HOW TO GET KIDS TO EAT HEALTHY SNACKS

As a parent, we’ve all been there.  We want our kids to eat heathier, but sometimes it’s the snacks that seem to be killing all of our efforts!  We cook them healthy meals, but a few hours later they have a huge bag of potato chips by their side . What are we to do?

Well I have found something that works! One thing that works is to elimate any unhealthy “junk” food in the house.  But in my case, it always seems to resurface somewhere!  And also, too much of a healthy snack is not a good thing either. Cashews have great health benefits. But I can easily sit down and eat a whole jar of those babies!  And before you know it, I ‘ve  eaten enough calories in cashews to last me for a week!

The first trick is to have the kids “buy in” to the program. So this is what I have found that  works.I take my daughter with me grocery shopping, preferably one more on the health concious side, like Henry’s or Trader Joe’s.  We then walk through the snack & bulk sections together.  We get a nice variety of healthy, and maybe a few not-so-healthy snacks.  We then go home to start the fun!  We sit down at the kitchen table with all of our treasures and a box of plastic bags. We figure out how many of one item equals 100 calories.  This might be a certain number or a measured amount.  For example, 5 Triscuit crackers or 1/2 cup of trail mix.  Now we just put the items in individual 100 calorie baggies.  You can mix & match, or have bags with just one kind of item.  But the point is to have them all only equal 100 calories.

I also make sure I have items like pre-packaged granola bars and the frig full of snacks too.  The refrigerator can have snack such as cheese sticks, yogurt, pre-cut carrot & celery sticks and fresh fruit.

Now when the kids want a snack, they have a variety of good snack choices!  The only rule I have is that they can only eat 1 snack in a 2 hr. time frame.  This teaches the kids a variety of things.  They have to make a concious decision on what they eat. Are they going to eat something good for their body, or choose something that is not so good?  But even if they choose the not so healthy option, they are limiting that amount.   It is also teaching them portion control.  How many crackers should one eat?  One should eat only a few, not half a box!  In a short period of time they will learn how to eye-ball the correct healthy portion .  They will then be able to utilize this new information when they are not at home.  It is also something they can utilize their whole lives.  And you know what else?  You will be learning the same things by teaching them 🙂

Amazing Breakthrough in Skin Care

Breakthrough serum revitalizes the skinat the cellular level, to restore and maintain the skin’s youthful vibrance. DermaStem^™‘s all-natural ingredients provide the ideal environment for the regenerative properties of the adult stem cells, supporting the natural process of skin renewal.

WATCH THE VIDEO!

http://youtu.be/B4Hk2qaRS-Y

In a clinical study this extraordinary
supplement increased the number of circulating adult stem cells
by approximately 3-4 million.

Green Polka Dot Box

Join the OCA-Endorsed National Buying Club for Organic and Non-GMO Foods: The Green Polka Dot Box

OCA is happy to announce the formation of a new national distribution service for home delivery of organic and non-GMO foods, at 30-50% below the cost of retail, with free shipping on orders of $150 or more. The new national distribution club is called the Green Polka Dot Box (GPDB).

When GPDB opens in late September it will be offering annual “Club” ($50) and “Reward” ($125) memberships. Prior to launch, however, the OCA, OCA Director Ronnie Cummins, and hundreds of allies are purchasing “Founding Trust Memberships” (essentially pre-paying for the first $2000 worth of purchases) to provide initial operating capital before the GPDB formally opens for business.

After several years of asking Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and other natural food stores to stop selling so-called natural foods tainted with genetically engineered ingredients, or at least to voluntarily label these products, we’re tired of waiting. OCA is joining NaturalNews.com, the Institute for Responsible Technology, and Citizens for Health in calling on our members and subscribers to join the Green Polka Dot Box, where you can buy organic and non-GMO foods without wondering whether or not they are properly labeled.

As we pointed out in our featured essay last week, Whole Paycheck and Organic Food Deserts: The Challenge, it’s time to step up the pace and qualitatively expand the sales of organic foods and products across the U.S. Two major obstacles to buying more organic food for many Americans are cost and accessibility. Many of us need to budget our food dollars more carefully in order to purchase more organic foods. Others of us live in Organic Food Deserts, where the closest co-op or natural food store is a long distance away. The Green Polka Dot Box represents a step forward to solving these problems and expanding the organic market.

For details about the GPDB and Founding Trust Memberships, please go here and watch the 30-minute video.

12 Cancer Causing Chemicals

This is only a partial list of harmful chemicals found in personal care products. These chemicals are linked to cancer.

