Live Without Pain Live Without Pain(NaturalNews) Research by two Kansas State University scientists could help with the large-scale cultivation and manufacturing of oil-rich algae in oceans for biofuel. K-State's Zhijian "Z.J." Pei, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, and Wenqiao "Wayne" Yuan, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering, have received a $98,560 Small Grant for Exploratory Research from the National Science Foundation to study solid carriers for manufacturing algae biofuels in the ocean.
Algae are a diverse and simple group of organisms that live in or near water. Certain algal species are high in oil content that could be converted into such fuels as biodiesel, according to Pei and Yuan. Algae also have several environmentally-friendly advantages over corn or other plants used for biofuels, including not needing soil or fresh water to grow.
Pei and Yuan plan to identify attributes of algae and properties of materials that enable growth of certain algae species on solid carriers. Solid carriers float on the water surface for algae to attach to and grow on.
"Not all materials are equally suitable to make these carriers," Yuan said. "Some materials are better for algal attachment and growth than others, and we will be identifying what those 'good' materials are."
The project could help with the design of major equipment for manufacturing algae biofuels from the ocean, including solid carriers, in-the-ocean algae harvesting equipment and oil extraction machines, Pei said.
"This research aims to develop a cost-effective process for growing algae on solid carriers in the ocean for biofuel manufacturing," he said. "If successful, it will greatly benefit the energy security of the United States, as well as society in general."
The research will be conducted with a two-step approach.
"Selected algae species will be grown on solid carriers in a simulated ocean environment and will be evaluated for their ability to attach to solid carriers and grow in seawater, their biomass productivity, and their oil content," Pei said. "Top-ranked species in step one will be selected to test the performance of several carrier materials, including natural organic, synthetic organic and inorganic materials, with the same evaluation parameters as in step one."
Pei said the properties of the highly-ranked carriers also will be analyzed.
Yuan, who has studied biodiesel for several years, said the major problem with making the fuel has been finding sustainable oil and fat sources.
"Algae seems to be the only promising sustainable oil source for biodiesel production," he said. "In my lab, we have several different projects involving algae and we have been trying different ways to grow it. We have already obtained some encouraging results."
Pei said the project also will have an educational benefit, with K-State College of Engineering graduate and undergraduate students to be involved in the multidisciplinary research.
Pei, a K-State faculty member since 2000, has expertise in new process development, process modeling of silicon wafering, and traditional and nontraditional machining processes. Pei earned his bachelor's from the Zhengzhou Institute of Technology and his master's from the Beijing Institute of Technology, both in China. His doctorate is from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Yuan, who joined K-State in 2006, has research interests in biofuels and biomaterials, diesel engine combustion and performance, and algae photobioreactor and bioprocessing systems. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from China Agricultural University, and his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Zhijian "Z.J." Pei, 785-532-3436, zpei@k-state.edu;
and Wenqiao "Wayne" Yuan, 785-532-2754, wyuan@k-state.edu
Source:
Kansas State University
(http://www.k-state.edu/media/)
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About the author
Leslee Dru Browning is a 6th generation Medical Herbalist & Nutritionist from the ancestral line of Patty Bartlett Sessions; Pioneer Mid-Wife & Herbalist. Leslee practiced Medical Herbalism and Nutritional Healing for over 25 years and specialized in Cancer Wellness along with Chronic Illness. She now devotes her career to teaching people, through her writing, about Natural Healing from An Herbal Perspective.
(NaturalNews) Scientists have increasingly warned that a hasty switch from fossil fuels to biofuels may actually accelerate global warming rather than helping to avert it, leading U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown to DE CLARE his opposition to new European uniion biofuel standards that will soon be going into effect.
Recent studies have suggested that clearing forests to grow biofuel crops would release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the fuels' use would save.
"If one started to use biofuels ... and in reality that policy led to an increase in greenhouse gases rather than a decrease, that would obviously be insane," said Bob Watson, chief scientific adviser for the United Kingdom's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. "It would certainly be a perverse outcome."
