Most Americans spend 90% of their time indoors and, thanks to tightly sealed homes and workplaces, the concentration of pollutants indoors may be even higher than outdoors. Why? Because many of the cleaning products we use contain chemicals that release volatile organic compounds.

The typical American home contains 3-10 GALLONS of toxic materials, and uses and stores more than 60 hazardous household products; everything from glass and bathroom cleaners to garden pesticides and fertilizers.

Why Should You Care?

Chemicals in common household cleaning products pollute the air inside your home and have serious health effects, including:

• Respiratory problems
• Eye irritation
• Skin irritation
• Cancer
• Birth defects
• Disruption of the endocrine system

Another scary fact is that between 5-10 million household poisonings are reported each year and many of these are fatal and involve children.

The most vulnerable period of a child’s development is while they are in the womb, and it is essential to minimize exposure to any possible toxins. If you are pregnant, it is especially important for you to understand the risks of these household toxins to your children and to find natural, eco-friendly, and safe alternatives for cleaning.

In addition to these health concerns, there are environmental concerns regarding toxic household cleaning products as well:

• Creation of hazardous waste.
• Contamination of soil and water, including aquifers, lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans,
• Ecosystem imbalances, including loss of biodiversity and reductions in natural animal habitats
• Phosphates promote excessive growth of algae, which robs the water of oxygen, which negatively affects fish and other aquatic wildlife
• Some chemicals “bio-accumulate” up the food chain.

Dangerous Chemicals

Some of the dangerous ingredients to look for include:

• Phosphates: cause algae proliferation in bodies of water, killing marine life
• Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE’s): cause reproductive defects, liver and kidney damage
• Phthalates: cause sperm damage and reproductive defects in boys
• Volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) (including 1,4-dichlorobenzene): cause nose and throat irritation, dizziness, asthma
• Petroleum distillates such as benzene, or 1,4 dioxane, both of which can cause cancer.
• Sodium laurel sulfate and alcohol ethoxylate: both release 1-4, dioxane.
• Ethoxylates
• Sulfates
• Parabens
• Glycol ethers
• Ammonia
• Chlorine
• Ethanolamines
• Dyes
• Fragrances

Natural chemicals that can cause allergic reactions, and should also be avoided, include:

• Limonene (a citrus-based oil)
• Pine oil
• Coconut diethanolamide

What Are Your Options For Eco-Friendly Safe Cleaning?

You can reduce your chemical exposure by eliminating chemicals in your home and using only natural cleaning products that are plant based.

1. Buy Natural Household Cleaners

As more people become aware of the dangers of common household cleaners,  more “green”, environmentally friendly options have have appeared with a growing number of companies offering their own versions of eco-friendly cleaners.

Unfortunately, the terms “green” and “natural” are nothing more than marketing terms; they’re not absolute terms of science, and they do not automatically equal safety. Therefore, you need to be aware of the dangerous chemicals to avoid, read all ingredients labels, and look for third-party verification of a product’s green claims.

Some safer cleaning products are Ecover, Mrs. Meyer’s, Seventh Generation,Sun & Earth, and Earth Friendly Products Orange Plus. They are more expensive but more concentrated, and a bit safer.

What to look for in natural household cleaning products:

• Biodegrade rapidly in the environment
• Made with plant-based ingredients
• Contain few additives and little, if any, fragrance
• Cruelty-free

2. Make Your Own Natural Cleaning Products

Some natural cleaners still contain petroleum distillates as well as other less-than-perfect ingredients. Also, cleaning product manufacturers (green or otherwise) are not required by law to disclose all of their ingredients on their labels. That makes it difficult to tell exactly what you are getting.

After researching this topic years ago, we initially purchased some natural cleaning products but now we have switched to making our own cleaning solutions. I’m pretty picky about ingredients and am not thrilled with pretty much any of the commercial green cleaning products, including those listed above. Thankfully it’s SO easy to clean your house with the natural ingredients listed below – you can’t get much more simple and pure than that! Not only is it easy, it’s inexpensive, too!

What You Need to Clean Naturally

The things you will need you most likely already have around the house. To clean your house naturally, all you need is:

• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Borax
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Liquid castile soap
• Lemon juice
• Organic essential oils (optional)
• Mixing bowls
• Spray bottles
• Micro fiber cloths

Benefits of Homemade Cleaners

• Less packaging waste because you are not buying new bottles again and again.
• Less expensive, especially if you can buy ingredients in bulk.
• Less harmful (often not harmful at all) to humans, animals, and the earth.

What Next?

Over the next few days, weeks, and throughout this Healthy Living series, I will share specific cleaning recipes and ideas for safely cleaning each area of your house.

Until then, look at your current cleaning products and consider switching to something better for you and the environment. If you don’t already have the basic cleaning ingredients listed above, go out and get them.

But before you just toss out your current supply of cleaning products, read about how to safely dispose of toxic cleaners. There is a proper and safe way to do this.

Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

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Most of us know that soda is not a health food, yet 95 percent of the people living in the United States drink soda. You’ve learned about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup in my previous posts, but soda contains many other dangerous ingredients that also wreak havoc on your body. In fact, soda is one of the most unhealthy things you can consume and is one of the main culprits of the health problems people suffer. Elimination of soda is key to improving health – there is no reason we should drink soda at all. NADA.

First, let’s start with some shocking soda statistics:

Shocking Soda Statistics

• One of every four drinks consumed is a soft drink.
• Our annual consumption here in the U.S. averages out to more than 56 gallons for every for every man, woman and child.
• Consumers plunk down more than $60 BILLION a year on soda.
• The consumption of soft drinks has increased 500% in the last 50 years, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Now for the information you may not want to hear, but really should: 15 reasons not to drink soda of any type.

1. Diabetes

Drinking one soda per day increases your risk of diabetes by 85%. Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. High consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a greater magnitude of weight gain by providing excessive calories and large amounts of rapidly absorbable sugars.

2. Extra Weight/Obesity

A child’s obesity risk jumps 60% for every soft drink or sugar-sweetened drink a child drinks a day. One can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites. Just one extra can of soda per day can add as much as 15 pounds to your weight over the course of a single year!

3. Increased Body Acidity

Disease thrives in an acidic environment so it’s best to maintain healthy pH levels. Sodas are very acidic: a typical can of soda has a pH level of approximately 2.5; diet sodas are even more acidic. Normal blood pH is between 7.3 and 7.45. It takes 32 glasses of water to neutralize the effects of the acidity of one can of soda.

4. Altered Intestinal Bacteria, Weight Issues

Having the right bacteria in your gut has an enormous influence on your health. A high-sugar diet alters intestinal bacteria, making losing weight more difficult. Intestinal flora, sometimes called “good” bacteria, is vital for the proper digestion of food and assimilation of nutrients into the blood. When digestive bacteria is out of balance or otherwise altered, the body is unable to convert otherwise indigestible foods into digestible form.

5. Osteoporosis

Soft drinks contain large amounts of phosphorus, which pulls calcium from the bones. Heavy users of soft drinks may develop osteoporosis. There is concern that drinking a few cans of soda can be damaging when they are consumed during the peak bone-building years of childhood and adolescence.

6. Tooth Decay

Sugar isn’t the only soft drink ingredient that causes tooth problems. The acids in soda pop also etch tooth enamel in ways that can lead to cavities. Acid begins to dissolve tooth enamel in only 20 minutes. Phosphoric acid in sodas has an acidity that approaches the level of battery acid.

7. No Nutritional Value

Sodas have no vitamins or minerals and are just empty calories. These empty calories suppress your appetite for healthy food. And chances are if you are drinking soda to quench your thirst, you are drinking less water which is what your body really needs.

8. Higher Cancer Risk

Numerous studies have shown the link between sugar and increased rates of cancer, suggesting that regulating sugar intake is key to slowing tumor growth.

• Sugar intake is a strong risk factor that contributes to higher breast cancer rates, particularly in older women.
• One study revealed soda drinkers have an increased risk of esophageal (throat) cancer (ACE). The study discovered that the average soda drinker consumed over 32,000 additional minutes of acid exposure a year.
• According to another study, women who consume a high dietary glycemic load may increase their risk of colorectal (colon) cancer.
  

9. Gastrointestinal Issues

The acids in sodas corrode stomach linings and upset the alkaline-acid balance of the kidneys and stomach. Heavy soda consumption is a strong predictor of heartburn. Sodas deliver air in the form of carbon dioxide, which causes distention of the stomach, which is associated with more reflux.

10. Chemicals Leached From Aluminum Cans and Plastic Bottles

Most sodas come in either aluminum cans or plastic bottles.

• Aluminum is absorbed and accumulated in the body. It’s been found that aluminum exposure increases Alzheimer’s risk as well as other serious illnesses including osteoporosis, extreme nervousness, anemia, headache, decreased liver and kidney function, forgetfulness, speech disturbances and memory loss.
• Many types of plastic bottles still contain bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates, both of which are hormone-mimicking chemicals that can potentially cause many health problems including reproductive abnormalities, diabetes, neurological problems, heart disease, and cancer. The FDA changed their position and now warns about BPA risks.

11. Increase Incidence of Fatty Liver Disease

A study found a link between drinking soft drinks and fruit juice and developing Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). This is a concern because, in the long-term, this liver condition can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, and liver cancer.

12. Kidney Stones and Kidney Disease

Drinking soda doubles the risk of kidney disease. Colas in particular seem to promote kidney stones. Your body must buffer the acidity of soft drinks with calcium from your own bones. As this calcium is eliminated through your urine, it slowly forms kidney stones.

13. Hyperactivity and Mental Problems

A Norwegian study has shown that teens who drink the largest quantities of sugary soft drinks also have more mental health problems, including hyperactivity and distress.

14. Potassium Depletion, Paralysis

A recent study of cola-induced hypokalaemia (abnormally low potassium concentration in your blood) suggests that potassium depletion is yet another soft drink-related health problem. From Mercola.com:

The problem is that if you’re a chronic soda drinker, you’re likely to develop obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, which in turn will make you more vulnerable to the potentially lethal effects of chronically low potassium levels, which include muscle paralysis and cardiac arrhythmias.

