Know this: What you put on your body gets in to your body. Take perfume, for example. Most perfumes you buy in department stores can contain over 100 different synthetic chemicals to make the scent, plus things like phthalates, and parabens. These are endocrine disrupters – gender-bender chemicals that make girls develop earlier and reduce testosterone levels in boys. When shopping for perfume, look for those made from pure organic essential oils. They’re safe, non-toxic and more subtle than a synthetic perfume…your perfume won’t precede you when you enter a room and it won’t linger after you’ve gone!

What surrounds you can also get in your body and your bloodstream. Artificially scented candles for example, contain chemicals that can trigger asthma and allergies. Also, toxic chemicals have been found in the by-products in the combustion of artificial scents. Instead, choose candles scented with essential oils. Plus, most candles, unless otherwise labeled, are made from paraffin, a petroleum product, and fumes from paraffin wax have caused kidney and bladder tumors in lab animals. Choose beeswax candles with cotton wicks (make sure it doesn’t contain a lead core which will release into the air). There are two types of beeswax: solid, which are dipped or molded and burn well; or rolled, made from sheets of beeswax and tend to burn more quickly. Another good choice is soy candles.

How about roses…romantic right? Well, not if they’re sprayed with pesticides! These are toxic to our planet and to the growers. Look for organically grown flowers that use only natural repellants. When you choose something like that, you’re not only removing harmful chemicals from our environment, you’re also helping to improve the lives of flower growers, who are mostly women in developing nations.

Now, what goes in your body…Chocolate, which I think is my favorite food, is the ultimate in romance. Dark chocolate triggers feel-good chemical endorphins in our brain, which is so important for getting in the mood. The Aztecs believed that chocolate had aphrodisiac qualities, acting almost like a love potion. But most commercially made chocolate contains pesticides. So look for organic chocolates – they’re non toxic and delicious.

Finally, wine and champagne. Did you know that conventionally grown grapes are one of the most heavily sprayed crops on the planet? So, again, look for organic wine and champagnes. You can find some amazing organic varieties that taste wonderful, are very high quality and are competitively priced to those made conventionally.

Try green romance this Valentine’s Day. Non-toxic products will enhance your health, vitality and in turn your sensuality.

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a columnist for The Washington Times Communities, Greenopolis.com and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(Photo Credit: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton on Flickr.com)

Studies from around the world are now being released with some startling news about using cell phone safety. A Swedish study reports that radio waves from mobile phones penetrate deep into the brain not just around the ear. Researchers found that using your cell phone for 10 years or longer will double the risk of getting an acoustic neuroma – a tumor on a nerve connecting your ear to your brain – and children, because they have thinner skulls than adults and nervous systems that are still developing, are particularly vulnerable to it. Other scientists warn that there is a 420% greater chance that young people who start using a cell phone before age 20 will develop a brain tumor later in life.

But it’s not only long term use of cell phones that’s of concern; short-term use also can have adverse effects. Scientists at the Spanish Neuro Diagnostic Research Institute in Marbella have discovered that a call lasting just two minutes can alter the natural electrical activity of a child’s brain for up to an hour afterwards. Doctors fear that disturbed brain activity in children could affect their mood and ability to learn and lead to psychiatric and behavioral problems.

Britain’s advisory body on radiological hazards, the Health Protection Agency has urged parents to limit their children’s use of cell phones, recommending that younger children use cell phones only in emergencies. But, here in the U.S. there are no precautionary guidelines and toy companies are teaming up with wireless companies and going after kids as young as five.

More than half of American teens aged 13-16 have a cell phone and now. Most of them aren’t just using their phones to talk. They’re text messaging, taking pictures, playing video games and surfing the Web, which opens up a whole new set of concerns. I was also shocked to hear from friends that their teens sleep with their cell phones under their pillows at night. That’s an additional 7 to 8 hours of radiation going directly into their brains!

