Living Well

Soothing Sunburn for Little Ones

2011-09-26T17:41:23Z

A summer day in the sun – what could be more delightful? Until you discover that despite your best planned precautions, your child’s skin is rosy pink and hot to touch. It’s not time to scold yourself, but to provide relief. Of course next time, you’ll be more careful in providing better protection. UV proof swimsuits and wide brimmed hats help tremendously, as well as a natural sunblock.

But babies skin is so delicate that even minutes in direct sunlight can be too much for them as they don’t yet sweat sufficiently to cool their body and brain down. Toddlers can tolerate more exposure, but it’s easy to overdo a good thing and little ones of all ethnicity can burn easily.

As soon as you get home, if you have plain yogurt in the fridge, apply it lightly wherever the skin is most burned. Leave on for 10-20 minutes for some instant relief. If you don’t have yogurt but have plenty of black or green tea bags, then drop a bunch of them in some cool water and place them over the worst areas of burn. Your child can be engaged in holding the tea bags and providing they’re laying somewhere that you don’t mind some dripping, this can be both a distraction and involve them in easing their distress.

Meanwhile, draw a soothing bath with lukewarm water. While cool to cold may feel good to hot skin, it can cause their body temperature to drop too suddenly and provoke chills. Add any of the following to the bath to take more of the sting out of the burn.

Add one cup of apple cider vinegar to your bath.
Add two cups of oatmeal to the bottom of a nylon sock. Tie the sock up and drop it into a lukewarm bath. Leave the pouch in the tub as you bathe.
Make about a quart of strong tea and add to the bath water.
Add one cup of baking soda to the bath.

You can combine several of the above remedies for extra relief and have your toddler soak for about 10 minutes in the bath. The water should be just turning cool by the time they get out and this way their internal temperature will be brought down gradually.

Topical treatments after the bath:

Gently spread pure aloe vera gel or coconut oil onto the skin to cool, retain moisture and soothe the burned skin. If you have pure essential oil of lavender, mint or eucalyptus, a drop of these can be blended in the coconut for additional relief.

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Diet for a Cooler Earth

2011-07-14T19:08:14Z

There is really so much we can do to lessen our personal carbon foot print and many of us have already got the ‘reuse, recycle and reduce waste’ concept. Trying to minimize our use of cars, upgrading to hybrids or more energy efficient models of appliances, switching to fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent and using our bicycle, our feet or public transport whenever possible – all help. But a surprising way we can have a big impact on climate change is to vote with our food dollars to let major food producers know that it’s time to look at how they do business.

The way most food is produced with heavy reliance on petrochemicals and the way it is distributed globally, contributes substantially to global warming. See my article: Agra Heat. Consider how far your food has traveled to get to you and look for more local alternatives. We don’t have to buy apples from New Zealand, zucchini from Mexico, tomatoes from Chile or eggplant from Ecuador! For those items you must have that are not locally produced, look for Fair Trade or organic labels which tell you that at least the item is produced in a sustainable way and the workers are paid fairly – even if the coffee, chocolate or bananas come from far away.

Choose organic products whenever you can. Organic production does not use Genetically modified seeds that require more petrochemical use. Organic farming practices integrated land management that secures carbon in the soil.
Support your Local Farmers. Make a point to shop for your produce at a local farmers market and be aware of where your food comes from. Search out local producers of things like honey, meat even milk!
If you consume meat, buy organic. If you eat a lot of meat, consider buying a freezer and buying locally raised animals that are grass fed and humanely treated. If you go to the producer directly, you can reduce your cost for organic meat dramatically.
Eat less of your meals in restaurants – particularly fast food chains, where the meat comes from animals that are crowded into vast feed lots and live unnatural lives, sustained on antibiotics and genetically modified grain.
Reduce your meat intake. If you are eating meat protein every day, try eating lower on the chain every other day. Grains, beans, lentils, local nuts and free range eggs can supply all your protein needs. Look to Asian style meals where meat or seafood is mixed with lots of veggies for flavor packed and nutritious meals but with a fraction of the meat most Americans consume.
Reduce your food waste. Most American families throw away about 40% of the food they buy. Think of the quantity of food you need and buy only what you will use. Stocking up on loads of fresh produce only to see it rot in your fridge because you’re too busy to prepare it is simply not facing facts. If you use a freezer, have a checklist of what’s inside with dates to use by of every item. When you make a large meal, plan several meals using the leftovers or freeze it for later. You’ll save a ton of money and the planet will thank you.
Grow your own food if you have space or join a community garden if you live in a city. In some places, people have been able to use rooftops to grow small gardens. With a little ingenuity, even a small plot can yield big nutrition. Even having a few planter pots with some fresh herbs, and greens can be managed by most apartment dwellers and will reward you with the taste of freshness.

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Aggra-Heat How Agriculture is Heating up our Globe

2011-07-08T03:48:11Z

The heating up of our globe and the resulting destructive changes in our climate is a complex issue, but definitely a result of mankind’s activities. Surprisingly, the dramatically successful development of wide scale agriculture has contributed up to 50% of the increased levels of carbon dioxide that is wreaking havoc with our climate. By clearing forests, grasslands and prairies, carbon is released into the atmosphere and the precious balance that our plant world maintains by converting CO2 into oxygen is threatened. Agribusiness also is fueled by petrochemicals; in the production of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, the equipment used to process the crops and the transportation of food to a global market.

Producing fertilizer alone emits over 41 million metric tons of CO2 a year, which releases toxic nitrous oxide with nearly 300 times the global warming effect of CO2! Our continually increasing demand for animal products and the resultant waste products and methane gas that their manufacture produces, is another huge factor in climate change. As more of the world’s population is becoming able to afford a meat based diet, this figure will only go up. Finally, in the last 50 years, there has been a complete transformation of how food gets to our table. Large corporations have cornered the market on producing and distributing food across the globe and now food travels thousands of miles on average before it reaches your local store. Even if apples are grown in your state, they may be transported thousands of miles to a distribution center, before they are reshipped to your local store – adding a big carbon foot print to even some ‘local’ foods.

Sadly, scientists have long known that we are depending on an unsustainable system of producing food. The IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has advised that we must cut GHG emissions by 40% below 1990 levels if we are to avoid climate catastropy. However, there is currently no legislation that comes close to those recommendations and the non-binding Accord signed at the end of the Copenhagen Climate Summit was disgracefully inadequate. Our government seems set on a course that will instead allow ‘business as usual’ and if anything, is increasing massive fossil fuel dependent projects around the world. If there’s going to be a change. It’s going to have to literally be grass roots. Start to eat locally produced food and consider where and how your food is produced. It does make a difference.

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The ‘Other’ Sea food – Benefits of Seaweed

2011-06-30T19:39:07Z

If you’re a fan of Japanese food, you probably are already familiar with nori, or paper like sheets of seaweed used in making some sushi. You may have even tried a delightful raw seaweed salad often offered in Japanese restaurants that features a marinated blend of seaweeds. But while sampling these culinary curiosities, you were probably unaware of the super nutrient density of this unique food. While there are many different kinds of seaweeds, most are very rich in vital vitamins, minerals, calcium, fiber and iodine, in a form that our bodies can easily absorb.

Iodine is often deficient in our diets and since our thyroid gland needs iodine to produce it’s hormones, deficiency can lead to an enlarged thyroid or goiter. If you are severely iodine deficient during pregnancy it can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm delivery and congenital abnormalities. The baby may also suffer from mental retardation, problems with growth, hearing, and speech – as well as hypothyroidism. Fortunately, this deficiency is relatively rare and easily treated by using iodized salt or increasing your intake of natural sea weeds.

Another amazing quality of seaweed is that it helps remove radiation poisoning and all kinds of other toxins and heavy metals from the blood. Victims of atomic radiation in Japan have mitigated harmful effects by their regular consumption of seaweeds. Daily consumption of seaweed has been shown to be effective in treating several types of cancer. Seaweeds are used in Tradtional Chinese Medicine to promote healthy circulation, combat thyroid problems, treat soft swellings such as goiters and lung conditions, kidney disease, fatty cysts, painful urination, hypertension, nervous disorders, edema, warts, indigestion and even as an aid to weight loss

Besides being incredibly nutritious and good for you, seaweed is intensely salty and makes a delicious snack for those of us who crave salt. For a healthy snack, try sprinkling some dulse flakes on popcorn or just chew some dried red kelp or munch on a sheet of nori. I make my own sushi rolls by laying out a sheet of nori on a bamboo mat and spreading some short grain sticky rice in a row. Then add some strips of fake crab, avocado, thin sliced scallions or some other fermented vegies and roll it up like a big cigar. Dip it into a blend of ginger and soy sauce or make a tempting mix of avocado with a touch of wasabi for a super spicy treat. It may not hold together as neatly as what you buy in the stores, but my family enjoys it and it’s a super nutritious snack that’s fun for kids to learn to prepare.

There are so many kinds of seaweeds available and each has it’s own taste can be better suited to eating in one form or another. Check out a large health food store or supermarket that has an extensive ‘natural’ section to try some varieties such as: Wakame, Hijiki, Kelp, Kombu, Nori, Dulse, Arame and Bladderwrack.

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Are Cell Phones Safe for Kids?

2011-05-24T01:15:21Z

Our world is saturated with technology and most of us can’t imagine life without our cell phones – but is it safe for our kids? Recent research from Sweden claims that children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones in their developing years. The analysis of data from one of the most extensive studies into the risk of cancer caused by radiation was reported this month at the first international conference on mobile phones and health. It was headed by Professor Lennart Hardell of the University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden. According to Professor Hardell “people who started mobile phone use before the age of 20 had more than five-fold increase in glioma, a cancer of the glial cells that support the central nervous system.”

Surprisingly, risk from the use of cordless phones was almost as great, with a four times higher incidence of cancer. It is clear that children are more vulnerable to the electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, wi fi transmissions and other electronic sources than adults because their heads are smaller and their skulls are thinner, allowing the radiation to penetrate deeper into their brains.

New studies by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, psychiatrist Nora Volkow show that less than one hour of cell phone use excites the brain. This ‘excitement’ is not a good thing. It alters brain function and increases metabolism of glucose — the brain’s main fuel. Dr. Herberman, renowned cancer biologist and physician states: “We know that increased glucose also occurs with infections and other inflammatory processes, and leads to the production of potentially damaging reactive oxygen radicals that can alter the ways that cells and genes work.”

While scientists are wary to draw conclusions as to what this means, anything that disrupts the natural metabolism in critical areas in the brain is a cause for concern. The areas of the brain that showed increased glucose in the JAMA study are involved in thinking, sensing and decision making, as well as repression of antisocial behavior, according to Lloyd Morgan, Senior Science Advisor to EHT (Environmental Health Trust). As a concerned parent, there is more than enough evidence out there already that suggests we should, at the very least, limit our children’s exposure to cell phone use.

In fact, it’s time to talk to our children about Safe Cell Phone Use. Texting, rather than holding the head piece by the ear has less risk, as do using speaker phones or head sets. Cell phones should definitely not be stored against one’s body, tucked into a bra exposes one even more directly to hazardous radiation. Currently, there is no regulation of the amount of microwave radiation that is emitted from a particular phone as the industry insists that there is no danger. However, most scientists and doctors agree that the kind of cancers and neurological changes that are likely to be caused by exposure to cell phone radiation, isn’t likely to show up for 10 – 30 years. There have been no human trials conducted over that period of time so we are in a new era of risk and we will have to weigh the benefits over the possible risks carefully.

For more information on this subject: Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family (Dutton, 2010), reinforces the need for revamping our current approach to cell phone safety.

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Prenatal Yoga

2011-09-26T17:40:50Z

Doing yoga during pregnancy will help you develop strength, endurance, flexibility, improved posture, core strength and breath control – all things that will prove invaluable as your pregnancy progresses. Even if you’ve been doing yoga on your own, your body is going through such major changes that a prenatal yoga class is structured to help you pay attention to the unique challenges of this time.

During pregnancy, your body begins to secrete a hormone called relaxin. This hormone doesn’t exactly quell one’s nerves or reduce stress but it does relax muscles, tendons and ligaments. All muscles attach to bones via tendons which transmit the pull or contraction of your muscles to your skeleton, causing motion. Ligaments are very tough and inelastic and attach bones to bones – literally holding us together. Ligaments are not designed to stretch or contract, but to hold and stabilize our joints. Ideally, we want to stretch our muscles and tendons so that we have flexibility – without stretching our ligaments.

During pregnancy, this can be tricky because relaxin may make it possible for you to do poses that actually stretch ligaments. The danger of stretching ligaments is that they, unlike muscles and tendons will not regain their previous tone if overstretched or torn. Once stretched, they remain loose and create ‘double jointed’ phenomena or chronic sprains in the joint that’s been destabilized. Muscles can compensate and protect a joint that’s been overstretched, but as we age and lose muscle tone, this weakness has a tendency to show up as a back that ‘goes out’ easily or sacral joints that don’t stay in place causing symptoms like sciatica.

One of the challenges of doing yoga is that we all tend to enjoy certain postures more than others – usually the ones that are easier for us. On our own, we’re tempted to do the postures that we like and skip the ones that are harder or less appealing. A professional yoga instructor is trained to guide you through a series of postures that not only stretches, but tones, builds strength, balance, increases vitality through breath work and calms the nervous system for mental, emotional and spiritual benefits. That’s why it’s always important to do yoga with a qualified and attentive professional, but never more so than during the profound changes associated with pregnancy.

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Talk to Your Baby

2011-05-12T03:14:41Z

How do babies learn language? It’s a pretty miraculous process that begins with imitation. First they have to hear sounds, all kinds of sounds and practice imitating them – endlessly. This process goes on for their entire first year and many babies love to babble away their own unique concoction of sounds as they try on the uniquely human enterprise of speaking. This babbling nonsense is actually vital because it strengthens the tongue, throat and lips so that they can make and shape the sounds unique to their families language. Even screaming is an important exercise for their lungs and vocal chords that is all part of healthy development.

A babies ear is broadly tuned to recognize any variation of speech sounds that humans can make. So, Chinese babies and American babies start out with the same basic ability to listen to sounds and eventually to link those sounds with your expressions and actions to make meanings. It’s a gradual process and it’s thrilling when the first sounds are clearly becoming associated with an object – like ‘momma’ or ‘dada’, or in my daughter’s case ‘plum’, which is what she called almost any kind of fruit and ‘dawg’ which was any animal. Don’t worry if your baby makes up sounds for things that aren’t quite right. The fact that they’re getting the concept that certain sounds mean something is what is so important.

Critical in this process is the opportunity for baby to watch your face up close. So much of their learning is derived from what they read from your face. Literally, what they see in your face is shaping their experience of the world. Expressions of mirth, delight and surprise are apt to be mirrored quickly with similar expressions echoing back from them. Check out: two babies talking to each other

Be conscious that frowns, sad or angry expressions can be confusing and even frightening to your child. Since babies don’t separate themselves from anything at this stage, an angry face tells them that they are wrong, bad and can clam them up or make them angry in return. They have no filters of reason so what they see is what they strive to become. You are literally their model for everything at first. Like little sponges they will adapt your style of speech, your tone of voice and even mannerisms as they get older.

I remember how shocked I was when I discovered my 2 year old scolding her dolly in the exact replica voice that I used to scold her. Psychologists tell us that a child’s first three years are the foundation for their future mental health. If they experience a world that is safe, nurturing and seems to value and appreciate their existence, they tend to grow into self assured and competent adulthood. Inconstancy of care, apathetic, angry or resentful caregivers can be a slow acting poison that tells a child they are not wanted and so their very foundation in this world is always vulnerable.

So, yes, indulge your baby with great affection, endless silly smiles, gobblegook sound sandwiches and play the game of imitation. You imitate them and they imitate you. It’s wonderful how thrilled they are when you mirror back their efforts because you are saying ‘yes’ you’re right and doing great and this is what they need to hear.

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More Reasons To Support Organic Agriculture

2011-05-09T19:00:00Z

I never cease to be amazed at how many people honestly don’t think there is any difference between food grown organically/naturally, and monocrops produced with petroleum based chemicals. The other day, an otherwise intelligent person argued with me that organic labeling was just an elaborate hoax to trick consumers into paying more for their groceries. This person also reported that it had been scientifically proven that so called “organic” farming couldn’t possibly compete with the petro chemically and genetically enhanced agribusiness of today and that the whole world would ultimately starve, if a bunch of left wing pansies fixated on arugula had their way!

Ok, I have to admit, that got to me as I realized I was engaging in a conversation that was finished before it was started. This person was not going to change his mind no matter what facts I offered. It was a position based on long held political beliefs that bore no relation to the available facts – which do in fact, mightily refute his convictions.

Organic farming is fundamentally different from modern agribusiness virtually in every possible way. An

organic versus chemically treated soil

organic farm begins with the premise that if the soil is healthy, the crop will be healthy. For the organic farmer the ruling principle is all about nurturing the soil. In agribusiness, “yield” is the ruling principle and whatever chemicals can force a higher yield from depleted and dead soil, they will use – no matter what the cost to the environment, the workers and the consumers.

In a world where everyone will eventually have to face that resources are diminishing in relation to a population approaching 9 billion, we need to look at which of these systems is factually more efficient in it’s use of those resources. Organic farming uses less water, no synthetic chemicals, no toxic sludge, herbicides, pesticides or genetically modified seed while increasing both the health and the depth of topsoil every year. Conventional farming uses up to 10 x’s the water, tons of petro chemicals, genetically modified seed, depletes top soil and pollutes ground water. If they both produce the same amount of food – shouldn’t this be a no brainer?

The Rodale Institute conducts long running, scientifically objective studies comparing ‘organic’ and ‘non-organic’ farming methods, often collaborating with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. Their latest report concludes that organic farming consistently produces an equivalent yield to commercial agribusiness without the toxic environmental impact of chemical agents. In fact, in years of drought, the organically produced harvest was superior to the chemically produced harvest (31 percent higher). Considering that we are entering a time of global warming, the fact that the healthier soil could withstand harsher and more extreme conditions better than the most modified and enhanced crops – is a dramatic victory for organic farming.

“Moreover, while conventional ag struggles with the “superweed” problem, brought on by Monsanto’s herbicide-tolerant GMO crops, organic ag is showing it can coexist with weed pressure without sacrificing yield: “Corn and soybean crops in the organic systems tolerated much higher levels of weed competition than their conventional counterparts, while producing equivalent yields.”

I’m praying for the day when our representatives in Washington can stand up to the special interests of the global oil industry and end the overwhelming financial support for an inefficient and unnatural agricultural system. Maybe then, organic farmers would have a chance to be just as competitive in price while restoring our planet to health. The choice is really up to us, each time we buy groceries. Choosing organic is choosing a safer and healthier world for your children.

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Going Backwards – Recession choices

2011-04-14T21:26:58Z

Chris Rock, in one of his stand up routines, has a line about the one thing that is absolutely impossible for women to do. After things get better and better, ie: better car, better apartment, better sex – it is absolutely impossible for women to go backwards. Women may say we need to economize, but what they mean is: you need to stop spending money on your stuff. While his story makes for a cute joke, it’s also one we can identify with because a lot of Americans are having to go backwards for the first time in their lives.

In a country that has defined itself on the basis of ever increasing wealth and opportunity, this recession has literally shattered the American Dream for both men and women. Instead of an ascending spiral of gainful employment, bigger cars and bigger homes in the suburbs; we’re seeing an alarming number of families showing up in shelters, traveling on foot. Having climbed the slippery slope of success a few times, the ride down never gets easier – unless one chooses it. That is, make a conscious decision to redefine success and dream a new dream that is achievable. Then, you’re not going backwards, you’re going forward and becoming part of a vanguard of globally responsible consumers.

Truth is, even a very reduced version of the American dream is simply not possible for everyone alive today. We would need six or seven more planet Earths for the raw materials to provide modest homes and a car to each family globally. With a population steadily rising, there is going to be serious competition for the Earth’s remaining precious resources – and by that I mean drinking water and soil to grow food on. In light of that, conservation becomes critical if we, as a people, will be able to survive and thrive.

We might as well start now, when our efforts will have the greatest effect in global trends. If you’ve been thinking about living smaller, but are looking for some inspiration to design a sustainable home, take a look at Little House on a Small Planet for perspective on the space you need to be happy in. Also consider reducing how much meat and fish we consume to have a huge, positive impact on the earth’s resources. We can eliminate plastic water bottles, switch to fluorescent lighting, recycle, reuse and learn to live within our eco-limits, just as we as a country and as families have to live within our economic limits. It’s our choice to turn going back into going forward.

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The Vaccination Question

2011-04-11T17:07:30Z

The decision whether or not to vaccinate is an important one; yet many families are not well informed or ready to make that decision when it is presented to them so soon after their babies birth. There are potential risks associated with vaccination, but we are told that the risks of not vaccinating our child are far greater. But how do we actually measure the risk of not vaccinating our child, or even merely delaying or modifying the current vaccination schedule?

I personally found it almost impossible to determine the likelihood of my child, living in my town, with the degree of sanitation, the health of her caregivers and the availability of modern medicine, ever contracting most of these illnesses. Then you have to consider that many children are exposed to various illnesses but they don’t contract the disease or they get a mild version of the illness which provides them with life long immunity – unlike most vaccines. In many cases, a child’s reaction to a particular vaccine may actually be far worse than contracting the illness. Then, there are some illnesses that are so terrible that even if the odds are minute, one would feel it irresponsible not to give your child whatever protection is available. It’s all about risk assessment, but that is surprisingly hard to calculate based on the information that is available to us.

We are persuaded by statistics that tell us that our baby is likely to be safer having a whole series of vaccines than not. But statistics can be very misleading because they don’t deal with individuals and they can easily be manipulated. In one government report, I read that only 1% of American pediatricians actually report ‘bad reactions’ to a vaccine. That would certainly affect my assumptions of the risks associated with a vaccine. Many of the statistics pertaining to infection risk are based on information gathered from third world countries where babies are already compromised, risk of exposure is greater and proper medical care, far less available. When I tried to evaluate the risks of contracting certain illnesses versus the potential reactions to the vaccination, I found few pediatricians willing to discuss the matter. Vaccination was mandatory and questions were not welcome.

Another factor that makes me suspicious about the safety of all vaccines for all babies is the fact that since 1988 and the creation of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (the “Program”), you cannot file a lawsuit against a vaccine manufacturer for personal injury until you file a claim under “the Program”. That claim is adjudicated by the US Court of Federal Claims and is designed to limit damages and were essentially designed to protect the pharmaceutical companies. Submitting a claim is difficult and subject to a limited window of time. When a “compromise” is reached, it requires the victims to refrain from publicizing their complaint so that public support for vaccinations is not affected by the personal face of tragedy.

In the course of my research, I came upon this list of possible ‘normal’ reactions to vaccination. I’m afraid, I didn’t find it reassuring. Perhaps it will inspire you to research the subject further when confronted with the pressure of mandatory vaccination. The Vaccine Book - Making the Right Decisions For Your Child by Dr Sears, is a good place to start. A more controversial document is The Poisoned Needle – Suppressed Facts About Vaccination by Eleanor McBean Good luck on your journey in finding your answer to this difficult question.

* Pronounced swelling, redness, heat or hardness at the site of the injection;

* Body rash or hives;

* Shock/collapse;

* High pitched screaming or persistent crying for hours;

* Extreme sleepiness or long periods of unresponsiveness;

* High fever (over 103 F)

* Twitching or jerking of the body, arm, leg or head;

* Crossing of eyes;

* Weakness or paralysis of any part of the body;

* Loss of eye contact or awareness or social withdrawal;

* Loss of ability to roll over, sit up or stand up;

* Vision or hearing loss;

* Restlessness, hyperactivity or inability to concentrate;

* Sleep disturbances that change wake/sleep pattern;

* Head banging or onset of repetitive movements (flapping, rubbing, rocking, spinning);

* Joint pain;

* Muscle weakness;

* Disabling fatigue;

* Loss of memory;

* Onset of chronic ear or respiratory infections;

* Violent or persistent diarrhea or chronic constipation;

* Breathing problems (asthma);

* Excessive bleeding (thrombocytopenia) or anemia.

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