ONE DOZEN CANCER CAUSING CHEMICALS IN YOUR PERSONAL CARE ITEMS

( Shampoo, conditioner, skin care, cosmetics, deodorant, perfume, cologne, after shave, shaving cream, body lotions, body wash and soap, etc.)

This is only a partial list of harmful chemicals found in personal care products. These chemicals are linked to cancer.

Anionic Surfactants
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALES)
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate
Potassium Coco Hydrolysed Collagen
TEA (Triethanolamine) Lauryl Sulfate
TEA (Triethanolamine) Laureth Sulfate
Lauryl or Cocoyl Sarcosine
Disodium Oleamide Sulfosuccinate
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
Disodium Dioctyl Sulfosuccinate etc

DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine), & TEA (triethanolamine)
Ethoxylated surfactants
FD&C Colour Pigments
Formaldehyde
Imidazolidinyl urea
Lanolin
Nitrosating Agents

2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol
Cocoyl Sarcosine
DEA compounds
Imidazolidinyl Urea
Formaldehyde
Hydrolysed Animal Protein
Lauryl Sarcosine
MEA compounds
Quaternium-7, 15, 31, 60, etc
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
TEA compounds
Paraben preservatives (methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl) NOTE; Paraben is found in 98% of cancerous masses
Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) compounds
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALES)
Talc
TEA (Triethanolamine) Laureth Sulfate

Do hazardous and harmful cancer causing chemicals lurk in YOUR shampoo, toothpaste, skin care and personal cosmetics? Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is more common than previously thought and can stem from common chemical ingredients found in skin care and hair care products. Lets debunk the myths on the danger or safety of chemical ingredients in your beauty and skin care product. Are YOU Safe? If you care for your loved ones…the answers may shock you! The ONLY SAFE products are the CERTIFIED ORGANIC products produced by responsible manufacturers who give a 100% guarantee their cosmetics and personal care products are free of ALL synthetic chemicals and are made to Certified Organic FOOD GRADE standards. Look at the Toxic Ingredients Directory for a more complete list of hazardous chemicals.

Some More Information on Shampoo

DEA in Shampoo

Take the case of the suspect cancer-causing agent diethanolamine (DEA), which is used as an emulsifier and foaming agent in shampoos. We reported early on that the federal National Toxicology Program (NTP) completed a study in 1998 that found an association between the topical application of diethanolamine and certain DEA-related ingredients and cancer in laboratory animals. For the DEA-related ingredients, the NTP study suggested that the carcinogenic response was linked to possible residual levels of DEA. The NTP study did not establish a link between DEA and the risk of cancer in humans. But when a substance causes cancer in laboratory animals, it is a warning we must take seriously.

In this case, we noted, there is an added concern. The presence of DEA in cosmetics, including shampoos, can also lead to formation of nitrosamines, which are powerful carcinogens. Many nitrosamines have been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals and have also been linked with human cancer. These have also been shown to penetrate the skin. The FDA expressed its concern about the contamination of cosmetics with nitrosamines in a notice published in the Federal Register of April 10, 1979 (44 FR 21365). It stated that cosmetics containing nitrosamines may be considered adulterated and subject to enforcement action, though the agency has never demonstrated a willingness to take meaningful enforcement action in this regard. Thus, in DEA we have both a suspected carcinogen and a clear-cut carcinogen precursor.

As if this were not enough, shampoo manufacturers are also using many types of other ingredients (known as ethoxylated alcohols) that are frequently contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, and we have reported on these products, too.

Manufacturing Tricks

When news came out about the cancer-causing potential of DEA, many shampoo manufacturers looked at their labels and realized their products contained DEA or cocamide DEA, both chemicals being cited in the NTP study as cancer-causing. So what did they do? And why did they do it? Apparently more for marketing reasons than consumer health, many manufacturers then decided to eliminate cocamide DEA and instead use substitute ingredients like lauramide DEA – but, manufacturers soon learned, this chemical was also found to be cancer-causing by the same federal program. Consumer outcry and pressure led to its removal from some, but not all, shampoo products.

Nevertheless, instead of waking up to the fact that it might be smart to simply keep DEA derivatives out of their products, many shampoo manufacturers went on to a chemical not yet tested by the NTP but that still contains DEA. If you look at many of the shampoo products today, you will see they list cocamide MEA on their labels. Of cocamide MEA, the FDA says it is one “of the most commonly used ingredients that may contain DEA.” So though not tested, it can nevertheless be considered a chemical of concern. In addition, under certain circumstances, it can also cause nitrosamine formation. Alberto VO5 and St. Ives shampoos contain or have contained lauramide DEA. Aussie, Clairol, Dove, Finesse, Herbal Essences, and Neutrogena are examples of shampoos that all list cocamide MEA as an ingredient.