"There are real problems with the unsustainability of biofuels," said John Beddington, chief scientific adviser for the British government in a recent speech. He warned that the massive demand for biofuels from the United States has already led to land being taken out of food production for biofuel crops, delivering a "major shock" to food prices around the world.
The criticism comes only days ahead of a deadline for the diesel and gasoline in all European uniion countries to contain 2.5 percent biofuels. Under European uniion rules, 5.75 percent of all gasoline and diesel must come from "renewable" sources by 2010.
Citing concerns about biofuel impacts, Brown has DE CLAREd his opposition to the new quotas. While the United Kingdom is obligated by law to abide by the 2010 targets, the British government is expected to oppose efforts to raise that quote to 10 percent by 2020.
"I take extremely seriously concerns about the impact of biofuels on deforestation, precious habitats and on food security," Brown said. "The United Kingdom is working to ensure a European sustainability standard is introduced as soon as possible, and we will not support an increase in biofuels over current target levels until an effective standard is in place."
Scientists Warn Against Sudden Shift to Biofuels; Climate May be Ha...
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(NaturalNews) On June 27th of this year the NY times reported that The Bureau of Land Management put a two year moratorium on all government applications for solar energy production on public lands (1).
They did this out of concern for "Environmental impact". You are probably re-reading those first couple of sentences and thinking "how is this possible?", how can The Bureau of Land Management actually think that by pulling the "plug" on these applications and freezing any and all forward motion on public solar projects -- on what is estimated to be over 119 million surface acres of usable land, mostly throughout the southwest -- be a responsible and intelligent decision?
They can't, because no less than a week later they decided to reverse their decision due to public out cry. James Caswell BLM Director was quoted saying in a Christian Science Monitor article:
"We heard the concerns expressed during the scoping period about waiting to consider new applications, and we are taking action. By continuing to accept and process new applications for solar energy projects, we will aggressively help meet growing interest in renewable energy sources, while ensuring environmental protections" (2).
Personally, I'm grateful for all of the people who stood up and acted on this, like citizens of this great country it's because of moments like this that we prove that we still have a say in our government, and that we need to keep holding their feet to the "Solar fire".
The solar industry has had a long and arduous journey and it still needs help. It started in 1884 with the invention of the photovoltaic cell by inventor Charles Fritts. From there we can track solar energy development throughout time. From the use of solar cells as a back-up power source on the Vanguard I satellite in the 1960's to the failed attempts by the Carter administration to bolster the industry in the late 1970's and to political and social setbacks of the 1980's, Solar research and development has been waiting for its due, and I think its time may just have come, but the U.S. is definitely not the leader.
As of today, Germany is creating 4,150 Megawatts (MW) of electricity from photovoltaic resources mostly subsidized from government "Feed-in Electricity Tariffs". Spain comes in second at 640 MW. Japan is a distant third at 318 MW until a severe set back in 2005 when their government pulled the plug on subsidies for solar panels for homes and subsequently dropped production to a current 230 MW. But Japan is now getting back in the game with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announcing that Japan has a long-term goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60-80 percent by 2050 as well as positioning itself to provide subsidies and tax breaks for solar panel makers starting in 2009. Where is the United States in comparison? Well in 2007, The United States' domestic solar photovoltaic market grew to a whopping 220 Megawatts. A far cry to Germany's 4,150 MW (just for reference, Germany is roughly the size of the State of Montana), and still behind Japan's 230 MW.
As of right now, home and business owners in the U.S. can get up to a 30% tax credit for installing and using Solar technology for energy production, The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 made this possible, but that all ends on December 31st 2008. The Senate is currently discussing extending the crucial tax incentives tagged onto the "Securing America's Energy Independence Act of 2007". This bill is currently being reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee. If passed it will extend the solar energy investment tax credits for homeowners and businesses here in the United States for eight more years. A much needed boost for the solar industry, especially in these economic times.
