Is the Fiberglass in Your Attic or Walls Causing Cancer?

Half of my brain experienced a moment of shock when I saw this article, the other half kind of uttered "well, duh!" simultaneously.  Nothing about this article should have surprised me one bit.

Fiberglass, I'm sure is part of the problem.  Flame retardants may very well be another issue, but I don't remember reading about flame retardants in this article.  My husband and I are looking for insulation for our attic, but even the organic ones that my husband found aren't exactly "organic" because of the flame retardants.  Please don't misunderstand me, I understand why the flame retardants are there, however, I also wonder about why we don't have a choice about whether or not we want them in the insulation.  It's starting to look as though if we want one without the flame retardants, we would need to make it ourselves.

If I'm incorrect about that last statement and you know of insulation brands that don't use flame retardants; please advise me.  It would be nice to just have that choice available before I make a purchase.

Is the Fiberglass in Your Attic or Walls Causing Cancer?

Response to "Mold Alert" Comment

Bethany Richmond

If you have mold, it's because you have a constant source of water leakage. In which case, you will have mold no matter what type of flooring you put down. A synthetic carpet will not grow mold on its own - it must be wet and dirty. I am also allergic to mold - I understand your problems. I use a good vacuum and keep my carpets dry.


Be Well My Friends

Trust me, a carpet doesn't have to be dirty to grow mold.  My carpet is definitely not dirty. I may not keep my carpet as immaculate as my friend does [the one mentioned in the "Mold Alert" article], but I do take meticulous care of my carpet. I don't even allow shoes on my carpet to avoid additional dirt.

Wet, however, was a problem for both of us. My friend occasionally gave her carpet a professional cleaning. It is possible that the cleaners did not dry the carpet thoroughly enough in some places. This is the only reason she could have possibly had mold in her carpet. As for me, on top of the fact that I gave my carpet a wall to wall cleaning when I first moved here, we also discovered two leaks not long after moving in; one in the bedroom (rainwater leaked in from outside) and one in the hall (coming from the shower). There was evident mold in the bedroom because we were out of town when it rained pretty heavily. The water just sat in the carpet until there was growth both in the carpet AND on the walls (it was pretty horrible). We saw it as soon as we came home. Both leaks were fixed very soon after discovery and I scrubbed my walls and carpet (with a carpet cleaner and herbal mold killers) as best I could; but I believe it's possible that there was still enough moisture to give me trouble even after it was cleaned.

If you are allergic to mold, getting rid of your carpet would be a very wise move. Carpet can hold mold, dirt, toxins and dust mites even if you are as meticulous as my friend and me. Mold and bugs both HATE cork which is why my husband and I are considering cork floors. Plus, if there IS a leak, it is MUCH easier to mop the water off of cork than it is to clean carpet and mold is NOT likely to grow from cork.

10 Herbs and Spices for Proper Weight Management

Dr. Mercola's article below gives information on weight loss aides.  Because they were mostly vegan foods, I felt moved to include the video below about how a raw food vegan diet changed a woman's life.  I don't hide the fact that I am not a raw foodie, however there are many aspects of the raw food diet that I love.  One thing that raw food diets are GREAT for is weight loss.  Angela Stokes Monarch used to weigh over 300lbs.  That is a frightening place for anyone to be.  Switching to a raw food diet is what saved her.  Dr. Campbell McBride calls vegan foods "cleansing foods" for a good reason.  Stokes Monarch needed the cleanse really badly and her body knew it from the moment that she started her raw food diet.

One thing that I thought was interesting was that she labels herself a "beegan" because she eats raw honey and other foods made by bees like pollen and royal jelly.  There are vegans who don't consider honey to be a vegan food because it took the contribution of livestock to make it (like milk or eggs).  Those individuals tend to use agave or fruit and herbal sweeteners (like juice, lucoma powder, luo han guo or stevia) to sweeten their food.  If a vegan isn't raw food specific, they may even eat maple syrup.  There are even some raw foodies that go raw aside from sweeteners like maple syrup because they realize what a healthful sweetener it is.

The video below talks about the health changes in Angela Stokes Monarch's life and the diet and exercise program that saved her.




10 Herbs and Spices for Proper Weight Management

The Unfair Demonization of Honey

I've actually posted about this before, but I recently had a conversation with someone that inspired me to research this further.  Honey has been VERY unfairly demonized.  By some, it was unfairly placed in the same category as the addictive and deadly substance white sugar.  Not only is this unfair, but it is untrue.  Real honey; raw, unfiltered honey, is a highly nutrient dense food.  The so-called "pure" honey (the phude that wears a honey disguise); is far from what it claims to be and it truly IS a substance like sugar; it's addictive and deadly.  So what is the difference?

