To Buy or Not to Buy Organic: That is the Question!

I was taking a walk around our neighborhood a few days ago when something caught my eye.  I thought, "I NEED a picture of that for my blog!"  So I walked back home after walking for an hour already (with my son in the stroller asking every 30 seconds, "Are we going home yet?"), got my camera and walked back to take the picture.  I am pretty sure the neighbor who saw me doing this thinks I'm a tad bit strange, but it was for a good cause!  :)  

So why was I so excited about getting this picture?  Well, I feel like it raises an important question that you need to ask yourself when deciding whether or not to buy organic produce:

If it's dangerous for humans and animals to just walk through areas that have been treated with pesticides, then isn't it dangerous for them to ingest produce that has been treated also?

I honestly never thought about it until I was pregnant with my son back in 2009.  I was walking to my car with my large belly in tow and was told to avoid the man a few feet away from me spraying his vegetable garden with pesticides.  I thought, "Well that's kind of rude to spray that so close to where people walk."  I was angry that someone else could be putting me and my child in danger with their poisons.  But then after thinking about it for a minute, I realized that I was voluntarily ingesting that poison every day - in my salad with a crisp bed of greens, sweet red peppers and juicy, ripe tomatoes...in my garlic mashed potatoes with a side of steamed broccoli...and especially in the crazy amount of watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, and strawberries that I craved while pregnant!  So, why did I think it wasn't okay to be near someone spraying pesticides, but that it was okay to eat the produce that had been sprayed with it?

I needed to find out about the safety of pesticides.  So of course, the math and science lover in me began to do some research and here are some things that I found:

1.  All pesticides must be registered/approved through the EPA and your state, which can have different regulations depending on where you live. 1  Seems a little comforting to know that someone is doing something to look out for us, right?

2.  To be registered, the EPA must confirm that the pesticide "can be used with a reasonable certainty of no harm to human health and without posing unreasonable risks to the environment." 1  Well, that sounds pretty good too, although I'd like to ask them what "reasonable certainty" and "unreasonable risks" actually mean.

3.  The EPA can grant "conditional registration" to allow a company to begin using the pesticide before it is completely tested. 2  Wait a second...the only reason I was kind of comforted by #1 and #2 is because the pesticides had to be approved to say they won't cause unreasonable harm to us.  But now testing can be done AFTER the poison is already in use?

That last one reeeeally bother me.  At first glace, it seemed like the EPA was trying to do what they could to protect us, but then they had to add loopholes like conditional registration.  How is that protecting us?  I looked into it a little bit more and what I found was shocking.  About 65% of more than 16,000 pesticides were first approved through this conditional registration. 4  That's more than 10,000 different pesticides being used without first having their safety completely tested!  So I looked for some specific instances where it bit the EPA in the rear for having this loophole for the use of pesticides.  Two popular ones are nanosilver and clothianidin.  Here are their stories:

Nanosilver

Because it is related to silver, which is considered "safe" by the EPA standards, nanosilver was conditionally approved for use as an antimicrobial agent. Turns out, nanosilver isn't "safe" like silver - it is very easily absorbed by the body because of its size (similar to the size of viruses). It is known to be used in things like food packaging, supplements, textiles, electronics, appliances, cosmetics, medical devices, and room sprays, and it doesn't have to be labeled as "nano" on the ingredients list. 3

What are some of the issues that nanosilver can cause? It can cause issues with reproduction and in vitro is known to effect brain development and sometimes cause death. 4 If inhaled, it can cause pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases 5 It can cause blood-brain barrier destruction and kill nerve cells. 6 In addition to that, the amount of nanosilver that would been needed to make it an effective antimicrobial agent is also toxic to the cells that make keratin (keratin gives strength to hair, skin, and nails) and collagen (collagen helps your skin stay elastic and is part of connective tissues in your body like muscles and tendons). 7 But yet, it was conditionally approved and had been used for decades before any significant research was done to test it's safety. 7

