Research Updates Year in Review

Here are some of the studies that have come out in the past year...

Babies Recently Treated With Lotion, Shampoo, And Powder More Likely To Have Phthalates Chemicals In Urine
February 8, 2008 — Babies recently treated with infant personal care products such as lotion, shampoo, and powder, were more likely to have manmade chemicals called phthalates in their urine than other babies. ... > full story

Six Environmental Research Studies Reveal Critical Health Risks From Plastic
October 3, 2008 — Exposure to Bisphenol A, phthalates and flame retardants are strongly associated with adverse health effects on humans and laboratory animals. A special section in the October 2008 issue of ... > full story

Traffic Exhaust Can Cause Asthma, Allergies And Impaired Respiratory Function In Children
April 10, 2008 — Children exposed to high levels of air pollution during their first year of life run a greater risk of developing asthma, pollen allergies, and impaired respiratory function. However, genetic factors ... > full story

Infections, Bacteria 'Critical For Healthy Life'
November 7, 2007 — Mothers around the world are armed with anti-bacterial gels, sprays and baby blankets, diligently protecting their children from nasty forms of bacteria. But recent research shows that society's ... > full story

Is Diabetes Linked To Environmental Pollution?
January 28, 2008 — Scientists are advocating additional research into the little understood links between environmental pollution and type 2 diabetes. Some recent research has demonstrated a very strong relationship ... > full story

Road Pollution Blamed For Higher Allergy Risk In Kids
June 13, 2008 — New evidence blames traffic-related pollution for increasing the risk of allergy and atopic diseases among children by more than fifty percent. What's more, the closer children live to roads, the ... > full story

Chemical Exposure May Increase Risk Of ALS, Study Shows
April 17, 2008 — Preliminary results show that a common environmental chemical may increase the risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, according to new ... > full story

Environmental Toxins Linked To Early Onset Puberty In Girls, Study Suggests
February 7, 2008 — Certain environmental toxins, such as the mycoestrogen zearalenone produced by the Fusarium fungus species, can be found naturally in the environment, have properties similar to the female ... > full story

Maternal Exposure To Persistent Organic Pollutants Linked To Urologic Conditions In Boys
May 17, 2008 — Higher incidences of congenital anomalies, including cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) and hypospadias, were found in boys whose mothers had higher serum levels of certain organochlorine ... > full story

Potentially Harmful Pesticides Found In All Human Subjects Tested
January 6, 2008 — All subjects analyzed in a recent study carried at least one kind of persistent organic compound, substances internationally classified as potentially harmful to one's health. More pesticides, ... > full story

Coastal Waters Show Decline In Contaminants Over 20-Year Period
May 12, 2008 — NOAA scientists have just released a 20-year study showing that environmental laws enacted in the 1970s are having a positive effect on reducing overall contaminant levels in coastal waters of the ... > full story

Cranberries Help Combat Urinary Tract Infections In Women, Researcher Finds
January 14, 2008 — Cranberry juice, long dissed as a mere folk remedy for relieving urinary tract infections in women, is finally getting some respect. Thanks to Prof. Itzhak Ofek, a researcher at Tel Aviv University's ... > full story

Honey Effective In Killing Bacteria That Cause Chronic Sinusitis
October 1, 2008 — Honey is very effective in killing bacteria in all its forms, especially the drug-resistant biofilms that make treating chronic rhinosinusitis difficult, according to new ... > full story

Honey Helps To Heal Wounds, Review Suggests
October 9, 2008 — Honey may reduce healing times in patients suffering mild to moderate burn wounds. A systematic review concluded that honey might be useful as an alternative to traditional wound dressings in ... > full story

Honey A Better Option For Childhood Cough Than Over The Counter Medications
December 4, 2007 — Honey may offer parents an effective and safe alternative than over the counter children's cough medicines. A single dose of buckwheat honey before bedtime provided the greatest relief from cough and ... > full story

Consuming Extra Virgin Olive Oil Helps To Combat Degenerative Diseases Such As Cancer, Study Suggests
January 21, 2008 — Researchers have for the first time analyzed the antioxidant properties of olive oil, a product rich in polyphenols (natural antioxidants). They believe these antioxidants improve the lives of people ... > full story

Advice From A Germ Expert: Don't Overdo Spring Cleaning
February 11, 2008 — Advice from a germ expert is music to the ears of those who dread the annual tradition of spring cleaning. Don't go overboard, cautions one health sciences expert. Considering "green" cleaners that ... > full story