Raw, unfiltered honey is what it claims to be.  It is a comb to bottle food so it will still contain some wax and pollen.  It is the simple, healthy food that many like me eat and love.  The commercial honey, often known as "pure" honey is filtered... but why?  Why spend money on heating and filtering and all of that when it is easier and cheaper just to extract the honey and sell?  Well, filtration has a number of benefits to the one who is selling.  The filtered honey is more "pleasing" to the eye of the consumer because it doesn't contain any particles from the hive.  Another benefit is the longer shelf life (long shelf life is a HUGE benefit to current corporate America which is why so many products have hydrogenated oils and other toxins).  Some customers complained about how honey crystallizes after a while where filtered honey doesn't do that.

So there IS a benefit to filtered honey, however, these benefits come at a cost.  Filtered honey often contains no pollen or beneficial cultures or the flavor of the wax (which some enjoy), and it no longer has the nutritional benefits of real honey.  "Pure" honey, therefore, is just another processed phude; and addictive, deadly substance just like processed sugar.  That is the honey that deserves the demonization, NOT the medicinal and highly nutritious food.

I don't know about you, but I never even buy the processed garbage anymore.  I'm all for real food for it's flavor and nutritional value.  The best place for the other stuff is the shelves where it is found.

Green Foods

Among the most powerful kinds of foods are green foods; kale, chard, spinach, arugula, parsley and I could go on naming more and more of my favorites.  The ones that I've named are greens that I used to juice regularly.

Greens are amazing detoxifies.  Doctors give green supplements to patients to help them to detox their bodies when ill.  Dr. Gary Null told PBS a story about his premature gray hair.  He used a large variety of greens to "flood" his system with chlorophyll.  The man now has a gorgeous head of hair where grays aren't easily found... if there are any grays left! 

Alkalinity is another important property of greens.  My doctor gave me a green supplement because my GAPS diet involves many acidic foods.  When I feel that my system is too acidic, I would drink some of the green powder she gave me.  Two doses a day was all that I needed.  Once my body is strong enough to digest insoluble fibers, I can eat my favorite green dishes again.

Let's not forget all of the other nutrients in greens.  Greens have almost every vitamin plus other vital nutrients like magnesium and potassium plus two that were particularly important to me when I suffered fatigue; calcium and iron.  

In a raw food pyramid greens are on the bottom.  As you know, food at the bottom of a food pyramid means HEAPING servings of a variety of these food choices.  With everything that greens have to offer, it's no wonder David Wolfe made greens #1 in his diet.

A Cholesterol Drug That Can Prematurely Kill You

Cholesterol is one of the most LIED about healthcare issues.  Don't misunderstand, there are doctors who truly believe in the rigmarole that lowering cholesterol is the answer to decreasing heart disease.  I rarely hear discussions about how important LDL is to the body and it's even been slandered as "bad cholesterol" for goodness sake.  It was all a part of marketing deadly drugs.

I can promise ANYONE that cutting refined foods out of their diet and doing a little exercise would make dramatic changes in their health.  They may need further health guidance, I'm not going to deny that.  In fact, I ENCOURAGE it.  As long as the health practitioner knows the science, (which unfortunately way too many don't), you will heal much more quickly and efficiently if you have a professional guiding you.  All I'm saying as far as the diet, is that you could help your practitioner help you if you play your cards right at home in between office visits.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is a man who KNOWS the science, God bless him!  We all need to take the time to listen to people like him more.  Please take the time to see his article below for more info.

PCSK9: A Cholesterol Drug That Can Prematurely Kill You

David Wolfe: Best Raw Food Diet

Those of you who are curious about raw foods, Wolfe talks about what his diet looks like in this video.  He also touches on tips for those who are starting a raw food diet.

I like his points about green foods.  I'm in a phase of my GAPS diet where I can eat very few raw foods, but I look forward to the day when I can have some of my favorite raw greens again.  I LOOOVE kale, arugula, dandelion, chard (of ALL kinds) and romaine lettuce.  Kale is something that I can easily binge on.  I love it raw, steamed, fried, cultured or juiced; it's good no matter what I do with it.  If I had to eat kale raw and no other way, it wouldn't make me unhappy or dissatisfied.

I don't believe I will ever go completely raw, however, Wolfe does inspire me to eat MORE raw foods.  I certainly love raw recipes.  I actually make delicious GAPS friendly candies out of raw sesame seeds that are great for hormone balance.  I miss making salads though.  At least I am at a point in my diet where I can eat sauerkraut again.  Hopefully soon, I can get back to scarfing down my favorite raw veggies and fruit.

For those of you who can enjoy those foods now, here's more on what Wolfe has to say about raw food.