Toxic Chemicals Lobby: Exclusive Leaked Footage

This is a great video that explains what might happen in a board meeting involving toxic chemicals.  It really drives the point home about how manipulative the synthetic chemical companies, and the companies that use those chemicals, really are.

For more information, please visit http://www.saferchemicals.org

 

 

Eat Lots of Wild Caught Shrimp

Wild Caught Shrimp

 

I’ve been dealing with attempting to heal from my Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, MCS, for over two years now.  I was a vegetarian for about eight years before I started eating meat again in order to recover.   Then, I discovered something truly amazing.  Eating wild caught shrimp makes me feel much, much better.  It does what I imagine the vitamin manufacturers of the world wish their products would do. I know that I am low in B-12 vitamins and Omega-3 Fatty acids since shrimp has an abundance of both, that could help to explain why I feel better after eating them.

Do not eat farm raised shrimp as this will make the MCS, or any other disease you might be suffering from, worse.  Only eat wild caught shrimp.  They add synthetic chemicals to the farm raised varieties and they may be fed GMOs.    I am not a doctor, but it is my opinion that people are allergic to the way the farm raised shrimp are raised and processed before purchased at the store.  I thought I was allergic to fish, not shellfish, for my whole life until about a year ago when I started eating wild-caught fish without any problems.  It turns out that I am allergic to the processing those fish go through before consumption.  I never have had any allergic reactions to wild caught fish or shellfish.

Be Careful Going Into Cellphone Stores

I’ve been inside a cellphone store prior to this experience but there were only a few real cellphones charging because most of them were plastic displays.   I went into a mega cellphone store (read:  corporate store with at least 40 cellphones charging) the other day and had a really bad EMF problem.  It didn’t happen while I was in the store, though.  I got extremely sick after getting back into the car and my Darling charged the new cellphone with his car charger.  I was asked to look up directions on the navigation application on the phone but it wasn’t long before I had to quit using the phone.  I wasn’t able to talk well, I was breathing really shallowly and I could barely move.  I had to postpone a trip to the grocer due to how sick I was feeling.  I also needed help walking back into the house from the car and lying down.

I don’t usually have problems with using my laptop computer as it’s not brand new; However, I couldn’t be on any WI-FI device for long without having a really bad EMF flare-up for about two days after I went into the corporate cellphone store.    I am grateful that I can at least be around WI-FI again.  I could use my computer without the WI-FI turned on without any problems whatsoever.

All of that was compounded by the fact that people in the store were wearing synthetic chemical laden fragrances, and I could also smell laundry detergents.  The building has been remodeled somewhat recently because I was having a Reynoud’s Syndrome reaction as well.

My ability to use low-level EMF devices has returned, but I won’t be going back inside a mega cellphone store like that again because it’s rather annoying to not be able to use my laptop at all for a couple of days.  I wish you all safe trips shopping!

How to Remove Commercial Laundry Products from Clothing

I have found the best way to rid laundry of scents or remnants of commercial laundering products is this:

1. Wash the load with my Homemade Laundry Detergent on a vigorous cycle and add a handful of each of the following to the wash cycle:  washing soda, borax and baking soda.  If you have the ability to soak the clothes for 2 hours before washing, this helps a lot.
2. Wash the load with my Homemade Laundry Detergent on a vigorous cycle and put distilled white vinegar into the washing machine and soak for 1 – 2 hours before laundering.
3. Wash the load with my Homemade Laundry Detergent on a vigorous cycle and add a handful of each of the following to the wash cycle: washing soda, borax and baking soda.  If you have the ability to soak the clothes for 2 hours before washing, this helps a lot.
4. Wash the load with my Homemade Laundry Detergent on a vigorous cycle and put distilled white vinegar into the the washing machine and soak for 1 -2 hours before laundering.

I realize that steps one and three are the same as well as steps two and four.   This is the best process that I have found to completely rid the synthetic fragrances and chemicals from laundry.   Soaking longer doesn’t necessarily get out the fragrances and other synthetic chemicals that are toxic.  This is a bit time consuming, but it is a much better method than others that I have tried.  (I have washed the clothes in up to 8 or 9 different cycles and still not gotten all of the smell out!)  Your lungs will thank you!

*NOTE*  Do not put the washing soda directly onto clothing as it acts as a mild bleaching agent.  [Your clothes will look cloudy as they didn’t get completely bleached, just in random light spots.]  Wait for the soaking cycle to stop before adding the washing soda, borax and baking soda to the load of laundry.  [I’ve accidentally ruined favorite shirts this way, and that’s not a good thing!]