A Little Rosemary Can Go A Long Way In Reducing Acrylamide In Food
March 4, 2008 — Several animal tests have shown acrylamide to be a carcinogen, and a recent study has shown a positive association between acrylamide and breast cancer in humans. "Acrylamide is formed during the ... > full story

Sugary Beverages May Increase Alzheimer's Risk
December 10, 2007 — Excess drinking of sugary beverages like soda may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, suggests new research in mice. Although the exact mechanisms aren't known, obesity and diabetes are both ... > full story

Toward A New Generation Of 'Greener' Consumer Products
November 19, 2007 — Consumers will have access to medicines, cosmetics, and other products that are "greener," less expensive, and more environmentally friendly than ever before, thanks to new manufacturing processes ... > full story

Disturbances In Brain Circuitry Linked To Chronic Exposure To Solvents, Study Shows
April 16, 2008 — Chronic occupational exposure to organic solvents, found in materials such as paints, printing and dry cleaning agents, is widespread all over the world, and is thought to damage the central nervous ... > full story

Male Painters And Decorators Exposed To Fertility Damaging Chemicals, Study Shows
May 25, 2008 — Men working as painters and decorators who are exposed to glycol ethers are more likely to have poor semen quality, according to new research. Men who work with solvents such as glycol ether have a ... > full story

1 Year Later...

It has been just over 1 year since I went green. The peppers died, the parrots mutilated the zuccini, tomato, and cucumber plants. I use Crest toothpaste. BUT I thought I'd do a year in review follow-up!

I have no regrets about going green. I still incorporate green living into many, many aspects of my life.

• I still wash my clothing with vinegar and salt in super hot water. (I cheat occasionally and use Mrs. Myers (organic) Clean Day--the Lemon Verbana scent is the best!!!)

• I still use baking soda for deodorant. (It's better than anything else!)

• I only clean the house with organic, essential-oil scented cleaners. (Mrs. Myers Clean Day!!)

• We only shower with organic soaps. (Exception: shampoo & conditioner--my hair is damaged from hair dye and apparently required deep conditioning...) Our favorite soap is the dead sea mud we get from Greenwise or the South of France collection!

I buy mostly organic groceries, with a few exceptions. We buy organic:
meat
milk
strawberries
lettuce
tomatoes

I do not buy organic:
bread
apples
potatoes
olives

And we eat mostly Lean Cuisine microwave meals during the week. :-\

Funnily enough, my husband, once the skeptic, is now almost more gung-ho organic than I am! He makes his own preshave lotion using purely organic oils and essential oils! Now he's trying his hand at home-made organic shaving cream and organic home-made soap!

He's also saving to get a steam vapor cleaner, as he believes that chemical-free cleaning is far better than anything else!

I guess in sum I would say that Going Green has been one of the best changes in our lives. Although I've given up some of the home recipes (James swore if he smelled vinegar again he'd leave, one day), I've replaced many of them with organic, essential-oil scented cleaners that are easily available at local organic grocery stores. The home-recipes for personal care have been great--and I still love the baking soda deodorant, but on the whole it is easier and less time-consuming to just buy the organic version at the store. :)

Healthwise, going green has helped enormously with my asthma, and James's face breakouts. Sophia rarely plucks or mutilates any of her feathers. When we started, she'd chewed all of her back and chest feathers, and had plucked her leg feathers up to the hip. Now she only keeps the shaved-leg look to her mid-thigh, and doesn't chew any of the other feathers. (woohoo!)

Hope this inspires you to take the plunge yourself!!

Must Love Lavendar

No, seriously, you're *required* to love it if you're gonna go green and use anything except unscented. I made several concoptions of hand lotions last night. After dividing them up and adding various fragrances, I determined lavendar is really the only one that isn't absorbed.

This theory is further supported by my home-recipe for cleaning wipes. Last week I blogged about an alternative to the store-bought cleaners: add essential oils to unscented, organic baby wipes. I am here now to tell you this does not work very well. The only scents that I can, well, still smell on the wipes a week later are lavendar and rosemary. The weakest scent is the rose--I can't even tell it was added. The orange and pine are very faint.

Tonight I went to the local Greenwise... my first time there. Talk about a child at Toys 'R' Us! I thought I'd just die of bliss. Aisles upon aisles of organic, natural everything! One thing that stood out to me, however, was that in the candle and personal care sections, overwhelmingly the options for scents are: lavendar, rosemary, ginger, mint, patchouli, grapefruit/citrus. Dr. Bronner's soaps are as natural as you can find--all had only Essential Oils with one exception: the rose had added synthetic fragrance.

