Enviro Mentality

A neighbor commented that her 8 year old granddaughter is ‘developing.’  I shook my head  & thought, ‘ That’s too early.’  because it doesn’t seem right that an 8 year old should be heading into puberty.  It should be  at least around 11 or 12 at minimum. Studies over the past 20 years confirm that girls are maturing at an earlier age.

African-American girls have earlier onsets of puberty than White girls do by a year or two.  Average age for the start of breast development are about 8.8 yrs. for African-Americans as compared to about 10 for Whites.A study done in 1997, Herman-Giddons was compiled from the journal, Pediatrics and confirms that the age trend is lower.  Doctors and mothers report that indeed, girls are entering puberty much earlier than they did 30 or 40 years ago.

Why is this?  Several indications are that the increased use of chemicals and pesticides over the last 40 years have played a role.  These chemicals are endocrine disruptors, which throw the hormone levels off by mimicking other hormones, fooling the body.

Increased use of plastics in food containers (phalates) and personal care as well as all aspects of modern human life have shown to impact hormone responses.  Artificial ingredients in food, personal care products all contribute to messing up one’s system.  One study even focused on the hair products that African-Americans use versus that of White girls revealing that ingredients in African-American hair products were more likely to contain estrogen or placental products, again affecting hormonal responses.

Our lives are changing and chemicals are playing a large part.  Do what you can to eliminate them whenever possible.

What’s on your food?  Below is a list of the highest pesticide contaminated fruits and vegetables published by the Environmental Working Group.

This list allows you to make better choices when buying food.  Obviously, for the most tainted products, organic produce is best.   If you can’t get organic, check at your local farmer’s market to see if  local farmers use chemicals.  Many farmers are opting not to because of consumer concerns.  Although local food providers are not ‘certified organic’  (which is a very expensive and paperwork-intensive process) some farmers call themselves ‘beyond organic.’  This means that they go far beyond what the current USDA specifications for organic are.

Notice, too, that imported grapes (from Chile, for example) are higher in pesticides that their U.S. counterparts.

This makes it even more important that you adopt a detox regimen, drink pure water and rid your life of as many chemicals as you can.  This is why herbal detox remedies are important, as well as detox baths.  Add to this the benefits of massage and you’re on your way to a healthier life!

FoodNews: Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides

The Full List: 47 Fruits & Veggies

Note: We ranked a total of 47 different fruits and vegetables but grapes are listed twice because we looked at both domestic and imported samples.

Sweating isn’t the only way to detox.  Many spa products: facial scrubs, aromatherapy, body scrubs, facial masks,  facial scrubs, bath tea blends and herbal tea blends can help do the job also.

Most people believe that you only start detoxing from the inside out. Yes, that’s true but you can start from the outside in.  By removing dead skin, stimulating the outer skin layers down into the deeper areas through massage or bath salts or herbal detox baths, the entire body system is invigorated and prompted to move out toxins.

Drinking herbal teas before, during and after your bath can assist in getting out toxins.  You’re detoxing from the inside (with the tea), from the inside TO the outside (with the removal of toxins) and from the outside in via your bath!

A massage before your detox bath also assists in moving out toxins. and is essential for pain relief.  By stimulation lymph systems, release from muscle and tissues it it very beneficial in detoxification.

Regularly bathing is a spa bath is a good way to keep illness at bay.  By strengthening your immune system, consistently removing toxins, your body already has a head start on fighting flu and colds during winter months. Using bath salts is a great way to help rid yourself of toxins and pain.

Toxins make pain.  It’s a well documented fact that the more junk you’re carrying around in your system, the more you’ll be in pain.

Again I use myself as a case study.  Years ago worked at Lowe’s in the garden center and inside seasonal department.  I was around the pesticide area constantly.  I swept floors, handled the bags for customers, restocked the shelves. (never without gloves)  I started experiencing pain all through my body.  Sometimes at night it would wake me out of a dead sleep;  I’d wake up screaming as if I were being stabbed!

After I left Lowe’s, my constant pain stopped.  I was being poisoned by pesticides!

Being more conscious of what I eat, I find that when my diet gets ‘junky’ with processed foods slipping in, and dehydration,  I start to experience more pain.  Toxins are building up.  My movement is restricted, I hurt more all over and I find myself reaching for the bottle of aspirin.

A good detox bath with either Epsom salts or Dr. Singha’s Mustard Bath takes the edge off that.  It helps the cells release and rebuild. Damaged cells allow more toxins in.

