Get rid of Toxins in your home

Our world is so chemical saturated, now you need to dust, not because you're Martha Stewart, but FOR YOUR HEALTH. Our friends at Environmental Working Group put this list of what to do and how to do it:

TIP 9: GET RID OF THAT (TOXIC) DUST

Dust bunnies aren't just unsightly and sometimes allergenic; they contain toxic chemicals. Why? The many chemicals in and around your homes wind up in your indoor dust when they migrate from home products and come in through open doors and windows and on your shoes. But the good news is it's pretty easy to keep those dust bunnies at bay -- and reduce your family's toxic exposures, too. Read on to learn:

1. Why your household dust is toxic
2. How toxic dust can affect your family
3. Tips to remove dust safely and effectively
4. How to create less toxic dust in the first place

read more here.

Sara Lee "Eco Grain" greenwashing

I never trust corporations, ANY corporations (look at Toyota!) further than I can throw them.

From Natural News:

(NaturalNews) The Sara Lee company stands accused today of engaging in blatant greenwashing through its highly misleading marketing of its new "EcoGrain" bread.

The Cornucopia institute has released news describing how this product line by Sara Lee is made with "toxic agrochemicals" even though it's being marketed as better than organic.

The full statement from the Cornucopia Institute follows (www.Cornucopia.org)

Common culprit in infertility

In some of the immune-issue fertility lists I'm on, I'm noticing more and more people are going gluten (wheat) free. This makes sense for almost anyone because at the very least, wheat is hard to digest, and any energy you're spending on digestion could be used for, well, other purposes. Many top level athletes are going gluten-free, too.

This article on how it affect fertility is from mercola.com:

Millions of people have celiac disease, but most don’t know they have it, in part because symptoms can be so varied. It is an often overlooked digestive disorder that causes damage to the small intestine when gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, is eaten.

Infertility seems to be more common in women with untreated celiac disease. Other gynecological and obstetrical problems may also be more common, including miscarriages and preterm births.

For men, problems can include abnormal sperm -- such as lower sperm numbers, altered shape, and reduced function. Men with untreated celiac disease may also have lower testosterone levels.

The good news is that with proper treatment with a gluten-free diet and correction of nutritional deficiencies, the prognosis for future pregnancies is much improved.

Pregnant Olympian!

This is interesting, a Canadian curler is 5 1/2 months pregnant...http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Canadian-curler-is-five-months-pregnant?urn=oly,219941

Review: Bamboosa Organic Bamboo flutter top

I love bamboo because it's renewable, green, doesn't need pesticides, and as a fabric it's silky, warm, drapes beautifully, antibacterial. Well, bamboo clothes don't get any nicer than this.

Bamboosa's Priya boat neck top is stylish, comfortable, and ORGANIC. It would also be the type of versatile clothing that would work well in early pregnancy. I like wearing Bamboosa's Priya line because it's comfy and stretchy--I can do yoga on the spot if I want to--but I can also throw a nice jacket over it and go out, go to work, etc.

Also, especially for people trying to conceive, these products are , free of chlorine and formaldehyde.
You may have seen a previous post where my friend who makes organic clothing said that yes, even organic clothes can have formaldehyde. Lastly, it's American Made and sweatshop-free.

SPECIAL FOR GREENFERTILITY READERS!
Use the coupon GFertility10

for 10% off orders - will not apply to Sale or Gift Sets, which are already discounted.

Check it out here.

Valentine's Day special

Chocolate may help lessen your chances for a stroke! Happy valentine's day, a little early. From Newswise, the journalists'-only new source:

Newswise — Eating chocolate may lower your risk of having a stroke, according to an analysis of available research that will be released today and presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010. Another study found that eating chocolate may lower the risk of death after suffering a stroke.

The analysis involved reviewing three studies on chocolate and stroke.

“More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others,” said study author Sarah Sahib, BScCA, with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Sahib worked alongside Gustavo Saposnik, MD, MSc, where the study was completed at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto.

Industrial Cleaner causes Parkinsons, especially auto parts workers.

It's not a well-known fact, but almost all medical scientists agree that Parkinson's is NOT a disease of old age, but some kind of environmentally-triggered illness. But from what? No one really wants to figure that out, especially if it might piss off some big company in our corporatocracy that makes a lot of money making poisons. But if someone you know works in an auto parts place or other, check this out about workers exposed to industrial cleaners are at risk for Parkinson's. From Newswise the journalists'-only site:
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Newswise — Workers exposed to tricholorethylene (TCE), a chemical widely used to clean metal such as auto parts, may be at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010.

“This is the first time a population-based study has confirmed case reports that exposure to TCE may increase a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” said study author Samuel Goldman, MD, with the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale, California, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “TCE is a popular industrial solvent that is still widely used to clean grease off metal parts.”

Giving up coffee experiment

I'm giving up coffee. Check it out here: http://www.fertilityauthority.com/blogger/5

Good news for older moms!