Rhone Resch, The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) President was quoted as saying "This bill emphasizes the importance for Congress to enact long-term, comprehensive clean energy legislation. We look forward to working with the Congress, to craft a comprehensive and effective policy blueprint for a self-sustaining clean energy infrastructure in the United States."
References:
1. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/us/27...)
2. (http://features.csmonitor.com/environme...)
For more information see links:
(http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xp...)
(http://www.seia.org/)
About the author
Zephyr Faegen is first and foremost a citizen who believes that the only way to instill real change is to go to the roots of the populace. A dedicated naturapath for the last 5 years Zephyr has spent extensive time studying alternative modalities and it has changed his life. Zephyr currently lives somewhere in the United States... for now. :)
Hope for a Solar Future - U.S. Reverses Its Moratorium on Solar Ene...
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(NaturalNews) Biofuel produced from a fast-growing variety of grass can produce 540 percent more energy than is used during its manufacture, according to a study conducted by researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers grew switchgrass on 10 different farms, ranging between three and nine hectares in size, for five years. They calculated the energy used to produce the fertilizers, herbicides, diesel and seeds used in the switchgrass production. Because no large-scale biorefineries currently exist, the researchers used estimates to calculate how much biofuel could be produced from the switchgrass farms' output.
In contrast to an earlier study, which found a net energy gain of 343 percent, the researchers found a 540 percent energy gain from switchgrass.
The researchers did not include in their calculations how much energy used to ship the switchgrass to a refinery. In order to keep these costs low and the energy output high, they recommended that biorefineries be constructed near the fields on which switchgrass is grown.
"A biorefinery will have a feedstock supply radius of about 25 to 50 miles, so the feedstock of any biorefinery needs to be localized," said co-author Ken Vogel, of the USDA's Agriculture Research Service.
The United Nations and other organizations have criticized the biofuels industry for taking arable land out of food production and using it to produce fuel instead. According to Vogel, one of the advantages of switchgrass is that it can be grown on marginal cropland.
"The intent is to have energy crops being grown on marginal cropland, so it would not be in competition with food crops on our best land," he said.
Another advantage switchgrass has over other oil crops, such as corn, is that the entire plant and not just a seed can be used to produce ethanol, leading to much higher yields per ton.
***Ning seems to have lost part of this article along with the links. It's from NaturalNews. If you can locate the article and send me the url, I will post it here in it's entirety. THNX!!
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Stop Using 'Natural' Deodorants Until You Read This
Some of the most popular natural deodorants are the "crystal" deodorant stones and sprays. But most people don't know that these crystal deodorant products contain aluminum.
The crystal deodorant stones are made from alum. The most widely used form of alum used in the personal care industry is potassium alum. The full chemical name of potassium alum is potassium aluminum sulfate.
The reason that most people try to avoid aluminum in deodorant is because of its possible link to Alzheimer's disease. There is some strong evidence of a link -- for instance, in 1988 a truck driver accidentally dumped 20 tons of aluminum sulfate in to a town's drinking water.
Now, over 20 years later, they are finding a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s in the people of this town.
Incidentally, the article linked below notes that, “many doctors such as popular web guru and natural health expert Dr. Mercola suggest avoiding aluminum as much as possible.”
(NaturalNews) A big concern for most people when they leave their house in the morning to go about their day is the issue of Body Odor and how to control it. This can be especially daunting and worrisome before a date. Ideally, you want to find a trustworthy product you can use without having to worry about whether it will stop working in the middle of the day, let alone whether the product will be harmful to you in the long run.
Body Odor happens as a result of the bacteria residing in the moist areas of your skin interacting with your sweat. These bacteria eat substances contained within your sweat, particularly fatty acids, and then excrete a substance that smells like " Body Odor ". This may sound gross but everyone is home to these bacteria as they are part of the human body's natural ecosystem. So getting rid of this bacteria is not the answer.