It’s not realistic or practical to give up our cell phones, but here are some suggestions on using them more safely:

• Use a headset, or speaker phone whenever you or your child uses a cell phone. And never, ever put a cell phone up to the ear of a baby.
• Limit your child’s use of a cell phone to essential purposes only and keep the calls short.
• It’s best to keep your cell phone away from your body – do not clip it on your belt or put it in your pocket. Instead put it in your purse or backpack.
• Switch off your phone when you go to sleep to reduce EMF (electro magnetic field) exposure.
• Before making a call check the number of bars that indicate reception – a good signal means that the phone is using less radiation to transmit.
• Charging your phone creates a high level of radiation, so charge it in another room.

Here’s a video aimed called “Cell Phones: Just Like Cigarettes?” that you and your teen might enjoy watching: (below). If you’d like a landline phone using no electricity, check out www.oldphones.com.

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a columnist for The Washington Times Communities, Greenopolis.com and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(Photo Credit: The Washington Times)

According to a recent article in The New York Times, blocks of pink slime are mixed into conventional ground beef at McDonald’s and Burger King as well as in school lunches. America’s school lunch program bought 3.5 million pounds last year alone, the article reports, but ammonia doesn’t always kill pathogens. Government and industry records obtained by The New York Times show that in testing for the school lunch program, E. coli and salmonella have been found dozens of times in Beef Products, Inc. meat.

These types of pathogens are also found in chickens. Each year, salmonella and campylobacter from chicken infect at least 3.4 million Americans, send 25,500 to hospitals, and kill about 500, according to estimates by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While both salmonella and campylobacter are known to cause intestinal distress, campylobacter can lead to meningitis, arthritis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a severe neurological condition.

A recent USA Today investigation found that in the past three years, our country’s public schools have been giving our kids millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn’t meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants. McDonald’s, Burger King and Costco, for instance, test the ground beef they buy five to 10 times more often than the USDA tests beef made for schools during a typical production day. And the limits Jack in the Box and other big retailers set for certain bacteria in their burgers are up to 10 times more stringent than what the USDA sets for school beef.

For chicken, the USDA has supplied schools with thousands of tons of meat from old birds that might otherwise go to compost or pet food. KFC won’t buy them, and either will The Campbell Soup Company.

Translation: we give our schools food that wouldn’t be accepted at fast food restaurants. That’s crazy!

After USA TODAY presented USDA officials with its findings, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack promised an independent review of testing requirements for ground beef sent to schools.

Until hamburger meat and chicken becomes cleaner, your best line of defense is to buy organic whenever possible, and look for “air chilled” chicken, which is among the cleanest, according to Consumer Report. Consider buying “grass-fed” beef which means that cattle were raised on pasture instead of in factory feedlots and not given any growth hormones or antibiotics. This meat is also higher in Omega-3 fatty acids and lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, plus grass-fed beef has 500 percent more CLA, a beneficial fat, than cows fed a grain-based diet.

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a contributing blogger for The Washington Times Communities and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(photo credit: Washington Times Communities)

There are as many as 17,000 secret chemicals that are potentially hazardous to our health, and to the environment, that we unwittingly use in our homes every day.

The EPA says that of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States today, nearly 20 percent are secret. Of these, 151 are made in quantities of more than 1 million tons a year and 10 are used specifically in children’s products.

The Centers for Disease Control has been doing body burden testing on Americans for more than 10 years and has found toxic industrial chemicals in almost everyone tested. Also, The Environmental Working Group released a study that found nearly 250 chemicals including polycarbonate plastics, flame retardants and chemicals from nonstick, stain repellant, and greaseproof coatings in newborn babies! Today’s children harbor way more toxins than their grandparents.

Plus, we have no idea what the long term effects might be. These chemicals may exacerbate allergies and asthma, and can cause nausea, dizziness, eye, nose and throat irritation, cough, headache, flu-like symptoms, and skin irritation. As they accumulate in the body over time they can silently affect how efficiently your body runs—like whether you can maintain a healthy metabolism, burn fat well, and keep your hormones in balance. Some also are known to cause heart, lung or kidney damage and even cancer and nerve damage if exposure is prolonged. This in turn can have a devastating effect on your health. If your liver, for instance, becomes taxed by an overburden of chemicals, it may not work efficiently, setting you up for other health problems.

