Seize The Day Blog

Health & Wellness Articles & Recipes

Product Insight: What I Use & Why

 

Hello Readers,

I have received a few emails over the past couple of months from a few of you containing questions regarding some of the products I use on a daily basis such as shampoo, soap, skincare, etc. It got me thinking that I should just provide an overview of products so that those who may be searching for a different product can see firsthand some of the products that I have come to love and that work well with my body despite my epilepsy.

As an epileptic, my body tends to be extra sensitive to everything, most especially synthetic ingredients. I have searched far and wide for chemical-free products in every area of my life.
I am happy to say that I have found great success in eliminating chemicals from my diet through organic and from-scratch meals. However, the one area that continues to befuddle me is cosmetics.
I even gave organic cosmetic products a try for a short while, completely convinced that I was doing better for my body. I mean, the very term “Organic” automatically means that a product is, without a doubt, better, right? Usually, I have found the answer to this question to be “Yes.”

However, once I discovered that Soy is included in every organic cosmetic company’s definition of “vegetable-derived” ingredients; I had to rethink my “Yes.” In Organic cosmetic products, ingredients like Tocopherol or Vitamin E are most commonly derived from soy instead of synthetic chemicals like you find in non-organic products. Honestly, I’m not sure which is worse for someone like myself who happens to be extremely allergic to soy. To make matters worse, these ingredients (tocopherol and vitamin e) are used in the majority of organic cosmetics. I cannot speak for every organic company, of course, so I still hope that there are products out there despite the fact that I have never found a single one.

My problem with soy is the fact that it is commonly known as a seizure trigger for many epileptics. It has certainly been known to cause issues for me, so overall this is a really bad ingredient choice for the epileptic consumer. It definitely isn’t healthy for the human body! Soy will wreck anyone’s hormones both female and male due to the fact that it is indeed an estrogen inhibitor meaning the consumption of soy will cause the human body’s production of estrogen to increase. See why this particular increase would be detrimental to the balance of your hormones, especially a male’s hormones???

So, long story short is my attempt to cleanse my makeup, skincare, and haircare products resulted in an increase in my seizure activity. Soy-derived ingredients being the primary cause of my increase. This was pretty much the opposite reaction to what I had been expecting and it made me realize that just because a product says “organic” does not make it completely incapable of containing poor quality ingredients. As per usual, you cannot judge a book by its cover therefore more information is always necessary before one can make an informed decision.

 

Based on my experience with both organic and inorganic products, I have come to this conclusion:

 

It is best to use the product that works for you and that does not increase your seizure activity even if it does contain not-so-great ingredients. I am sharing this with you because I’d like to try to explain the logic behind my product choices despite my desire to use clean, healthy products. The products below may not be completely free of synthetic ingredients, but they are free of the ingredients that I know to be seizure triggers for me personally. These are the products that I can use on a daily basis without increasing my seizure activity. The fact of the matter is that I need to wash my hair, my face, my body, I need to moisturize, and I prefer to use makeup. So, here are the cosmetic products and toiletries that work best for me at this moment in time AND have proven to have no effect on my seizure activity.

Every person’s body is different so just because something works for me does not mean it will work successfully for you as well. The truth is, no one knows your body like you do so listen to your gut when trying something new.

I do hope that this list will prove to be helpful for some of my readers. If you happen to have extra questions about any of my product choices, please feel free to email me at katie@seizethedayblog.com.

I’m always happy to help! 🙂

Haircare:

Oribe Gold Lust Shampoo & Conditioner

Oribe Dead End Treatment

Oribe Smoothing Blowout Cream

Bumble & Bumble Bb. Strong Finish Hairspray

Body:

Soap – Silver Miracles Colloidal Silver Soap Bar (Unscented)

Body Lotion – Lubriderm Daily Moisture Lotion

Hand Lotion – Gold Bond Healing Hand Cream

Body/Hand Lotion – Handmade Lotion (from-scratch recipe from Wellness Mama, which you can also find here on the blog)

Sunscreen – Banana Boat Simply Protect Baby Sunscreen (I know it’s for babies, but because of this fact it is extra gentle on adult skin as well so it’s perfect for those with sensitive skin.)