My conclusion from all of this is that only some smells really stand out when it comes to essential oils. I have yet to find something that smells like apple or strawberry. The options are muy limited. And really. lavendar is in, like, everything.

Top Ten Contact Dermatitis Allergens Identified In Mayo Clinic Study


Nickel (nickel sulfate hexahydrate) -- metal frequently encountered in jewelry and clasps or buttons on clothing
Gold (gold sodium thiosulfate) -- precious metal often found in jewelry
Balsam of Peru (myroxylon pereirae) -- a fragrance used in perfumes and skin lotions, derived from tree resin
Thimerosal -- a mercury compound used in local antiseptics and in vaccines
Neomycin sulfate -- a topical antibiotic common in first aid creams and ointments, also found occasionally in cosmetics, deodorant, soap and pet food
Fragrance mix -- a group of the eight most common fragrance allergens found in foods, cosmetic products, insecticides, antiseptics, soaps, perfumes and dental products
Formaldehyde -- a preservative with multiple uses, e.g., in paper products, paints, medications, household cleaners, cosmetic products and fabric finishes
Cobalt chloride -- metal found in medical products; hair dye; antiperspirant; objects plated in metal such as snaps, buttons or tools; and in cobalt blue pigment
Bacitracin -- a topical antibiotic
Quaternium 15 -- preservative found in cosmetic products such as self-tanners, shampoo, nail polish and sunscreen or in industrial products such as polishes, paints and waxes

Crisco "hand lotion": Home Recipe Review

I'd read on various places online that Crisco shortening (yes, the stuff used in cookies) makes a decent hand-lotion, and even doctors at a particular hospital used to "hand it out" (??) to people to use as an alternative to hand lotion.

So... I decided to try it.

I put about 1/2 cup of Crisco into a plastic container with a lid. I added sweet orange essential oil and clove essential oil, and whipped it up. The first day the scent was "inconsistent." After a few days of settling it smelled a lot better. I used it on my legs yesterday after shaving. It made them very soft, and it smelled really good! The problem arose a few hours later when the EOs wore off and I smelled like... shortening.

Not a recipe I would recommend unless you just like baking *that* much.

Soy Candles

I tried my hand at making soy candles today. Soy candles are better than petroleum based ones because they burn cleanly and don't diffuse harmful oil and toxins into the environment (or your lungs). They burn 50% longer than usual candles, and supposedly carry the fragrance better.

The wax was on sale for $6.99 at the craft store. I got lead-free wicks. I melted the wax and poured it into some unused jars we had on hand. Using a meat thermometer I monitored the temperature. When the temp reached 125' I added essential oils as the package instructed. Then I put the wick in the center and tied the end of the wick to a pencil to hold it.

To one candle I added eucalyptus and rosemary. I'll use this one in the guest bathroom (where I take bubble baths) to help my breathing. (Eucalyptus is good for breathing.)

To another candle I added a lot of rose essential oil (in jojoba oil). This one hardly has any fragrance, despite putting in a lot. I'll put this one in our room anyway.

The the third candle I added sweet orange essential oil and a dash of lavender. This smells very good and is in the kitchen.

Overall impressions: It's nice to know that I'm burning good-for-everyone candles, but I feel limited in the fragrance dpt. The essential oils are expensive. I poured a lot of rose EO into the rose candle--and I don't feel like the scent was very strong. The orange EO is better, but not as strong as a usual store-bought candle. (And orange isn't my favorite smell...) The eucalyptus was very strong, however it smells like a medicine cabinet. I need to tinker more with soy candles to find a nice combination.

The husband has gone green!!!

A few weeks ago I kicked said husband out of the bedroom one Sunday morning in the wee hours because he was ranting about my "home-made" remedies (particularly vinegar). He slept in on the sofa. I have not heard a negative word since. LOL

This morning, while we were getting ready to go out, I reached over to wash my hands with the soap on the counter and he said, "Yo! Wait! You can't use that! It's not biodegradable!"

I blinked at him. "Huh?"

"You know, it's not green! The good soap is in the shower!" I giggled as I grabbed the "good soap" from the shower and giggled even more as I observed him throw the "tainted" soap away.
Then later we were grocery shopping together at WalMart. I got some boneless, skinless chicken breasts as he came around the corner. "Oh Andromada! Not those!! Only the green kind with no hormones and all organic-y and stuff!!" He put them back and grabbed the $6-for-3-pieces (ouch!) chicken. I hadn't gone that green yet, in contemplation of the purse, but hey! Go husband!!

