Better Living Tips

A friend asked what things they could do to live healthier. My wife put this together for them. Avoid combining heat, plastics, and food (especially BPA!). Use glass, ceramic or steel containers for reheating food and for food storage. Choose organic produce when possible to avoid agricultural chemicals that are closely linked to some cancers. Some produce store these chemicals more than others. Check out the “dirty dozen” in this list: http://www.foodnews.org/images/09shoppersguide-purpleimage.jpg . You’ll want to try and be sure to get the organics when you can and when they are available. For non-produce and prepackaged foods, choose those that have been minimally processed and do not contain chemical additives (preservatives, colors, flavorings, HFCS, etc.) For flea treatment on pets and in the home: Use a combo of Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and Neem oil. Make sure you get the FOOD GRADE DE. It’s a harmless powder that you can rub into your pet’s coat and it works only when in contact with fleas and ticks.  Here’s a link with some more detailed information on using DE for fleas and ticks: http://www.bigbarks.com/index.php?topic=19.0 Make your own Neem oil flea spray by mixing 1 ounce of Neem oil with 2 ounces of organic white vinegar and 5 ounces of water. Shake the bottle to mix the ingredients before. Spray your pet well with the mixture every 7 to 10 days and brush him after spraying to work the solution through his fur and to his skin. You can also add a few drops of a (better smelling) essential oil such as peppermint (also a pest repellent) to help with the strong odor. Ionic and steam cleaners are a great way to deep clean appliances, floors, counter tops, and other surfaces thoroughly without harmful chemicals. This site is a great resource for daily use cosmetics: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php Everything from shampoos to mouthwashes to deodorants and lip balms can be found here. It’s a good way to find out what harmful chemicals may be lurking in your everyday products, including a checklist of what some chemicals have been linked to, as well (cancers, developmental delays, allergies, etc). Looking for an easy way to get things clean without harmful chemicals? One word always comes up: Vinegar. It’s extremely versatile, environmentally friendly, non-toxic, all natural and economical. Check out this site for the many wonderful uses of vinegar:http://www.vinegartips.com/ Baking soda is also a great alternative cleaning product: http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/bakingsoda More links: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/vinegarbakingsoda http://housekeeping.about.com/od/environment/a/vinbaklemons.htm http://www.blisstree.com/treehuggingfamily/25-safe-non-toxic-homemade-cleaning-supplies/