Reduce Toxic Load

Reducing Toxic Load....live close to nature......

1. Eat Clean...whole, fresh foods. Don't buy anything processed. Cook your own food. Fiber, omega-3, anti-oxidants, probiotics are good. Sugar, flour, vegetable oils and table salt are bad. I do mostly vegetarian diet but this list is generalized for the pleasure of all! And I will say it even though I shouldn't have too...please stay away from fast food....chemicals chemicals chemicals.

What to enjoy

• All fruit and vegetables, preferably fresh and organic.
• Legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, tofu. Canned legumes are fine.
• Fish: best eaten fresh or canned in spring water or olive oil.
• Chicken: poached, stir-fried, grilled; without skin; preferably organic.
• Whole milk (cow, goat, sheep); white cheese (cottage, ricotta, feta); unsweetened yogurt.
• Organic eggs.
• Lean red meat (limit to two serves a week).
• Raw nuts and seeds.
• Miso soup.
• Brown rice, wholemeal wheat products, spelt, quinoa, rye, oatmeal
• Water: 8 glasses a day

What to avoid

• Sugar.
• White flour.
• Alcohol.
• Deli meats.
• Deep-fried foods.
• Coffee (a cup or two of black or green tea a day is okay).
• Yellow and blue cheese.

2. Ditch the chemicals....where? everywhere...all of them. Cleaners, shampoo, make-up, lotions, nail polish, laundry soap, deodorant, ant killer, weed killer, etc. Find eco-friendly alternatives. If you can't eat it don't put it on your skin. Well...I won't eat my soap that would be gross but you get the idea. The skin is your biggest organ and we overload it with toxins. Help it out a little!!!

3. No shoes in the house...reduce the amount of dirt, chemicals and poo on your floors....yucko! This is second nature in Hawaii, but everywhere else it should be too. Bonus to this...you have to clean your floors and carpets less!!

4. Exercise...mix it up. Gentle yoga or pilates, running or biking, lifting weights...heavy please!

5. Use glass instead of plastic....at the very least make it BPA free.

6. Detox....in addition to eating clean. I am a fan of the gentle cleanse because I get grumpy on little amounts of food. I prefer the Daniel Fast while detoxing. Also, add probiotics in the form

Note: Don’t detox if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, elderly, underweight or have a history of eating disorders.

I found this little gem of a chart on body+soul. I always use herbal teas on a detox cleanse.

liver 

What to eat: Cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, grapefruit, beetroot, bitter lettuce
(radicchio, rocket, kale), turmeric, globe artichoke.
Juice: Carrot, beetroot, rocket, kale, ginger, grapefruit.
Herbal tea: Dandelion root, burdock, St Mary’s thistle.
Other: Start each day with the juice of half a lemon in warm water. Add honey if you wish.

 kidneys

What to eat: Cherries, cranberries, celery, asparagus, garlic, leeks, green beans.
Juice: Green apple, celery, parsley, cucumber, dandelion leaf.
Herbal tea: Celery seed, crataeva, nettles, dandelion leaf, astragalus, bupleurum, rehmannia.
Other: Kidneys find excess protein a challenge to break down. For this week, go vegetarian. Concentrate on legumes, nuts and seeds for your protein.

 skin

What to eat: Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), parsley, garlic, sweet potato, fish, ginger, carrots, oats, linseed
Juice: Carrot, beetroot, lemon.
Herbal tea: Burdock, red clover, nettle.
Other: Try some dry-skin body brushing. Before your shower, improve circulation to your skin with strong circular brushing from the feet and hands to the heart.

 lungs

What to eat: Onions, garlic, apricots, almonds, pumpkin, avocados, olive oil, ginger, thyme, cloves, walnuts, fenugreek, honey.
Juice: Carrot, ginger, parsley, berries.
Herbal tea: Thyme, ginger, licorice.
Other: Deep breathing each day.