In Europe, things are different. The European Union is following what’s known as the “precautionary principle,” where the burden of proof that a product is potentially harmful lies with the chemical companies, not the public. The EU restricts hundreds of chemicals and requires the industry to test most chemicals before being sold on the market. That’s not the case in the US. Essentially, the only way we know something is toxic is after it has been used for years and causes problems for thousands of people. This is, of course, why the precautionary principle is so important. If the health effects of a product are unknown, it’s best to avoid it whenever possible. In other words: Better safe than sorry. With all the untested chemicals in use today, if you don’t follow this advice, you just became a lab rat in the study!

Our bodies are remarkably resilient in defending against the effects of these chemicals, but only to a point. Scientists question the cumulative effect. It is common sense to believe that the more chemicals you are exposed to, the more likely you will eventually be negatively affected by them. My advice is always choose safe, natural products when you shop. In my book “Super Natural Home” I offer suggestions on what to look for and even how to make some of your own.

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a contributing blogger for The Washington Times Communities and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(photo credit: Howard R Hollem – The Library of Congress)

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit health advocacy group, wants the FDA to also crack down on deceptive claims like “Strengthens your Immune System,” and “Helps Protect Healthy Joints!” when, in actuality there might be only one or two vitamins that were added. It also wants to tighten up definitions of “fiber” and “all natural.” Companies shouldn’t be able to brag about having “0 grams trans fat!” if the item contains significant amounts of saturated fat, says the group. And companies that boast that their foods are “made with whole grain” should be required to disclose how much of that grain is whole. It’s often less than half, says CSPI.

Be an aware consumer. Most food labels use marketing ploys and can be deceptive. Many claim that a food or ingredient can “support,” “enhance,” or “maintain” your joints, bones, heart, breasts, prostate, digestive health, etc. But most claims on food labels aren’t backed by much evidence. In other words, no packaged food product is a medical miracle, even if is boasts it on the label.

The amount of money behind these campaigns is colossal, which is why you won’t see your local farmer fighting back. After the recent backlash against high fructose corn syrup in nutrition circles, the Corn Refiners of America have spoken with their dollars and begun to campaign hard on behalf of their sugar. Don’t be fooled by this one either. High fructose sugar increases the risk of obesity and heart disease, and is almost certainly made from genetically modified corn.

With all this new labeling and campaigning, you’d think food shopping would become less confusing, not more. But it doesn’t have to be. My advice? Eat real food whenever you can…preferably food without labels. Shop locally, eat organic whenever possible, find your farmer at your local farmer’s market, or start your own garden. Your health and well being will be enhanced. Promise! Write me and tell me what changes you’ve made and how you’re doing.

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a contributing blogger for The Washington Times Communities and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(photo credit: The Washington Times)

The toxic chemical BPA, or Bisphenol A is lurking in your hard plastic water bottles, baby sippy cups, dental sealants and in your canned food.

The Environmental Working Group tested canned food bought across America and found BPA in more than half of them at levels they call “200 times the government’s traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals.” EWG found that of all foods tested, chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had BPA levels of highest concern. Just one to three servings of foods with these concentrations could expose a woman or child to BPA at levels that caused serious adverse effects in animal tests.

The December 2009 issue of Consumer Reports’ tested canned foods like soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, and found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods tested contain some BPA. The canned organic foods tested did not always have lower BPA levels than nonorganic brands of similar foods analyzed. They even found the chemical in some products in cans that were labeled “BPA-free.”

This chemical is everywhere! BPA is in newspaper ink and carbonless copy paper – the stuff of credit card receipts and many business and medical documents. It turns out that the average cash register receipt has anywhere from 60 to 100 milligrams of BPA that can then be transferred onto our fingers and eventually into our body if we’re not careful. What’s not known is how much BPA is getting into our blood stream from touching receipt paper.