Clothianidin 

Right from the EPA's website, clothianidin was first approved in 2003 because it was safer to humans and wildlife than two other alternative pesticides that were in use at the time and were extremely toxic to bees.  They also state that clothianidin "generally poses less risk to agricultural workers and fish and wildlife" than the alternative pesticides.  (What do they mean by generally???)  Clothianidin is also toxic to bees, like most pesticides, and actually has on its label that it cannot be used when the plant is flowering or there are bees "in the area". 7  (That is their fix for the bee toxicity issue?  Who has the authority to say that the bees aren't "in the area" so it's okay to spray?)  So it's killing bees, the insects that keep our fruits and veggies from going extinct, and it's still toxic to agricultural workers and fish and wildlife...but it's still in use.  I suppose we should be comforted that clothianidin is safer than the alternatives???

And those are just two examples.  Moving on...

So even if I overlook the part about the EPA allowing use of pesticides based on a theory that they won't cause "unreasonable risks" to humans or the environment, I still must ask this:

What does "unreasonable risks" to humans or the environment mean to the EPA that these pesticides are being approved?

The EPA has a article on their website that flat out tells you that pesticides can cause "health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time." 3  The severity of the effects all depends on how much is consumed and for how long, of course, but the EPA sets a standard for this "safe" dose.  So what is "safe" or an "unreasonable risk" to the EPA?  A pesticide that causes birth defects that only effect 1% of the population?  One that causes cancer in only 5% of the population?  Once again, "side-effects" come into play.  The question is not whether or not you're being poisoned or affected by these pesticides, it is when will you end up seeing the effects through something like cancer?

So if the EPA isn't going to actually regulate and test pesticides properly before exposing us to them, then there are only two options to avoid feeding yourself and your family pesticides:  grow your own food without the use of pesticides or buy organic. 

 

I know that growing your own food is not always possible and that organic = expensive in most cases, but it's absolutely possible to clean up your grocery list without breaking the bank.  Here's how I did it without busting out my overalls and shovel...

I started out small, of course!  It was way too overwhelming and wasteful to start over by going through my cupboards and fridge and throwing everything out that wasn't organic.  I also couldn't see myself going to the grocery store the next day and only placing organic items in my cart.  (Where would I get the extra money?)  So I was picky at first.

1. I prioritized which fruits or vegetables I should buy organic, ones that were found to have the most pesticide residue.  The "Clean Fifteen" and "Dirty Dozen" lists from the Environmental Working Group were a great help!  So if I couldn't afford to buy all organic or it wasn't available, I felt comforted knowing that I was at least picking non-organic produce that was low in residuals.
2. I replaced a couple of my usual produce items with organic ones slowly over time while I worked on finding some more ways to save money.  (See next paragraph)
   
3. I shopped and planned meals by item availability.  I went to the store to see what organic items were available and based my menu off of that.

Love local farm stores for savings on spices!

How did I make up for the extra cost? 

1. I bought in bulk when items where on sale, especially ones that I could freeze or were good at room temperature for longer periods.  This included meats, breads, dried beans, pastas, etc.
2. I worked my weekly menu around the items that were on sale.
3. I started taking advantage of local farmers' markets for discounted items.  You may be surprised at how many are in your community offering amazing deals on produce, bulk items and more!
4. I gave up a few convenience items.  For example, I didn't buy that box of cookies that I had been eyeing up since I walked into the store.  Did I still eat junk food?  Uh, is the Pope Catholic??  But I made it from scratch at a fraction of the cost!  From-scratch or DIY savings for many things (even laundry detergent!) added up and allowed me to buy even more organic items every time I shopped!

After about 4 years of these small switches to organic, I still buy some non-organic items (avocados, bananas, and dried spices for instance).  Even though I haven't transitioned completely and it has taken a while, it hasn't been overwhelming and hasn't made my family broke!  I'm doing what I can and feel good about my progress.  So next time you go to the store, I encourage you to switch just one item on your grocery list for organic so that you too can start taking steps in the right direction to one day be released from your dependence on pesticide laden foods.