Deodorant – Freedom Natural Deodorant Large Stick (Unscented)

*Side Note: Where body and hand lotion are concerned, I prefer to use my own Homemade Lotion product whenever possible because it is completely free of synthetic ingredients and soy. You can also find the recipe here on the blog. It smells wonderful and moisturizes my skin like no other product. However, it is difficult to travel with so those days require me to use either Lubriderm or Gold Bond. These products are also great at moisturizing and my body is okay with their formulas despite the synthetic ingredients so they have made the list.

 

Skincare:

My morning & evening routine:

Karin Herzog Professional Cleansing Gel (Cleanser)

Karin Herzog Vit-A-Kombi 1 Anti-Aging Cream (Correct)

Karin Herzog Oxygen Face Normalizing Cream (Moisturize)

Skincare Tools: Karin Herzog Small face brush (used with Vit-A-Kombi cream) & Karin Herzog Silk Towel (used with Professional Cleansing Gel)

*Side Note: You have probably noticed that every single product listed above is from Karin Herzog. No, this is not some paid promotional ad, I simply happen to love Karin Herzog’s products. The quality of each (right down to the accompanying beauty tools) is of great quality and every single product delivers noticeable results. My skin always feels fantastic and completely nourished after I’m finished with my daily skincare regimen. Thus my preference for all things Karin Herzog when it comes to my skin…just in case you were wondering 🙂

 

 

Makeup:

Foundation – Becca Ultimate Coverage 24-hour Foundation (liquid)

Concealer – Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra Longwear Concealer

Eyebrow – Charlotte Tilbury Brow Lift Eyebrow Pencil

Mascara – IT Cosmetics Lash Blowout Volumizing Mascara

Setting Powder – Becca Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder

Highlighter – Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter (color: Prismatic Amethyst)

Bronzer – Tom Ford The Ultimate Bronzer (So this product is sold out everywhere, I’m thinking maybe the company isn’t making it anymore…huge bummer, I know! I can’t provide a link to the product I’m currently using, but I can say that I would use other Tom Ford bronzer products in a heartbeat. I’ve heard great things about his Soleil Glow Bronzer so here’s the link for that product instead.)

Blush – Marc Jacobs Air Blush Duo

 

Nail Polish & Remover:

Remover – Cutex Regular Strength Nail Polish Remover

Nail Polish – Nailberry, Butter London, & Smith & Cult

 

Extras:

Toothpaste – Weleda Calendula Toothpaste

Mouth Wash – Listerine Cool Mint Ultraclean Mouthwash

Floss – Glide Pro-Health Original Floss

Contact Solution – Opti-Free Pure Moist Solution

Anti-bacterial Care – Sovereign Silver Colloidal Silver Dropper

Perfume – Gya Labs Vanilla Essential Oil

Well, those are all of the products I can think of right now, but like I said above please feel free to email (katie@seizethedayblog.com) if you have any questions about the products I mentioned as well as products I may not have mentioned. As per usual, I am not a doctor therefore this list should not be considered as medical advice and you should always consult your doctor before making any changes to your daily routine. I am simply sharing with my readers some of the products I like to use in my own daily routine.

Thank you for reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information posted on Seize the Day Blog, including but not limited to, articles, images, recipes, text, and other material are shared for informational purposes only. None of the writings should be looked upon as advice meant to replace that of an actual medical professional. If you suspect you have a serious medical condition you should seek help from a healthcare professional immediately. Please be aware that the author of this website is posting information simply to inform NOT to recommend others about health-related topics. Before following any information (i.e. undertaking a new healthcare or diet routine) found here on Seize the Day Blog, you should always consult a medical professional first. Please be sure to never disregard any medicinal advice because of something you have read on this website.

 

Copyright Info:

All images, excluding those included in the web design, posted on [seizethedayblog.com] are taken by the owner. No images from external sources are used on this blog.

Proper credit should be attributed when republishing any material found on [seizethdayblog.com].

 

From My Recipe Box To Yours: Classic-Style French Fries

I could not post a picture of those delicious homemade French fries in my recent Saturated Fat Article without sharing the recipe, as well! The link to this article on Saturated, Monounsaturated, and Polyunsaturated Fats is provided if you’re at all interested in learning about a rarely discussed facet of fat…the healthy facet.

