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.

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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.

Rocking embryos helps IVF

I'm not surprised by that gently rocking embryos (and maybe singing to them?) improved IVF success, but it also argues for getting yourself healthy and letting Mother Nature do her thing. I wonder if there will be any long term consequences from IVF...

From CBC news Canada:

(HealthDay News) - Scientists say they boosted the success of in vitro fertilization in mice by gently rocking embryos before implanting them into the womb.

No evidence yet proves that the same technique would work with human embryos, but authors of a new study hope it might do just that.

"By making the cells feel more at home, we get better cells, which is key to having better infertility treatment," said study co-author Shu Takayama, an associate professor in the University of Michigan's department of biomedical engineering.

The idea of the research is to mimic the motion that an embryo feels traveling through the fallopian tube to the uterus. Human embryos created with the assistance of in vitro fertilization don't get the benefit of such exposure.

Horrible Bpa source: receipts!

Just to show how chemicals have really invaded every corner of our lives, now they've found there's the endocrine-disrupting BPA (no good for anyone's fertility) in RECEIPTS. I had done a few posts on BPA in polycarbonate SIGG bottles, but this is even more serious.

From Science News:

While working at Polaroid Corp. for more than a decade, John C. Warner learned about the chemistry behind some carbonless copy papers (now used for most credit card receipts) and the thermal imaging papers that are spit out by most modern cash registers. Both relied on bisphenol-A...

“When people talk about polycarbonate bottles, they talk about nanogram quantities of BPA [leaching out],” Warner observes. “The average cash register receipt that's out there and uses the BPA technology will have 60 to 100 milligrams of free BPA.” By free, he explains, it’s not bound into a polymer, like the BPA in polycarbonates. It’s just the individual molecules loose and ready for uptake.

As such, he argues, when it comes to BPA in the urban environment, “the biggest exposures, in my opinion, will be these cash register receipts.” Once on the fingers, BPA can be transferred to foods. And keep in mind, he adds, some hormones — like estrogen in certain birth-control formulations — are delivered through the skin by controlled-release patches. So, he argues, estrogen mimics like BPA might similarly enter the skin.

read more here.

Antidepressants may lead to lactation difficulties

Yes, not being able to breast feed can be REALLY depressing...

From Newswise, the journalists'-only web site:

Newswise — According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), women taking commonly used forms of antidepressant drugs may experience delayed lactation after giving birth and may need additional support to achieve their breastfeeding goals.

Breastfeeding benefits both infants and mothers in many ways as breast milk is easy to digest and contains antibodies that can protect infants from bacterial and viral infections. The World Health Organization recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. This new study shows that certain common antidepressant drugs may be linked to a common difficulty experienced by new mothers known as delayed secretory activation, defined as a delay in the initiation of full milk secretion.

“The breasts are serotonin-regulated glands, meaning the breasts’ ability to secrete milk at the right time is closely related to the body’s production and regulation of the hormone serotonin,” said Nelson Horseman, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati and co-author of the study. “Common antidepressant drugs like fluoxetine, sertraline and paroxetine are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs and while they can affect mood, emotion and sleep they may also impact serotonin regulation in the breast, placing new mothers at greater risk of a delay in the establishment of a full milk supply.”

Cleaning chemicals, etc., cause pediatric dermatitis

When are people going to realize that harsh cleaning chemicals aren't good for you? We use baking soda and tea tree oil, works rather well and it's cheap! From Newswise,, the journalists' only new site;

Newswise — Considered a dermatological nuisance that was long gone, skin irritations caused by toilet seats appear to be making a comeback in pediatricians’ offices, according to research led by Johns Hopkins Children’s Center investigator Bernard Cohen, M.D.

“Toilet seat dermatitis is one of those legendary conditions described in medical textbooks and seen in underdeveloped countries, but one that younger pediatricians have not come across in their daily practice,” says Cohen, director of pediatric dermatology at Hopkins Children’s. “If our small analysis is any indication of what’s happening, we need to make sure the condition is on every pediatrician’s radar.”

Analyzing five cases from the United States and India in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics, Cohen and colleagues said the culprits responsible for the reemergence of the condition are harsh cleaning chemicals and exotic wooden toilet seats — making a comeback as bathroom décor —especially seats covered with varnishes and paints.

Cohen says children can develop irritation after several uses of a wooden seat or repeated exposure to residue from harsh cleaning chemicals. He urges pediatricians to inquire about toilet seats and cleaners used both at home and at school any time they see a toddler or a young child

Reasons why Sex is Good for You

This came via Lifehacker.

2. Sex helps you forget
Oxytocin, which triggers orgasm, has an amnesic effect that lasts up to five hours. So for a period of time you forget that he maxed out your Visa card or she was an hour late getting home from work. Women get an additional benefit. During orgasm that parts of the brain that govern fear, anxiety, and stress are switched off. (Faking orgasm gives no such benefit.)

5. Heightened sense of smell
After sex, production of prolactin surges, causing stem cells in the brain to develop new neurons in the brain’s smell center (olfactory bulb).

6. Weight loss
Rambunctious sex burns a minimum of two hundred calories, about the same as running fifteen minutes on a treadmill. British researchers determined that the equivalent of six Big Macs can be worked off by having sex three times a week for a year.

9. Healthier heart
Women who have more sex have higher levels of estrogen, which protects against heart disease.

10. Cure for the common cold
Once-a-week sex produces 30 percent higher levels of immunoglobulin A, which boosts the immune system.

11. Better bladder control
Sex strengthens the pelvic muscles that control the flow of urine.

15. Relief for a stuffy nose
Really. Sex is a natural antihistamine. It can even help combat hay fever and asthma.

17. Boosts immune system
Endorphins stimulate immune-system cells that fight disease.

19. Protection against Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis
Women who have more sex have higher levels of estrogen, which protects against Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis.

Toxic cheap jewelry poisons children

What little kid DOESN'T chew on stuff. Stay away from cheap jewelry!

LOS ANGELES – The country's top product safety regulator warned parents and caretakers Wednesday to take cheap metal jewelry away from children out of concern they could be exposed to toxic heavy metals such as lead and cadmium.

Writing in a blog to be posted Wednesday evening, the chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission noted that children who chew, suck on or swallow a bracelet charm or necklace may be endangering their health.

read more here.

Monsanto GMO corn and organ failure

I can only say EAT ORGANIC!!! Blech. Some other GMO corn I think kills monarch butterflies...scary stuff.

In a study released by the International Journal of Biological Sciences, analyzing the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto's GM corn is linked to organ damage in rats.

Read more here on the Huffpo.

Use of potentially harmful chemicals kept secret under law

This is so scary, I don't even know where to begin. Recently people have been finding out there had been a weird additive in MILK that for whatever weird reason hasn't had to be disclosed on the label. Maybe that's why milk has such a bad rap, it's a good food turned awful by processing. I am so glad we buy our milk from our farmer friend.

It's so sad that with documented declining fertility (especially sperm counts) that these chemicals that are KNOWN hazards to reproductive health are all over the place. Let's demand great transparency!! Thank you to writer Miranda Spencer alerting GreenFertility to this.
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By Lyndsey Layton

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 4, 2010

Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision.

The policy was designed 33 years ago to protect trade secrets in a highly competitive industry. But critics -- including the Obama administration -- say the secrecy has grown out of control, making it impossible for regulators to control potential dangers or for consumers to know which toxic substances they might be exposed to.

At a time of increasing public demand for more information about chemical exposure, pressure is building on lawmakers to make it more difficult for manufacturers to cloak their products in secrecy. Congress is set to rewrite chemical regulations this year for the first time in a generation.

read more here.