 lymph

The lymphatic system is not strictly involved in detoxification, however it carries fats around the body and is central to our immune system.
What to eat: Chilli, ginger, garlic, carrots, oranges, lemons, nasturtiums, shiitake mushrooms, Brazil nuts.
Juice: Pineapple, apple, berries, beetroot, parsley, lemon.
Herbal tea: Calendula, echinacea, red clover, clivers, nettle.
Other: Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.

 bowel

What to eat: Lentils, beetroot, pears, nuts, oranges, prunes, figs, ginger, miso, yoghurt, banana.
Juice: Fennel, lemon, apple, pear, mint.
Herbal tea: Fennel, dandelion and licorice root, ginger, peppermint.
Other: If you tend towards constipation, take two teaspoons of psyllium husks in a glass of water each morning.

Also, essential oils can assist in a detox. I would use them in detox baths or on the feet.  Oregano, melalueca, lemon, lemongrass, peppermint, and thyme work well on the feet. No more than 10 drops total per TBS of oil. For baths mix with a carrier oil or Epsom salt to make sure the oils mix with the water. If you have a sensitive skin, it might also be a good idea to first do a skin patch test to determine if you are allergic to the oil or not. 
For the bath lemon, grapefruit, patchouli, helichrysum, mandarin, lavender, chamomile are good choices. Should you prefer not to mix it with a carrier oil, you could mix it with a small amount of shampoo and then add the shampoo mixture to your bath. Although it gives off a wonderful aroma to add the oils to a running bath, the oils would evaporate at a very high rate, and for this reason it is best to add the oils after you have run the bath, and then to mix in by hand. For children between the ages of 4 and 12, as well as for elderly people, only add 4 drops of oil per bath. For children between 1 and 4, as well as for pregnant women, add only 2 drops of oil per bath. Children under 1 year should have no more than 1 drop of oil per bath.

doTERRA has a detox cleanse program that many have had great success as well. http://www.doterratools.com/enroll-kits/cleanse-restore-kit/

Note: Check with your healthcare practitioner before embarking on a detox program.

6. Clean the air with plants... spider plants, English Ivy, rubber plants and Boston ferns. One plant can clean 100 square feet. I have to admit I don't always do this one, I try but I don't have a green thumb. Also, with little ones in the house it is important to keep them up high. Right now I am nursing a violet. But spider plants are super easy to grow!

7. Detox your life. Spend less time around toxic people and situations...for me this means knowing my limits. I can do some things that stress me out but then I have to treat myself to solitude to refresh. Pajama days are my friend and I try not to overschedule. Clean the clutter in your home to clear the clutter in your head. Do things that make you happy.

Grow something
Read something
Create something
Love something



DETOX TOOLS:

doTERRA  www.mydoterra.com/jennyhoward

For herbs and oils....https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

Garden of life protein powder plus enzymes and probiotics...love this stuff..vanilla is best.
http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Life-Organic-Protein-Chocolate/dp/B007SYSQ7K/ref=sr_1_4?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1412040044&sr=1-4&keywords=garden+of+life+products

Homemade Baby Wipes

Homemade natural baby wipes.....

Here's why I try to use homemade baby wipes...and I say try because sometimes it is just easier to buy them with 3 kids running around, but when I do buy them I inevitably have to handle crying and diaper rashes on my little guy.

Ingredients on Pampers Sensitive....Water/Agua/Eau, Citric Acid, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Bis-PEG/PPG-16/16 PEG/PPG-16/16 Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexyglycerin, Bisabolol, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Polypropylene, Rayon, Lyocell.

What???? I don't think I even have to break this down...chemicals. Plain and simple. This is why I chose natural. Also, even the sensitive wipes give bubbas a rash and he screams when wipes are applied and hit the rash. It is awful and then I end up using wet paper towels anyway.