 

P.S.  If you're concerned about GMOs, "USDA organic" also means "non-GMO", according to their labeling requirements.  If you're not familiar with GMOs, I'm working on a post that covers them for another time!  :)

My Nose's Best Friend

I don't know about you, but this time of the year my allergies go CRAZY!  I've never been really big on taking medicines.  (My short explanation:  There is a time and a place for medications.  I'm extremely happy that we have them in case of emergencies, but I feel that they are sometimes over-used.  That's all I'll get into right now.)  But I lived in South Carolina for a few years and the pollen was so bad there (our cars would literally be yellow after one day of sitting around!), that I actually gave in and took allergy medicine.  That phase didn't last too long though.  The health-nut in me decided to do some research and find out if my slight relief from the constant sneezing, nose-blowing, and itchy eyes was worth what I was actually putting in my body.  I didn't have to look very far - the potential "side-effects" for antihistamines (main ingredient in allergy medicines) was enough for me.

Now, before I list them for you, I'd like to go on a little rant about "side-effects" and the reason I put them in quotes...

Side-effects are not necessarily a list of effects that are uncommon.  They are merely effects that the producers do not want to make happen by you taking their medications, but they happen anyways.  This goes for all medications, hence the reason for off-label uses of them.  "Off-label" just means the FDA didn't approve the drug for the specific use, but it is legal for doctors to prescribe them to patients for these uses as long as they think it will help.  (Yes, thinking it will help is the only explanation they need to give.)  A good example is Botox.  It was first approved in 1989 for the treatment of crossed-eyes and twitching eyelids.  While being used on those patients, doctors noticed "side-effects" of reductions in headaches and smoother skin.  So even before Botox was actually approved in 2002 for use between the eyebrows to reduce wrinkles, it was being used for that purpose.  It has also since been approved to help reduce underarm sweat.  But doctors also use it to treat vocal cord problems, hair loss, drooling, pain from missing limbs, and more...but it's has not been approved for those uses and proper dosage has not been determined to treat those issues. 1  The sad thing is, the other "side-effects" can include double-vision, difficulty swallowing, difficulty speaking, urinary incontinence, death and many, many more. 2  They're injecting a poison that paralyzes muscles into your body, so it makes sense that it could cause these things!  But they're listed as "side-effects" because that's not what the doctors want them to cause. 

(*End "side-effect" rant*)

For the purposes of this post, I chose a popular allergy medication that floods our televisions and magazine ads during allergy season: 

Claritin

Active Ingredient:  Loratadine

Possible "Side-Effects": 3 4

Runny nose (Wait, wasn't this why I was taking it to begin with?)
Headache
Nervousness
Confusion
Drowsiness  (As a mother, I'm tired enough to begin with!)
Stomach pain
Diarrhea
Dry mouth
Sore throat
Cough
Eye redness (Hmm...my eyes are already red from the pollen!)
Blurred vision
Nosebleeds
Skin rash
Painful and/or heavy menstruation
Tightness in chest
Fast/uneven heart rate
Faint feeling
Jaundice
Seizures
and the list goes on... 

Did I mention that these effects have been more commonly seen in children?  Because of this, it is actually recommended that women who are nursing not use the drug because a small amount is passed through breast milk.

This list, along with the fact that the symptoms show up more in children, tells me that loratadine (along with other antihistamines) is effecting our bodies in negative ways...even if some people don't necessarily see these symptoms right away.  Children are more sensitive to many things, but just because your adult body may be able to take more before showing the effects doesn't mean we should continue to feed ourselves theses poisons, right?

So now that I have ruined your allergy medicine for you, I feel obligated and happy to give you a healthy alternative.  Some of you may have already heard of it or maybe there is even one in your medicine cabinet!  If not, let me introduce you to my nose's best friend...