15. Gout

Men who drink two or more sugary soft drinks a day have an 85 percent higher risk of gout than those who drink less than one a month. Gout causes painful, swollen joints, usually in your lower limbs, caused when uric acid crystallizes out of your blood into your joints.

And if that wasn’t enough information, here is a bit more:

What Happens to Your Body Within an Hour of Drinking a Coke

From Mercola.com and The Nutrition Research Center:

Within the first 10 minutes, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake, and the only reason you don’t vomit as a result of the overwhelming sweetness is because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.

Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.

Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a physically identical response to that of heroin, by the way.

After 60 minutes, you’ll start to have a sugar crash.

What Can You Do?

• Model healthy eating habits for your children: Parents are the strongest influence on how much soda kids drink, more so than their peers.
• Normalize insulin levels: This is one of the most powerful ways to improve your health and can easily be done by healthy eating and exercise.
• Drink water: We all need about one quart of water for every 50 pounds of body weight.
• Beat the sweet tooth: Read the article The Sweet Tooth, part 1: Defeating the Little Rascal to help get rid of your sweet cravings.

Other Interesting Articles

• 76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health on Mercola.com
• Health Effect of Drinking Soda – Quotes From the Experts on NaturalNews.com
• Healthy Diet Deemed Responsible for High School Students’ Good Behavior on Mercola.com
• Why Soda Pop Drains You Dry by UnhinderedLiving.com
• 34 Uses for can of Soda, Other Than Quenching Thirst on WestonAPrice.org
• The Real Dangers of Soda to You and Your Children on Mercola.com

Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

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Here is a meal that I made last week for my family: quinoa chowder with spinach and feta. It’s pretty standard in our meal rotation, especially in winter. For those of you unfamiliar with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), it is a small, edible seed about half the size of a grain of brown rice. It is grown from a plant that is mainly grown and harvested in South America. It has a very mild taste similar to brown rice but slightly nutty. It is a fabulous vegetarian protein source and we have been eating it regularly since we became mostly vegetarian over a year ago. My husband wrote a great article about quinoa on his blog EnduranceBuzz.com.

Where to Buy Organic Quinoa

You should be able to find organic quinoa in your grocery store, possibly in a box. Whole Foods sells it in bulk. We now buy our organic quinoa from Costco at a much better price. If you don’t find it at a store near you, organic quinoa can be found on Amazon.com.

Why You Will Love This Meal

• Vegetarian
• Gluten Free
• Can make in about 30 minutes (maybe not the first time, though)
• Serves six to eight (great for a big family, dinner guests, or leftovers the next day)

Ingredients

• 2 cups quinoa, rinsed well
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
• salt and pepper
• onion powder
• 1/2 lb. boiling potatoes, in 1/4″ cubes and peeled
• 3 cups finely sliced spinach leaves (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 lb. (8 oz) feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 hard boiled egg, chopped

Quinoa Chowder Ingredients

Notes About Ingredients

The above list of ingredients is what I use to make this meal. I deviated from the original recipe in the following ways:

• I use two cups of quinoa; the original recipe uses just 3/4 cup. I wanted to increase protein and make the meal go farther.
• I left out the following ingredients: 1 jalepeño chile (seeded and finely diced) and scallions (I toss in some onion powder instead of scallions)
• Since I increased the overall quantity of the meal by increasing the quinoa, I doubled the feta, too. The original recipe calls for 1/4 lb. feta.

Directions

• Put quinoa and two quarts (eight cups) water in a pot, bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• While it’s cooking, dice the vegetables and cheese.
• When the quinoa is done, drain the quinoa saving the liquid.
• Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and chile.
• Cook for about 30 seconds, giving it a quick stir.
• Add the cumin, 1 tsp salt, and the potatoes and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t let the garlic brown.
• Measure the saved quinoa water and add more water to make six cups, if needed.
• Add that water to potatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
• Add quinoa and spinach and simmer for three minutes more.
• Turn off heat and stir in feta and cilantro.
• Season the soup with pepper and garnish with chopped egg.
• Serves 6-8.

Since this is a pretty low fat meal, we always add a good tablespoon of olive oil to each individual bowl. (It’s very important to get plenty of healthy fats!)

Here is the finished product!

Quinoa Chowder

Note that I forgot to boil the egg until it was all done, and thus there is no garnish. *gasp* But I hope you get the idea anyway!

Why We Love This Meal

• Great vegetarian option, especially in winter.
• Love the kick of flavor the feta cheese provides.
• Relatively quick and easy to make, especially after you’ve made it once.
• Makes a lot of chowder, which means leftovers the next day, which means even EASIER!

Our almost-three-year-old son likes it, too! (Sorry about the caught-in-mid-bite photo, G-man. I owe you one!)

Our son enjoying his chowder

Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

Read all the posts in the Healthy Living series by clicking on the icon on the left.

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