Not only are these French Fries healthy for you, they’re loaded with healthy fats that your body will thank you for. There is no reason to feel guilty after eating these babies if you follow the recipe below. The key to a healthy fried potato lies solely in the cooking oil you choose to use. Skip those yucky hydrogenated oils such as vegetable, palm, soybean, etc. and go with a healthier, saturated option like coconut oil instead.

I LOVE coconut oil, it should be known as the superhero oil because it can be used for practically anything across a diverse list of fields and it offers so many benefits for the human body. For example, I use coconut oil as a body moisturizer in place of a synthetically-derived product filled with petroleum, soy, and who knows what else! It makes an effective hair mask for dry, damaged hair. I also add coconut oil to my Ginger-Honey Tea that I drink every morning as well as my green smoothie in the afternoon. And that’s just the beginning of my list! Basically, it is an irreplaceable item in my daily routine.

We all want to be healthy, no one enjoys being sick! But we don’t always realize that the path toward a healthy and balanced human body does not begin at the gym, it begins within.

Your brain is composed of 60% fat. When the proper amount of fat is not being delivered to the brain, it becomes prone to all kinds of health issues! There are many protective layers within your brain, two of which are essential in maintaining strong, healthy brain function. They are known as the Myelin Sheath and the Blood-Brain Barrier. Each has a different function, of course, but they are equally important and equally prone to degradation when frequently exposed to toxins. Unfortunately, fighting against daily exposure to these toxins is much more difficult than it sounds because we are constantly absorbing toxins into our bodies from an array of sources. The environment, our lifestyle choices, the lifestyle choices of others, and pollutants (naturally-occurring and synthetic) are only a few examples of the very real dangers threatening every human being’s ability to maintain superior health.

This is where we come in…we need to strive to eat foods free of synthetic and chemical ingredients so that we fight against those unwelcome toxins instead of adding more. Why not begin this fight with a batch of French Fries?? I don’t wish to force your hand with this, but when it comes to making changes to your diet does it get better than French fries as your first step?? Not in my opinion!

Coconut Oil can be purchased in both flavored and unflavored forms. I highly recommend using an unflavored coconut oil for this recipe! Coconuts and potatoes just don’t mix very well (go figure!). I prefer the Tropical Traditions brand of coconut oil because it is a good quality, raw, and organic product as it always should be, but frequently isn’t when sold by other companies. We do not want any pesticides sneaking in by using a “natural,” but not organic product. Food corporations are too good at confusing us consumers by getting wordy with their product labels. Just in case you are in need of a good coconut oil brand, I provided a link to the product I use above.

 

***Side Note: These French Fries are an excellent side dish with hamburgers.

Recipe for Sweet Potato Fries cooked in coconut oil for those of you who prefer this style of fry!

 

~ Bon appétit! ~

 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information posted on Seize the Day Blog, including but not limited to, articles, images, recipes, text and other material are shared for informational purposes only. None of the writings should be looked upon as advice meant to replace that of an actual medical professional. If you suspect you have a serious medical condition you should seek help from a healthcare professional immediately. Please be aware that the author of this website is posting information simply to inform NOT to recommend others about health-related topics. Before following any information (i.e. undertaking a new healthcare or diet routine) found here on Seize the Day Blog, you should always consult a medical professional first. Please be sure to never disregard any medicinal advice because of something you have read on this website.

 

Sources:

1. Blood Brain Barrier:

– http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-blood-brain-barrier-and-how-can-we-overcome-it-75454

– https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/brain-anatomy/what-blood-brain-barrier

2. Myelin Sheath: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/function-b12-production-myelin-8022.html

3. Tropical Traditions: https://healthytraditions.com/tropicaltraditions/coconut-oil/expeller-pressed-organic-coconut-oil/coconut-oil-organic-expeller-pressed-1-quart.html

Sports Drinks vs. Green Juice: Go Green or Go Home

Often times, when a person thinks of activities such as going to the gym, playing sports, running, etc. he or she thinks about the energy required to accomplish said activity. This will typically bring a person’s train of thought to the source of this desired energy.

