Before I start today's blog, I have to say... I'm baffled by how many people are actually reading this thing. When I originally wanted to start a blog, I was a little skeptical because I knew whatever I put out would be on the world-wide web. This is why, like other blogs, you won't see pictures of the kids, of Phil, and of family outings.
I've gotten a lot of positive feedback with my last few posts, but I want to point out one major thing, and not because someone has pushed me in that direction; I think it's just really important to make it clear.
I work for a doctor, but I am NOT A DOCTOR! I read a lot of information and clinical studies and I give advice to people everyday about the medications they're taking, the tests they're purchasing and the treatment plans they're about to embark on; but it's not my job to choose those plans of action for them. I pass on what I've learned, and any information I give out on a daily basis; because I feel everyone should have access to the information that gets put out there to the general public where I live. We should all be accountable for our health, and do whatever we can to prevent illness in our lives.
I AM, however, a fully certified trainer and nutrition specialist, so any tips, tricks, and knowledge you want in that particular area, I am more than happy to give out.
The emails have been abundant and extremely complimenting, but with a volume of readers, comes some major responsibility. So to be very clear... Always consult with a physician when it comes to matters of your health.
Ok... now that that's done....
Today, I'd like to plug a few of my favorite links.
I've never been the "New Years Resolution" type, but this year I had one. I wanted to filter out all of the chemicals in my house. This meant, I wanted to get rid of any of my products that I use on the kids, on myself, to clean my house, to cook, that contained harmful chemicals like cancer-causing parabens, and things that could cause your skin to melt off or burn and scar. Partly, because I wanted to be more eco-friendly, and because how can any of that be good for my family??
There's a site my boss gave me to "rate my products"; it works on a scale of 1-10; 1 being lowest obviously, and you can rate any products you use. This was a HUGE eye-opener for me because I thought the products I was using were pretty good. Things like Aveeno and Biotherm... they're supposed to be a better alternative. Same with my favorite hand cream by Ahava from the dead sea. Well, it turns out I was wrong - this happens to me a lot. They definitely weren't the worse things I could be using, but they still had harmful chemicals. This is why my kids were getting out of the tub and still having red blotches on their skin and dry patches on their calves and why Sophia was scratching the snot out of her face and Sebastien would get these big red circles around his eyes; he looked like me after I drink a glass of North-America wine - a racoon!
So here's the first link this morning. http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/
Check out the products you're using and see what it has to say. Remember if you link to the home portion, you can actually check out house-hold cleaning products, etc...
This link leads into my next link. I used to have the hardest time finding skin care lines. My skin isn't so much sensitive, but choosy. It has to have products that clean it well and then moisturize it like crazy. I found Biotherm 4 years ago and LOVE IT! Unfortunately, skin is the largest ogran in the body and it absorbs EVERYTHING, and I wasn't really a fan of it absorbing dangerous chemicals. So after much research, I switched over to "Kiss My Face". The website it great, because for any of you who look into good products for your skin, it's hard to know if something is really great for people who have dry skin, combination skin, or oily skin; and sometimes the little blurbs about what the product is good for isn't enough. Well "Kiss My Face" has online videos. Sort of a mini tutorial on who would benefit from the product. I'm using the "Pure and Potent" line and my skin has never looked and felt more amazing. Some major bonuses... It's way more cost-effective than other lines, I'm using half of what I would normally use from another line because it goes a long way, AND... it's so pure, I can use it on the kids. It comes in these little tubes and at first I thought "what a rip-off", but those tiny tubes last me just over a month. My favorites are: Jojoba and mint scrub, Ester-C Serum, Ultra-Hydrating Moisturizer, and the Intensive Repair Night Cream. They've got all kinds of products on there from body wash and moisturizer (I love the lavendar wash and the Olive and Shea moisturizier), kids products, makeup, hair products, candles, gift packs, etc....
They have a really great story too, so check out their webpage at: http://www.kissmyface.com/ I absolutely LOVE their line and the best part about it, is I know I'm putting healthy products on my skin, I'm not harming the planet by flushing junk down my drains, and I can use it on my kids. It's a pretty amazing feeling.
