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Safe Solution for Fabric Softeners

make your own fabric sofnerFabric softeners may top the list as one of the worst offenders of incredibly damaging chemical mixtures, and may be one of the products environmentalists had in mind when the term “indoor pollutants” was coined. Alarmingly, many of these toxins are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

We like to be as natural, organic and chemical free as possibly, and we though you might want to be too!

The article Safe Solution for Fabric Softeners by Dr. Mercola is extremely helpful and full of good tips and information. Please read it so you can start the process of becoming a chemical-free home!

Fabric Softeners Contain Toxicities Such as Phthalates

Phthalates have been linked to:

  • Early onset of puberty
  • Altered male reproductive tract development
  • Lower testosterone levels in young males
  • Altered hormone system function
  • Reproductive and genital defects
  • Lower sperm count in young males

Here’s a liquid fabric softener recipe from Everyday Roots

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Using a large bowl or pan, mix the essential oils with the Epsom salts first, then stir in the baking soda.
  2. Pour the mixture into a container with a tight-fitting lid.

One perk to this easy recipe is that you can always switch out the essential oils. It’s also easy to double, and you can use more or less essential oil for a stronger or weaker scent. A few more quick-and-easy fabric-softening ideas include:

  • One-half cup of baking soda added when you wash your clothes. You won’t believe how soft they become.
  • One cup of distilled white vinegar and one-and-half tsp. of your favorite essential oils combined in a spray bottle. Shake well, give your wet clothes 10 to 15 spritzes and toss them into the dryer. (Don’t worry — the vinegar smell will completely dissipate.)
  • A crumpled-up ball of aluminum foil tossed in the dryer with your clothes helps get rid of static cling.14
  • A clean wash cloth with a few drops of essential oil added to the dryer will give your clothes a lovely, completely natural aroma when you pull them out

Click here for more great recipes!

Note from Dr C. :  One of my patients makes the most wonderful Lavender dryer sachets….check out The Old White House.com and look at all her wonderful chemical free house cleaning products she makes….and she is in Portland…so I would be happy to be the exchange point if needed.

old white house dryer satchets

How to Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup

Traditional Eatinga sign that reads "our ingredients" with healthy food behind it

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a highly processed chemical used in a lot (too many) of commercial products as a cheap substitute for regular sugar.

If sugar is bad for your health then HFCS is HORRIBLE!

Not only does it contribute far more to obesity than sugar (1) it produces (in animal studies):

  • Impaired glucose tolerance
  • High insulin levels
  • Insulin resistance
  • High triglycerides
  • High blood pressure

HFCS also contributes to fatty liver and the buildup of dangerous deposits in your blood vessel walls. (2) This leads to plaque buildup, causing increased susceptibility to both strokes and heart attacks, and accelerated aging. (3)

As if that weren’t bad enough, HFCS has now been found to contain mercury. In January 2009, the journal Environmental Health reported that mercury had been found in nearly half of all tested samples of commercial HFCS.

How can you avoid HFCS?

That’s simple, merely read food labels. Other processed sugars to avoid are:

  • inulin
  • iso glucose
  • glucose-fructose syrup
  • dahlia syrup
  • tapioca syrup
  • glucose syrup
  • corn syrup
  • crystalline fructose
  • fruit fructose
  • agave

Which foods have it?

Most sodas are loaded with HFCS as are many fruit juices, ketchup, salad dressings, sauces, baked goods, crackers, cornflake crumbs, chicken broth, stuffing mixes, cereals and more.

NOTE: this weekend it was mentioned on the weekend talk shows that Americans are now buying more WATER than soda…YES!!

  1. Limiting fructose may boost weight loss, Southwestern researcher reports. Published: July 28, 2008.http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/07/24/limiting.fructose.may.boost.weight.loss.ut.southwestern.researcher.reports Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  2. Gaby AR. Adverse effects of dietary fructose. Altern Med Rev.2005;10(4):294-306.
  3. Flavin D. Metabolic danger of high-fructose corn syrup. Life Extension. December 2008.

You Have a Secret Super Power!

Just like a super hero, you have a super power! toy panda dressed as a super hero

If you use it you’ll be happier, live with reduced stress, avoid depression and even have more energy.

We call it vitamin G.

