Category Archives: Health

More Reasons and Resources to go Fragrance Free

Posted on May 17, 2014 | 55 comments

If fragrances and the products they are added to didn’t contain so many seriously  harmful ingredients which pollute the air we all breathe, the clothing we wear, the water we drink, and the soil we grow the foods we eat in, there wouldn’t be a need to go fragrance-free. Strangely, the fragrance industry has seen fit to include a vast array of toxic, petrochemical pollutants and highly allergenic substances in their products.

Here are some resources to use in making schools, workplaces and homes safer places to be. Some are new, some I’ve already linked to in other places on this site.

Hope you find them helpful.

access safe

from  The CDC and MCS

The CDC Indoor Environmental Quality Policy from 2009 explicitly states:

“Fragrance is not appropriate for a professional work environment, and the use of some products with fragrance may be detrimental to the health of workers with chemical sensitivities, allergies, asthma, and chronic headaches/migraines.” …

Potential hazards include chemicals, biological agents, fragrant products, and physical conditions that may cause irritation, illness, or exacerbate existing health conditions” …

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55 Comments

Posted in Child Health, Fragrance, Health, Indoor Air Quality, Pollution, Public Health

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We Were Not Designed To Be Polluted

Posted on May 16, 2014 | 4 comments

Our bodies are truly amazing things, but we were not designed to be polluted.

doctor we are not designed to be polluted

Do you know where the petrochemical and other pollutants are in your life?

Do you know how to protect and care for your health?

4 Comments

Posted in Air Quality, Environmental Health, Food, Health, Pollution, Products

How to Lose All Your Friends

Posted on May 8, 2014 | 33 comments

Guest Post by Candy Martin

1) Firstly get an illness/disease that no one has ever heard of. As everyone knows everything about every disease that exists, what you have can’t possibly be true or real as they have never heard of it.

2) Try to explain your illness to your friends. They still won’t believe you because they still haven’t heard of it, and frankly your explanation bores them.

3) Try to give a clearer explanation, because YOU REALLY WANT THEIR UNDERSTANDING. Now you will be accused of complaining or of being negative because you have talked about your illness for more than 1 minute.

4) Try to explain why their suggestions to get well aren’t feasible. Now you’re just being difficult and are not worth “helping” any more. Despite knowing nothing about your illness they “know’’ that exercise will help, getting out more will help, eating magic marshmallows will help etc etc. (Even if your Dr advises against it)

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33 Comments

Posted in Disability, Environmental Health, Friendship, Health

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Understanding Environmental Health

Posted on May 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

Here’s a short video introduction:

#ThereIsNoAway

Everything is Interconnected

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Posted in Environmental Health, Health

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Verified Fragrance-Free Supply Chains

Posted on May 3, 2014 | 17 comments

Due to the increasing numbers of people with allergies and sensitivities to, and injuries from VOCs and other fragrance ingredients, there is a growing need for fully verified fragrance-free supply chains.

Many of us need products and foods handled in such a way from beginning to end, as to prevent first, second and third hand fragrance and other chemical contamination.

Organic food that has been handled by someone with scented hand lotion, or that has sat in a store full of fragrance molecules will absorb those chemicals, and potentially be as toxic as food that has pesticide residues (for people who must, for medical and health reasons, avoid petrochemical exposures). Clothing, bedding toilet paper and other materials also absorb fragrances, which can be hard (if not impossible) to remove.

This presents a business opportunity for entrepreneurs, to provide a service for people whose health depends on it, as well as for those who wish to prevent health problems.

verified fragrance-free zone NO FRAGRANCE Continue reading →

17 Comments

Posted in Accessibility, Environmental Health, Food, Health, Human Rights

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What is Generally Recognized As Safe, and For Whom?

Posted on April 9, 2014 | 17 comments

It’s really beyond past the time to bust the myth that what gets sold to us has been scientifically determined to be safe for us.

Take food additives this time. Unless you are growing your own organic food, or have a lab in your back pocket, there’s no real way of knowing what the heck we are being sold and consuming.

“The food safety protection system is marred by minimal supervision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, rife with apparent conflicts of interest in safety evaluations, and rendered all but toothless by a gaping loophole that allows companies to simply declare as safe hundreds of chemicals added to our foods—without any notification to the FDA or the public, according to an NRDC report”

For more information, please see:

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17 Comments

Posted in Chemicals, Food, Health

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There’s Petrochemicals in What?

Posted on March 23, 2014 | 7 comments

We now breathe, drink, eat and wear petrochemicals every where, every moment, every day! There’s no getting away from them!

Where are they coming from?

“The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing petroleum products… Petroleum (oil) is also the raw material for many chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics.”

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry)

♦

So many of the things we use (and consume) are being made from petrochemicals.

eau de petrochemical pollutants

Check out these two charts:

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7 Comments

Posted in Change, climate change, Environment, Environmental Health, Health, Pollution

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That fragrance? It’s not fresh!

Posted on March 20, 2014 | 18 comments

eau de not fresh

That fragrance?  It’s not fresh!

Secret Scents How Hidden Fragrance Allergens Harm Public Health (WVE)

Toxic Chemicals in Fragranced Laundry Products and Health Effects

Toxic Chemicals in Air “Fresheners” and Health Effects

Fragrance Decision Undermines EPA’s DfE Program

Allergic to a World Full of Cats

(check the sidebar and tags for additional links)

18 Comments

Posted in Chemicals, Fragrance, Health, Indoor Air Quality, Pollution

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True Cost Accounting For Food

Posted on February 13, 2014 | 2 comments

I’m sharing a lot of videos about food lately, as what we put in our mouths, chew and swallow is something we have more control over than many other things in life. If a healthy life is the goal, then nourishing food is required, but not all food is created the same. Hopefully these videos inspire you to examine what you eat, where it comes from and how, and also help you choose foods that are the most nourishing for yourself, your family, and the earth that supports us.

Here is an excellent short video introducing true cost accounting for food

 

More from the THE LEXICON OF SUSTAINABILITY:

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Environment, Environmental Health, Food, Health

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Chick Pea Flour Pizza and Pie

Posted on February 11, 2014 | 4 comments

I was very happy to finally find organic chick pea flour in Ontario, after looking for years, since every now and again, I want something like pizza and pie!

Gluten free, organic pizza and pie

pizza!

pizza!

This recipe was originally just a pan bread recipe with rosemary, so if you wish, you can keep it plain and bake it for the full 30 minutes without adding any toppings!

The crust is more like a cookie or pie crust than a pizza crust, but that doesn’t bother me in the least!

My toppings have consisted mostly of cooked mashed squash or sweet potato and / or greens like zucchini, spinach or chard because tomatoes don’t agree with me.  Sometimes I mix in or top with crumbled goat cheese, but I can’t have cheese nearly as often as I’d like or I risk sensitizing to it again, so I must practice restraint.

If you can eat tomatoes and regular cheeses, but just have to avoid gluten, you can go that route too.

Here’s the recipe for the crust
Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Food, Health

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