If We Were Winning the War on Cancer

None of this would matter much, if we were winning the war on cancer. But we aren’t. In 1999, it was noted that one in two American men and one in three American women get cancer. In the 1950s, one in four Americans were afflicted with this deadly disease. Despite the expenditure of $25 billion since President Nixon declared the war on cancer in 1971, cancer rates have soared. Dr. Samuel Epstein, professor emeritus of environmental and occupational health at the University of Illinois, points out that from 1950 to 1998, the overall incidence of cancer rose about 60 percent, with much higher increases for specific cancers. For non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma, the increase has been 200 percent. Breast cancers have increased by 60 percent. Prostate cancer has increased 200 percent. In men aged 28 to 35, there has been a 300 percent increase in testicular cancer since 1950. And don’t let anybody fool you into thinking that the cancer rate increase is because the population is getting older — these rates are age-adjusted. The cancer rates of a group of 50-year old men in 1990, for example, are compared to the cancer rates of a group of men in 1950.

No matter what shampoo manufacturers tell you, part of this rise is caused by our overall bodily burden of cancerous chemicals, which has increased greatly over the years. Placing small amounts of free DEA into shampoos might not seem like a big deal in and of itself. But as consumers and parents, we have to look at this small amount of DEA in the context of all the other cumulative exposures from all other consumer products. Lots of little drops of rain add up to a lot of rain. Lots of little drops of chemical carcinogens add up to a lot of carcinogens. Thus, it makes sense to reduce exposure to cancer-causing chemicals whenever possible.

The point we’re making is that you can have beautiful, healthy hair without chemical toxins. In this way you will also protect your health.

Commonly Used Ingredients That May Contain DEA

With the exception of color additives and a few prohibited ingredients, cosmetics and personal care products are among the least-regulated consumer products today. A cosmetic manufacturer may use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient. The following are some of the most commonly used ingredients that may contain DEA:

Cocamide DEA
Cocamide MEA
Cocamide TEA
DEA-Cetyl Phosphate
DEA Oleth-3 Phosphate
Lauramide DEA
Linoleamide MEA
Myristamide DEA
Oleamide DEA
Stearamide MEA
TEA-Lauryl Sulfate
Triethanolamine

Be informed. Check the labels of the products in your house. Make the change today! 100% Chemical Free personal care products

Skin Care, Hair Care , Body Care/Oral Care, Cosmetics

Mother & Baby, Essential Oils/Fragrance

This article compliments from http://OrganicEmpowerment.com

 

I love Boobies ….Really?

The lastest craze these days seems to be toting the apparel of ” I love boobies” . From bracelets to t shirts and so on. Really now. It personally frustrates the heck out of me! Men and boys of all ages can now walk around spouting their love for boobies as a supposed stance of their way of fighting breast cancer. Once again…really! Because they will spend money to be able to walk around with boobies on their shirts for a good cause? And not only boys and men, but girls and women too.

What really upsets me over the whole thing is that it is doing nothing to really help breast cancer. Yeah, so a few cents goes toward fighting breast cancer. Yes again, the pennies do add up!
But there is increasingly more and more proof that the chemicals in our personal care products is what is CAUSING the breast cancer! The answer is obvious! Quit using those products! ” But its too expensive to buy chemical free & truly organic products. I can’t afford it.” Now they will spend a few dollars to brag about their love for boobies boldy displayed, but will not spend a few dollars more to change the products they use!

What good is it going to be wearing an “I love boobies” shirt while their loved one has just heard that she is going to have to get a mastectomy? Except for her to know how important her breasts are to her loved one?
Why not really make a difference in breast cancer! Stop using the products that cause it! Now that is making a stand and making a difference! Believe me! Everybody already know the fixation todays society has on breasts. Make a difference today!
I know this is not a popular stand. But people really need to start using thier brains!

I will be posting a series of articles regarding the links between cancer and the choices you make in the products you use

Parabens And Breast Cancer

Are parabens safe when used on the skin? Chemicals from underarm deodorants and other cosmetics can build up inside the body, according to a study.British researchers have found traces of chemicals called parabens in tissue taken from women with breast cancer.

While there is no evidence parabens cause cancer, the scientists have called for the use of parabens to be reviewed.The cosmetics industry insists that parabens, which are used as preservatives and are approved for use by regulators, are safe.

