Kids and Chemicals

April 1, 2014 by Gretchen Guzman

Like an ember glows bright red when blown upon, my son’s skin reddens in response to chemicals. His nose runs, his eyes become glassy, and his breathing labored. As if someone had slipped speed into his drink, his mind races and so does his body. This has been my son’s reaction to substances like fragrance, cleaning chemicals, and car exhaust since he was just a baby.

About a year and a half ago, we were forced to remove our boy, then 12, from public school. The state of his health had reached crisis level. Weepy, bloody, septic eczema plagued him day and night. Asthma left him breathless. He cried nearly every evening when we insisted he go to school the next day.

Public school, far from being a place of safety, can be one of the most dangerous places a chemically sensitive child goes. Things like regular fumigation for pests, application of lawn chemicals, use of strong cleaning chemicals and air fresheners in classrooms, and even kids who come to school with heavy fragrance hanging about them from fabric softener, deodorant, hair products, and cologne all contribute to the creation of a very toxic environment. No child should be subjected to these things. But for a chemically sensitive child, school is very often a nightmare beyond anything most of us can imagine.

I never wanted any of my kids in school. But for my middle son especially, it felt wrong. It was like trying to pound him into a wrongly shaped container. It made him sore, out of sorts, and very sick. That’s why I was so relieved when my health finally improved enough to pull him back out. Just in time, too. I’m not sure he could have taken much more.

At first I didn’t even know how to begin to clean up the emotional and physical mess school had made of my son. We talked and talked. I put him in soothing baths of clay and Epsom salts. I gave him things to help his body heal and detoxify. I tried to teach him how to relax and think positively. But he remained fearful, depressed and exhausted until he saw the doctor, who informed him that he was not, in fact, dying. From that moment forward he began to rally. Although his rash had slowly been healing up until that time, he now made rapid progress in spite of the fact that we used almost none of the medicine prescribed for him, dramatically demonstrating that doctors can act as powerfully healing placebos.

My son’s travails must have begun in my womb. When I was pregnant, our home was brand-new and smelled like it too. It was making me sick. Imagine what it was doing to my tiny baby, developing in that chemical soup.

“We know the developing fetus is one of the most vulnerable populations, if not the most vulnerable, to environmental exposure,” said Anila Jacobs, EWG senior scientist. “Their organ systems aren’t mature and their detox methods are not in place, so cord blood gives us a good picture of exposure during this most vulnerable time of life.” –Scientific American, Tests Find More Than 200 Chemicals in Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood

Three months after my son was born, he developed his first rash, a little patch on his cheek. No big deal, right? Soon, a pustule formed near the red patch which broke and gave rise to more pustules until his entire face was covered in weepy impetigo.

The antibiotics seemed to clear the rash right up. Or had they? Just as we began giving my son his medicine, we left for a vacation on the Olympic Peninsula. As the rash cleared, I assumed the pink liquid was doing its job. By the time we arrived home, not only was the infection gone, but so was the rash. It was the first and last time for many years that the poor boy would have clear skin.

A day after our return, the rash reappeared, and for the first time it began to dawn on me that home might be the problem. Not only did we live in a brand-new house still off-gassing toxic chemicals, but also in a dirty, dusty agricultural valley, reeking of cow manure and drenched in pesticides.

On our trip, we had breathed some of the cleanest air available on planet earth, air that was continually scrubbed by frequent rain, rich in oxygen, and infused with calming ocean salt. I believed then, and still believe now, that it was the air that healed my son’s rash, not the antibiotics. From that time forward, I would continuously look for ways to move our family to cleaner air.

Why Living Near the Ocean is Beneficial to Your Health, Natural Health Ezine

Straight of Juan de Fuca where the air is pure

The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.

– Isak Dinesen

My son finally has clear skin. We have not moved out of our home, but most of the chemicals seem to have moved out of it. We still live in the dirty, dusty valley. But the combined effects of pulling the boy out of school, plus our efforts to use only non-toxic products, to feed our kids healthy, clean foods, and to keep the air in our home clean and free of most chemicals seems to have finally made a difference.

What a novel and wonderful thing it would be to live in a world where keeping our kids safe and healthy is easy, where chemical toxicants in common products are unheard of and all children are safe.

The Biodwell Blog, Holistic Home Ecology

Photo by Sharon Mollerus

Photo by Alex Thomson

Move!

March 18, 2014 by Gretchen Guzman

“Walking is man’s best medicine.” – Hippocrates

I guess I’m a pretty good spokesperson for guilty non-exercisers. I exercise in jerks and starts, mostly sitting on my derriere but every once in a blue moon trying to behave like a seasoned outdoorswoman and failing miserably. This has to stop, because I, like nearly everyone, understand that movement is absolutely essential to bodily health. It strengthens muscles, including the heart, moves lymph, increases lung capacity, and the one that interests me the most: it can dramatically improve mood.

