This is taken from NewsTarget and it is VERY important:

Details of a new FDA “final solution” plan to utterly destroy natural medicine by regulating herbs, supplements, vitamins and even massage oils as drugs while criminalizing anyone who sells such products.

If the FDA has its way, even vegetable juices will be regulated as “drugs.” Massage props and hot rocks will be classified as “medical devices,” and the entire nutritional supplements industry will be destroyed, wiped off the slate, and replaced by a stronger-than-ever pharmaceutical monopoly that has already taken over virtually the entire U.S. government. Even information about alternative medicine would be controlled by them!

This is an urgent action item. You still have until April 30 to post comments with the FDA or write your representatives, and you can join hundreds of thousands of other readers who are taking a stand right now to stop this medical tyranny in its tracks. Contact details and web links are printed in the story below.

http://www.newstarget.com/021789.html

Take action now before most of the content on this blog is made illegal!

When it comes to talking about environmental concerns and threats to our planet I do my fair share here on this blog and in my personal life. But how does that make you feel? Does it make you anxious? Are you losing sleep?

Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before a “new” eco-service would hit the market to address this…enter eco-therapy. If all this talk about global warming, deforestation, chemicals in your food, etc. are making you anxious you can get help.

Melissa Pickett, an eco-therapist with a practice in Santa Fe, says she sees between 40 to 80 eco-anxious patients a month.

They complain of panic attacks, loss of appetite, irritability and unexplained bouts of weakness, sleeplessness and “buzzing,” described as an eerie feeling that their cells are twitching. Pickett’s remedies include telling patients to carry natural objects, like certain minerals, for a period of weeks. Making environmentally friendly lifestyle changes can also prove therapeutic, she says.

The fears of the eco-anxious are fueled by abundant media coverage of crises like global warming, collapsed fisheries and food shortages.

Personally all of the environmental problems that we currently face make me more angry and motivated than anything else but if it goes beyond that someday I guess I know where to turn. :)

Source article

[tags]eco-anxiety, global warming, therapy, environment[/tags]

A lot of natural moms have asked me in the last few months what they can do to avoid using plastic baby bottles. I usually tell them that they can always go with the old standard….glass baby bottles. Nowadays they are super cute and they are actually much safer than plastic when you consider that plastic can leach chemicals.

When heated, five of the most popular brands of polycarbonate — the clear, shatterproof plastic used in baby bottles — leached bisphenol A at levels that have been found to cause harm in laboratory animals, Environment California found.

Even at low levels, bisphenol A has been linked to abnormalities in the mammary and prostate glands and the eggs of laboratory animals, scientists say. Animal tests also show bisphenol A can speed up puberty and add to weight gain, and may cause changes that can lead to breast and prostate cancer. Understandably parents are concerned and so many of them are concerned that glass bottles have become hard to find there and even some places online. I found plenty on Amazon.

One of the originals is a bottle by Born Free if you are not comfortable with glass bottles and their potential breakage factor. Born Free makes BPA-free plastic baby bottles, training cups, and sippy cups.

The popular bottle company Dr. Brown has also released a glass bottle line.

Also check out the Evenflo Cozy Glass Bottle with Sleeve, 3-Pack – Glass bottles with a comfy sleeve to protect the bottle from breakage.

My favorite glass baby bottles are the ones seen in the above photo by Lifefactory. The bright colored silicone sleeve helps to protect the bottle from breakage and provides a great gripping surface and tactile experience during feeding. Bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalate, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) free, silicone sleeve is non-toxic and free of plastics, silicone nipple is non-toxic and latex-free, plastic ring, plug and cap are FDA approved

Now of course breastmilk is best for babies. I breastfed all three of my babies but some families do use bottles for breastmilk and water and some just use bottles period. I know when I was diagnosed with cancer and was hospitalized for a lengthy period of time, my son had to start taking a bottle for half a dozen reasons including the fact that I was on some very nasty drugs at the time. I am thankful there are healthy options.