Also, you can’t tell if the paper receipt you were just handed at the grocery store contains BPA. They look exactly the same as the paper receipts without the toxic chemical. But there are still things you can do to protect yourself and your family. Make sure you wash your hands after touching any receipts especially if you’re pregnant. Another tip is to take all of your left over receipts out of your purse or wallet and keep them in a zip-lock bag somewhere out of children’s reach.

For now, BPA is legal to use. In the meantime, here are more ways to reduce your family’s exposure:

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home and Planet…One Room at a Time as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a contributing blogger for The Washington Times Communities and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(photo credit: The Library of Congress)

Lead is a toxic substance that accumulates in your body, so even small amounts can pose a health hazard over time. According to the California Department of Health Services, lead in tableware can be a serious health threat. Some dishes contain enough lead to cause severe lead poisoning. Even dishes with lower lead levels may contribute to a person’s overall lead exposure.

Think about putting a mug in the microwave or pouring boiling water into it, or putting hot soup in a bowl that contains a lead glaze. You’re asking for trouble.

Since there are many thousands of different makes and kinds of china no one has tested them all. The Environmental Defense Fund says that really dangerous pieces of china are fairly rare, but some types of dishes are more likely to have lead. The EDF says to watch for:

Solution: Don’t store food or drink in questionable china pitchers, bowls, etc. Don’t serve highly acidic food or drink in questionable china. This includes cola-type soft drinks; orange and grapefruit juice; applesauce and apple juice; tomatoes, ketchup and spaghetti sauce; salad dressings with vinegar; tea and coffee. Don’t heat or microwave in questionable china. Heat can speed up the lead-leaching process.

Many experts believe that white china is less likely to have lead problems than highly decorated, multi-colored china. If you are concerned, the only way to be certain is to use glass dishes without decoration, buy dishes labeled “lead-free”, or do a home lead test on your existing dishes. Simple test kits, costing approximately $13-$30 apiece, are available in most hardware and paint stores.

There are safe alternatives to everything you’re using now. I show you easy ways to make important changes in every room in your house in my book Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home and Planet…One Room at a Time.

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home and Planet…One Room at a Time as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a contributing blogger for The Washington Times Communities and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(Photo Credit: George Eastman House)

The number one thing you can do is choose safe household cleaners. Don’t make the assumption that if it’s on the grocery shelf it’s been tested and is safe. Most of us, unwittingly, buy products for our home with ingredients that are either poorly studied, not studied at all, or are known to pose potentially serious health risks. Of the roughly 17,000 chemicals found in common household products, only 3 in 10 have been tested for their effects on human health. Why? Because, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission does not require manufacturers to test household cleaning products before they appear on store shelves.

So, if you’re reading labels expecting to get the whole picture, know that they provide only limited information. According to the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, a national nonprofit that educates the public on environmental toxins that affect children’s health, labels often omit inert ingredients that can make up as much as 90 percent of a product’s volume. Now, the word “inert” doesn’t mean inactive or neutral as you might believe. The EPA categorized “inert” ingredients as causing long-term health damage and harm to the environment.

The Environmental Working Group just released a study that found that your typical conventional cleaning product can be a significant source of indoor air pollution. Want to know what the top 3 worst cleaners are? Number 1 is Comet Disinfectant Powder Cleanser, which I grew up with and I’m sure many of you did as well, is commonly used in both schools and private homes. It released more than 100 air contaminants, including chloroform, benzene, and formaldehyde, plus and four other chemicals identified by the state of California as causing cancer or reproductive harm.

Number 2 is Simple Green, a general purpose cleaner, which released 92 chemicals into the air, including two linked to cancer, and formaldehyde, which is linked to cancer and asthma. By the way, childhood asthma has more than doubled since 1980, and today nearly 10 percent of children have asthma.

Number 3 is Febreze Air Effects, an air freshener which gave off 88 airborne contaminants including acetaldehyde, a chemical linked to cancer.

This is disturbing, isn’t it? The truth is, we know hardly anything about what’s in the cleaning supplies used in our homes. Legally, nearly any chemical can be used as an ingredient, and cleaning product labels are not required to list ingredients.