Dr Philippa Darbre and colleagues at the University of Reading carried out tests on samples of 20 different human breast
tumours. Writing in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, they say they found traces of parabens in every sample.

Parabens have a very, very good safety profile Chris Flower,Cosmetic Toiletry & Perfumery Association
Their tests suggested the chemicals had seeped into the tissue after being applied to the skin.”This is the first study to show their accumulation in human tissues,” said Dr Darbre.”It demonstrates that if people are exposed to these chemicals (parabens), then the chemicals will accumulate in their bodies.”

‘Drive tumours’

Dr Darbre said there may be reason for people to be concerned about the findings.”Their detection in human breast tumours is of concern since parabens have been shown to be able to mimic the action of the female hormone oestrogen,” she said.”Oestrogen can drive the growth of human breast tumours. It would therefore seem especially prudent to consider whether parabens should continue to be used in such a wide range of cosmetics applied to the breast area including deodorants.”

Dr Philip Harvey, European editor of the journal, said the findings should be interpreted cautiously.”Further work is
required to examine any association between oestrogenic and other chemicals in underarm cosmetics and breast cancer.”
We have an enormous amount of information which supports the safety of these chemicals and their use in cosmetics

Chris Flower
Cosmetic Toiletry & Perfumery
Association
Chris Flower, director general of the UK’s Cosmetic Toiletry
& Perfumery Association, welcomed the study.

“It is welcome additional information and we will want to examine the findings in detail,” he told BBC News Online.
“However, parabens have a very, very good safety profile. We have an enormous amount of information which supports the safety of these chemicals and their use in cosmetics.”

Caution
Delyth Morgan of Breakthrough Breast Cancer said: “This extremely small study does not demonstrate a direct causal link between deodorant or antiperspirant use and developing breast cancer.

“Further research is needed to establish the source of the chemicals found in the breast tumour samples and what, if any, the relationship is to breast cancer.”

A spokesman for the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry said government scientists would examine the
findings.”Parabens are approved for use in the UK and in Europe and all
the information we have suggests they are safe to use.”However, British scientists will examine this study.”

Dr Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer Research UK, said there was no evidence that
deodorants were linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.He said the latest study was very small, and had by no means produced conclusive results.”The increased incidence we are seeing of breast cancer can be explained by many other factors,” he said

Health-Report Comment:
Well here we go again. We have been warning people about the potential toxic effects of parabens for ages and how the increase in breast cancer and all cancers could be directly attributed to chemicals in the body. (This includes of course the
shocking revelations that HRT was directly responsible for another 20,000 women to contract cancer recently.) Not just from using underarm deodorants either. Virtually all so-called “skin Care” products have dangerous chemicals in them.
Parabens are just one of a large bunch of toxic chemicals that no-one has any idea of what the long term effects are if you use them every day on your skin.

The hollow platitudes of reassurance from the chemical industry are starting to sound like a stuck record as more and more damning evidence is mounting against them and their toxic assault on the human species. Despite what
they say, the studies have never been done on the long-term effects of any of these chemicals let alone the effects of perhaps ten or twenty or 100 chemicals interacting in the body.

I repeat my message THE ONLY SAFE SYNTHETIC CHEMICAL IS ONE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE CONTACT WITH!

If you want to be free of all the toxic chemicals that vested interests tell you are “good” for your skin and “safe” don’t use them! Period! The only safe products we recommend for use on the skin are Certified Organic products that are made to food grade standards. Yes you could eat them – because they are 100% free of all synthetic chemicals

Chemical Free Personal Care Products can be found at http://VitalityOrganics.com

Breast Cancer Awareness

I received this email from a friend in regards to Breast Cancer Awareness.  Because of this email, not only did I post my 10 inches as my status, but I am posting an article regarding what I believe is one of the main reasons we have so many women with breast cancer these days.  We MUST do something more than posting silly “statuses” on fb

Ok ladies, it’s that time of year again, in support of breast cancer awareness!! So we all remember last year’s game of writing your bra color as your status?….. Well this year, it’s slightly different. You need to write your shoe size,( just the number) followed by the word ‘inches’ and then sad face Remember last year so people took part it made national news and, the constant updating of status reminded everyone why we’re doing this and helped raise awareness!! Do NOT tell any males what the status’s mean, keep them guessing!! And please copy and paste (in a message )this to all your female friends to see if we can make a bigger fuss this year than last year!!! Go on ladies………………..

Movie in the park

Spent the morning jogging with the family.  Lunch with Dad and to help him design a brochure online for his new biz 🙂  Soon to be off the see “How to Train Your Dragon” .  The church is having a movie at the park tonight and one of my daughters is begging to go . LOL  It is suppossed to be cute.  We’ll see…I’ll keep ya posted!

