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Battle the sun burn!

This time of year I hear the same things over and over again. “Forgot the sunscreen and now I’m a lobster.” “Spent the entire day at the beach and I’m completely sunburned.” “Ow, this sunburn hurts!”

I’m the type of person that burns easily. No matter what sunscreen I use, I burn. And it hurts. I’ve tried many remedies and soothers over time and only one has worked every single time I use it, Burt’s Bees After Sun Soother. It contains not only aloe, but linden flower as a key ingredient as well.

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No receipt, thanks.

Really. As if getting it out of our water bottles and toys wasn’t bad enough, now we need to worry about receipts?! Something we all encounter daily and it’s pretty much beyond our control.

Environmental Working Group did a study on paper receipts from various places and found BPA on 40 percent of them. Sometimes in amounts over 1000 times that found in the lining of cans. One thousand times?! How can that be allowed?

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The Story of Cosmetics

What can I say? Annie Leonard rocks! She has a great way of illustrating her point and getting the message across. Her latest messages pertains to cosmetics in The Story of Cosmetics. Not just make up for us moms, but all of your bathroom items, right down to baby shampoo. You really need to see this film! As with all of her films, the message is clear.

I use Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Safety Database (also known as Skin Deep) to find safer products for my family. If you’ve been following me, you know I spend a lot of time moving the chemicals out and the safe stuff in. Take some time and check the products you use often, you’ll be surprised at how many are linked to cancer. As Annie says, don’t let the words “natural” or “organic” fool you. Currently, there is no law regulating cosmetics and that needs to change.

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Pesticide linked to ADHD

Children exposed to high levels of pesticide are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. In an interesting study, researchers measured the amount of pesticide byproducts in the urine of children. Those children with high levels were more likely to have ADHD symptoms and diagnoses.

This is not a reason to stop consuming fruits and veggies, but this is a reason to go organic when you can. Organic produce contains less, if any, pesticides. Regardless, you should always wash your produce before consuming. We prefer to use Veggie Wash, but even washing with plain water is better than nothing at all.

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Plants for Pain Relief

With the recent Tylenol, etc recalls, maybe it’s time to start rethinking plants and herbs for pain relief. Before you hit the medicine cabinet next time, give one of these remedies a try.

Ginger
Ginger has been used for centuries for various ailments. There’s no reason to stop using it now. Ginger is great for Ovarian and Colon Cancer treatment, motion and morning sickness, pain and inflammation, heartburn, migraines, cold and flu, even menstrual cramping. How many times have you had Ginger Ale when you weren’t feeling well?!

You can add ginger when you’re cooking or make a tea. Steep a bit of ginger in hot water, add honey and lemon to taste. My son was miserable one night from seasonal allergies. He was in the midst of a panic attack because he just could not breathe well enough. We made ginger tea for him and it worked almost instantly.

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Way to go FDA!

Doesn’t it seem that everything on the grocery store shelves these days is “healthy” on one way or another based upon the claims the packaging makes? I’ve always wondered about that 100% juice myself. The FDA is stepping up and putting limits on front of packaging labeling.

Read all about it at Healthy Bitch Daily. Then cruise on over to FDA and read about the new guidelines and take a look at the current violators. In the future, I see simpler packaging with real claims, not over-inflated buy me now advertising. Thank you FDA!