Grab Bag Healthy Headlines!

FINALLY!!! This month’s Glamour magazine marks an important benchmark in the effort to remove toxic chemicals from our everyday lives. BRAVO, GLAMOUR for being the first major women’s magazine to address this crucial topic in the May 2011 issue (3 different covers available for this issue):

BUT SPECIFICALLY…WHY HASN’T TOXICITY IN COSMETICS BEEN

COVERED IN MAJOR MAGAZINES ?

Well… let’s think about that. Here’s my theory… Who are the major advertisers in women’s magazines? Cosmetics companies, right?? So… it follows that the magazines have been hesitant to bite the hand that feeds them. But the tide may be too strong to ignore, and Glamour has started the conversation here in the national arena.

Here is the opening quote in article, titled,

If you’ve read the news lately, you’ve probably stumbled across headlines about the health risks posed by chemicals in your sports bottle, personal care products or food containers. So just how concerned should we be? Very, say 13 prominent experts interviewed by Glamour — especially because women may be particularly vulnerable.

I DO wish they had made a bigger headline about cosmetics… most of the article is dedicated to food packaging, with toxicity in cosmetics as just one of some suggested bullet points at the end of the article to watch for.

To me, toxicity in cosmetics is hugely important because……

WE USE THEM EVERY DAY

But… this is a start. To continue this swing in momentum, I encourage you to do two things:

1. Buy and read the magazine article (if you have an iPad, get the free Glamour app and then buy the issue for $3.99. SO much better!…. get it right away, AND… save the paper, manufacturing and delivery impacts associated with magazine production).

2. Visit Glamour’s Facebook page, “Like” them, then write a note of support for what they have done.

For more to think on… peruse this fun image:

Grab Bag De-Clutter Part 3:

• Sort kids outgrown clothes by size and season, placing your boy’s summer 4T stuff  altogether in a bin for the next kid.

• Have a garage sale. You will be amazed at what will bring in some cash, and the results will spur you on to more culling.

Grab Bag Healthier Spring Clean:

Some members (see below) of the U.S. government ARE trying to get under your sink, for health’s sake. I say it’s about time! But along with any legislation, WE need to be responsible for cleaning up our own chemical waste dumps under our sinks. 

1. Why we should care about choosing our cleaning products:

There are health risks associated with many conventional cleaning products. Many products we assume to be safe contain ingredients linked to asthma, cancer, reproductive disruption, hormone disruption and neurotoxicity, to name a few.

2. How to tell what is in your cleaning products:

Few cleaning products are labeled with ingredients. Manufacturers are currently not required to do so.

A. Check this page of the CleaningInstitute.org website for links to many companies’ product information.

B. If a company in question is not found there, try to find that company’s website and check for product information.

or…

C. Call the company.

3. What do we get rid of?

For a start, once you get a list of ingredients, replace products that contain the following ingredients:

• 2-butoxyethanol (or ethylene glycol monobutyl ether) and other glycol ethers
• Alkylphenol ethoxylates (some common ones are: nonyl- and octylphenol ethoxylates, or non- and octoxynols)
• Dye (companies often hide chemical information behind this word; when it’s unknown, it’s safer to skip it)
• Ethanolamines (common ones to look out for are: mono-, di-, and tri-ethanolamine)
• Fragrance
• Pine or citrus oil (on smoggy or high ozone days, compounds in the oils can react with ozone in the air to form the carcinogenic chemical formaldehyde)

(Note from LK: Quite frankly, I want to see more info on Pine and Citrus oil dangers… will post if I find.)

• Quaternary ammonium compounds (look out for these: alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (ADBAC), benzalkonium chloride, and didecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride)

4. What do we buy?

Buy less toxic products, trying to avoid the 7 ingredient families above. And “vote” with your purchases by supporting companies that list their ingredients, even though they are not yet required to do so.

NOTE: US Sen. Al Franken (yes, former SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE comedian) and US Rep. Steve Israel have introduced two bills in Congress requiring manufacturers to disclose ingredients on their labels. Rep. Israel gives a quick synopsis here:

Grab Bag Dietary Drano:

So… you celebrated... a high-fat meal was consumed (say, an enormous pile of FABULOUSLY decadent Truffle Mac n’ Cheese, or a gorgeous juicy steak) and now you’re wracked with guilt… probably because you think it will make you fat.

What’s actually MORE important is that getting fat IS involved, but not ONLY the way you think.

A high-fat meal spikes lipids in your blood, specifically oxidized LDL cholesterol, that can eat away and weaken the walls of your arteries. The damage done to your arteries is then a prime place for arterial placques to form…. and… then….. cue the heart attack.

Anatomy of LDL oxidization, inflammation and resulting plaque formation.

So, keeping an overall healthy diet is key, but on the occasional slip-up, is there a magic antidote?? Do we down some Drano to keep our pipes clear?

Nature has a MUCH healthier alternative. According to the docs at RealAge, research shows that just

2/3 cup of pureed strawberries!

dramatically lowered the lipid blood spikes in those who consumed high fat meals.

HOLD ON…. it does NOT eliminate the danger… just reduces it! No magic bullet here, I’m afraid. Still, gotta like this better than having to take Rx meds, right??

Grab Bag Speaker of the House:

….. and car.

Reality: Most of us have cell phones with a plan that doesn’t charge extra for long-distance calling. This encourages many to use their cell phones for more and more calls. Heck…. I know a number of younger people who don’t even HAVE a land line anymore.

So…. holding that antennae to your head for more minutes with every passing month has me a bit uncomfortable… but if we’re also talking LITERALLY uncomfortable, let’s talk Bluetooth ear pieces. Personally, I’ve had 4, and I hated all of them. And besides… they make you look like a total dork. I’m just sayin’…. it can even neutralize Brad’s hotness…

OK, maybe not Brad’s, but certainly any mere mortal…. but I digress…

I just got this thing for my car visor, (it gets very good reviews) and I MUCH prefer this for auto-based cell convos… I might even bring it into the house. I bought mine at Best Buy for about $70 (I see Amazon now has it for $55 here). And…  that’s not me in the bottom picture… I’m not THAT happy about it… it just works well:

PLANTRONICS K100

Grab Bag Brain Game: 

Slide the opening in the wall up and down to capture the moving balls into the side that matches their color, without letting any escape….as fast as you can.

SEPARATION

Grab  Bag Funny Stuff:

I figured out why I’ve gained weight. The shampoo I use in the shower runs down my body. The label says, “For extra volume and body”.

I don’t need that.

I’m going to start using Dawn dish washing soap. The label on that says, “Dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove”.