair dye often contains coal tar and formaldehyde. 

Look for organic mineral based and fragrance free products instead. Reduce the number of  
personal care products you use and know what is in the products you do use. Use more natural versions of your favorite cosmetics. Consider embracing your natural look instead of dying your hair. Check out this recent post on a good option for nail polish.  
Safer Nail Polish 



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3 Non Toxic Cleaning Products Easy to Make at Home

Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is twenty-three days away. My extended family was here for five days of feasting and gratitude over the long Thanksgiving weekend. The grandchildren spent hours down at the creek catching minnows and tromping through falling leaves and mud, racing back to the house to refuel on mac and cheese and chocolate cake, and running up to the playroom to create artistic masterpieces out of paint and Play Doh. So there are a few, ahem, (well maybe a lot) of bits of dirt and crumbs, well, just about everywhere. I am in the middle of cleaning up the Thanksgiving detritus before I start dragging out the Christmas decorations.

I can take care of all the mess without using a single harmful toxic chemical cleaning product. When I started my quest to feel better from the awful symptoms of fibromyalgia, I found a lot of info on how many potentially harmful chemicals we are exposed to in the household products we use.This exposure has been linked to many chronic illnesses. I had been using the same favorite cleaning products for years. I read the labels on all of them, researched the side effects of exposure to the ingredients, and realized I needed a new routine for household chores.

I started searching online for information about chemical free cleaning options. There are some great non-toxic manufactured products that I use. Seventh Generation makes liquid dish soap and laundry detergent. Method makes dishwasher tabs and liquid hand soap. Ecos makes laundry detergent. I prefer versions of these products that are scent free since scented products may contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds). The containers for scent-free products usually include the phrase "free and clear." If you prefer a scented version, make sure the scent is derived from a natural source and doesn't contain any added VOCs. 

You can buy these non-toxic cleaning products at big box stores like Target and Walmart or order them online. Since they can be expensive and aren't always easy to find in my little rural corner of the world, I have discovered a simple way to go chemical free. I make a lot of the routine daily cleaners I use from simple inexpensive ingredients like vinegar and baking soda. Here are three of my favorites:

All Purpose Cleaner

All Purpose Cleaner

Mix equal parts of plain white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. That's it!

Use this mixture to clean countertops, mirrors, appliances, chrome, faucets, and anything else you would normally clean with a commercial all-purpose cleaner. Spray the solution on the surface you want to clean. Wipe it off with paper towels or a micro fiber cloth. No rinsing needed. Be sure to use a micro fiber cloth when cleaning mirrors and chrome. It will leave them clean and shiny without leaving behind paper residue. You can buy large jugs of inexpensive vinegar at any big box store or supermarket.  

Interesting factoid:  Vinegar contains 5 % acetic acid which kills bacteria and viruses. Vinegar is such an effective germ killer that it is used in many hospital high risk neonatal units to protect vulnerable newborns from exposure to both germs and harsh chemicals.

Tile Floor Cleaner

Tile Floor Cleaner

I have quarry tile floors in my kitchen, den, sunroom, and foyer. I love the natural swirly look of the tile that makes me feel like I'm walking across stones on a creek bed. I don't love that the floors need heavy duty cleaning because this area gets a lot of foot traffic. I experimented with various combinations of ingredients and the one I settled on keeps my floors cleaner than any commercial product I have ever used.

Mix a little less than one gallon of warm water with 1 Tbs of mild dish detergent, 1/2 c plain white vinegar, and 1/2 c baking soda. Fill a one gallon plastic pitcher half full with warm water. I use an old pitcher that has a lid. Add the dish detergent to the water and stir before you add the vinegar and baking soda to prevent excessive fizzing. And the vinegar and baking soda and stir. Slowly add more warm water to finish filling the pitcher. You can use your favorite mop and just pour a little of the solution on the floor and mop away. I like to use a mop that has a pump sprayer, a reservoir to add your own cleaning solution, and a micro fiber cleaning pad that can be tossed in the washing machine after each use. It is easy to fill the mop reservoir with the solution since my pitcher has a pouring spout. Put the lid on the pitcher when you are done and store any leftover solution for your next mopping task. After you mop the floor with this solution, go over the floor again with a clean damp mop using only water.Your floors will be sparkling clean and fresh. 

