Green Hypnotist

We’ll start our blog series in a time manner. We’ll take different times of the day and expose some things that you may be exposed to. My point to this series is to help you get some of the unknown chemicals out of your life by bringing them to your attention and giving you easy ways to replace what you removed! Your Green Life: Bit by Bit, Bite by Bite… one step at a time.

I’ll try to keep on track of just going through an average, everyday life. I say “try” because I do tend to wander at times! Today, I’ll start upon rising from bed! Or should I say stumble out of bed!

As you crawl out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, first thing is to make that amazing cup of energy, Joe, liquid life, or whatever you want to call your coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to talk you out of coffee. It’s my vice and I’m proud of it! But I do enjoy a chemical free, happy cup of my morning elixir.

The media has done some great things recently about publicizing the chemicals, pharmaceuticals and nasties in public and bottled water. I’m not diving into water in this article. Maybe another blog. Until then, I do suggest some research on your own if you need to learn more.

First we’ll talk about what you make your coffee in. There are eco-friendly coffee pots that don’t use filters and barely any energy. A french press or a percolator is to name a couple. No need to throw away your coffee pot, just yet! If you have a drip model, there are healthy ways to have that morning elixir!

If your coffee pot has a filter, to be green and healthy, I recommend you really look into the kind of filter you use. There are options for eco-friendly, chemical free ways to filter your coffee. There are organic, reusable ones on the market that you wash after each use. Just dump your grounds into the compost and wash the filter. The Swiss Gold basket type are readily available in department stores. Some gold ones do come with some issues of various low quality wire and the mixing with coffee acids, so buyer beware. There are reusable ,organic hemp or muslin that are great and come with a bit of getting use to because they are floppy. I prefer the fabric to the gold ones.

If you don’t want to get rid of your paper filters just yet, please be cautious of what kind paper filter you do use. The standard white coffee filter is white because it has been bleached. In the bleaching process the coffee filters are left with dioxins from the chemical bleaching process.

The term “dioxin” is referred to a group of toxins that have a toxin level near radioactive waste. Dioxins have been stated by EPA as “likely human carcinogens and are anticipated to increase the risk of cancer at background levels of exposure.”

Dioxin accumulates in the body’s fat and stays there and disrupts the endocrine system. According to National Institute of Environment Health Sciences, studies have shown exposure to high levels of dioxins have an increased risk of cancer. Other studies have shown dioxins can cause reproductive and developmental problems, and an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. All that in your morning cup? What do I suggest then?

Unbleached, recycled filters are my choice. They can put in your compost as they break down quickly. Using recycled paper causes 74% less air pollution, 35% less water pollution, and creates 5 times the number of jobs than producing virgin paper from trees. It saves old-growth trees, forest eco-systems, native habitat and biodiversity. (Data from World Centric)

Take your green bite, bit by bit. Do what you can, when you can and how you can. It all accumulates too.

Stay tuned for our next in Your Green Life: Bit by Bit, Bite by Bite for an exchange about your actual coffee.

Your Green Life: Bit by Bit, Bite by Bite

As I sit here answering a couple emails with questions from a client regarding green, chemical free living, I do realize that everyone’s effort into the big green world is exactly what they can or want to do at that time. When clients ask just where they can start or what they can do to eliminate some, most or all of the chemicals in their life, I always suggest to take a small bite, so to say, and green bit by bit.

Parts of my hypnosis business involves motivation. Some of my clients come to be assisted in motivation in many different facets of their lives. From sales, public speaking to weight loss; the self talk, motivation you need to be successful comes from your subconscious. Your body listens to your mind. I assist you and your mind to talk nice to your body! Most of my clients know my eco-green values.  They also are holistically minded and are always interested in greening their life. Hence, the Green Hypnotist blog was born in 2008.

Your Green Life: Bit by Bit, Bite by Bite is a blog series educating how we are exposed unknowingly to chemicals in our everyday lives but also how easy it will be to avoid them. Small steps and actions that you can do without any large amount of effort.