I found a great article in U.S. News and World Report about the mental health benefits of exercise. Here are some choice excerpts:

“Even 10 minutes of activity changes your brain.” – John Ratey, author Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

“Working out also helps keep us from ruminating ‘by altering blood flow to those areas in the brain involved in triggering us to relive these stressful thoughts again and again,’ says study coauthor Elissa Epel, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCSF.”

“Research suggests that burning off 350 calories three times a week through sustained, sweat-inducing activity can reduce symptoms of depression about as effectively as antidepressants.”

“Exercise increases the level of brain chemicals called growth factors, which help make new brain cells and establish new connections between brain cells to help us learn.”

“Even mild activity like a leisurely walk can help keep your brain fit and active, fending off memory loss and keeping skills like vocabulary retrieval strong.”

Pretty impressive, especially when you consider the fact that the medications we use to treat mental health problems have such potentially serious side effects.

One day when I was much sicker than I am now, I decided to take a walk to try to shake off some of my brain fog and depression. I felt too weak to walk, but I set out anyway. I threw my shoulders back like I owned the world, took long strides, and breathed deeply. I’ll never forget how much better it made me feel. So why don’t I do that everyday? Okay, here come the excuses: the traffic on our road is dangerous and the diesel fumes make me choke, the only other place to walk is on the canal road which is nearly always drenched in herbicide and grows bumper crops of puncture weed which injure my dog’s feet, the neighbors dryer vents constantly spew forth a toxic cloud of “freshness”, and there are scary dogs. Deep breath… But I walked today anyway. See? That’s how writing heals. First you write something, then you have to do it or you’re a hypocrite.

But how does this fit? Simplicity of Wellness is, after all, an article about how love heals. How can exercise show love for the earth and its creatures? Aren’t the benefits mostly personal? No, because not only are walking and bike riding very good forms of exercise, they also happen to be great alternative forms of transportation, especially if you live in, or close to, a city. Obviously, fewer cars on the road means less pollution. Walking or biking instead of driving when possible is another win/win situation for both ourselves and the earth if we would only put it into practice. It’s another way we can show love for earth and all its creatures, including ourselves and our fellow humans.

I would love to become fit enough to walk all the way into town and back. It would help me to avoid having to drive so much, and it would do a world of good for my body. I hope you will join me. Lets move!

Photo by Natesh Ramasamy

Use Safer Products

March 15, 2014 by Gretchen Guzman

(Continued from Simplicity of Wellness: Love for the Earth and its Creatures , Grow and Cook Your Own Food , and Eat Local)

As I sit here writing with raised eyebrows, I wonder what I can say about this. Many of the people who know me well have already gotten an earful about the dangers of toxins. So much so that I’m sure they would rather not hear any more. And I get it, I do. No one, including me, wants to focus on negative, scary things. Nobody wants to feel overwhelmed. Nobody wants to find out that their favorite products might not be so good for them. I’d rather not have to write this, really. But I just cannot leave it out, it’s too important.

Anytime we start talking about the avoidance of danger, the difficult subject of the nocebo effect comes up. A nocebo is the opposite of a placebo. Just as a placebo can cause a person to feel better, a nocebo can cause an adverse reaction. For example, if you were told that the glass of orange juice you just drank contained arsenic, and it was then explained to you what arsenic does, there’s a good chance you would start to feel sick even if the juice was perfectly safe. We certainly can think ourselves ill.

So why focus on toxins and pollution if it can have such a negative psychological effect? I admit that I feel conflicted about that. I would rather focus on positivity. But what if the juice in the above illustration really did contain arsenic, but nobody would tell you? What if the levels of arsenic were low enough not to kill you quickly, but just enough to make you feel vaguely ill? What if you unknowingly continued drinking the arsenic laced juice for many years, damaging your body little by little, completely unaware of the reasons for your failing health? Far from being mere nocebos, like the juice, some things really are toxic, and when people avoid them, they feel better. I’ve seen it time and again. The other reason is that many commonly used household products pollute the earth, and that right there is reason enough.

So before considering this admittedly difficult subject, it’s well to remember what wellness is all about. It’s about love for God, self-love, love for others, and love for earth and all its creatures. It’s about love, not fear. So while it is necessary to understand some things about toxins so that we can protect ourselves and our families from undue harm, we must keep in mind that anxiety serves no purpose. But action based on knowledge does.

