JoAnne's Blog

Personal Care Products

Do you like to lather up in the shower or relax in a hot bath of bubbles?  Well, beware!  Soaps may smell nice and of course, we all want to be clean.  But according to Dr. Mercola, we really need to be cautious of what we are putting on the biggest organ of our body. 

Check to see if your products contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) or their cousins like Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Myreth Sulfate which produce a lot of foam very inexpensively.  SLS is so strong that it's used to scrub garage floors and it has been proven to cause cancer in the long run. 

You may be thinking that your exposure to chemicals such as SLS is not that important.  But did you know that SLS is found in most cleansing, foaming products and even in some toothpastes. Therefore, you are probably exposed to thousands of chemicals daily, many of which will surely accumulate in your body.  Studies show it easily penetrates the skin and enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs, and brain.  Add to this that SLS stays in the body for up to five days and you have the potential for toxic buildup in your body. If you do not eat properly and exercise regularly to rid your body of toxins, then your health will be at risk. 

Years ago, a lady I knew made her own soap.  It seemed like a lot of work to me; but, on the other hand, she didn't have to worry about SLS.  I often look for natural products; but after reading this article, I now know what to avoid and will be a lot more careful about what I buy and use.

For more information, check out Dr. Mercola's site for the whole article entitled "Is Your Beauty Routine Causing Long-Term Health Damage?'

Chloe

Well, it has been a week, since we brought home our new puppy.  What a week it has been!   Chloe is a lot of fun; but at the same time, she is a lot of work.  We are trying to crate train her for sleeping and times when we are away.  During the day, she will go in it to sleep; at least for a little while.  But at night, can she cry?  She howls and howls and is determined not to go to sleep quickly.  Unfortunately, after she does get to sleep, I have to wake her to take her outside, so she will not pee or poop in her bed.  Then, she starts the howling all over again.  We are trying to keep her up in the day time, so she will be tired to sleep at night.  It doesn't seem to be working.  However, to her credit, she's pretty good at potty training, only 2 accidents, so far.  But, we are tired, very tired.  And I hear, it's not going to be over for awhile.  Will we survive?   Oh yeah, we love her.

  View this photo

Nobel Prize Winner Discovers Cause of Cancer

I recently visited a site entitle Health Wanted Now.  It's a great place to visit and includes a lot of info on how to lessen toxic stress on your body.   The host of the site is Bob Reece.  There are products to order and several articles to read, one of which caught my eye.

It talks about Dr. Otto Warburg who was supposed to have discovered the real cause of cancer in 1923.  Of course many of us weren't around then; but I haven't heard anything about it from anyone.  In 1931, he even received the Nobel Prize for it.  Why is it not being discussed now and if we know the cause, then why can't we find a cure?  Are we so naive as to believe that if we had more money we would find a cure?  I know I'm starting to ramble; but this is frustrating to me.

Basically, the article is stating that cancer cells can live without oxygen while normal cells cannot.  In fact, if normal cells are deprived of oxygen they may become cancerous.  He also stated that all forms of cancer need two basic conditions to survive, one of which is acidosis, (a level of high acidity in your body) and hypoxia (lack of oxygen).  Where you have one, you have the other.

The whole article and more is available on the site of Health Wanted Now and I encourage you to check it out.

 

An Interesting E-mail

FYI - we learn something new every day, don't we?  I checked Snopes on this, and it is partially correct, so definitely something to consider when starting up your car.

 

 

Subject: AIR CONDITIONING IN YOUR AUTO
Date: Friday, 5 June, 2009, 1:21 PM

Please do not turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car. Open the windows after you enter your car and turn ON the air-conditioning after a couple of minutes.
 
Here's why: According to a research, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emit Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen - take time to observe the smell of heated plastic in your car). In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones, causes anemia and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer. 

May also cause miscarriage. Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft.. A car parked indoors with windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level... People who get into the car, keeping windows closed will inevitably inhale, in quick succession excessive amounts of the
toxin. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver. What's worse, it is extremely difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.

So friends, please open the windows and door of your car; give time for the interior to air out and dispel the deadly stuff, before you enter.

Our New Puppy

Well, we brought Chloe home yesterday.  She slept most of the day, but we did get to see some of her cute little antics.  Of course, the grandchildren, Tyler and Tava, came over to see her.  She just came alive; she loves children and for that I am so glad.  She likes her crate, which is a bonus.  We had no trouble getting her into it at night and for the first hour, we never heard a peep.  Then, she started her crying or yelping.  It didn't last very long and she settled down very nicely.  I got up with her twice to go to the bathroom; we were successful once.  We just came back from our morning walk, or shall I say, my morning walk.  She does not like the leash and would not move; so I carried her.  Oh well, she is just a puppy.

Here is a picture of our newest addition.

View this photo

Eating Fruit

Eating fruit is more than just buying fruits, cutting it and just
popping it into our mouths.  It's not as easy as you think.  It's important
to know how and when to eat..

What is the correct way of eating fruits?

IT MEANS NOT EATING FRUITS AFTER YOUR MEALS!  - FRUITS SHOULD BE EATEN ON
AN EMPTY STOMACH.
If you eat fruit on an empty stomach, it will play a major role to detoxify
your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and
other life activities.

FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD - Let's say you eat two slices of bread
and then a slice of fruit..  The slice of fruit is ready to go straight
through the stomach into the intestines, but it is prevented from doing so.

In the meantime the whole meal rots and ferments and turns to acid.  The
minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach and
digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil.