Most antiperspirants tend to be very effective in blocking body odor. This is because of the way they are designed to work. The majority of antiperspirants contain aluminum salts as their active ingredient. When applied, the aluminum salts expand and block the sweat ducts. This prevents sweat from coming up to the surface where the bacteria will naturally feed on it. Aluminum based antiperspirants don't stop you from sweating, they only act as "plugs" to your sweat glands.
There are other prescription based antiperspirants out there that contain toxic ingredients, such as diphemanil methylsulfate, which work by blocking the parasympathetic nerves themselves from producing sweat.
As you can see, this is not a very healthy route to take. First of all, antiperspirants contain aluminum. Long term exposure to aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer's disease. Most of the areas that people tend to apply antiperspirants to contain lots of blood vessels located near the skin's surface. When you apply it, the aluminum tends to get absorbed into the blood stream and goes directly to the brain where it accumulates. So the answer is to avoid common antiperspirants. Even the ones that don't contain aluminum contain other harmful, toxic chemicals that are best avoided as well.
Another type of odor controlling product is deodorant. These are different from antiperspirants in that they don't block sweat output, they work by masking the odor caused by the bacteria using scent. Many conventional deodorants achieve this by containing toxic chemicals that combine to make a fragrance. If you read my previous article titled "Review of Aubrey Organics 100 Percent Natural Shampoo" you know to be wary of products with the term "Fragrance" on the label. Many companies use this term to mask a number of highly toxic, synthetic ingredients mixed in a laboratory to create a scent that smells like something natural (like flowers, strawberries, etc.) or something man-made, like fake perfume.
Many synthetic chemicals are a skin irritant. So along with hiding body odor, you may be prone to rashes, eczema, razor burn, and allergy on skin contact. These are not side-effects you want to be dealing with before your big date.
The best option is to find a deodorant that contains natural oils and plant extracts that does a good job of masking body odor. There are a lot of natural products out there, that won't make you feel bad health-wise for using them on your skin, but they just don't work well. Meaning, you start to smell after sweating a little. I've tried a lot of natural products and I've finally found a product that I am confident using. It's called Herbal Magic Roll-On Deodorant and is produced by the company Home Health. The ingredients are natural and it's worked better than any deodorant product I've used so far.
This deodorant uses such natural ingredients as:
* Algae extract
* Aloe vera gel
* De Ionized Water
* Witch Hazel
* Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda)
* Herbal Extracts of (Fennel, Hops, Chamomile, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, and Yarrow)
* Grapefruit Seed Extract
This deodorant is safe for those with sensitive skin and does a good job of eliminating odor while helping to reduce wetness (as mentioned on the label). This product can be found at smaller health food stores and can be purchased online at vitacost.com, or click on this link (http://www.vitacost.com/productResults....) . There are 3 deodorants to choose from: Herbal Scent, Jasmine Scent, and Unscented. For a truly 100 % all-natural product, the Unscented would be the way to go -- although I personally use the Herbal Scent deodorant.
Helpful Tips on smelling your freshest:
1. Always apply deodorant to clean, dry skin
2. Apply just before a date or event
3. After excessive sweating, reapply
If you've had a big work out and you've sweat a lot, then just the deodorant may not be enough. You can follow this up with a deodorant powder called Fresh Foot to keep down the moisture and hold body odor at bay. This is a natural deodorant powder product produced by Deodorant Stones of America and contains mineral salts and pure cornstarch. This can be ordered online at (http://www.luckyvitamin.com/item/?itemK...) .
When choosing any deodorant product, it is best to avoid ones containing aluminum, artificial preservatives and colors, or synthetic fragrances.
Look beautiful naturally!
References:
(http://www.homehealthus.com/vf/labels/0...)
(http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/art...)
(http://dermnetnz.org/treatments/antiper...)
(http://thebeautybrains.blogspot.com/200...)
About the author
Natural Beauty Expert and Fashionista, Aria Milan is a passionate researcher in all things that will bring out the natural beauty in people. She practices what she preaches and is always striving to look and feel her best and her goal is to help others do the same. Her philosophy is 'True Beauty comes from Health that radiates from within'.