Invisible Illness Week 2013: I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

1. The illness I live with is:  Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
2. I was diagnosed with it in the year: 2011 (After a seizure)
3. But I had symptoms since:  I was a child (looking back on it)
4. The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make is:  The way I prepare and eat food.
5. Most people assume:  I’m making this stuff up and that it’s not real.  (I wish it weren’t real!)
6. The hardest part about mornings are:  Getting up.
7. My favorite medical TV show is:  Food Hospital
8. A gadget I couldn’t live without is:  My immersion blender.  (I use it to make homemade mayonnaise in minutes!)
9. The hardest part about nights are:  Not being able to sleep.
10. Each day I take __ pills & vitamins. (No comments, please)  I don’t take either because I’m allergic to the fillers they put in them.
11. Regarding alternative treatments I:  have to use alternative treatments because “conventional” treatments make me severely ill.
12. If I had to choose between an invisible illness or visible I would choose:  I would choose a visible illness because people can understand those better than invisible ones.
13. Regarding working and career:  I miss having a job to go to everyday, but I can’t work anymore because of my illness.
14. People would be surprised to know:  I miss conventional foods like Starburst and Cheezits.
15. The hardest thing to accept about my new reality has been:  Not being accepted by my peers and my family.
16. Something I never thought I could do with my illness that I did was:  Learn how to become a better from-scratch cook.
17. The commercials about my illness:  There are no commercials about my illness that I know of.
18. Something I really miss doing since I was diagnosed is:  Going to and eating at a restaurant.
19. It was really hard to have to give up:  My social life.
20. A new hobby I have taken up since my diagnosis is:  Sewing and crafting projects.
21. If I could have one day of feeling normal again I would:  Have friends over and not worry about synthetic fragrances or food ingredients making me ill!
22. My illness has taught me:  Not to judge a book by it’s cover!
23. Want to know a secret? One thing people say that gets under my skin is:  “She’s faking it!” or “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
24. But I love it when people:  Treat me like a human being, listen to what I have to say and try to understand.  I also love it when they stop lighting candles or using fragrance around me!
25. My favorite motto, scripture, quote that gets me through tough times is:  “Being  honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it’ll always get you the right ones” ~John Lennon.
26. When someone is diagnosed I’d like to tell them:  There are others out there sharing the same plight.  Don’t give up, I’m here and can    help!
27. Something that has surprised me about living with an illness is:  That everyone expects me to be healthy and normal.  
28. The nicest thing someone did for me when I wasn’t feeling well was:  My fiance cooks for me, cleans the kitchen and  helps me walk to the bathroom.
29. I’m involved with Invisible Illness Week because:  I think it’s important to connect with others having similar issues so that we can share our experiences and help each other cope.
30. The fact that you read this list makes me feel:  Relieved.

The Best Homemade All Purpose Cleaner Ever

I usually refrain from saying things are the best ever, but seriously this homemade cleaner is amazing.  It doesn’t have the vinegary smell of most homemade cleaners and it packs a punch on stains, too.

This is an adaptation of the General Purpose Cleaner recipe found in the Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda for Baking, Cleaning & Deodorizing Over 100 Helpful Hints Published by Publications International, LTD..

The quote from the book says this:  “This homemade concoction can replace most of the commercial cleaners you probably have on your shelf.”  So far this recipe hasn’t failed me yet.  I’ve used this on really sticky, burned messes on my stove, to clean up dog feces, and to wipe off counters and tables.

 

• 1 Homemade Dishwasher Tablet
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups hot water (I boiled mine)

 

Pour the 2 cups of boiling water into a non-reactive mixing bowl (ceramic).  Put the dishwasher tablet, baking soda and vinegar into the hot water.  The mixture will bubble and fizz.  Once it’s finished fizzing, stir with a wooden spoon and pour into a spray bottle.  It’s ready to use!

 

Top Reasons Having Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is Frustrating

This is a post about how I’ve been feeling lately.  If you or a loved one suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity feel free to comment about your experiences or what to do during the sad times.

Not being able to go out and about that often.  It’s hard for me to go anywhere:  movie theaters, grocery stores, shopping malls, Target, in a car, around car exhaust, to a restaurant, the park, theme parks, carnivals, concerts, dive bars, different cities or countries, cruise ships, coffee shops, ice cream shops, perfumeries, candle stores, clothing stores, book stores, arcades, or anywhere else you can think of.  (This is due to smelling the cleaning chemicals, perfumes, fragrances, or MSG in the air.)