You don’t get this vitamin in your foods – you can make it yourself.

What is this mysterious vitamin?

Gratitude. Research shows that expressing gratitude makes people happier, healthier and more alive.

How do we cultivate vitamin G?

Here are some ideas:

Start by making an effort to thank people more often. Then advance to counting your blessings at least once a day for 30 seconds.

Do it now! We’ll wait. OK, finished?

Don’t you feel better? See, it didn’t take long and you can do it whenever you have down time.

Here are some more gratitude ideas:

  • If you’re in the car thank it for running properly and even thank your mechanic for doing such a good job (we realize at times this is a bit of a stretch).
  • Be grateful for your health (be sure to mention your chiropractor).
  • If you don’t have ideal health send gratitude to your parts that are working properly.

The Rocky in You!

Be grateful for your family and friends and always thank the Rocky in you. The Rocky in you? We mean your ability to go ten rounds with the champ, getting punched and clobbered, and still be standing. Nurture your inner Rocky – no matter what life hits you with, you can take it, grow and learn from it.

You can do it – it’s really powerful. Those who use this secret super power always benefit from it. (1)

  1. Emmons RA, McCullough ME. Counting blessings versus burdens: an experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2003:84(2):377-389.

2 Easy Tricks for Better Sleep

Wear socks to bed …socks pinned to a clothes line


Swiss researchers found that people fell asleep quickest when their hands and feet were warmest. This happens because warm feet and hands cause blood vessels to enlarge, allowing more heat to escape your body, which in turn lowers your core temperature faster and causes you to fall asleep. Putting on socks may help you fall asleep in half the time it normally takes.

… But not a braselection of bras in a store

Bras, with their straps and hooks and especially underwires, dig into the skin and interfere with the flow of lymph through your lymphatic system. The result can be health problems that, apart from irritations, welts, indentations and cysts, include an increased risk of breast cancer. One 1991 Harvard study found that wearing a bra 24/7 increased the incidence of breast cancer by 100%.

 

Disease and Vaccines

The disease is over when we think we have itdisease-vaccines-boy

We know the names of what are referred to as childhood diseases: measles, mumps, chicken pox and whooping cough/pertussis. But did you know that by the time a child is said to “catch” these diseases of childhood with their characteristic rashes, skin eruptions, fever and general malaise (overall yechy feeling), the disease is over?

The natural way people get these diseases is that germs come in contact with the mouth and throat (nasopharynx) where your tonsils, adenoids and other immune tissues reside. They alert your body to the invaders and you mount an offense.

The symptoms are not the disease

The symptoms that we associate with a disease are not the disease, they are the body ridding itself of the disease waste. In the words of Hippocrates, considered the father of medicine:

“We call them diseases but they are the cure of disease.”

The disease is actually over; the body has confronted the germ invaders, has won the war and is doing cleanup.

The symptoms we associate with the disease are really the discharge of waste after the disease is over. The wastes leave through the skin (perspiration, rashes, pustules), are burnt up by fever, discharged by diarrhea, and take our energy so we feel fatigue and other unpleasant body expressions. We may dislike those symptoms, but they are good for us. The result is a healthier, stronger, cleaner person.

That’s why growth spurts, in body and mind, are often seen after a child experiences a childhood disease or even a fever. The body has detoxified and can now move on to a stronger level of health and wellness.

How does vaccination affect childhood diseases? disease-infection

Do vaccines prevent disease?

Vaccines inject viri and bacterium, toxins associated with the virus and other chemicals deep into the body, into the bloodstream where they are not supposed to be. Because it is so deep, the body is not able to mount a proper offense; the disease may never leave. Vaccines do not prevent disease; they drive disease deeper where more damage may occur.

That is why studies show vaccinated children are the ones who have autism, allergies, asthma, ear infections, arthritis, diabetes, ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, stuttering and other conditions. The vaccine toxins damage the nerve and immune system and the result is a less healthy child.

They still get the disease, but are unable to perform a detox so they don’t get the symptoms we associate with the disease. Therefore, they are sicker deeper in their body, longer (chronically) and often permanently.

Of course symptoms of body discharge must be respected – a child who is going through a post-illness detox must be properly nourished, given rest and have procedures promoting a complete detoxification and cleansing.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup: What it does to your body

Do you know whigh-fructose-corn-syruphat High-Fructose Corn Syrup does to you?