Last, but never least...I changed all the products I clean with. The tricky part to switching household cleaning products is that most claim to be "green" and guess what?... they're not. This is another situation where reading the ingredients is HUGE. "Green standards" around the world are all different, and companie can claim something "organic" or "green" but it doesn't necessarily mean it really is. This is another great reason to check your products on the database, especially if you don't know much about how this whole system works. It takes a lot of reading and a lot of talking with the right people to really know and learn what's safe.
Everyone cleans their house (I hope) and buys products to make their appliances, floors, and washrooms sparkle. One thing we don't think about, or at least I didn't think about, was what I was flushing down my pipes. Those harsh chemicals get flushed right back into our drinking water. We also flush antibiotics, drugs, and hormone containing products down our pipes as well. We're all drinking that stuff! We wonder why our daughters are getting their periods at the age of 5, and why our sons are having crazy testosterone-driven outbursts, or even worse, developing female characteristics; or why we're all tired, feeling depressed, and becomming immune to antibiotics - well guess what folks, along with our crappy diets and our overload of stress, we're consuming poisons everyday, and we're killing our planet by doing this.
I've switched everything I clean with to a product called "Nature Clean". This entire line is bio-degradable, and again...kid friendly! You still have to be careful that it doesn't get in eyes or swallowed with the glycerin in it, but it's not going to melt your finger down to the bone. It also doesn't smell! I cleaned, no, better yet, dis-infected my bathroom last weekend and had my fan on and ready to absorb the smell and when I left the room and came back in, it dawned on me that I didn't have heavy, clouded lungs, and my sinuses weren't burning. We breathe in so much crap cleaning in confined spaces and there was nothing. Not one smell. The bleach was oxygenated so it bubbled and sizzled and doesn't wreck clothes, and it cleaned better than any bleach I've ever used.
One problem I had before when I tried to switch to "green" cleaning products was that it didn't clean very well. Well "Nature Clean" has found the magic combination because my house has never been cleaner. My stove, my counter-tops, my washrooms, everything. It also feels really good to know that I'm cleaning, and my kids can come in the room and hang out. That they're not breathing in harsh chemicals.
The next best part... not expensive. You can buy it from Superstore in the organic section, and it's comparable to everything else, maybe even less expensive. So there's no excuse not to make the switch. It costs the same, it's great for you and the environment, and you're house will never be cleaner. They too, have a skin care line, a kids line, and fun stuff like hand-sanitizer that I use all the time since I'm always around sick people at the clinic. The only downer about the hand-sanitizer, is that it still has alcohol in it, but it's a mere fraction of what's in other products and there's no stinky after smell or drying out of your skin. It actually moisturizes.
Check out their website at: http://www.naturecleanliving.com/
I know people say ALL THE TIME... "We've only got one planet. One person can make a difference", etc.. but it really is true. I care about the planet, I do, but I care more that my kids can live in a clean, toxic free environment, and that I teach them the importance of helping the earth and helping themselves, because I want their kids, and their grand-kids to see this amazing planet, and be able to enjoy it the way I did growing up. I'd hate to see places like the snowy rockies I frequented almost every summer disappear and being ridden with litter and death because we were too ignorant to make a change. I also see cancer everyday! I watch people melting away in front of my eyes all the time. It's devastating! To see people come in with stage 4 breast cancer, stage 4 lung cancer, stage 4 basal cell carcinoma in their nostrils, and beg to have their lives saved so they can see another day. I hear all the time in the most sarcastic way, "Everything causes cancer.." ya maybe, but that's because everything we use is toxic and here's the worst part - We created it! Our need to constantly advance into a world of convenience and no germs is the same thing that is killing us. We have an amazing eco-system and bodies that are incapable of error (and you'll hear me say that a lot) and we are destroying both of them by trying to be smarter than them.
Use the resources our planet has given us, stop, and just listen to your body for a sec. It's telling you what to do, it's guiding you into health. Stop poisoning yourselves and the water you drink and the food you eat. Stop eating from a box, and cleaning with poisons, and try cooking from scratch and using something as simple as vinegar and baking soda to get rid of smears and stains. Support companies that are doing right by our planet, by making bio-degradable products and using recycled materials to package them.
Live longer, live healtheir, and give the our children's children a chance to do the same.
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