Use of cleaning products can release volatile organic compounds or VOCs at levels up to 100 times higher than found outdoors; these levels can even exceed safety limits established for industrial settings!

What can we do to keep the air in our kitchens clean? First, use certified green cleaning supplies. These cleaners have the Green Seal label or the EcoLogo which are independent green certification companies. Or try vinegar, hydrogen peroxide. I take two spray bottles and fill one with white vinegar and the other with hydrogen peroxide and I spray my kitchen counters and wood cutting boards. I alternate, one then the other. Good Housekeeping Institute says it kills about 99 percent of bacteria, mold and viruses, including salmonella and E. coli. I use baking soda as an abrasive cleaner…and by the way baking soda makes a fabulous deodorant!

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home and Planet…One Room at a Time as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a contributing blogger for The Washington Times Communities and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(Photo Credit: Bad Housewife, Flikr.com)

In my case it was a benign tumor in my chest the size of a tennis ball.

About seven years ago, just before my 50th birthday, I thought I was leading a healthy lifestyle. I ate fruits and vegetables, didn’t smoke, and watched my weight. The pain that began in my shoulder was so painful that I needed sleeping pills at night and pain killers during the day. The pain ran down my arm into my hand and my fingers were starting to get numb.

I saw three top surgeons, who wanted to remove it but couldn’t agree how. One said he would make an incision under my collar bone, the next wanted to go in from my arm pit, and the third wanted to cut me on my back and remove one of my ribs.

“I will heal you,” he said.

I decided to heal myself.. I took an inventory. First, what went in my body? Let’s see…I ate food with additives, colorings, preservatives and trans fats… yes, on occasion I ate Krispy Kremes.

So I decided to eat only unprocessed food…actually, nothing with a label. I drank lots of filtered water and pure vegetable juices. In just a few days I noticed that the pain in my shoulder was lessening.

Next, what went on me? Our skin is a not a true barrier, it actually allows microscopic chemicals to pass through it.

I realized that my makeup, toothpaste, deodorant and body lotion contained synthetic chemicals that caused cancer in laboratory animals. I switched to all natural products.

But I didn’t stop there. I looked at what surrounded me. I replaced my mattress with a natural one because the one I slept on contained flame retardants called PBDEs and stain-resistant chemicals that are recognized carcinogens. I switched to nontoxic household cleaners and got rid of my non-stick pans.

Within a few months the pain was gone. A year later a scan showed the tumor had completely disappeared!

Often, the impact chemicals have on our bodies doesn’t show up for decades, plus, no one has done research on the types of synergies than can occur when chemicals combine, or what happens when we come into contact with different chemicals from lots of different sources.

Don’t wait until you get sick to make small changes in your life. The good news is there are easy things to do, and the first action is not even a physical one…it’s becoming aware of what goes in you, on you and surrounds you every day.

Get curious about what’s in your food (even where it’s grown); read the labels on your makeup, deodorant, soap and shampoo. Become aware of the fabrics you chose to wear and the furniture you have – these can also negatively impact your health.

Then begin the process of making new, safer choices. By easily upgrading and eliminating toxins in each room of your house, you can enhance your health and well-being and have greater vitality.

I’m happy to report that making small changes in my life was easy and very rewarding. My home is no longer hazardous to my health. Click HERE to find out five ways you can eliminate dangerous toxins in your home.

Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom™, is the bestselling author of Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home and Planet…One Room at a Time as well as a radio talk show host and impassioned champion of toxin-free living who busts open the myth that our homes are safe havens. Beth is a contributing blogger for The Washington Times Communities and NaturallySavvy.com. Follow Beth on Twitter. Become a fan on Facebook.

(Photo Credit: George Eastman House)

My very first blog is live right now. It’s called “Is Your House Hazardous to Your Health?” It deals with how chemicals from everyday products can make us sick.

I’d love it if you would take a look, post a comment, send it to your friends, even Twitter about it. It would be great to create a buzz for my new blog!

Here’s the link: “Is Your House Hazardous to Your Health?“