Society tells people that getting a good night’s sleep and drinking plenty of water throughout the entire day is a good starting point for a healthy amount of energy, but it’s not enough if you truly want to excel. You also need supplementary components, something that is readily available for the consumer and also requires his or her money. Does anyone else smell something fishy? Society has to benefit somehow for their efforts, don’t they? We’re not just talking about mere suggestions for the average Joe’s state of health anymore; frankly, I think that was thrown out the window quite some time ago. We’re talking about the #1 marketing platform (society) supporting ideas that not only benefit them, but they benefit groups of corporations and businesses, as well. When I see behavior like this taking place, it automatically sends up a red flag in my mind and it also makes me question the validity behind the statements they’re feeding us. More than anything, it makes me triple-check the true quality of whatever product they want us to buy. I’ve already been the consumer who wholeheartedly trusted everything the marketing teams pushed my way. I gave these teams the benefit of the doubt and accepted what they had to say as fact.

I figured there’s no way that a corporation like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would allow anything unhealthy or potentially harmful to be put into the food I eat. I’m going to let you in on a little secret I wished someone had told me years ago…question everything when it comes to the foods you purchase. Never expect food companies to choose healthy ingredients over unhealthy ingredients for the sake of the consumer. When it comes to the consumer, we’re only a concern of theirs until we purchase their product. The same is true for those companies selling energy-related products, most especially energy drinks. Here’s a little food for thought for all of my readers…how are supposed to expect these products to be healthy when the foundation of entire company is based on a lie? If honesty isn’t a key component in the heart of the manufacturer, it certainly isn’t going to be a key component in the products they so desperately want us to purchase. My advice? Ignore that mission statement provided by the company and focus on the ingredient labels. The ingredient label is your guide to understanding the true quality of any product.

First, you need to bypass all of the false advertising so that you can get a clear perspective on the real issues. Like anything in life this is easier said than done because we’re all fooled into believing the lie created by the food and beverage industry and promoted by society…we need a boost throughout the entire activity if we are to be successful in our endeavors. Their definition of a boost? Sports drinks, electrolyte infused water, and specialty powders to add to your water. The majority of companies producing these products go one step further in their efforts to convince each potential consumer of their need for these products…advertisements that include famous athletes. If you’re playing basketball, for example, and you have goals to become a serious athlete, why wouldn’t you use the same sports drink product endorsed by LeBron James? It might up your skills out there on the court if you do the same thing he’s doing! It doesn’t hurt to at least try his strategy, right? Plus they usually taste really good! This is where things get a bit confusing for the majority of consumers because the advertisements tell you these products are beneficial and healthy, but the entire makeup of the product disagrees! Reading the ingredient label of any product created for energy enhancement is key in discovering just how detrimental every product is for your overall health. For me, I always liked the bright colors these drinks were available in! Little did I know, I was being fooled by a preposterous social norm.

I’m here to tell you that society and their biased advertisements are wrong! Fueled by profits, the food industry hammers the idea into our heads that we can only get energy from these types of synthetic sources.

Oh, really? Well if that’s true than how is it possible that I have been able to get legitimate boosts of energy from natural sources that are also completely free of synthetic ingredients? I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade by saying this, I know so many people who use these synthetic sources for energy when they go to the gym. There was a time when I loved electrolyte infused water and wasn’t against a sports drink slushie. However, circumstances have drastically changed in my life over the past eights and, as a result, so have my eating habits. There was a time when reading the ingredient label on anything made me feel like I was trying to understand a language I couldn’t speak. As it turns out, the complicated names we see listed kind of are in a different language. They’re in the language of chemistry and science because the majority of these ingredients aren’t grown in the ground; scientists concoct them in a laboratory. Whenever I’m researching an ingredient name, there’s a part of me that is actually afraid of what this bazaar name actually contains. If ingredients like petroleum have snuck their way into our food, it could be anything! Discovering all of the dirty little secrets is part of taking charge of your health for the better.

Let’s examine the evidence, shall we?

 

Gatorade Original Thirst Quencher Ingredient Label (Strawberry Watermelon flavor):

Water, Sucrose, Dextrose, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Monopotassium Phosphate, Glycerol Ester of Rosin, Red 40

 

Water—Ordinarily I would consider this ingredient to be the only healthy ingredient on the entire label; however, we do not know the source of the Gatorade Company’s water. It could be pond water for all we know! The worst part is that they are not required by the FDA to supply this information to the consumer.

