Most of have heard the stat that indoor air quality is from 5-10X worse than outdoor air quality. How does that happen? Well there are an estimated 80,000 different chemicals in use, less than 1% of these have been tested for carcinogenicity. Many of these are used in household cleaning agents and household products. Most of us are aware there are issues with chemicals in cleaning products, but how do we filter through what is out there?

Although not practical for everyone, I believe the most transparent and least toxic is going with what our grandmothers did and using common household ingredients to make cleansers. These include common ingredients such as baking soda and vinegar, or easy to access ingredients such as essential oils. One of my favorite resources has been “Naturally Clean: the Seventh Generation Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-Toxic Cleaning”. There are many online resources as well.

For those who don’t have the time or desire for home-concocting, there are many products available that are being marketed as “non-toxic” or “green”. However, there is little label regulation and it is buyer-beware. A good starting place for filtering through the mass of products out there is www.ewg.org. In April they released their “EWG Cleaners Hall of Shame”, revealing information about some of the most common cleansers. They have projected a full database, to be released this fall, rating a large numbers of cleanser products.

Click here to read Dr. Riley’s handout “Creating a “Healthy Home” for more ideas to clean up your home environment.

Click here to read Dr. Riley’s handout on “Managing Allergies” for more information and suggestions.

A spring cleanse can be a very educational experience with respect to your allergies, significantly reducing your symptoms. Although most springtime/ summer allergies are triggered by environmental allergens such as pollen, by reducing the total work your body has to do daily with congesting or allergenic foods the better it will deal with the pollens. During our cleanse process you will be avoiding the most common and allergenic foods, during re-introduction you can identify possible food sensitivities that create more work for your body, thereby helping your pollen allergy.

From a naturopathic perspective, there are 5 important components to a detoxification program. These include a hypoallergenic diet, adequate water intake, daily exercise, physical medicine treatments and proper support supplementation.

• The hypoallergenic diet gives your body a vacation from the foods we eat most commonly and emphasizes good quality, nutrient-rich, pesticide free, whole foods.
• Adequate water is essential for every function in your body. While proper hydration is important everyday, it is even more important during a cleanse.
• Daily exercise is essential for supporting healthy lung function. More importantly, it increases your basal body metabolism and helps to mobilize fat soluble toxins.
• Physical medicine treatments, such as dry skin brushing, are incorporated to specifically support the channels of elimination.
• A proper supplementation regime supports the channels of elimination and protects against the toxins being mobilized.

Everyone can benefit from some degree of cleansing. An annual detoxification program can be a very health promoting ritual, and programs can be tailored to the specific needs of the individual.

This article in “Scientific American” discusses the results of a recently concluded study, originally published in “Environmental Health News”. The study was 3 years in the making, looking at the effects of low dose exposures to certain everyday chemicals. Safety studies are historically focused on high dose exposures, this presumes the effects of all drugs have a linear relationship, i.e. the higher the dose the greater the effect. However, there is a recognized U-shaped dose-response curve in toxicology. This U-shaped curve better represents the low dose effects of many of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals to which we’re exposed everyday. These effects are greatest at very low dose and very high dose, with marginal or moderate effects in a moderate dose range. Therefore, many of the safety studies done on these chemicals don’t test the chemicals in the range at which they create the most toxic effects.

I believe every change you make gives you an exponential benefit. Change or eliminate the exposures you have control over and know that, with that reduction, your body can handle what remains much more effectively.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=low-doses-hormone-like-chemicals-may-have-big-effects&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20120321

If you have burning questions on new information or ideas you have come across, please feel free to post them on our new Facebook page and I’ll do my best to find you answers.

I look forward to staying more connected with you!

In health and well-being!!!
Stephenie

From a naturopathic viewpoint, catching colds and the flu actually strengthens your immune system. However, “optimal health” is being able to keep most of the infections being passed around at bay. As for the ones you do catch, our goal is to help your body mount an effective response, quickly resolving the infection.

From a naturopathic view, your body should be able to resolve most colds and flus within a week without lingering effects. Lingering side effects could include chronic cough, a chronically runny nose or lingering GI disturbances. These would be an indication to investigate some immune supportive therapies.

Here are some guidelines for mitigating cold and flu season:

Staying Healthy, “The Lifestyle Basics”:

• Stay Hydrated. Drink water! It is best to have a filter that filters out chlorine at a minimum. Other liquids, other than water, that count toward hydration include herbal teas, Recharge, EmerGenC, & soup broths. Liquids negative to hydration include soda, coffee, juice, Gatorade, and most “bubbly waters”.
• Get Your Rest. Sleep allows the body to restore itself; it is an important part of staying healthy.
• Wash Your Hands Frequently. If you aren’t already diligent about hand washing, now is the time to start. A good herbal-based hand sanitizer is recommended, these include brands such as EO™ or Cleanwell™ . Avoid synthetic fragrances and chemicals, such as triclosan, in hand sanitizers or hand soaps.
• Minimize Sugar Intake. Refined sugar can depress your immune system. (This includes fruit juices and white flour!)
• Minimize Stress Levels. Stress reduces both your stomach acids and your immune system. Be conscious that children do experience stress, keep activities to a reasonable level.

General Support for Prevention:

• Probiotics. 70% of your immune system is based in your GI system (or gut), the health of your gut is entirely based upon the bacteria that are living in there. Roughly 85% of that bacteria should be working for you, helping to maintain and support your health. The (3) biggest things that knock off our good flora are chlorine in the water, sugar in the diet and stress. Replenish the good bacteria in your gut is a cornerstone to a strong immune system. Check out my handout on probiotics to learn more about their many benefits.
• Neti Pot. Nasal lavage with saline water can be used preventatively to rinse the nose and sinuses of bacteria and viruses. Read More…
• Vitamin D testing. Vitamin D is an important player in the immune system and levels are low in the majority of the population. Established patients can schedule with our offices for vitamin D testing, or check out Tahoe Forest Hospital’s website for their monthly, inexpensive screenings at www.tfhd.com.
• Chlorine Filter for your Shower. Chlorine does a great job cleaning our water, but it is also responsible for killing off the good flora within our airways, GI system and on our skin. These good bacteria are part of our body’s defense system. I recommend the simple, in-line cartridge filters without replacing your existing showerhead. Cost should be about $50. Filters are available at our office, as well as Whole Foods and online retailers.

These Non-Communicable Diseases, or NCD’s, include diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and lung diseases. The difference in our current major health threats, versus health concerns historically, is that experts agree these NCD’s are largely preventable.

Check out the article: www.washingtonpost.com