Tomorrow we are making soy candles with essential oils. We have lots of candles, but don't use them because of the birds and the petroleum. I was going to order some online but there's the whole issue about "smelling" them first. I could get high off of candle smelling. Today in WalMart J wanted me to look at something and was going nutso b/c I was just walking down the aisle smelling all the candles... Anyway, yeah, we're gonna make our own so we can smell them first and make sure we like the scent combo. (We already have the jars and essential oils, now just need the wax and wicks! Hopefully it's on sale somewhere!)

Kitchen & Bathroom Cleaning: Store Brand & Home Recipe Review

First of all, the scent of vinegar is getting old very quickly. Poor J swore he'd do laundry for a week if I promised not to use vinegar in household cleaning anymore. Consequently, I've been trying to use some other recipes and products.

Wipex Natural Wipes: These are the organic version of the disposable kitchen wipes where you just pull one out and clean and you're done. I was very disappointed with them, to be honest. They were $4.49/cannister of 30, and came in three types: glass cleaner (lavendar and vinegar); all purpose (rosemary); and furniture polish (orange oil). The wipes are flimsy and don't go very far. They were somewhat dry--not moist enough to do much good. The glass cleaner one left a film on my stove and left spots on my bathroom mirror. I have half a mind to return them!

Home-Recipe Wipes Alternative: I have a large package of unscented, organic baby wipes (count: 230). I divided them into baggies and added a few drops of essential oil to each one. They are less-flimsy, and moister. When they feel a bit dry I just add 1/8 C water to the baggie. They smell wonderful and are infinitely less-expensive than Wipex. (230 count for $4.99, and a few drops of essential oil for each.) This is one of my favorite home-recipe ideas... I have one baggie in each bathroom, one in the kitchen, and one in the parrot room. So easy to keep everything wiped down!

Earth Friendly Product's Ultra Dishmate: The bottle states, "Contains no phosphates dyes or perfumes, but is made of natural coconut, almond, and cherry oils." I got the almond scent and it's wonderful. I use it as a general cleaner everywhere--bathroom, parrot room, kitchen, floors, patio furniture, dishes, cages... Pour some in a bucket, fill with hot water, and I 'm good to go! My only complaint with it is on the parrot stuff, I just don't feel like it removes the bacteria-odor very well. The almond scent is so lovely however and the kitchen and bathroom smell very fresh and fragrant when I'm done. I think the cost was about $3.49 and it has lasted a full month with frequent general use.

Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds: I bought this b/c I ran out of Dishmate and wanted to try something new--something that would hopefully work well in the parrot room as well. It was $9.95 for a bottle, but this is ultra-concentrated so it's supposed to go a long way. It is cruelty free and seems very environmentally conscious. It has no added dyes or fragrances, but contains a mild scent from added fir and pine essential oils. I've been using it for a few weeks now and still like it a lot. The pine smell is very subtle, but reminds me of log cabin living. It seems to be a bit stronger-acting than the Ultra Dishmate. It also seems to be a better deodorizer than the Ultra Dishmate.

Vinegar: Vinegar is amazing. Vinegar smells awful. I only use it for a few things now: laundry (doesn't smell), drains, and carpet stains. It's amazing on all three. It's about $1.49 at Wal-Mart/gallon, so this is a great addition to my cleaning kit. Oh, to be noted--it does NOT clean algae off of the patio.

Baking Soda: Another super home-recipe ingredient, baking soda is almost a staple here. When it comes to kitchens and bathrooms, I use it to clean the sinks, the toilet, and the bathtub. I also add it to my pail with the dishsoap for wiping down the counters and washing the floor. It works very well in these capacities.

Ethanol Alcohol: I have a spray bottle with 3/4 ethanol and 1/4 water. This works great as a glass-cleaner substitute and doesn't smell like vinegar. I use it on the stove and the mirrors!

Eating right: Organic & Cost-Effective

One of the best changes we've made in all of this "going green" has been cooking for the week on the weekends.