Follow these rules:

• Go on a healthy, all natural (uncooked) food diet for a few days or a week.
• Eat enough fiber.  Elimination of toxins through waste is very important.
• Hydrate - Drink water, green teas, fresh juices - NO soda, fizzy water, juices with sugar or caffeine.
• Go for massages to help drain your lymph system and remove toxins and acids
• Take a detox bath using mustard bath and/or Epsom salts.
• Do what you can to eliminate stress:  learn meditation, go for walks outside; whatever calms you.

You can help your body heal, relieve pain and regenerate.

This is flu and cold season.  The best defense is an offense, and doing a detox with mustard bath is a good way to stay ahead of the germs and the H1N1.

A hot bath with Epsom Salts or other bath salts, coupled with Dr. Singha’s Mustard Bath will detox your body. Eliminating toxins, which weaken the immune system, helps rid your body of potential bouts with flu and colds. The idea here, though, is to keep on top of it.  By regularly taking a hot detox bath - which raises body temperature - you are killing off germs.  That’s what a fever does where you’re sick.  It’s the body’s natural reaction to the virus.  Why not help it?

When my throat feels scratchy and I fear I might be bitten by some errant bug, I jump in the tub and ‘boil’ myself for an hour or two.  I guess, too, that I am blessed with a good immune system, but I never get sick.  I don’t get colds and haven’t had the flu in over 30 years.  (knock wood)

I’m not saying that Dr. Singha’s Mustard bath will cure the  H1N1 flu  or a cold once it’s gotten a good grip on you. No, it’s just a good cold and flu fighter and keeps your system running better to fight off illness.

This is my own testimony to the healing effects of detox baths and bath salts.

On Christmas Eve, I took a nasty fall on the stairs inside my home.  I missed the last step and went down like a ton of bricks.  Most of my weight landed on my right hand and knee, but my fall was broken (thankfully) by some boxes at the foot of the stairs.  As I was falling, and apparently by instinct trying to find balance, I yanked down the brass hall tree, which fell on top of me.  I got ’stabbed’ on the back by one of the arms of the tree, leaving a cut and nasty bruise.  My leg had a bruise that ran from my kneecap half way up my thigh!  (I’m gettin’ too old for acrobatics!)

That night I knew the best thing to do was to take a hot bath in Dr. Singha’s Mustard Bath. This I knew from other ‘over-exertions’ would draw some of the soreness and pain out of my body.

Being injured produces a myriad of chemical reactions in the body.  Physical effects include stiffness wherein the affected area tries to immobilize itself to heal torn or stretched  ligaments or bruises.  We also react unconsciously, by limiting our movements. Taking a hot bath in salts or a detox solution helps to relieve pain and stiffness.  It draws toxins from the injured area away and out. Old blood that has pooled due to bruising is stimulated to move out, reducing more pain.

The next morning -  I could not believe how sore I wasn’t! I thought for sure I’d really be hobbling and unable to move.  Yeah, my knee was touchy and the immediate area where it was bruised was tender, but all in all - I truly believe the detox bath helped!

‘Tis the season for slipping and sliding on icy stairs and sidewalks.  A Dr. Singha’s Mustard Bath and oil in your medicinal arsenal will do wonders to help with winter acrobatics!

Produce on grocery store shelves may look good, but there’s a dirty secret behind it.  Most of it has been grown using chemical fertilizers.  The earth in which it has grown has been treated with herbicides, fungicides and pesticides, too.  It has also been genetically engineered to resist treatment with weed killers like “Round-Up” .  What you’re getting in the store is loaded with potential toxins.  This food has traveled an average of 1500 miles to get to your plate and has probably - without your knowledge - been irradiated:  treated with low levels of radiation to kill off bugs and prolong storage.

The food at your local farmer’s market is a lot different.  Raised in soils amended without chemicals, the food is healthier from the get go.  Studies have shown that the nutritional value of food has actually declined in the last 50 years due to poor soil management.  Farms have for the most part abandoned the age-old practice of crop rotation, thus stressing out the soil and depleting nutrients.

If your buy meat from your local farmer’s market, most vendors do not treat their animals with steroids or antibiotics.  Do you really want to eat steroids (growth hormones) or expose your kids to more antibiotics?

Check out this link for farmer’s markets near you: LocalHarvest.org

Another plus is that your money is staying in the community.  You are also helping your local farmer stay in business, rather than sell his/her land to a mega farm or to a developer.  We DON’T need more shopping malls!