Green gets addictive! The more you remove chemicals, eat healthy and live well, the more you want to do.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Morning Exposure!

A good portion of my private practice is pediatrics. I’m active in the pediatric wellness community. The term Pediatric Wellness means just what it sounds like. Wellness is key. Prevention, toxin free, not to overload their little bodies is a great way to start life. I don’t preach (well most of the time) but when I come across info from well trusted colleagues, I pass it on. Based on all my research, the increase in autism and ASD has grown in my children’s lifetime beyond comprehension. I have my beliefs, it’s not the post for it right now. But please take note of the following, it just could be a piece to the puzzle. Especially taking into consideration that acetaminophens use was an 80s birth…. just when autism started to rise.

It is something to think about. So please read below and pass it on!! Don’t take for granted that docs know about this.

In May 2008, scientists of a University of California San Diego reported that acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was associated with autistic disorder.

Let me repeat this once again. “Acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was significantly associated with autistic disorder when considering children 5 years of age or less.”

(Source: Acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, measles-mumps-rubella vaccination, and autistic disorder: the results of a parent survey. Schultz ST, Klonoff-Cohen HS, Wingard DL, Akshoomoff NA, Macera CA, Ji M. Autism. 2008 May;12(3):293-307.)

Why?  Acetaminphen suppresses glutathione levels  which doesn’t allow detoxification of vaccine ingredients such as mercury and aluminum.
Do your own research, come to  your own conclusions, but please pass the information along.

As I sit here this evening doing some research on safe hair products, I am constantly being reminded that just because it says “natural” doesn’t mean anything. And just because you’ve gone with a company in the past, doesn’t mean they’re still playing by the same rules. And lastly, if a company has a reputation of being green and natural, it doesn’t mean that all of their products are safe, green or natural!

The word natural is used quite loosely in the health and beauty industry. There have been a few companies that have been around since green and chemical-free became mainstream. Some have gotten the reputation as being all natural and chemical free. I only wish these companies would be consistent. Take for example Toms of Maine. Now owned by Colgate Company. Their inconsistencies in my opinion are outrageous. In my humble opinion *grin*, they ride their reputation from the beginning or their company and now some of their products have fluoride, SLS among other ingredients that they consider natural! It’s a cop out. Sure, it all comes from nature. If that’s the case, everything in the universe is natural as it’s derived from nature. I know people buy Tom’s based on their reputation of being safe and chemical free. People who can’t be bothered or who don’t take the time to actually look at the ingredients, use the reputation of the company to make their decisions. Toms are not the only ones who do this. Buyers beware, check all labels.

Raising a chemical free child in a not so chemical free world is a daily job. Aveeno natural products company is also riding the natural wave. Mothers all over are scooping up their products to keep their little babies as chemical free as possible. Their products have mineral oil (question cancer causing), PEG-80 (allergen, immunotoxicity) cocamidopropyl betaine (allergen, immunotoxicity), quaternium-15 (Allergies/ immunotoxicity, Organ system toxicity, could contain formaldehyde) to name a few. Not something, I’m sure, green mommies are aware they’re slathering their babies with.

I’m really not bashing Toms and Aveeno, just using them as an example. SLS and Fluoride have their own controversies too. My opinion, why use them if there are any issues with it. We don’t need foamy toothpaste (SLS) nor do we need exposure to yet even more fluoride than we get already in water. (Fluoride is an entire other subject for another time!) The term natural is not meant for the faint of heart. Just reading it on packaging these days has me thinking the company is hiding behind chemical. May not be the case all the time, but more and more it’s getting like that. The real companies are starting understand the misuse of the word! Reputations aren’t valued like they use to be.

Buyer beware, just because it’s a reputable company today with chemical free products, doesn’t mean next weeks trip to the grocery store will yield same results. I’ll go back and do more research on if there lies a genuine, safe hair color treatment. Yes, I’m getting grey and would like to fight it naturally!!