I made a trip to Columbus, Ohio (about an hour away) today with the plan to go to Whole Foods and Costco. Well, I am in love with the Columbus Costco. Well, actually the Whole Foods rocks too but I didn’t end up having time to go there today. The Costco is brand new and the organic selections were in abundance. Here are some of the organic products I found:

Stonyfield yogurts, apples, frozen green beans, frozen soy beans, frozen broccoli florets, frozen pineapple chunks, beef, juice boxes, chocolate milk boxes, milk, whole wheat crackers, and many, many others. I loaded my cart up until I could not get anything else in it.

 And of course I can’t wait to go back to Whole Foods which is about 10 times bigger and better than the one in Phoenix. Isn’t it funny when you get super excited about going grocery shopping?

[tags]organic, food, Whole Foods, Costco[/tags]

The subject of healthy meals at school has been consuming alot of my thoughts lately so I thought I would share my feelings on this hot topic and also tell you why this has become an issue in my family. 

We all want our children to eat healthy food right? We may put alot of time and effort into making their meals as nutritious and healthy as possible but we sometimes we may not be in charge of their food options. The majority of children attend public school and monitoring what they eat while at school can be hard to do.  As a parent, you may need to step in to make sure your child is being given healthy options. 

There are programs in place that require certain nutritional standards to be met.  Within these standards, there are a lot of menu options schools can choose so that children can be given a variety of foods while staying nutritious and within the school’s financial means.  There are a few problems with this plan however. First, the dietary guidelines set out for school may not comply with what you think is healthy for your child. This is exactly what I have found to be the case within my six year old son’s school. On his first day of school after our move to Ohio I gave him lunch money so that he could buy lunch and get a feel for the process. He had never been to school all day before so lunch had never been an issue. After his first day I asked what he had eaten for lunch and he told me he ate a salad, a meat (he couldn’t specify what it was), a brownie, a piece of cake, a cookie, and chocolate milk. Does anyone else see a problem here? I sure did.

The second problem with school nutrition plans is that schools receive funding for following guidelines, but they are still not required to abide by them. Their seems to be no accountability if they stray to cheaper and unhealthier food options.

If you question the nutritional value of your child’s lunch, you can either request menus be sent to you, or if possible, go have lunch with them a few times and see what they’re eating.  If you don’t feel the menu meets high enough standards, make that known.  Talk to the principal, the PTA, the school board, or the person in charge of menu planning.  Find other parents who agree with you and take a stand.  BUT I know this may sound good in theory and be less successful in action. When I discovered what my child had eaten I went to my local community forum and brought it to their attention. They were NOT supportive in the least. In fact some were downright hostile and said that my son had to be lying. A school official who was notified about the thread joined and posted that what my son had said was in NO way possible. Then the the discussion took a bizarre turn and some parents became angry that I was trying to “change” something within the schools that may end up costing them (the parent) more money. You see the teachers that work there say it is a funding issue….without more money from the state or more money from the parents they simply cannot afford to hire cooks, buy whole foods, and feed the kids healthy food. And if they divert more money to healtheir foods then they can’t provide free luches to poor students. Well, some parents automatically saw my message as one that could either cost them more money or hurt the FREE lunch program. The ears closed and I was told to back off. I am amazed that the parents and school clearly showed me that money is more important than the health of the kids. Homeschool is looking like a mighty fine option right now. I also feel really sad that my small community is putting the needs of the kids in a secondary position. But I take comfort in being able to say it doesn’t work that way in MY family. :)

So….the most logical option to ensure your child is eating right at school is to pack their lunch yourself.  The problem is, there’s no guarantee your child is eating their lunch and not someone else’s.  There are only so many teachers that can monitor lunch time, and unless your child has strict dietary restrictions, they really can’t ensure there isn’t lunch trading going on.   That is why it is our responsibility to teach our children about healthy eating habits. I am now packing my son’s lunch everyday but then again I had always intended to….I just wanted to give my son the opportunity to learn about the lunch purchase process in case he ever needed to buy someday in the future. So I have taken charge and I am doing my best to ensure that his lunch everyday is healthy.

While you and I may feel that schools should be required to serve healthy lunches, that doesn’t mean they do.  Some steps may be taken in the right direction, but you may need to help give those nutritional programs a nudge. So how do YOU feel about the school lunch program in your child’s school? What steps have you taken to ensure your child is eating healthy lunches? Leave me a comment and let me know.

[tags]school lunch, nutrition, healthy lunches[/tags]