The Neti Pot

I will admit that when I first heard about this from a health-nut friend in SC, I was very leery about trying it.  But I have to tell you that IT WORKS!  (This is coming from a girl who got out of cutting the grass when she was younger because of the severeness of her allergies to it!)  After buying a Neti pot, I put it to the test and busted out the lawn mower.  While cutting, my nose became a little tickly and eyes a little irritated and I thought for sure I made a huge mistake.  So I finished up and immediately used the Neti pot.

As strange as it felt while I was using the Neti pot, the after-effect was INSTANT!  No itching, no sneezing, no runny nose, no swollen eyes, and no waiting for allergy medicine to kick in.  And that's how the love affair began between my nose and my Neti pot.

The fling lasted through more than just allergy season too!  I've used it for colds, clogged sinuses, sinus infections, rhinitis during pregnancy, and even when my nose had been dried out during the winter.  So if you ever experience issues like these, you might want to try this!

How to Make Your Nose Fall in Love

What you need: 

Neti pot (You can find them at just about every drug store out there or online for about $10.  I've seen them made of both plastic and ceramic.  If you're in a pinch and need it now, you can check out this website that gives you tips on how to make your own!) 

≈ 1/2 tsp sea salt or the packets that come with the Neti pot (If you use plain water it will burn!) 

≈ 1 c lukewarm distilled water or previously boiled and cooled water

(*Read the package insert that comes with your Neti pot or ask your doctor if you have any questions before trying this!*)

Directions:  Mix the salt and water in the Neti pot.  Tilt your head about 45 degrees and lean over a sink (or else you'll get snot water all over you!).  Insert the spout into the higher nostril and pour the water through, making sure to breathe through your mouth.  (It will come out the other nostril!  Weird, right?  But the results are so worth it!)  Blow your nose to remove any remaining solution.  Repeat on the other side. 5

Want to see it in action?  Click here!

So if you have been known to throw back an allergy pill or two or are fighting a cold or sinus issues, you might want to give this a try!  Best case - you are rid of your symptoms without ingesting any toxins.  Otherwise, you just bought yourself a new watering can.  ;)

P.S.  Sorry ahead of time if your excuse for not cutting the grass or weeding the flower beds is gone like mine is due to this discovery.  But at least now you can get out and enjoy this beautiful weather!  :)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

It was really difficult for me to figure out what topic I should start with.  So many things that I'll be posting about are intertwined - which could lead a talkative gal like me to go off on tons of tangents if I'm not careful!  But I promised little steps that you could easily work into your daily lives so I'm starting off simple.  (And when I say "simple" this time, I also mean "easy"!!)  So here it goes...

Do you cough, sneeze or try to hold your breath like I do as you walk down the detergent isle in your grocery store?  I always wondered if that was my body's way of telling me, "Get out of there!" so I decided to look into it.  The back of the detergent bottle in my cupboard wasn't exactly detailed...

...so I had to visit their website for help. The actual ingredient list is much longer, but I'll save you some reading and just list the ones that gave me cause for concern.

Ingredient	Level of Concern (0 – 10)	Reason for Concern
C12-15 Pareth-7	1	Environmental toxin Limited amount determined safe in cosmetics
Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate	1	Used in food but there is limited information about its safety
Sodium Hydroxide	3	Skin, eye, and/or lung irritant
Triethanolamine	5	Human immune, respiratory, and skin toxicant or allergen
Benzisothiazolinone	3 or 4	Possible sensitizer toxicant or allergen Skin, eye, and/or lung irritant Workplace exposure is limited to low doses
Methylisothiazolinone	5	Neurotoxin Skin toxicant or allergen Sensitizer toxicant or allergen Wildlife and environmental toxicity Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics Use prohibited in Japan in some types of cosmetics when combined with some ingredients
Methylchloroisothiazolinone	5	Skin toxicant or allergen Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics Use prohibited in Japan in some types of cosmetics when combined with some ingredients Mutagen (Changes the genetic material of an organism.  Many mutagens cause cancer.)