Time: 1 hour Yield: 20 microwaveable meals

Ingredients (for 2 people):
2 turkey legs
6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
12 chicken legs
5 boxes of Far East couscous / rice pilaf (our favs are wild mushroom, garlic & parmesean, mediterranean, and pine nut)
20 entree-size plastic dishes with lids (15 for $3.99 at Wal-Mart)
Marinade (garlic, lemon juice, white wine, salt, herbs)
Grill--outdoor or counter-top



Optional:
1 bag frozen, organic spinach
1 bag frozen, organic mushrooms
1 bag frozen, organic asparagus
1 bag frozen, organic peas



What WE do is place all of the chicken in a large, 1-gallon baggie. We add about 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup white wine, 2 tblsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, and I add rosemary, basil, chives, oregano, and marjoram from the garden. We marinate it for 45 mins, turning on the grill to heat up for the last 15 mins. (What YOU may want to do is buy three marinades from the grocery store, divide the chicken into three baggies, and marinade them separately... We don't much care about variety.)

Then we grill the chicken (I have no idea how long this takes--J is in charge).

I set out all 20 (actually 15 for us--work provides my food) entree dishes. Cook first box of couscous (takes 5 mins to boil, 5 mins to sit). Add to boiling water (before adding rice/couscous) a handful of the spinach, mushrooms, and/or asparagus--whatever suits your fancy. Add couscous & seasoning... Divide the couscous into four dishes. Rinse pot, cook next box of couscous, divide into four dishes, etc.

Divide the chicken 1 breast or thigh/dish or 2 legs/dish. Stick in the freezer... and you're done! When you're ready to eat, pull it out, remove tape if necessary, stick in microwave for 6 mins.


Tada! Healthy, low fat, preservative-free meal! Total cost about $1.50/meal.

All of this takes maybe 1 hour on the weekend.

Laundry: Home-Recipe Review

For the past month I have been using a combination of 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup borax for laundry. I set the water temperature on the hottest setting (kills dustmites).

This works quite well. Only once did the laundry smell musty--and I think it's because I over-filled it. The towels aren't Downy-soft, but they aren't too hard, either. The laundry doesn't smell vinegar-y, but I do admit I miss the smell of "clean laundry."

For a while I tried many things to get the laundry to smell, well, like fresh Downy-soft laundry. I added essential oils (various solo and combinations of lemon, lavendar, rosemary, sweet orange, and clove) to a wet wasch cloth and put it in the drier with the wet laundry. This did nothing. I added essential oils to the rinse cycle--no effect. I added essential oils to the rinse cycle along with vinegar--no effect. I added essential oils just to the laundry itself in the drier (no wash cloth). That didn't work either. I am currently of the opinion that there's no real way to infuse the laundry with "clean smell."

Overall impressions: I like this. It saves money and I will continue to do my laundry in this fashion.

Going Green: One Week Review

It's been a full week since I've resolved to go green. My basic observations are that, so far, I really like it. The homemade deodorant is cheaper and better than any store-bought I've ever used. The organic cooking that I've managed to make has tasted better than I expected--actually it was delicious. Also, the organic grapes I purchased are absolutely the best we've ever had!

The laundry recipe works very well--the laundry is definitely clean. I miss the "smell" of clean laundry though. The house cleaning is a challenge too. I miss the smell of Pine when I wash the floor and clorox in the kitchen. Those just smell "clean" to me. Tweaking this to get better results will be my challenge. The garden is doing well, or the bits that Petey hasn't taken out are, anyway. One overall "change" I've noticed is that I'm more sensitive to smells again. The ivory soap I use in the shower never really had a scent that I could discern. This morning I noticed, for the first time in a while, that it actually does have a fragrance, lol.

Shopping:
I first went to Wal-Mart yesterday and purchased 4 boxes of baking soda ($0.44 each), two large containers of white vinegar ($1.59 each), four cylinders of salt ($0.44 each) a box of Borax in the laundry department ($1.50), ethanol alcohol ($.99) and hydrogen peroxide ($.69). I also purchased two large packages of Wal-Mart's brand of entree-sized containers w/ lids (15 in each), four gallon-sized containers ($1.25 each), and some tiny ones ($2.44 for six). I purchased four spray bottles from the hair department ($.99 each). I'd have liked to have gotten the larger ones but they were $3.99 each and I don't feel that's in my budget at the moment. Lastly, I purchased the following organic items: grapes, granola, and tofu.