I like to use this cleaner in my kitchen which is a heavy traffic area. I also have an electric steamer and vacuum combo made specifically for tile floors. I use this in the foyer and den and other light traffic areas to clean the tile. It vacuums and cleans the tile in one step. And I don't have to worry about harsh chemicals since it only uses water.

Wood Cleaner

This mixture is great for cleaning and restoring scratched wooden surfaces. Use it on tabletops, furniture, doors, or any wooden object in need of a little TLC. I have used it to make 30 year old rocking chairs look brand new and to erase all the scratches on a dining table I purchased at a huge discount because it had been a floor sample. I used some on the scratched closet door pictured below. The scratches disappeared as soon as I put the solution on the door.

To make the wood cleaner: Mix 3/4 of a cup of canola oil with 1/4 of a cup of white vinegar. Apply to the marred wooden surface with a clean rag, micro fiber cloth, or a paper towel. Leave the mixture on overnight. Buff with a clean dry cloth the next morning. The wood usually soaks up most of the mixture so there may be little or no residue of the oil to wipe off as you buff. If you are unsure about using this on a specific type of wood or a treasured family antique, do a test run first. Apply some to an inconspicuous spot on the back or underside of the piece of furniture and leave overnight to see if you like the results before doing the entire piece of furniture.

Before using wood cleaner

After using wood cleaner

Looking for safer cleaning products is just one of the changes I made as I moved toward healing from fibromyalgia. I also got rid of scented products that contain harmful VOCs and looked for cosmetics and personal grooming products that contained less toxic ingredients. I made changes in what I eat. I stopped eating processed food which is full of all kinds of toxic chemicals. I started eating real foods that are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. 

I have been symptom free for almost three years. I learn something new every day about how to help my body stay healthy. And every single day I am thankful for this blessing.  

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3 Great Green Cleaners You Can Make at Home

Green Clean Green

Getting chemicals out of my home environment sounded like a great idea to help me move toward recovery from chronic illness.  Never cleaning my house again sounded like a good way to get my home condemned by the health department.  I figured there was a solution out there somewhere.  I started searching the web for chemical free cleaning options. There are some non-toxic manufactured products that you can buy but they can be expensive, some have added scents which are unhealthy, and these products aren't always easy to find in my little rural corner of the world.

So I started experimenting with cleaning products I could make at home out of cheap readily available non-toxic ingredients. Now my house is sparkly clean and I am sparkling with health.

Here are three of my favorites:

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER

Mix equal parts of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle.  

Use this mixture to clean countertops, mirrors, appliances, chrome, faucets, and anything else you would normally clean with a commercial all-purpose cleaner.  Spray the solution on the surface you want to clean. Wipe it off with paper towels or a micro fiber cloth.  No rinsing needed.  Be sure to use a micro fiber cloth when cleaning mirrors and chrome. It will leave them clean and shiny without leaving behind paper residue.  You can buy large jugs of inexpensive vinegar at any big box store or supermarket.  

Interesting factoid:  Vinegar contains 5 % acetic acid which kills bacteria and viruses. Vinegar is such an effective germ killer that it is used in many hospital high risk neonatal units to protect vulnerable newborns from exposure to both germs and harsh chemicals.

FLOOR CLEANER

I have beautiful quarry tile floors in my kitchen, den, and sunroom.  I love the natural swirly look of the tile that makes me feel like I'm walking across stones on a creek bed.  I don't love that they need heavy duty cleaning because this area gets a lot of foot traffic. I experimented with various combinations of ingredients and this one keeps my floors cleaner than any commercial product I have ever used.

Mix 1 gallon of warm water with 1/2 Tbs of mild dish detergent, 1/2 c vinegar, 1/2 c baking soda.  Be sure to add the dish detergent to the water before you add the vinegar and baking soda to keep the solution from fizzing over the top of your mixing container.  Stir well.  Store in a plastic 1 gallon pitcher with a lid.  I use a mop that has a pump sprayer, a container to add your own cleaning solution, and a micro fiber cleaning pad that can be tossed in the washing machine after use.  It is easy to fill the mop container with the solution since the pitcher has a pouring spout.  Put the lid on the pitcher when you are done and store any leftover solution for your next mopping task.