To contact Aria and have your products reviewed please send an e-mail to ariamilan@me.com
Review of Herbal Magic All-Natural Deodorant and Facts About Body Odor
(NaturalNews) Nature provides everything that we need. Most people now recognize that there is absolutely nothing that man can do to our food without ruining it. The best food on the planet is that which has grown naturally for thousands of years.
The very same goes for what we put onto our skin. Coconut oil is perhaps nature's most perfect moisturizer, and has been used since the beginning of time for its beautifying properties. Women in countries where coconuts grow have been lavishing their skin with coconut butter to both smooth and protect.
Naturally Protective
Most skin creams on the market actually do more harm than good because they are full of chemicals that may make your skin look nice in the short term, but will cause damage long term. Coconut oil is nature's finest moisturizer, full of goodness that will truly nourish and make your skin beautiful long term.
Coconut oil is packed with natural antioxidants and is especially useful in fighting free-radicals, as it is unrefined and hasn't been stripped of any of its natural components through the refining process. These protect the skin from the environment and other toxins that cause damage and aging. It is the ultimate anti-wrinkle cream.
Truly PH Balancing
I have heard many commercials claiming their products balance the PH of the skin. Personally, I don't believe that anything that is not completely natural will balance our PH. We all know now that ready made meals and man made chemicals are highly acidic when we eat them. Only pure organic fruits and vegetables will help us become more alkaline and balance our PH internally. Why on earth would we believe that what we put on our skin is any different?
Coconut oil balances our PH naturally. In fact, coconut oil has the same PH as our natural skin oils.
Highly Absorbent for Smooth, Protected Skin
Another thing I love about coconut oil is the fact that although it is rich and creamy, it gets absorbed by the skin very quickly, so my skin doesn't feel greasy for very long, as it does with many other natural and organic skin creams and potions. This is because the small molecular structure of coconut oil allows for easy absorption through the skin, giving it a soft, smooth texture. Coconut oil penetrates into the deeper layers of the skin and strengthens the underlying tissues.
Another benefit of coconut oil's small structure is that it is absorbed into the skin and into the cell structure of the connective tissues, limiting the damage excessive sun exposure can cause. Coconut oil is actually considered a natural sun screen! Since more and more studies are showing that sunscreen is highly toxic, we need to move forward in looking for new ways to protect our skin!
Coconut oil not oil smooths and protects, it also repairs the skin. It aids in removing the outer layer of dead skin cells, making the skin smoother. The skin becomes more evenly textured with a healthy glow.
by: Sheryl Walters
About the author
Sheryl is a kinesiologist, nutritionist and holistic practitioner.
Her website www.younglivingguide.com provides the latest research on preventing disease, looking naturally gorgeous, and feeling emotionally and physically fabulous.
And her latest website www.raiselibido.com offers a vast quantity of information on how to increase sex drive and enjoy a vibrant sex life.
The Best Natural Skin Cream on the Planet
Learning to be your own ingrediet detective is the only TRUE way to know what's in your products. There is NO regulation in the industry.
In this article, you will find some products that are safe, but notice that you need to be careful of the line of body care products. Just because they do have SOME safe products, it doesn't mean the entire line is safe for you or your family. ~PC~
(NaturalNews) Millions of Americans are adversely affected each year by a silent from of chemical warfare that's taking place every day within the comforts of our own homes. While we worry about the chemical weaponry of terrorists and lead-contaminated imported toys, we are literally poisoning our immune systems with thousands of toxic chemicals that are known carcinogens, hormone disrupters, and cancer-causing agents.
It starts with your morning routine. If you are a man, you will probably use shampoo, soap, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, hair gel or styling products, shaving cream, and aftershave or cologne. A typical day for a woman starts much the same, with the added possibilities of shower gel, body and face cream, lotion, moisturizer, make-up, hair spray, perfume, and nail polish. By the time you have made it to the door, you have swallowed, inhaled and absorbed through your skin hundreds of toxic chemicals, some of which have been proven to be deadly to laboratory animals and many of which are known to be carcinogens.
