LK's Grab Bag

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Tuesday, December 9^th: Even if it’s 2 days late, come and honor the men and women of Pearl Harbor. Come down and plan your own retaliatory attack on the tired, the poor, the flabby masses yearning to spill over your pants. Join me, 8:30AM at SBCC… bring water and mat.

Tuesday Holiday Tip: So I’m sure you’ll soon be in the kitchen, baking up a storm, or feeding mouths that have come home to roost. Here’s three tips:

• When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size! You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount.  You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

• To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

• And my third tip is not to eat the first two.

Tuesday Cosmetic Clean-Up: As a general rule, try to buy things that are fragrance-free. That is a great start. “Fragrance” is a dirty word in the chemical world. “Fragrance”, as opposed to essential oils, is a synthetic compound, often including chemicals such as the pthalates I mentioned last week, also found in the rubber duckies. They are added to a gazillion products. And their crucial function? To….. make rubber softer or to make your nose happy, basically. Cosmetics, laundry products, household cleaning products… the list goes on and on. So how happy is your nose if it knows THIS?:

“Fragrance” is a “Known human immune system toxicant”, according to the SCCNFP (The Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products Intended for Consumers), 1999. Or, how about this: “Fragrance” has “Moderate evidence of human neurotoxicity” in the USHR (U.S. House of Representatives), 1986. Neurotoxins: At Home and the Workplace. Report by the Committee on Science & Technology, Report 99-827. Sept 16 1986. Less concerning, but no fun, is that “fragrance” has been determined to be a skin irritant to many. ALL THAT, just so that our skin and our laundry and or our windows will smell good. Wow. Is “Fragrance” enough to make some people ill on it’s own? Geez, I hope not. But if I can get products without these elements, I will. ….. And I hate to break it to you, but most perfumes we are dabbing or spraying on have these compounds, which are penetrating our skin. More about that in the article I will reference in a minute….

There are a number of other issues to address in the consumer products we put in and on us every day. It can seem overwhelming once you start, but let’s take it one step at a time. If you want to make a few simple changes right away, I can offer these recommendations, some of which are widely available at Long’s in the “organic and healthy” cosmetic and personal care section, or at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or other natural food/health stores:

• Bar soaps… Here’s a BONUS…I think you will find your skin will need less moisturizing after showers and baths when using any of these soaps compared to bigger brands:

Dr. Bronner’s Classic Bar Soaps, in 8 different (all natural, no synthetic fragrances) scents… Citrus, Baby Mild & Eucalyptus rate a 1, others a 2

 

Kiss My Face Bar Soap, Pure Olive Oil, Fragrance Free… Rates a 0

Aveeno Moisturizing Bar for Dry Skin… I really like this…. Rates a 1

Body Lotion: Wow… this is a big one… and IMPORTANT, as so many lotions rate TERRIBLY, and they go ALL OVER THE BODY. People seem to be really picky about their lotions, so if you are, you may go through some trial and error… I know I have. For dryer times, you should put a few drops of jojoba or avocado oil in your palm first, then add lotion, mix together and rub on. Or, you can do what I do: I put this REALLY great and healthy moisturizer, Egyptian Magic, in my palm first, rub until liquid, then add some lotion, mix and apply. Egyptian Magic is available at many health food stores. It is fantastic stuff for skin, hair, nails, you name it. Google it… read what people say. Thanks to Karen C. for sharing this with me a few years ago…It rates a big, beautiful, 0….. 

For lotion you can buy right away from the drugstore, try this:

Avalon Organics Hair, Bath & Body Hand & Body Lotion, 6 different (natural) scents…. Rates  a 2

My favorite lotion at the moment is ordered online and is from a company that is currently the only Certified “Food Grade” Organic Cosmetic company in the world, Miessence, from Australia. I am currently using their whole line of skin care, and am quite happy so far, but will report more when I have more weeks under my belt. Their lotion is Miessence Intensive Body Cream and it rates a 1.

 

One more salvo against pthalates….Though I won’t take more space here, you really must read THIS ARTICLE  (don’t worry… it’s short) from CHEC, Chidren’s Health Environmental Council. This group is directed and advised by the following, very papered, individuals:

CHEC’s Science Advisory Committee


• David Carpenter MD
Professor of Environmental Health and Toxicology
University of New York at Albany

• Brenda Eskenazi PhD
Professor of Maternal and Child Health and Epidemiology
University of California, Berkeley

• Ruth Etzel MD
Research Director
Southcentral Foundation

• Elaine Faustman PhD
Professor and Director
Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication

• John Froines PhD
UCLA School of Public Health

• Lynn Goldman MD
Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
John Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health

• Stanley Greenspan MD
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Psychiatry

• Harvey Karp MD *
UCLA School of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

• Philip J. Landrigan MD *
Professor of Community Medicine
The Mount Sinai School of Medicine

• Herbert Needleman MD
Professor of Pediatrics and Child Psychiatry
University of Pittsburgh

• John Peters MD
Professor and Director of Occupational & Environmental Medicine
University of Southern California

• Kathryn C. Porter PhD
Human Rights Alliance

• Leslie Robison PhD
Professor of Pediatrics
University of Minnesota

• Joel Schwartz PhD
Professor of Epidemiology
Harvard School of Public Health

• John Wargo PhD *
Yale University
Department of Forestry and Environmental Studies

* member of CHEC’s Board of Directors

Tuesday Brain Game: You will have about 30 seconds or so to memorize details in a photograph, then it will disappear and you will be asked a question. Click HERE

Tuesday Fun Stuff: A big hand to my fabulous sis, Tally D., for sending this along.

Here is the Washington Post’s Mensa Invitational, which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
 


The winners are:
 


1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
 


2. Ignoranus: A person who’s both stupid and an asshole.
 


3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
 


4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
 


5. Bozone: The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
 


6. Foreploy (n.): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
 


7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
 


8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.


10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
 


11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
 


12. Karmageddon: It’s when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, and then the Earth explodes, and it’s a serious bummer.
 


13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you
 


14. Glibido: All talk and no action.
 


15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
 


16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.
 


17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
 


18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you’re eating.