So please eat your fruits on an empty stomach or before your meals!  You
have heard people complaining - every time I eat water-melon I burp; when I
eat durian (fruit from Asia with a foul smell yet delicious flavor) my
stomach bloats up; when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet
etc. - actually all this will not arise if you eat the fruit on an empty
stomach.  The fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas
and hence you will bloat!

Graying hair, balding, nervous outburst, and dark circles under the eyes -
all these will not happen if you take fruits on an empty stomach.

There is no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon being acidic,
because all fruits become alkaline in our body, according to Dr.  Herbert
Shelton who did research on this matter.  If you have mastered the correct
way of eating fruits, you have the Secret of beauty, longevity, health,
energy, happiness and normal weight.

When you need to drink fruit juice - drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT from
the cans.  Don't even drink juice that has been heated up.  Don't eat
cooked fruits because you don't get the nutrients at all.  You only get to
taste. Cooking destroys all the vitamins.

But eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice.  If you should
drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let
it mix with your saliva before swallowing it.

You can go on a 3-day fruit fast to cleanse your body.  Just eat fruits and
drink fruit juice throughout the 3 days and you will be surprised when your
friends tell you how radiant you look!

God's Pharmacy! Amazing!

My friend sent this to me in an e-mail.  I don't know where she found it, but I thought it was fascinating and so am including it in my blog.

" It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and  fish... All before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best and more powerful when eaten raw.   We're such slow  learners...

God left us a great clue as to what foods  help what part of our  body!

God's Pharmacy!  Amazing!

A  sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The  pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots  greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the  eyes.

A  Tomato has four chambers and is red. The  heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes  are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart  and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound  heart and blood vitalizing food.

A  Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on  the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen  neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.  Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body."

Now, don't you agree.  That is fascinating.  When I was dealing with cancer, I ate many of these whole foods and in the raw state, except for sweet potatoes.  I can't say that I tried them.  I think they might taste great if you grated them in a salad.

    

Kids Don't Need Exercise!

This article was adapted from an article I just read in the newspaper. saying that if you want healthy kids, skip the gym.  Really!

As we all know, schools have been cutting back on physical education classes, even cutting them out, in order to have more class time.  At the same time, it's a known fact that obesity is on the rise among our youth.  Is the lack of P.E. classes to blame?  I don't think so.

According to a new study by Britain's Peninsula Medical School, P.E. classes won't keep kids from getting fat.  The study concluded that "trying to force a kid to exercise may not work".

No kidding!  I believe people have the wrong idea about exercise and good health. 

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't think it's healthy for kids to sit in front of a TV or computer all day long playing video games and watching movies.  Kids do need to get outside to play games like tag, soccer, baseball.  They need to ride bicycles, skateboards, go swimming, etc. with friends and family.

But ultimately, that's not what is going to keep them healthy.  Being healthy, comes from what they put into their bodies.

Think about what kids eat these days.  Cereals, chips, cookies, sodas, candy, chicken nuggets, soy burgers... the list goes on.  Most of the stuff kids eat is full of all manner of chemical substances, loaded with sugar and/or salt.  No wonder obesity is becoming an alarming statistic.

I'm sure you get my drift.  You can't allow kids to put this junk food in their bodies and then, expect them to be able to burn it off in an hour or two of gym each week.  With the number of calories they are taking in, they would have to run laps all day.  Okay, they may be thinner, but they still won't be any healthier.

The way I see it, forget worrying about how many hours of exercise your kids are getting. The best way to have healthy kids is to feed them healthy food.

Can you believe it?

Okay, right to the point.  Can you believe it?  We bought a puppy.  Yes, we did, Michelle.  I know - what were we thinking?  Well, I have wanted one for a long time and I think now is the time.  She is a cross between a bijon frise and a shitzu, black and white and we are calling her Chloe.  She will be 8 weeks old, when we pick her up on Friday, October 9th.  Now, I have been reading all kinds of info about training puppies and we are hoping for the best.  Tyler and Tava are pretty excited and together, we have visited her a couple of times already.  We took her some toys and a little blanket and today we are going to take her some treats. 

There are several pluses about this puppy; one, being that the breeder, Heidi, will take her back when we go to my nephew's wedding in Cancun, in January and any other time that we need her to.  The other plus is that Heidi has young children the same age as Tava and Tyler and so, Chloe is used to small children.  As soon as I get her, I will post a picture of her and you will see how cute she is. 

Home Again

Well, we are home and it feels good.  Five weeks is a long time to be away.  I found that living out of a suitcase for that length of time was not enjoyable.  But, I sure did have a great time visiting friends and relatives, especially our grandchildren, Kameelah and Keelan.

During the stopover at Calgary airport, I read an article entitled "Extra Sleep May Heighten Dementia Risk" in the Sept. 14th edition of the National Post.  A picture caption said, People who sleep nine hours or more per day have been shown to develop dementia twice as often as those who only get seven hours.  Really?  The study by Spanish researchers also noted that sleeping less than 7 hours was not linked to brain disease.  I guess that is good news for someone like my husband who only sleeps 4 or 5 hours a  day.  After reading the whole article, it became very clear to me that more research is indeed necessary.  At any rate, if one is sleeping more than 9 hours a night, it may be an indication of an underlying health problem.
On the same page was an article entitled "Eating meat could help the elderly sustain physical ability".  The thought is that eating meat helps the elderly better preserve muscle mass.  Interestingly enough, it does not apply to fish and eggs.  Another reason for my husband to enjoy his steak.