In one clinical trial, test subjects who consumed high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) developed higher risk factors for cardiovascular disease in just two weeks, demonstrating just how influential your diet can be on your heart and brain health in the long term.

Foods that Contain High-fructose Corn Syrup?high-fructose-corn-syrup

Be aware of where HFCS is often found: baked goods, canned fruits, dairy products, carbonated drinks and most sweetened beverages in the market today! Just look at the labels and find out. (1)

As you avoid HFCS and refined sugar, be aware that artificial sweeteners such as Splenda® and Nutrasweet® are also linked to serious problems including retinal detachments, weight gain and brain tumors. (2)

  1. Stanhope KL, Medici V, Bremer AA et al. A dose-response study of consuming high-fructose corn syrup-sweetened beverages on lipid/lipoprotein risk factors for cardiovascular disease in young adults. Am J Clin Nut. 2015;101(6):1144-1154.
  2. Walton RG, Hudak R, Green-Waite RJ. Adverse reactions to aspartame: double-blind challenge in patients from a vulnerable population. Biol. Psychiatry. 1993;34:13-17.

Stay healthy: don’t get a flu shot!

We are approaching flu shot season again. Drug companies spend millions advertising the not only useless but dangerous flu shot that causes brain and nervous system damage. flu shot

Did You Know?

Not many people know this, the media doesn’t report it, but the U.S. government records vaccine injuries and deaths and the flu vaccine has been linked to both.

Government records show the flu vaccine kills and damages more people than all the other vaccines combined. The mercury in the shot has been linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS and autism.

There is no proof that pregnant women, children, babies or adults (especially asthmatics) get any benefit from it. Send this information to those you care about.

The Flu Shot: useless and dangerous

Anthony Morris, Ph.D. former Chief Vaccine Control Officer, US Food and Drug Administration and flu vaccine expert:

There is no evidence that any influenza vaccine thus far developed is effective in preventing or mitigating any attack of influenza. The producers of these vaccines know that they are worthless, but they go on selling them anyway. 

Colds and flu prevent cancer

For thousands of years healers have viewed colds, flu, fevers and skin eruptions as some of the most powerful weapons your body has for cleansing, detoxification and self-healing. These symptoms are uncomfortable but provide natural benefits no drug or vaccine can give you. For example:

Those with carcinomas of the stomach, colon, rectum, breast, and ovary … and controls (with no history of cancer) were interviewed. A history of common colds or influenza prior to the interview was found to be associated with a decreased cancer risk. (1) 

Subjects who reported a history of infectious diseases (e.g., colds, flu) showed a 30% reduction in risk [of brain tumor]. (2) 

Do not suppress your fever or other symptoms with drugs that interfere with your healing; you may stay sick longer:

Taking aspirin or TylenolT for the flu could prolong your illness by up to 3½   days. (3)

  1. Abel U, Becker N, Angerer R et al. Common infections in the history of cancer patients and controls. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 1991;117(4); 339-344.
  2. Schlehoper B, Blettner M, Preston-Martin S et al. Role of medical history in brain tumor development results from the international adult brain tumor study. International Journal of Cancer. 1999;82:155-160.
  3. Plaisance KI et al. Effect of antipyretic therapy on the duration of illness in experimental influenza A, Shigella connei, and Rickettsia rickettsii infections. Pharmacotherapy. 2000;20(12):1417-1433.

DE-STRESS THE HOLIDAY SEASON

de-stress-relaxWith the gift-giving, the cooking, the decorations and the parties, the holidays can seem to be more like work than a vacation. Here are some ideas how to make the most of your holiday season.

Seek a fresh perspective

Make a change. Take one task that drives you crazy during the holidays and tackle it in a new way. A fresh approach just might make a difference. For example, if you dread having to send out holiday cards, enlist your spouse and split the list/send e-cards or send a photo card of a great memory.

Be satisfied with “good enough.”

“Don’t always go for bigger and better,” when planning your holiday, advises Loretta LaRoche, author of Life Is Not a Stress Rehearsal. “Does the tree have to be bussed in from the hinterlands of Alaska?” she quips. “Isn’t a little bush enough?”