If you are suffering from dry flaky skin, persistent skin irritations, rashes, sinus problems, allergies, asthma, respiratory ailments and other health problems that never seem to get cured, it may be time for you to examine the negative effects your personal care products are having on your health. It's great to exercise and watch what you eat, but you must also watch what you put on your body and even what you use to clean your house if you want to achieve optimal health.
Any substance you put on your skin, or inhale will enter your bloodstream just as surely as if you had swallowed it. Once these chemicals enter your bloodstream, they are perceived by your immune system as foreign and not recognizable, and they are perceived by your liver as toxins. When your immune system and liver are dealing with toxic chemical overload they aren't available to do the jobs they were intended to do. That's why people who insist on putting toxic chemicals into their bodies suffer from frequent bacterial and viral infections, other mysterious maladies, and even cancer.
Have you ever taken a close look at the ingredients in your personal care products? Whatever you are seeing probably includes water. Is there anything else on that label that you recognize as a naturally occurring substance you might actually want to put inside your body? If it doesn't occur in nature, it shouldn't be inside of you, because you are a natural being.
Kiss My Face Corporation makes a wonderful soap bar that lathers up and cleans just fine. The only ingredients on its label are olive oil, water and salt. There are no toxic chemicals or fragrance. That's what a label should look like. How does the label on your soap look?
No matter what the advertisements try to make you think, fragrance does not come from flowers or anything else natural. More than 4,000 chemicals are used in fragrances, many of which are waste products from the petroleum industry. Several of them are known to cause cancer, birth defects, infertility, and brain and central nervous system damage including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's.
Since so many products are now scented, the number of people who are made ill by fragrances is steadily increasing. Babies and children are especially vulnerable along with those recovering from illness or disease. Chemical fragrances are everywhere: laundry detergent, fabric softeners, dish washing liquids, suntan products, sunscreen, incense, lotions, moisturizers, lip balms, almost every personal care product, and more. It's even found in many products labeled as unscented because it is contained within a compound when that compound is added to the product.
Exposure to scented products can cause the persistent symptoms that mystify people, such as chronic aches and pains, headaches, allergies, swollen glands and lymph tenderness, heart palpitations, memory, fatigue, asthma, nausea, and neural-motor functioning including dizziness, and fainting. Exposure in children and even adults can cause learning and behavioral problems, attention deficit and hyperactivity in addition to any of the other symptoms. Continued exposure to chemical fragrances along with other toxic chemicals can cause development of Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Disease. When you have this disease, the slightest whiff of a toxic chemical makes you so ill you cannot function. Your ability to interact with the rest of the world is seriously compromised.
It's tempting to say to your self that these products must be alright or the 'government' wouldn't let them be sold, but this isn't true. The personal care products industry is not supervised. The FDA does not require manufacturers to register their products or to file safety data on the ingredients they use in them. They are free to put in as many toxic chemicals as they want. The only thing that stops them is reaction from the public. A few years ago, magazines came with scented strips advertising the latest perfumes. So many people were sickened and complained that the strips were discontinued. If enough people refuse to buy toxic products, manufacturers would stop making them.
Products you use while taking a shower are particularly dangerous since you are using them at a time when your pores are opened by hot water, allowing quick and easy access to your bloodstream. A look at the ingredients in your shampoo may be shocking. There are more than 100 toxic chemicals traditionally used in shampoo, and most brands contain 20 to 30 of them in addition to chemical fragrance and dyes.
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a dominant ingredient in almost all shampoos. In addition to its toxic effects on your immune and detoxification systems, SLS has been shown to corrode the hair follicles and impede hair growth. It has been blamed for premature hair loss. The Material Safety Data Sheet provided by the U.S. government says exposure to SLS can lead to burning, coughing, wheezing, laryngitis, shortness of breath, headache, nausea and vomiting. The American College of Toxicology says that SLS stays in the body for up to five days and maintains residual levels in the heart, liver, lungs and brain.