You can further reduce your toxin load by taking a regular detox bath. This assists your body in fighting off illness and enhances the removal of toxins.  Be clean - inside and out!

Recently I took a pretty bad fall in my kitchen fracturing and severely spraining a wrist, fracturing a toe and wrenching my back.  After visiting the chiropractor the following day, I knew I had to do one more thing:  take a good hot detox bath.

Mustard baths help you heal from injuries like I experienced.  Toxins and inflammation are drawn out.  Now, I know the chiropractic adjustment did a lot to help but I also know that I felt a lot better after soaking in a detox bath.

I also added some Epsom salts, another healing remedy.  That, coupled with the Dr. Singha’s Mustard bath helped to draw out the pain.  I felt so much better the following morning.

Mustard detox baths aren’t just for warding off or healing from illness.  A detox bath is a powerful remedy for any strained muscles, too.

The next time you overdo it working in the yard, or get a bit beat up by playing touch football with the kids, take yourself a good detox bath.  You’ll be glad you did.

The environment is tops on everyone’s list.  Browse the ‘new and notable’ tables at your favorite book store and GREEN jumps out at every turn.

You can help introduce your friends and family to environmentally friendly living, too.

Give them a GREEN GIFT of organic personal care,  or bath salts,    or perhaps some

mustard bath.   or a detox seaweed bath 

Henna hair coloring     is a great way to lessen a loved one’s exposure to possible carcinogens in chemical dyes.

You can promote sustainability, independence and encourage environmentally friendly business in impoverished nations by purchasing fair trade gifts.  

Artisans worldwide produce crafts and are paid a fair wage.    This also helps preserve ancient crafts which are rapidly disappearing as populations move to urban areas.

Another great way to introduce environmentally friendly living is to get a GIFT CERTIFICATE to start a friend sampling some environmentally responsible products.  Often people are a bit hesitant to give up what they know, but once they try things, they find they are doing TWO things at once:  saving the environment and being more environmentally responsible themselves!

This could be toward the purchase of a Sun-Mar composter  or   perhaps a rain barrel…,   or even for a composting toilet    or maybe for a portable solar powered battery charger,  which is great for travellers!

We also have unusual    art and   gifts like original art  

by local Virginia artists.

There are many ways that you can spread the word about sustainable, green and helping the environment!

Thank you MONSANTO!  Thank you ORTHO!  Thank you to ALL those wonderful scientists who  thought they were helping this world when some of this stuff was invented.

OK…, OK…, I know about the miracle of plastics and synthetic compounds  and how they have revolutionized life on this planet.

Let’s also remember that as we are finding out, ‘fake’ isn’t better.  Synthetic isn’t necessarily better.  Why?  Because it’s killing us.

Modern science is gathering evidence that artificial ingredients are making us sick.  Decades have passed since this stuff was first introduced into our food.  Look at us now?  We’re fat and sick… some of us are dying from cancer BECAUSE of the stuff.

Our bodies cannot metabolize those fake ingredients.  They cause all sorts of havoc in our bodies as they try to deal with them.  The result:  cancer, hormonal disruptions, illness, allergies and mysterious diseases.

Pesticides are endocrine disruptors, carcinogenic and weaken the immune system.  They are also NEUROTOXINS.  How do you think they kill bugs?  The chemical makes their systems shut down - BANG !  Little by little, with enough exposure, humans suffer a different reaction.  These insidious compounds lodge in fat cells and organs and sit there for decades.  By then - there may be other factors, coupled with the weakened immune system and the whole body goes nuts and says “I GIVE UP!”  Result:  cancer.

I heard a story of a woman who worked at a company where she was in contact with chemicals on a regular basis.  I don’t know what the extent OF the exposure was; direct, indirect, exposure to fumes,  or what chemical.  I do know that her hair started falling out, she had terrible pain and many other symptoms.  Doctor after doctor dismissed her as a hypochondriac because their standard blood & urine tests revealed nothing.

Finally she went to a doctor who was inquisitive enough to run some different tests which evidenced that this poor woman was slowly being poisoned!

This is how insidious these things can be.  If you or someone you know has been diagnosed as a hypochondriac, tell them to get a different doctor who will do some extensive tests for poisonings.

It could save their life!

In the meantime, we all need to DETOX on a regular basis.  A mustard bath or a bath with healing salts can help detoxify your body.  Plenty of fresh water to help wash out toxins, too!  Using organic personal care items can help keep toxins out of your system, too