Then I went to the local health food store and purchased the following essential oils: rose, lavender, lemon, eucalyptis, clove, coconut. I also purchased ground flax meal, organic zuccini and organic squash. LaundryI am using a homemade recipe now for doing the laundry. For darks I use 1/2 cup of vinegar (deodorizer, anti-fungal) and 1/2 cup of salt (anti-bacterial, cleaner). For whites, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup borax. I add a few drops of essential oil (rose) to 1/2 cup of water and put it in the fabric softener compartment. So far so good! I've noticed less waxy build up in my dryer screen. The dirty clothes came out smelling, well, normal. I miss the strong scent of clean clothes, but these seem clean anyway. I'm giving this non-toxic lifestyle a shot, but if I go back on anything, I'll probably go back to using a little fabric softener b/c I love the smell!

Garden
Last week I planted: cucumber, beans, 2 tomato plants, zuccini, squash, yellow peppers, green peppers, artichoke, jalapeno peppers, dill, lemon balm, and thyme. Thus far, the plants all seem to be doing fairly well, the ones that are still intact that is. Petey took out the dill and the lemon balm, and it looks like my cucumbers died. The bean plant is growing very quickly, and the tomatoes have flowered. The orange pepper has a blssom-turned-pepper, so that's cool. Petey took out the thyme, too. I'm very much looking forward to my tomatos, zuccini, squash, and peppers growing! Oh, the lettuce is doing great too--all eight plants are growing quickly. I think I'll be able to start harvesting from most of the plants in about 6-8 weeks...Food/meals

J sniggered when I told him I bought organic grapes. We expected them to taste... well... compromised. Instead, they are the best-tasting ones we've ever had. The taste is sooo strong, and they are sooo juicy! Shocked us!

I'm trying my hand at cooking and freezing on the weekends. I bought the 15-entree containers to be able to freeze everything individually. Unfortunately, the wal-mart brand SUCKS. The lids don't fit. I can't afford 20 rubbermaid entree-size containers so am, um, taping them closed. LOL. We haven't fully gone organic--I'm currenlty trying to use up all the food we have left to make more shelf room. But the organic meals we have made (salmon w/ rosemary from my garden & tabouli with fresh tomatoes last night, chicken with rice & organic vegetables earlier this week) were surprisingly delicious. (Even J ate the asparagus and spinach--shock me, shock me, shock me!!)

Deodorant
I decided to try some homemade deodorant recpes. The one I'm using goes basically like this: after a shower, rub rubbing alcohol under your arms with a cottonball. Then I put a bit (1/2 cup) of baking soda in a small container and added a drop of rose essential oil. After shaking it up really well I dabbed a bit under my arms. This is the best deodorant I have ever, ever used. I've tried many brands, and living in Florida, by the end of each day, well... let's just say I can't reuse my shirts. Even if I reapply! Not even a hint of BO by the next morning when it was time to get up and take a shower... I'm definitely adding this to my favorite home-remedies list!

House Cleaning:
I followed Flowerchylde's suggestions re: finding some recipes with vinegar and baking soda. I found two super-wonderful sites and have printed out the directions. Organic House Cleaning has many wonderful ideas and recipes for saving money and cleaning the house. Clean and Green had even more ideas, but I felt it was a little overwhelming with options. I filled one spray bottle with 50% ethanol alcohol (for windows), one spray bottle with 100% vinegar (general cleaning), one spray bottle I filled halfway with vinegar, added a bit of water and then about 1/4 cup of salt (disinfecting), the last spray bottle I filled with 2 tbsp Organic Almond dish washing soap and then filled it with water (to kill the bugs in my garden).

Observations on house cleaning:
Bathroom--I first cleaned the bathroom. In the end I was a little disappointed I guess because it didn't "smell" as clean as it does when I use hosehold cleaners. That said, I sprinkled baking soda in the tub and then dripped vinegar over it. It fizzed and cleaned fairly easily. After initial rinsing I filled a bucket with a bit of the almond dish cleaner, some baking soda and then hot water. I recleaned the tub and then the rest of the bathroom with the almond dish soap so it wouldn't smell so vinegary. I cleaned the toilet with vinegar/baking soda (worked well).

Parrot Room--I used the baking soda/almond dish soap combo in cleaning the parrot room. I washed down all the cages first with a sponge--it worked well enough. I didn't have to worry about overwhelming fumes, and that was nice. Washing the office mats was a challenge b/c the soap is very sudsy and tended to puddle in the crevices. I will probably just take the cages and the mats outside and hose them down in the future. Again, ultimately I felt a little disappointed b/c it didn't "smell" very clean--actually, the bird smell somewhat remained. I opened the doors to the patio and turned the fan on high, and the smell went away.

