“the very paradox of human existence, namely, that although man is a passing creature who often does merely strut and fret his short hour upon life’s stage, he is also more than a passing creature of an earthly day—for he is made for eternity, for God himself. Therefore, what happens to him and in him, as well as what is done by him, though of short temporal duration, has eternal value.” (James Boice)
Health
Health,Thursday, October 04, 2007
This latest information makes me wonder how we every began to think spraying chemicals in the air we breath is “freshening” the air. It just sounds ridiculous. 
Now some of your favorite air fresheners can actually be causing more harm than good. So throw away those air fresheners, especially if they are on the list of hazardous products and open the windows. Some stores actually pulled the bad products from the shelves already.
While on the subject of air freshness, it’s also a good idea not to light scented candles, especially if you have allergy and asthma sensitivities. I’ve read from a number of expert sources that the best way to improve indoor air quality is to simply open up the windows and let the fresh air in. Sure, you might let some heat in or the cold air out, but it really doesn’t change the heating bill much to replace the indoor air with fresh outdoor air. On hot days we make it a habit to open the windows during the cooler evening. During the cold days of winter, we open the windows during the warmest part of the day. Last year was one of the first years that we really started opening the windows regularly and we tracked our heating bill. I couldn’t see any noticeable difference in the monthly bill. But I bet our bodies appreciate having a little fresh air.
Click here to read the entire article.
Health,Thursday, May 31, 2007
I had blogged a little while ago about two ingredients that react together to create high levels of cancer causing chemicals in fruit soda. Well, it’s still not old news. The sodas in questions are.
# Safeway Select Diet Orange
# AquaCal Strawberry Flavored Water Beverage
# Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange
# Giant Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail
# Crush Pineapple
In addition, “[The FDA] tested 24 samples of diet soda for benzene in the study. Around 79 percent (nineteen) of the soft drinks were found to have benzene above the permitted levels”. The best route is to avoid any soda that has sodium benzoate. And more broadly it may be a good idea to avoid any food that uses sodium benzoate. Apparently, salad dressings also use it.
Read the Entire Article Here
Health,Thursday, May 24, 2007
Recently there was the pet food scare that had us worried about our cats and dogs needing to be put to sleep. Well, it turns out there is also a danger of it getting to our kitchen table because tainted feed is also being used to feed livestock that is destined for kitchen tables around the nation. Even more interesting, is that there are a host of chemicals that are used in America’s Livestock industry that I would rather not avoid. Check out this article at Sustainable Table -> Click Here
Health,Thursday, March 22, 2007
Triclosan in most antibacterial soaps interact with the chlorine in our tap water, creating toxic chloroform. There’s also the risk of encouraging bacteria to adapt to the antibacterial soaps. This is actually the same concern that humans have to deal with when they take antibiotics. The germs can and do adapt. Also, proper washing with regular hand soap is plenty. The Center for Disease control did an in depth study that showed no significant advantage to using antibacterial soaps when compared to regular soap.
Their study also showed that the hands of the doctors who regularly used the antibacterial soaps actually contained higher levels of antimicrobial resistent bacteria. This means that the bacteria are adapting in as little as a year’s time. So there really is little reason to spend extra money on these soaps and the toxicity from the interaction of triclosan and chlorine is just another big reason to go for the cheaper, standard soap. If you have antibacterial soaps or gels with triclosan, you might want to toss it in the garbage.
Triclosan Article at Organic Consumers Association
Soap Article at the World Watch Institute
Antibacterial Study at the Center for Disease Control
Health,Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Since I suffer with asthma and allergies, this information was very relevant for me. Probably some of you might want to know this information too. The worst cities for asthma suffers are in Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Atlanta ranked the worst along with some other cities in that area ranking close to the same. Some of the best cities are in Florida. Seattle and San Francisco were some west coast cities that ranked well. Although Los Angeles and San Diego are along the coast, their pollution is very bad. Inland California cities also ranked poorly. We live in San Jose, near San Francisco. We have some “Spare the Air” days when the pollution is bad. But most of the time the ocean breeze pushes out the pollution. To see the entire article, Click Here
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