So here’s the skinny: our world is inundated with toxic chemicals. You already know that, right? But something you may not know is this: the chemicals most likely to harm you are not “out there” somewhere. It’s true that industry pollution is a big problem. But for most of us, our biggest and most damaging exposures tend to be much closer to home. They come from places like the Round-Up container in the garage, the box of dryer sheets in the laundry room, and the myriad self-care products lining our bathroom counters and cabinets.

This is difficult for many people to wrap their heads around. It certainly was for me at one time. We’d like to believe that the products we use in and around our homes, and especially those we use on our own bodies, are safe, that government agencies have our collective backs. They wouldn’t allow these things on store shelves if they were dangerous, right? Wrong.

If you’d like a detailed explanation, it is in this document by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production: Presumption of Safety: Limits of Federal Policies on Toxic Substances in Consumer Products

From the document:

Despite the fact that most consumers believe that everyday products are thoroughly tested for dangerous chemicals and determined to be safe by government authorities, the reality is that existing regulatory systems leave significant gaps in their capacity to adequately protect consumers from chemical hazards in these products.

One of the reasons listed in the article for the failure of government agencies to protect us is the fact that many safety standards are actually voluntary, meaning that companies can opt out if they don’t want the bother of adhering to a higher standard. For example, the fragrance industry is largely self-regulated. It’s a case of the fox guarding the henhouse. Another reason is that the capacity of certain government agencies is limited due to budget constraints. Also, current laws do not actually require companies to test most products for safety hazards. Weak laws and limited governmental capacity ensure that, inevitably, some unsafe products will end up on store shelves.

You’ve heard the bad news. Now here’s the good news. Great news in fact. There are more companies making safe, non-toxic products now than ever before. In the past, we may have had to sacrifice quality and performance in the name of health, but not anymore. Many of these products work, and work well. Check out EWG’s Skin Deep Database , and Guide to Healthy Cleaning .

Also, an exciting new trend has emerged: DIY everything. Because so many people are experimenting with making their own cosmetics and cleaning products, the internet is busting at the seams with well-tested recipes. Non-toxic is now fun! One of my favorite sources for great recipes is the Wellness Mama website.

The bottom line is this: when it comes to chemicals, we have to watch our own backs. Government and industry is not going to do it for us. But we are not powerless. Education and action can make all the difference.

Hidden Chemicals in Perfume and Cologne

Extreme Chemical Sensitivity Makes Sufferers Allergic to Life, Discover Magazine

Infographic by violet79

Photo by familymwr

Eat Local

March 12, 2014 by Gretchen Guzman

by Doug Kerr

(Continued from Simplicity of Wellness: Love For the Earth and its Creatures , and Grow and Cook Your Own Food )

3. Eat local.

“Shake the hand that feeds you.” – Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto

There’s an organic farm about five miles from my home. When I went there once to buy some produce, the farmer, Mr. Alvarez, took time to talk to me about his farm. He was very proud that he had developed a new cultivar of chile. He was also very proud of the fact that the food he grows is safe. It’s safe for his own family. It’s safe for the farm laborers, without whom Mr. Alvarez’s produce would not make it to market. And it’s safe for us, the eaters. That day I saw where my food came from. I went into the field and picked my own very fragrant basil. I filled bags with gorgeous looking heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, chiles, zucchini, garlic, and onions. And when I returned home with my booty, my family and I enjoyed the taste of the uncommonly fresh and delicious food.

Most of us simply cannot grow all of our own food. That does not mean that we always have to settle for the well-traveled mystery foods from the grocery store. I say mystery foods because even when we buy fresh, unprocessed whole foods, we usually have no idea where exactly it came from (somewhere in California?) or whether we can trust that “natural” or “organic” label. But when we go out to the farm or visit the local farmer’s market, we get to “shake the hand that feeds” us.

By Natalie Maynor

Eating local foods is good for us because the foods are fresher and often safer. We can ask the farmer how exactly he deals with pests and what type of fertilizers he uses. We can chat with him about food and farming, maybe getting a feel for why he does what he does. This builds confidence and trust.

Eating locally is better for the planet as well because it circumvents the very wasteful and polluting food distribution system now in place. We don’t need millions of semi trucks on the road if we buy from the farmer next door.

Eating locally is especially important for carnivores. More and more people are becoming aware of the issues surrounding factory farmed meat, milk, and eggs. But if you’re not one of those people, I suggest you take a look at Food Inc., or one of the many other documentaries exposing the filth and cruelty of factory farming. I saw the film, but I didn’t need to. I live where the practices of factory farming are baldly exposed to the public, and it’s very distressing to see (and smell!).