Here is what you need....
2 cups warm purified water
1 TB glycerin
1 TB oil....fractionated coconut oil, almond oil or I have even used olive oil in a pinch
1 TB castile soap
10 drops lavender or other baby friendly essential oil
1/2 tsp vitamin E

Paper towels or square cloth pieces to make reusable wipes
Container (plastic BPA free or old wipe container)

Cut the towels to fit your container and pour liquids over top, flipping and lifting towels to get in between layers until all are wet. That's it! Easy and fast.

You can change the oils a little or use only oil and no glycerin....really you can experiment a lot with this.

I used Aura Cacia Lavender here but I really like doTERRA better...the scent lasts longer for some reason.

In The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, Valerie Ann Worwood recommends the following essential oils:

For infants, zero to two months of age:

Chamomile, Roman and German
Lavender
Yarrow
Dill

For babies, two to six months of age:

The above, plus Mandarin and Neroli.

For babies, six to twelve months of age:

The above plus Calendula, Grapefruit, and Tea Tree.

Why I Use Natural Deodorant

Natural Deodorant...

Why natural deodorant??? A few reasons for me but I found this info on doTERRA's blog page...

Many popular store bought deodorants have some of the following ingredients that are harmful for our health, increasing our chances of breast cancer, possible Alzheimer’s and other diseases and illnesses:

Aluminum - linked to Alzheimer’s and breast cancer; the risks increase when added to the skin AFTER shaving!
Propylene glycol - shown to cause dermatitis, liver and kidney problems in animal studies. May inhibit skin cell growth and cause skin irritation
Butane - ingredient in aerosol deodorants, is listed as a skin irritant
Propane - ummm, what? Enough said.
Talc - Acute to chronic lung disease (talcosis), contributes to ovarian cancers

Why are these ingredients so dangerous? They are applied to shaven skin (hair acts as a protective barrier), and to the underarm which is a location where a group of lymph nodes are gathered to help fight infection. We apply these toxins directly to an area of our body that has already been compromised because of shaving and to an area where these toxins are easily absorbed into breast tissue, into our lymph nodes and into our blood stream helping us to compromise our systems in life-threatening ways.

These are big reasons to go natural but I have more.... Soloman Wickey is a renowned Amish healer who personally told my aunt to avoid all aluminum when she saw him at the end of her battle against breast cancer. Toothpaste (that's another blog for another day), deodorant, foil and baking pans all have aluminum. I also personally get a rash from regular deodorants and they turn my white shirts yucky yellow! Who wants that? 
SO...go natural....
I have used the crystal type and I like those but....I get stress sweat! Does anyone know what I mean by that....it is stinky no matter what. I use to bring some "real" deodorant in the car just in case! I don't have to do that now. This recipe really works!!!!

You will need:
- 1/4 cup aluminum-FREE baking soda (Bob's Red Mills is a good brand)
- 1/4 cup Arrowroot
- 2 or more Tbsp Coconut Oil (organic, virgin coconut oil is best)
- 10-20 drops of a essential oil of your choice....I used lavender and orange, but any combination would be great as long as it smells good to you.

doTERRA recommends these oils for eliminating odors, they have antiseptic properties and are good for the skin.... Purify (Lemon, Line, Pine, Citronella, Melaleuca and Cilantro) or Citrus Bliss because it smells good and it is a mood-lifting oil.
Mix it all together until you have a paste and put it in a small jar...mine's a mason jar of course. Scoop out a dime size amount on your fingers and rub it in until it's gone!

Two precautions....it will put white marks on your shirts so put it on after getting dressed and I used it after a quick dry shave the second day I was trying it and OMGosh! Serious burning sensation occurred.....SO PLEASE DO NOT DRY SHAVE AND USE!

 

 

(I will work on picture presentation!!)

 

 

I like doTERRA oils and if you are interested in learning more about those click http://www.mydoterra.com/jennyhoward/. I also have used other brands with great success. Some of these are Plant Therapy and Mountain Rose Herbs. Please comment with questions or let me know how the recipe works for you!!