People don’t understand what MCS means or believe that it’s real.   I am told a majority of the time by people who don’t understand  my conditions that they are all in my head.  I have been told that I “conveniently” have a reaction.  Let me tell you that none of these reactions are even remotely convenient.

MCS sufferers behaviors change due to chemical reactions.  I am one person when I haven’t been exposed to synthetic chemicals, I’m another when I’ve been exposed a little bit, and yet another person when I’ve had low levels of exposure for longer periods of time.  (The latter is when all of my medical conditions return.)

Not being able to do household chores as often as others might.   I’m not a white-glove-test kind of clean freak or anything but I would like to have my laundry caught up and my dishes washed.  My medical conditions prevent me from being able to bend and stoop (My back injuries among other conditions) which is a rather difficult thing to avoid doing when cleaning ones home.

It’s rather lonely being home all the time.  My family goes out and about most of the time.  They have jobs (I really wish I could have a job again!).  They run errands without me.  I end up watching a lot of TV and writing blog entries.  I also end up cooking as that’s the last hobby I have that I can still do sometimes.

People want me to behave like someone without documented medical conditions.  I guess this is one way they can remain in denial about what’s going on with me.  I have to live with this so being in denial about it really isn’t a possibility for me.  Well, that and be able to breathe at the same time.

Not being able to cuddle.  I know that this sounds pretty frivolous to some of you but it’s a big deal to me.  My Fibromyalgia kicks into full swing and I’m not able to be touched at all.  Sometimes the sheets touching my skin can be quite painful.

Becoming completely exhausted when I do go out or do housework.  It just hits me like a brick wall and I’m suddenly too exhausted to do anything.  It gets rather frustrating because I want to be healthy and I’m not.

It’s almost been a two-and-a-half years since I discovered that I have MCS and I am still being exposed to chemicals by family members.  I have had the conversation regarding what this condition is and how it affects me numerous times with my family.  My mom bought me Epsom Salts with synthetic lavender essential oil in them.  It’s too bad that the lavender essential oil was the last ingredient with fragrance listed right above it.  I can’t use them.  I thanked her for the thought but she got upset and left the house.  I just wanted the plain Epsom Salts, anyway.  I have my own organic lavender essential oils that I could add to the bath if I wanted.

I still get asked if we can use the fragrance free commercial dish and laundry detergents.  The answer is still NO!  I make my own laundry and dish detergents because I can no longer use the commercial cleaning solutions we’ve all become accustomed to using.  I have found out that they actually work better than the commercial stuff which is wonderful because I was terribly worried that they wouldn’t work well at all.

Homemade Concentrated Laundry Detergent

In these tougher economic times it’s great when you can save money anywhere you can.  I have learned how to make my own laundry soap because I’m sensitive to any and all commercial laundry products.  That includes the unscented varieties, too!  When the clothes that have been washed in commercial laundry products are placed into the dryer, they cause the scents to become atomized and quickly dispersed throughout the house.  This causes me to have asthmatic symptoms among other reactions that I have to commercial cleaning products or additives to food.  My family and I have been using this formula for over a year now.  This works wonders on our clothes and I am convinced that not only are our clothes clean but they smell marvelous as well.

I make Citrus Lavender Laundry Detergent but you can make whatever scent you like depending on what soaps or essential oils you choose.

       Ingredients:

• One bar of Dr. Bronner’s Citrus Orange soap, grated
• One bar of Dr. Bronner’s Lavender soap, grated
• 2 cups of Mule Team Borax
• 2 cups of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
• 2 gallons and 2 quarts of water, divided
• Lavender, Orange, and Lemon essential oils (optional)

Directions:

1.   The first step is to bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large stock pot.
2. Next, place two gallons of hot tap water into a 5 gallon bucket
3. Wait until the water is at a rolling boil, then place the grated soap into the stock pot a little bit at a time so that it dissolves evenly.
4. After all of the soap shavings have been dissolved, add one cup of borax/washing soda at a time and stir until it is completely incorporated.
5. Repeat until all of the borax/washing soda has been dissolved into the laundry soap mixture.
6. You can place 4-5 drops of each essential oil into the bucket, if desired.
7. Pour the laundry soap mixture into the 2 gallons of hot tap water and stir well.  This mixture will congeal (gel) overnight and should be ready to use by the next day.

 You don’t need too much of it, 1 tablespoon per load,  and I always add water to the dispenser in my HE washing machine to ensure that it doesn’t get stuck.  This soap is good for any washer because produces very low suds.  Contrary to popular belief, you do not need suds to clean anything.  In fact, too many suds will actually keep your clothes dirty.