While there are many natural alternative substances available that will clean and beautify you far better than these toxic concoctions, the large corporations that produce personal care products won't use them because it would cost too much money and interfere with their profits. They even try to disguise their cheap chemicals with tiny amounts of natural ingredients that are prominently featured on the front of the bottle. This is done to deceive you into buying what you think is an item that promotes health. But turn the bottle over and you will see a mind boggling list of toxic ingredients.
If you have decided that you don't want to pay your hard earned money to a corporation that strives to deceive you and tell you lies, you will find that discovering how to replace your toxic products with products that promote good health is a very difficult task. No matter what it says on the label, there are virtually No products in any of the discount stores, traditional supermarkets, or drugstores that are not filled with health compromising chemicals.
Some supermarkets featuring organic or health sections carry Burt's Bees products. These are certainly far preferable to those produced by the large corporations, but Burt's Bees has recently been bought out by Clorox Corporation, so its quality may soon be compromised. For now, some of Burt's Bees products are safe, and some contain toxic ingredients such as fragrance, endocrine system disrupting glucose oxidase, and borax (the active ingredient in most ant poisons).
You will have a better chance of finding products that promote health at a health food market. But even there, you can't just walk in and buy what appeals to you on sight. Many products marketed as 'natural' contain high levels of toxic ingredients. Whole Foods Market publishes a list of ingredients not allowed in the foods they sell, but many of these ingredients are contained in their personal care items. Apparently it is alright with them if the toxins enter you body through your skin instead of your mouth.
When you try to replace your personal care products with ones that promote health, you will find that almost every item you pick lists ingredients that sounds like chemicals. The only way to be sure of what you are buying is to research these ingredients. Here is a website where you can easily research many of these ingredients using their search box: (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/) .
Many people have found that the easiest and most cost effective way to shop for health promoting products is online using one of the large supplement companies such as Lucky Vitamin or Vitacost. Each of these carries an amazing array of the personal care and cosmetic products typically found in health food stores.
There is one line of products that stands out above the rest. Aubrey Organics consistently provides items that are of very high quality and free of toxins. Many of their lotions and shampoos are highly scented with natural oils. Of course, these products are fairly expensive, but if you order them online there is a substantial savings.
Kiss My Face makes that luscious olive oil soap without scent or in several scents created from chemicals. Many of their other products contain an array of toxic ingredients.
Jason's is good for toothpaste, making several flavors without fluoride or significant toxic chemicals. But again, much of their line contains objectionable ingredients.
Cosmetics made entirely from minerals are gaining in popularity as witnessed by the astounding growth in Bare Essential shops. Mineral cosmetics provide the affects of traditional cosmetics and don't contain toxic chemicals. There are several other companies that sell cosmetics made from minerals. Their products are available at health food stores and online.
It's not easy to make the change from disease promoting personal care products to those promoting health. It seems to require some trial and error, a lot of time to do research, patience, and a commitment to paying higher prices for the products you use. But once the change is made and these products become as familiar to you as the ones you used to buy, it will be easy from that point on. You will realize that you have made a significant investment in your future health and freedom from disease, and you will feel proud of yourself. You will know that it's all a matter of priorities.
After you have found products in every category that you really like and seen how good you feel using them, you probably won't even consider returning to the old brands. You will feel good about spending your money on products made by a company who knows its future rests in producing products that keep you healthy, rather that a corporation that sees you only as someone to be exploited. And you may realize that looking your best can be achieved only with the vibrant glow of good health shining from your insides out.
by: Barbara L. Minton
About the author
Barbara is a school psychologist, a published author in the area of personal finance, a Breast Cancer survivor using "alternative" treatments, a born existentialist, and a student of nature and all things natural.
Choosing Products That Promote Beauty and Well Being
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Deodorants and Antiperspirants Linked to Cancer
Supposedly “Safe” Crystal Alum Antiperspirants
Final Recommendation: