Environmental Health Awareness

I subscribe to many blogs. It seems that I keep finding more and more than I am truly interested in  that offer a great deal of information relating to me and to my readers as well. Some of the blogs I am fortunate enough to get notified via email of new posts and topics. Some I get through RSS feeds and have to remember to check them. Often it will be days and my brain fogged mind will alert me to the fact that I haven’t checked recently.

Andrea Fabry writes a blog at mold recovery. She had posted a video on environmental health awareness. The link to her blog post and the video is: http://moldrecovery.blogspot.com/2013/01/environmental-health-awareness-video.html

Why is your body toxic?

I recently read an article titled “Why is Your Body Toxic?” I have always known that chemicals were bad for us but never really gave my cleaning products, shampoo and body care products or laundry products much thought as to what was in them and what harm they could be doing to me until my mold exposure happened and the domino effect it had on me and my new-found sensitivities to chemicals began. According to the article I read, about 1,000 new chemicals are registered with the U.S. government each year. It states that our bodies probably have hundreds of chemicals in them. In 2009  blood and urine samples from 2,400 people were taken and checked for chemicals. Researchers found 212 chemicals in the samples and the saddest and most frightening part was that 75 of the chemicals had never before been found in humans.

Some of these chemicals were Disinfection By-Products (Trihalomethanes) like Bromoform and Chloroform. Some of the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) included Benzene, Ethylbenzene, Hexachloroethane and Styrene (no wonder look at all the styrofoam products we have used over the years).

Another sad fact that this article mentions and something that I have read about in other articles is the high number of chemicals that newborn babies are found to have. An average of 200 industrial chemicals were found in umbilical cords.

The article further talks about ways to reduce our exposure to toxic chemicals. Many of you may already know this or be doing these things such as buying organic food, purifying your home’s air and using natural cleaning products.

To read the article in its entirety,

http://articles.healthrealizations.com/NUTRIWELLNESS/2012/10/29/Why-is-Your-Body-Toxic–(2).aspx

I am being carried away, literally.

ANTS, ANTS, ANTS –  Will they every go away?  Usually I have an invasion or two during the year and I put out some Terro Traps and they congregate around them and eventually disappear.  This year, they have come and stayed on like un-invited guests at a dinner party.  The Terro Traps aren’t working.  I put out some cinnamon powder and they snubbed their noses at it and just walked right around it.  I heard that ants didn’t like ginger.  I didn’t have anything other than ginger tea so I cut up my tea bags and placed the dried ginger tea judiciously around.  At first I thought it was working because they didn’t want to cross the line.  Soon after they just found a way around it.  A friend mentioned that quite by accident she discovered that ants love Chocolate Soy Milk.  Her husband had left a cup outside and the ants swarmed to it leaving everything else alone.  Soon others were trying it and it worked.  I think I need a trip to the store to buy Chocolate Soy Milk and give it a try.

The other evening my husband and I were sitting outdoors with friends.  I got to talking with their son about my sensitivities and the safe products I use.  He told me that he and some friends made their own soap and were going to try it again. He had made gluten-free bread before and was being more cautious about what he used to wash his clothes and body with.  And then as if reading my mind about the ants, told me a friend had just posted on Facebook a link to a blog post talking about safe ways to eradicate ants.  I was so excited.  Maybe I could find an answer.  He promised to send me the link.

I received the link in an email.  I found the blog post titled “5 Simple, Natural Ant Control Remedies” and began reading.  It talks about cinnamon sticks and garlic, black pepper, mint and other plants and herbs like lavender and basil.  I plan on reading it very closely and giving these things a try.  It was suggested that mint be planted around the house or near areas where the ants are coming in.  Mint for some reason destroys the smelling mechanism of ants and prevents them from entering the house.  I may need to have my husband plant a few pots and place them outdoors to see how this works.

I think I will try the Chocolate Soy Milk to see if I can lure them away from the house and then start trying the other items listed.  Lastly, I will have to have my husband get some mint.  You can view this post at:

http://smallnotebook.org/2010/04/21/5-simple-natural-ant-control-remedies/

If any of you have any ideas for getting rid of the unwanted visitations of ants, please let me know.