If for any reason the batch of laundry soap clumps or looks like Egg-Drop Soup, you’ve not stirred the ingredients properly while cooking them.  This process cannot be rushed or it won’t turn out right.  Please allocate at least 30-45 minutes to making this recipe.

 

What Should I Eat?

  Once the shock wore off from realizing that I had to change my lifestyle completely or I would be so sick that I could never do anything, I started to ask, “What should I Eat”?  I scoured the internet over and over again looking for recipes that I could make without any ingredients being synthetic chemicals.  There are so many recipes that call for a can of this or a box of that out there and I didn’t cook from scratch at all before I realized that I have MCS.  I mean, why would I cook from scratch when there were convenience foods everywhere and I didn’t learn how to cook from my mom?

I learned how to make stock and broth in my kitchen.  (The way I see the difference is that stock is made from bones and broth is made from meat.)  I didn’t realize how important it was to make them until I needed the flavorings in my cooking.  All store-bought stocks and broths have synthetic chemicals in them and are heavily loaded with MSG (monosodium glutamate).

I scoured the grocery stores and read every label on any product that I wanted to purchase.  Sometimes I read the label a few times.  There are so many names for MSG and cleverly written tricks (i.e. clean labels) on the packaging of food products that I wanted to be certain that I had the products without this stuff in them.  I am still discovering things that I can buy at the grocery store on my better days when I can spend the extra time reading the labels.

I have come across a few places on the internet with recipes that are truly from scratch and organic so long as you buy the proper ingredients:

Miss Homemade

Weston A. Price Foundation

Chemical-Free Recipes

The Frugal Chef

Chickens in the Road

The Pioneer Woman

Homestead Anywhere (Also has great homemade cleaning and beauty recipes.)

Adjusting to Online Shopping VS. Being in the Store

I am a somewhat tactile person because I like to touch products before I purchase them.  I want to make sure that the product I’m purchasing will work and is free from defects.  If it is clothing that I’m buying, I have to try them on to be sure that they’ll fit when I get them to my abode.  I’ve never had problems purchasing electronics online because they are designed to fit together, but all clothing products are not created equally.

With the holidays coming up and birthdays for the children, too, I have started to look at items online.  I can’t really look at the catalogs or flyers that are sent out in the mail anymore because the inks bother my asthma.  (I used to enjoy reading magazines but I have troubles with them now, too.  Even some books cause me to have troubles breathing, so I tend to buy used books or just get the electronic versions.)

Not to mention that the holidays are when going to the stores is the most difficult for anyone, let alone people who suffer with MCS.  I do not think I can manage going this year.  The thought of holiday shopping in the stores is really stressful for me.  There are more cars, more people, more fragrances, smokers, oh, gosh, food being prepared… everything.  All of that on top of the drive to and from the shopping centers and I’m in for a really bad series of chemical reactions!

I am pretty good at picking up items here and there throughout the year so that when holidays come up I won’t have to rush to the stores to buy everything at once.  Nonetheless, I still find myself needing to purchase items and not being able to go to the stores myself.

The biggest problem I’m noticing between online retail shopping and in-store retail shopping is that the prices and promotions are vastly different for the same store.  That’s quite frustrating.  It’s also hard for me to tell the quality of certain products with the pictures the stores provide online.  This is why I like to hold the item in my hands before purchasing.

I have much better luck using E-Bay, of all things.  I only purchase items from sellers who have good photos.  I have known about the ability to electronically bay items online for years now, but I’ve always been apprehensive about using it.  I decided to give it a go and see if I could find what I needed there and avoid a shopping trip.  I actually have had wonderful E-Baying experiences.  The only problem is when I buy used clothing products from others I will have to wash them numerous times to get out the chemical detergents that were used.  Most people are good about posting whether they have animals or smoke in their homes.  That really helps me to figure out what to purchase and I do not purchase items from smoker’s homes.

A big bonus to online shopping is that I can compare products and prices for multiple stores at the same time.  It is a time saver that should work for anyone!  This is true for both the online stores and E-Bay items.  I even have the ability to compare the E-Bay items price with the cost if I purchased that item or something similar from the store itself.

All-in-all, I still enjoy going to the stores on occasion because I do like the tactile aspects of shopping.  I also really enjoy being out of my house when I can get out because I am pretty much home all the time due to my Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.  However, online shopping is also a very viable option and should be used by anyone with difficulties getting to the stores during the holidays or any other time of year.  There are no lines, no parking lots, sales by the big stores online, no one taking items out of your hands, well, you get the idea.  I’m really glad I decided to give online shopping a try!