Do you have to cook 12 dishes of “traditional foods” because everybody expects it? Think back and remind yourself about the barely touched/ignored dishes and don’t cook them. If you get any grumbles suggest the “grumblee” make that dish next year.  Split the load and assign tasks ahead of time so that you can be a party to the party.

Drop Expensive, High-stress Ritualsde-stress the holidays

If you’re dragging your kids off to see The Nutcracker—it’s a tradition!—but they’re whining every step of the way, make a switch. True, families thrive on traditions, but it’s less about the event itself, which your kids may have outgrown, and more about time together. If your kids are complaining, drop expensive, high-stress rituals in favor of something simple and universally appealing, like a Christmas Eve chocolate-chip pancake feast.

Remember to Have Fun

As you take part in trimming the tree or preparing the cookies with your kids/friends, take a deep breath and savor the moment. Give yourself permission to forget about all those tasks still left on your to-do list. Focus on being present and in the now!

Pack Smart

Tuck everyone’s sleepwear and toothbrushes in one easy-to-reach bag. That first night when you arrive at Grandma’s house or another destination, you won’t be fumbling through every suitcase before bedtime.

Hold on to Daily Rituals

If you like to read for half an hour before bed, don’t give it up in favor of yet another holiday chore. Our everyday practices help calm and center us.

Schedule  de-stress-take-a-drive

During the busy holiday season, Brenda DeHaan of Wagner, South Dakota, and her husband seek out one afternoon of serenity. Each year the couple embarks on a leisurely drive, with a stop to observe the eagles that winter alongside the Missouri River. “It’s a peaceful time, when we don’t worry about rushing anywhere,” says Brenda. Can’t escape for a whole afternoon? Then head outdoors for a refreshing change of scene- bundle up and take a starlit nighttime stroll through your neighborhood to view the holiday lights.

What do you do to de-stress during the Holidays?

We want to know. Maybe it will help another reader avoid the crazy-making this time of year.

Cholesterol: Good or Bad?

Did you know? cholesterol

Your body makes over 3000 mg of cholesterol every day. That’s equivalent to eating:

1 pound of butter or 300 strips of bacon or 14 eggs each and every day!!!

If you make that much every day, why is it bad?

It isn’t.

You need cholesterol

Cholesterol is good for you and needed by nearly every cell in your body. Cholesterol is needed to create your hormones and helps your brain, nervous system and internal organs function.

If you have inflammation in your body your cholesterol levels will be high – and for a good reason. Cholesterol is an antioxidant and helps fight inflammation.

The myth about heart disease

Cholesterol does not cause heart disease – that’s a myth that has been discredited.

However, if there is high cholesterol it means there is something in you causing inflammation. The goal should be to address the cause of the inflammation rather than to fight the symptom (high cholesterol).

Ravnskov U. High cholesterol may protect against infections and atherosclerosis. Quarterly Journal of Medicine. 2003;96:927-934.

Drugs, drugs, drugs?

drugs-drugs-drugsDo you take too many medications?

There are times when drugs are necessary, but the bottom line is that most of the time they aren’t.

Unfortunately, when you buy into the mindset that you need a drug to “fix” you, two things happen that begin to feed on each other, creating a never-ending loop of deteriorating health.

First, you are taking in a toxic substance. All drugs are toxic.

Second, drugs lie to you – drugs tell you that you are healthier but you aren’t! Instead you are just unable to feel an uncomfortable symptom.

Drugs don’t make you healthy

Over 100,000 Americans die each year from taking properly prescribed prescription drugs. Many people take more drugs to deal with the side effects from the first one, followed by another one, and another … ?

In 1929, the average American received less than two prescriptions per year. The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics report “Health, United States, 2013” found that 48% of people said they were taking a prescription medication, compared with 39% in 1988-1994.

About one in four children took one or more prescription drugs in the past month, compared to nine in 10 adults 65 and older, according to the study.

Take a dose of chiropractic care instead

Chiropractic helps reverse that trend – by helping your body, your natural drugstore, make every drug you need to live a healthy life. Avoid being another medical drug statistic – chiropractic care is natural healthcare for you and your family.

National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2013: With Special Feature on Prescription Drugs. Hyattsville, MD. 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus13.pdf