I remember when I interviewed Dr. Christiane Northrup for an article on natural fertility, she said she didn't like how age 35 had become a "hex" for women, extinguishing hope just because some doctor tells you you're too old. She said she saw PLENTY of women in her OB/gyn practive getting pregnant in their 40s and 50s....this article from the BBC also bears out much of this observation. So don't let some doctor tell you your "eggs are too old." (I have heard this from so many people! Makes them feel like they have rotten eggs inside...)

From the BBC:

The Family Planning Association (FPA) believes the message on infertility and age has gone "too far".

Although fertility does wane, women can still fall pregnant well into their thirties, forties and even fifties.

Abortion rates for women aged 40 to 44 match those for the under 16s, figures for England and Wales show.

In 2008, both of these groups had an abortion rate of four per 1,000 women.

Whilst the message about fertility declining with age is an important one, it is often overplayed FPA Chief Executive Julie Bentley

There are many reasons why some women opt for an abortion - including birth abnormalities in the baby, which are more common when the mothers are older.

But FPA says its anecdotal evidence suggests some of the abortions are because women wrongly assumed they could not get pregnant because they were too old.

read more here.

Pharma exec kills 8 year old son with Ambien and Xanax

Makes me wonder a bit if these younger stars (Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy) are UNINTENTIONALLY ODing on RX drugs. p.s. the 8 year old in the story is autistic:

http://www.naturalnews.com/028103_Gigi_Jordan_Big_Pharma.html

Review: Design & Asia pashmina scarf

Design & Asia has a cool green concept of a traveling green boutique that sells one-of--kind artisanal goods from all over Asia--and they have personal relationships with their crafters.

Pashmina is an excellent Valentine's day idea! It's light and comfy and all-season. Since it's so light, you can slip it in a bag to carry on the plane since they don't have blanekts anymore...

Check it out here.

Soft drinks cause pancreatic cancer

I'm not so surprised to hear about this...and it comes down to insulin resistance again. People with fertility issues need to be very careful about this (e.g., PCOS), as it's a leading cause of infertility. From Newswise, the journalists' only site:

Newswise — Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Although relatively rare, pancreatic cancer remains one of the most deadly, and only 5 percent of people who are diagnosed are alive five years later.

Mark Pereira, Ph.D., senior author on the study and associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, said people who consume soft drinks on a regular basis, defined as primarily carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages, tend to have a poor behavioral profile overall.

However, the effect of these drinks on pancreatic cancer may be unique.

“The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth,” said Pereira.

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Also: other reasons soda pop is hard on your body

and Try Brain Toniq instead

Save energy in your home with some quick fixes

Dr. Ben Kim shares some energy saving (and $$$ saving!) tips here: http://drbenkim.com/energy-saving-tips.htm

Look at the guy's fingers to determine fertility

Interestingly, you can judge a man's fertility by looking at his hands (try this at a bar!) Apparently testosterone makes the ring finger on the right hand grow longer...longer ring fingers have been associated with virility, fertility and aggression. Supposedly stock traders and soccer players have longer ring fingers...

Rosasharn Farms Goat Milk Soaps

Love these soaps! I have been to this farm and can tell you these goats are well cared for, organic, HAPPY. And the soap is lovely, goat milk is really really rich so this soap doesn't dry you out (which is why people by products like Cetaphil--but why not do it naturally, organically and without the chemicals?), the botanicals are really neat.



I bought a bunch for my mother for Christmas and soon she was re-dividing them because everyone wanted some. Support Anne, a small farmer, and her cute, cute goats.

Ordering info here.

Avoid this if you want to get pregnant, or just be healthy

We already know how awful high fructose corn syrup is, but here are a few fun facts from Dr. Mercola. Just keep in mind that if your body is struggling to digest this stuff (don't forget insulin resistance can be a big part of fertility/infertility), there's less left over for conception:

High Fructose Corn Syrup Has Only Been Around One Generation!

HFCS was invented in 1966 in Japan and introduced to the American market in 1975. Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup when they discovered that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was far cheaper to make -- sucrose costs about three times as much as HFCS.

HFCS is also about 20 times sweeter than table sugar. So it was expected that less sweetener would be needed per product. Instead, the amount of sweeteners has steadily risen.

The switch from sugar to fructose drastically altered the average American diet. The statistics are beyond alarming:

• Corn syrup is now found in every type of processed, pre-packaged food you can think of. In fact, the use of HFCS in the U.S. diet increased by a whopping 10,673 percent between 1970 and 2005, according to a report by the USDA[i].

• The current annual consumption of sugar is 141 pounds per person, and 63 pounds of that is HFCS.

• Adolescents are taking in 73 grams per day of fructose, mostly from soft drinks and juice drinks -- and 12 percent of their total caloric intake is from fructose alone.

• In the past century, fructose consumption has increased 5-fold.

• Processed foods account for more than 90 percent of the money Americans spend on meals.

You’ve probably heard the statistic that one soda a day is worth 15 pounds of fat per year. However, one soda today does not equal one soda of yesteryear. The original coke bottle was 6.5 ounces. Now, you have 20-ounce bottles and a 44-ounce Big Gulp.

Tragically, many infant formulas are more than 50 percent sugar -- 43 percent being corn syrup solids. You might as well be giving your baby a bottle of Coke or Pepsi.

No wonder there is an obesity epidemic.