Clean kitchen floor. (Until I start cooking and spill something)

WOOD CLEANER 

This mixture is great for cleaning and restoring scratched wooden surfaces.  Use it on tabletops, furniture, door frames, or any wooden object in need of a little TLC.  I have used it to make 30 year old rocking chairs look brand new and erase all the scratches on a dining table I purchased at a huge discount because it had been a floor sample.  I just used some of the wood cleaner today on the inside of a closet door that was covered in scratches.  The scratches disappeared as soon as I put the solution on the door.

To make the wood cleaner:  Mix 3/4 of a cup of canola oil with 1/4 of a cup of white vinegar. Apply to the marred wooden surface with a clean rag, micro fiber cloth, or a paper towel.  The wood will soak up the mixture so there is no need to wipe it off after applying.

Closet door before I applied the wood cleaner

Closet door two minutes after I applied the wood cleaner 

Getting chemicals out of your home environment is just one step in the recovery process for fibromyalgia and other chronic illnesses.  I got rid of chemicals in cleaning products, cosmetics, personal grooming products, and scented products.  I also stopped eating processed food which is full of all kinds of toxic chemicals.  I started eating whole foods that are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.  I have been symptom free for almost eleven months. I learn something new every day about how to help my body stay healthy.  And every single day I am thankful for this blessing.  

Organic Cleaning Products

Chemical Free Cleaning Options

There are a lot of natural ingredients you can use to clean your house.

When I first recognized that the hundreds of chemicals I came in contact with daily could be contributing to my fibromyalgia pain and chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms, I didn't realize how many things I was about to have to change.  It's a good thing I didn't or I might have given up before I got started.  However, since I was learning new things each day, I was able to make changes slowly one by one.  So pace yourself.  Don't feel like you have to do everything at once.  

After I had gotten rid of all the scented products in my environment, I focused on cleaning products next.  I encourage you to get out your current supply of cleaning products and read the labels.  These are the ingredients you are inhaling, touching, and covering the surfaces of your home with every time you use these products.

There are a lot of alternatives to prepackaged chemicals that you can use for cleaning your house.  Google "chemical free cleaning,"  "organic cleaning," "non toxic cleaning," or other similar phrases and you will have access to a ton of great ideas.  Here are a few of my favorites:

All purpose cleaner:  Mix 1 part plain white vinegar to 2 parts water and put in a spray bottle.  Vinegar at this concentration kills as many germs as most commercial products.  I use this mixture to clean surfaces in the bathroom and kitchen, counter tops, mirrors, chrome fixtures, doorknobs, light switches, appliances, the stove top, sinks, and anywhere else you would use an all purpose cleaner. 

Air freshener:  Put baking soda or vinegar in a small dish and leave in the area where you want to absorb odors. If you want the kitchen to have a nice smell, try simmering water with cinnamon sticks and ginger on your stove. 

Garbage disposal cleaner:  Put a slice of lemon, lime, or orange in the garbage disposal and turn on just long enough to partially grind up the fruit.  Let it sit for at least one hour before grinding completely.  Then flush with cold water for a few minutes.

Drain cleaner:  Pour one cup of vinegar in your sinks.  Add a few tablespoons of baking soda.  Let sit for at least one hour. Then flush with cold water.

Grout cleaner: I am still discovering new cleaning options. I just read a hint about using hydrogen peroxide to clean mold from tile and grout.  It said to mix one part peroxide with two parts water and put in a spray bottle.  I have added hydrogen peroxide to my shopping list for this week so that I can try out this new idea.

There are natural alternatives you can use to clean every single thing in your house.  Once you find out which options you like the best and have made the switch, you will have eliminated a whole category of chemicals from your environment.  If there is one favorite chemical laden product that you just cannot bring yourself to replace, don't let that stop you from making at least some changes.  Every chemical you get rid of brings you one step closer to recovery.

Are there any non toxic cleaning products you recommend?