Children & Chemicals

In a day and age where we increasingly seek a quick solution to our problems we find ourselves confronted by the cost that we are really paying for convenience. Health and environmental groups around the world are calling for bans and action on everything from pesticides, phthalates in perfumes, arsenic and chromium in CCA pressure treated wood to lead contamination in our homes. Medical groups such as the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment educate their members and lobby for change.

Their president, Dr Warren Bell, has expressed his concern that doctors are not educated on the prevention and treatment of environmental illnesses and diseases in our institutions of learning so therefore those effected have little opportunity for treatment. Scientists are conducting studies on the effects of these chemicals and presence in the average person with alarming results.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) just released a study showing 116 chemicals in the blood and urine of subjects, chemicals stored in body fat were not taken into consideration and children showed the highest levels of pesticides.

DNA Damage in Babies
A special by Bill Moyers last year entitled Kids and Toxins dealt with many issues including the damage done to the DNA of babies from the chemicals their mothers breathed in while pregnant. Dr. Elizabeth A. Guillette, world renowned anthropologist, with the University of Florida has documented alarming differences in the Yaqui Valley Mexican children who have been exposed to pesticides compared to the children in the foothills who do not face the same contamination. These changes include premature breast formation and cognitive and motor difficulties.

Seeking Ban – Massive increases in chemicals The Environmental Working Group, one of many organizations
working to seek a ban on CCA pressure treated wood have recently released a study on toxins in the body as well. They tested the blood and urine of nine people who did not work with chemicals or live near industry for 210 pollutants
and found traces of 167 of them. Since World War II there has been a huge
increase in chemicals, some 750,000 have been introduced. Increases in many
diseases have also risen since that time at alarming rates.

Increase in autism

In 1998, nearly 800 kids in Ontario, younger than 6 were newly diagnosed with the neurological disorder autism, a 53 per cent jump over the same period two years earlier, stated a study released at Queen’s Park by Michael Gravelle in March 2000. Science magazine has reported that “As science progresses, large numbers of epidemiological studies continue to find evidence that short-term and long-term exposures to low concentrations of particles are associated with sizable numbers of morbidity and mortality events in developed urban areas around the world.”

Hilary Stead of the Guelph Mercury staff published an article quoting Patrick Kehoe as stating that as owner of Halton
lawn care company he sees first hand how pesticides caused illness in those who worked in the industry and that he supported a ban.

On Feb. 7 2003 the Consumer Product Safety Commission released it’s Health risk assessment on the dangers of CCA treated wood to children. Among their findings were that children had a 2 to 100 chance in one million of developing cancer from playing on these structures. A one in a million risk is usually the cause for the government to take notice. As the CPSC meets in March to decide on whether to seek a total ban on CCA in playground equipment you might feel like sticking your head in the sand. Not a good idea. The warnings of Dr.Dieter Riedel of Health Canada and Dr David Stilwell of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station have been confirmed once again by a cross Canada study of playgrounds released in Jan.by Environmental Defence Canada, the sand is full of arsenic.

References The entire Center for Disease Control (CDC) report is online at
www.cdc.gov/exposurereport,http://www.cape.ca/
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript117_full.html
www.ewg.org
Guelph mercury story
http://www.therecord.com/topstory_02112684549.html
http://www.caes.state.ct.us/FactSheetFiles/AnalyticalChemistry/fsAC001f.htm

Residues of Arsenic, Chromium, and Copper on and Near Playground Structures Built of Wood
Pressure -Treated with “CCA” Type Preservatives Unpublished study by Dieter
Riedel available by emailing deborahbarrie@hotmail.com Unpublished study by Dr
Dieter Riedel http://www.edcanada.org
WARNING These toxic chemical products may contaminate your children!

FOR SAFE PRODUCTS VISIT: http://VitalityOrganics.com

And so the blogging world begins!

At the moment my mind is a fog as I try to take all the information and passion running thru my brain and make some kind of sense out of it.  Not to mention that my girls are constantly needing my attention, I need to come up with a new Yoga routine for my seniors and Dad is on his way to celebrate his 76th birthday!  Ahh and a slight wonder if my wonderful “hunter” husband has yet again saved out family from the ravaging rats and caught us another little critter in one of the traps.  Yep!  I am definetly running a muck here!  But have now fear!  I will succeed and eventually manage to make this blog make some kind of sense and hopefully, be able to assist someone in acheiving a healthier life than they currently are.  Just one person, and the time is worthwhile 🙂