(All information in the table above was found at Skin Deep.  It is a website that I use frequently to check the level of safety for all of my cosmetic or hygiene products.  Try it out!  And I'm sorry ahead of time if this website totally taints all of your tried and true products, but someone had to tell you!)

After discovering that my detergent contained these toxins, I didn't feel completely comfortable washing my own clothes in it, let alone my child's.  (And Dreft - not exactly better for sensitive baby skin either!)  So after using Google to find an alternative, the only reason I visit that isle in my grocery store is to pick up the ingredients for my homemade laundry detergent.

Since I'm feeling very generous as I'm writing this post, I've decided to give you not only one but TWO recipes to choose from.  Okay, okay...so the first one isn't really a recipe...

Option #1:  Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap

Of course it can be used as a laundry detergent, right?  It's like the Windex of natural hygiene for all of you My Big Fat Greek Wedding movie fans!  I was doing a little research on the Dr. Bronner's website and found out that you just use 1/4 to 1/3 cup depending on how soiled your clothes are and add a dash of baking soda for increased power.  So easy!

Now, if for some reason you don't like that option, you can try the following recipe.  (This is actually the one I use!)  I like it because:

1. It's inexpensive.  (See price breakdown below!)
2. It's easy to store compared to the homemade liquid detergent recipes out there.  (They are less concentrated and bulkier because water is added.  My bathroom and laundry room share a space so I'm limited on storage.)
3. It takes less than 10 minutes to make.  (The liquid version is a little time consuming, but you are welcome to try it and let me know how it works!)

Option #2:  Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

1 - 4.5oz bar of soap of your choosing (I used to use Ivory because it was the most popular one in the recipes I found, but I'm not sure that was much safer than my store-bought detergent!  I now use unscented Dr. Bronner's Castile soap, but there are many natural soaps out there.)
1 cup Borax (Wondering about the safety of this like I did?  Crunchy Betty does an excellent job of explaining it!) 
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (Not to be confused with baking soda!)

Directions

Step 1:  Grate the bar of soap into a bowl using the fine side of your cheese grater.

Step 2:  Mix in the Borax and washing soda.

If you have a top-loader washing machine, just pour it in a container and you're finished!  If you have a front-loader like me, there's one more step.  (I found out from experience that the HE washers don't use enough water to completely dissolve the grated soap, so if you don't do this step you may be left with little flakes on your clothes.)

Step 3:  Pour the mixture into your blender/food processor and pulse a few times.

Love my Ninja!

Step 4:  Store in a clean, dry container.  (I use a large yogurt container.)

 Voila!  Use 1-2 Tbsp. per load depending on what kind of washing machine you have and how soiled your clothes are.

And the total cost of this DIY laundry detergent?  This is my breakdown:

5oz Bar of Dr. Bronner's Castile soap:  $4.16  (Amazon had the best price when I bought it.)
76oz box of Borax:  $4.35  (1c is 5.2oz so it yields about 14 1/2c or $0.30/batch.)
55oz box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda:  $2.89  (1c is 9.3oz so it yields about 6c or $0.48/batch.)

So $4.16 + $0.30 + $0.48 = $4.94 per batch

My batch made about 3 1/4 cups of detergent, so about 26 - 52 loads depending on how much you use.   

So that's between $0.10 - $0.19 per load!!

(I did I mention I LOVE math?!  At least I'm getting a little use out of my super expensive BS in mathematics, right?)

FYI:  Tide powder detergent that yields 40 loads for a normal wash costs $9.59 at my local grocery store.  That's at least $0.24 per load.  Plus, (if made with a safe soap) this homemade detergent can be made free of all those toxins...which is the whole reason I started this blog!

Better for your body, easy on your wallet.

Try it and let me know what you think!