“Were the walls of our meat industry to become transparent, literally or even figuratively, we would not long continue to raise, kill, and eat animals the way we do.”
― Michael Pollan

Many people are unaware of the fact that when they eat factory farmed meat, they are getting far more than they bargained for. Along with the protein and fat, we’re eating significant levels of antibiotic residue, artificial hormones, and agricultural chemicals. This is wreaking havoc on our endocrine and immune systems, and it seems to be contributing in large measure to the current epidemic of antibiotic resistance. Not only that, but the runoff from said farms pollutes the air, the waterways, and the land that we depend on.

“I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for shade.” – Wendell Berry

Happy cows make good milk. Chickens allowed to express their innate chickennes lay really nice eggs. Meat from pastured animals is just better in so many ways.

by Rachel Kramer

Eating local foods shows love and respect for the creator, ourselves, our families, and for the planet, especially it’s animals. But this may not always be easy. It’s definitely not as convenient to shop at the farmer’s market or go out to the farm. Buying locally produced grass-fed animal products often takes forsight and planning. I very often fall short of my own ideals in this respect. Alright, almost always, especially in the winter. But I try. And when I succeed, my body thanks me and my conscience is comfortable.

Look for sources of local food at:

Eatwild’s Directory of U.S., Canadian and International Farms & Ranches

Local Harvest

Photos by Doug Kerr , Natalie Maynor , and Rachel Kramer

Grow and Cook Your Own Food

March 10, 2014 by Gretchen Guzman

(Continued from Simplicity of Wellness: Love For the Earth and its Creatures )

2. Grow things and cook your own food.

“There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.” ~Mirabel Osler

An unknown author once said that “you can bury a lot of troubles in the dirt.” I can personally testify to the truth of that. Gardening was one of the first things I did during my recovery. As soon as I had enough strength in my legs so that I could stay on them for any length of time, I would go outside into my yard and pick a little here and cut a little there. I would sometimes visit my old, neglected garden spot to find the strawberries and mint and chives that were still growing there. Those were times which inspired starred passages in my gratitude journal. It makes me think of what Nathaniel Hawthorne said about his special piece of ground:

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

There aren’t many pursuits that are as health-giving as gardening. The garden obliges us to spend time outside, soaking up the sun, exercising our muscles, and breathing fresh, herb scented air. It gives a sense of purpose. It ties us to the earth, makes us responsible for the health and beauty of our little patch. And if we grow food, it provides us with nourishment and taste that cannot be rivaled by any of the insipid fare found at the supermarket.

Growing our own food may seem revolutionary now, but not long ago it was mundane. The garden and farm were where all the food was, not the supermarket.

“The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.”
– Joel Salatin

Gardening is an alternative to our current food system, which is broken. Our current system is hurtful to every living thing within its sphere of influence. Agricultural chemicals, mono-cropping, genetic engineering, and confined animal feeding operations (or more accurately, animal concentration camps), are all examples of farming practices which do profound damage to farm animals, ecosystems, and to humans.

And farming is only the beginning of the problem. Our system of food distribution is completely unsustainable principally because it relies on a finite resource, petroleum. The sometimes thousands of miles that typical supermarket foods have traveled represents vast amounts of wasted fuel as well as significant levels of increased air pollution.

“The passive American consumer, sitting down to a meal of pre-prepared food, confronts inert, anonymous substances that have been processed, dyed, breaded, sauced, gravied, ground, pulped, strained, blended, prettified, and sanitized beyond resemblance to any part of any creature that ever lived. The products of nature and agriculture have been made, to all appearances, the products of industry. Both eater and eaten are thus in exile from biological reality.” – Wendell Berry

For many of the same reasons that gardening is good for us, cooking our own food is too. When we start with fresh, simple, natural ingredients and cook our own meals with them, we make sure that what we put in our bodies is as safe and as pure as we can make it. This does not have to be complicated. Even a quick, freshly prepared meal such as a plate of scrambled eggs with some orange slices on the side will be a thousand times better for us than a fast food sandwich or a bowl of Captain Crunch.

Cooking, like gardening, is also better for the health of the planet. The process of producing fast food and processed foods creates an enormous amount of waste: food is wasted, paper is wasted, and loads of plastic and paper are dumped into landfills.

When we choose to grow food and cook it ourselves, we are choosing to show respect for ourselves and for the planet that was so lovingly prepared for us. Although I understand this, I also understand how difficult it can be to accomplish these things. I haven’t had a decent garden in three years because of illness. Cooking can be a challenge if it’s something we’ve never done or if our health is bad or our schedule is busy. But even baby steps matter. A simple home cooked meal, a flower bed, or a container full of herbs are significant. Why? First, because the simple act of producing that small amount of beauty or food makes us feel better. And second, because baby steps sometimes lead to bigger steps.

Gardening is Good For You

Photo by SteveR

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