Kitchen--I used the vinegar spray on the counters and was very pleased. The counters cleaned easily enough. I used the alcohol on the stove and it came out all sparkly. On the tougher bits I dabbed some baking soda on a sponge and scrubbed. It came off quite nicely.

In the upcoming week I hope to try a toothpaste recipe, figure out an edible meal with tofu, double up on some cooking (freeze more meals), and keep Petey from taking out the rest of the garden...One topic up for debate at the moment is what to do with a tan. Even with sunscreen, tanning is harmful, I read recently. I do have Neutrogena sunless tanning, but it definitely has a lot of extra chemicals, and I'm trying to avoid them during this little experiment. On the other hand, pure, tanless white isn't a good shade on me. Am going to have to continue musing on the topic...

Science Daily Research re: Solvents & Organic

ORGANIC
Pesticides Exposure Associated With Parkinson's Disease (June 26, 2006) — A large-scale, prospective study has shown links between chronic, low-dose exposure to pesticides and Parkinson's disease. > full story

Organic Diet Makes Rats Healthier (March 29, 2005) — A team of European scientists, including one from Newcastle University, has found in an experiment that rats that ate organic food were much healthier than those that ate conventional diets. > full story

Organic Is Healthier: Kiwis Prove That Green Is Good (March 26, 2007) — Scientists have proven that organically grown kiwifruit contain significantly increased levels of health-promoting polyphenols. They also had a higher overall antioxidant activity, as well as higher levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and important minerals compared with their conventionally grown counterparts. Also, compounds in grapefruit and oranges have been shown to lower blood cholesterol, which could help prevent heart disease. > full story

Organically Grown Foods Higher In Cancer-fighting Chemicals Than Conventionally Grown Foods (March 4, 2003) — Fruits and veggies grown organically show significantly higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants than conventionally grown foods, according to a new study of corn, strawberries and marionberries. The research suggests that pesticides and herbicides actually thwart the production of phenolics — chemicals that act as a plant's natural defense and also happen to be good for our health. > full story

Organic Diets Lower Children's Exposure To Two Common Pesticides (February 21, 2006) — Organic diets lower children's dietary exposure to two common pesticides used in US agricultural production, according to a study by Emory University researcher Chensheng Alex Lu, PhD. The substitution of organic food items for children's normal diets substantially decreased the pesticide concentration to non-detectable levels. > full story

Organic Farming Beats No-Till? (July 24, 2007) — Organic farming can build up soil organic matter better than conventional no-till farming can, according to a long-term study. Organic farming, despite its emphasis on building organic matter, was thought to actually endanger soil because it relies on tillage and cultivation--instead of herbicides--to kill weeds. But the study showed that organic farming's addition of organic matter in manure and cover crops more than offset losses from tillage. > full story

Healthful Compounds In Tomatoes Increase Over Time In Organic Fields (July 16, 2007) — Levels of flavonoids increase over time in crops grown in organically farmed fields, according to a rare long-term study scheduled for publication in the July 18 issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. Other research has suggested that consumption of flavonoids may protect against cancer, heart disease, and other age-related diseases. > full story

Organic Farming Produces Smaller Crops, Healthier Soils, Swiss Researchers Report In Science (May 31, 2002) — Organic farming methods produced crop yields that were, on average, 20 percent smaller than conventional crops, during a 21-year comparison of the two methods. But, the organic approach more than made up the difference in ecological benefits, according to Swiss scientists who conducted the study. Their results appear in the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. > full story

Organic Farming Has Little, If Any, Effect On Nutritional Content Of Wheat, Study Concludes (October 16, 2006) — Organically grown wheat may have different labeling and a higher price in stores, but it contains essentially the same profile of amino acids, sugars and other metabolic substances as wheat grown with conventional farming. That's the conclusion of a German study, which produced perhaps the most comprehensive metabolic profile of wheat from organic and conventional agriculture. > full story

Research At Great Lakes Meeting Shows More Vitamin C In Organic Oranges Than Conventional Oranges (June 3, 2002) — Organically-grown oranges contain up to 30% more vitamin C than those grown conventionally, it was reported at a Great Lakes Regional meeting of the American Chemical Society. > full story

Organic Farming Can Feed The World, Study Suggests (July 13, 2007) — Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food as conventional farming on the same amount of land -- according to new findings which refute the long-standing assumption that organic farming methods cannot produce enough food to feed the global population. > full story

Organic Food Miles Take Toll On Environment (June 7, 2007) — Organic fruit and vegetables may be healthier for the dinner table, but not necessarily for the environment, a University of Alberta study shows. > full story

Get 'Two Steps' Ahead Of Fire Ants With Organic Control (May 12, 2004) — Red imported fire ants love wet, rainy, cool days like the ones that ushered in spring. That's why so many of their mounds have been popping up all over Texas this year. But help is only two steps away. > full story

Offspring At Risk From Maternal Occupational Exposure To Solvents (October 4, 2004) — Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) and the University of Toronto (U of T) have linked maternal exposure to organic solvents in the workplace with poorer performance on measures of neurocognitive function, language, and behaviour in offspring. > full story

SOVENTS
Many Cleaners, Air Fresheners May Pose Health Risks When Used Indoors (May 24, 2006) — A new study from UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory finds that many common household cleaners and air fresheners, when used indoors under certain conditions, emit toxic pollutants at levels that may lead to health risks. > full story

Solvent Exposure Linked To Birth Defects In Babies Of Male Painters (September 27, 2006) — Men who paint for a living may be placing their unborn children at increased risk of birth defects and low birth weight. > full story

Workplace Solvents May Intensify Parkinson's Disease (September 12, 2000) — Jobs involving the use of common solvents can put people at risk for developing symptoms of Parkinson's disease earlier in life and more severe disease symptoms throughout its course, according to a study in the September 12 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. > full story

OHSU Researchers Discover Toxicity Risks For Widely Used Chemicals (September 17, 2002) — Research at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) has revealed that certain chemical ingredients of gasoline, jet fuel and other solvents may pose a greater health hazard than first thought. Scientists at the OHSU Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) have shown that a benzene derivative damages the nervous system. In fact, the substance is much more active than non-benzene analogs already known to cause peripheral nerve damage (loss of limb sensation and muscle weakness) in solvent-exposed workers. > full story

Increased Suicide Rate Is Possibly Linked To Chemicals Released From Nearby Asphalt Plants, Study Suggests (December 28, 2004) — Exposure to low levels of hydrogen sulfide and possibly other airborne chemicals from nearby asphalt plants may have contributed to an increased suicide rate in a North Carolina community, a study suggests for the first time. > full story

Ozone Levels May Raise Risk Of Underweight Births: Common Pollutants Linked To Fetal Growth Retardation (November 16, 2005) — Babies born to women exposed to high ozone levels during pregnancy are at heightened risk for being significantly underweight, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. > full story

Jen's gone crunchy granola

I kinda thought I'd be the last person in the universe to do something like this. I typically gawk at conspiracy theorists and "you can't trust anything from the grocery store" types. (No offense to any here.)

Every time I read sciencedaily.com, though, I find more and more "safe stuff" that's actually completely harmful and they just found out. *sigh* Where does it end? Teflon kills parrots AND causes low birth weight in newborns. Who knows what else it does. In newborn umbilical cords, they find a bunch of toxins including DDT that are supposed to be completely no longer part of our food intake... Baby toys and other imports from China are now found to have this and that. Pools cause asthma. Hot tubs cause lung disease. Factory workers from plastic and popcorn producing factories are getting pulmonary fibrosis. (It's the chemicals in plastic / artificial butter.) Hell, if you can't trust popcorn what can you trust???

I'm going green. This is the last straw. God knows what's in these veggies I buy at the store. Or in anything else, for that matter. Poor J has skin irritations from who knows what. Sophia has inflammatory skin disease. All three of us have crazy allergies. When I was reading about inflammatory skin disease, it's from over-exposure to toxins and allergens... not sure what kinds, just some kind of over-exposure.

I went to the health food store and bought chemical-free, dye free, fragrance and preservative free cleaners, laundry soap, shaving cream, shower gel, hand soap, dish soap, etc. Then I went to Lowe's and bought $130 worth of vegetable and fruit plants that I will grow organically if it kills me, damn it. We now have green peppers, yellow peppers, orange peppers, okra, beans, squash, cucumbers, a bunch of lettuce plants that I can just take the leaves from as needed, two things of tomatoes... I also have all my own herbs (and have been doing this for over a year)--chives, marjoram, basil, rosemary, lavender, mint, lemon balm, thyme... My uncle is an organic farmer. I need to contact him for help on this.

I'm on the verge of making my own granola cereals from organic oats, etc., from the health food store. Forget preservatives and dyes, pesticides.... This is ridiculous.

I told J we're moving to MN to live off the land. LOL. (Children raised in the city have higher rates of asthma and allergies. Probably can't be good for parrots either!!)