Sucrose—although originally obtained from sugar cane or sugar beets, this form of sugar is most commonly known as table sugar. Therefore, it has been processed, refined, and bleached white to fit the stereotypical look, feel, and taste of generic table sugar. This form of sugar can be naturally derived from fruits and vegetables, but I highly doubt that is the case for the sucrose found in Gatorade or any other sports drink. The worst part about this ingredient is the way it is digested and dispersed by your body once consumed…“The body will use glucose as its main energy source and the excess energy from fructose, if not needed, will be poured into fat synthesis, which is stimulated by the insulin released in response to glucose” (healthyeating.sfgate.com). Basically, this form of sugar is making you fat. Interesting choice of ingredient for a product intended for athletes and other active people.

Dextrose—“the name of a simple sugar that is made from corn and is chemically identical to glucose, or blood sugar. Dextrose is often used in baking products as a sweetener, and can be commonly found in items such as processed foods and corn syrup” (healthline.com). We all know processed foods and corn syrup, are especially poor choices for any person’s diet…especially those actively fighting to get in shape! You’re already fighting your body fat to get in shape; you don’t need to fight your energy drink, as well.

Citric Acid—though this ingredient may sound natural because its name includes the word, “Citric,” I’m sorry to say that isn’t even close to being naturally derived from any type of citrus fruit. It happens to be a preservative, commonly found in a variety of processed foods, especially those of a canned and jarred nature. If you’re curious about the origins of citric acid, let me shed some light… “Industrial food ingenuity has made it so that citric acid can be created from Aspergillus niger, a common black mold. Although citric acid can be obtained from lemon or pineapple juice, producing citric acid from A. niger is a far less expensive process” (ethicalfoods.com).

Natural Flavors—the biggest problem with this ingredient is the fact that it really could mean anything. The FDA isn’t asking for an explanation and, chances are, food companies aren’t exactly handing this information out on a silver platter. Hence the use of a code name for whatever the ingredient truly may be. I actively avoid this ingredient not because it could be referring to some pretty gross stuff that I’d rather not consume, including Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) (Care2.com). The ingredients covered under the umbrella name of Natural or Artificial flavors offer no benefit to consumer because they are filler ingredients. These flavors are synthetic and meant to replace those of real foods. They’re cheaper and their expiration date is abnormally long.

Salt—finally an ingredient name the consumer will recognize! Despite the familiarity, it is important to consider the source of this ingredient. If it processed and refined table salt the Gatorade company is using (this is very likely, by the way) then you will be consuming a type of salt that will only strip your body of even more nutrients than it will restore them. “Common (refined) table salt (NaCl), which most people are accustomed to is comprised of about 97.5% Sodium Chloride and 2.5% toxic chemicals…this salt is easily recognized because of its white appearance and color. It’s highly processed—dried at over 1,200 degrees, bleached and chemically cleaned, resulting in the loss of trace minerals and essential macronutrients. It becomes something the body doesn’t recognize” (lifewithgreens.com). And how are we to know whether the salt in this product is the refined, chemically altered kind or the natural, unrefined kind? You would have to call the company directly and even then I don’t know if it is possible. Here’s one thing I know, there is a recurring pattern amongst processed food companies they always choose the cheapest method possible when it comes to making their product. Refined salt is cheaper than unrefined salt, you tell me which kind they most likely used in this sports drink…

Sodium Citrate—yet another salt-related ingredient. Sodium Citrate is synthetic, it was born in a lab, and it is most often used as a preservative or flavor enhancer to foods. This particular ingredient is what adds that sour and/or salty flavor to a product, in this case a sports drink. It is very similar to Citric Acid, so similar that the two names are actually interchangeable amongst scientists. This brings us back to the black mold issue I discussed under the Citric Acid ingredient name (if you didn’t read it, I highly recommend you do!). Not to mention, this is the third ingredient containing sodium. Not great for those of you with sodium-sensitivities or sodium-related health issues.

Monopotassium Phosphate—this particular ingredient was the only ingredient I actually had issues with finding a description of the role it plays in our food. I soon discovered the reason behind my struggle…it is more commonly found in fertilizers and intended for use on plants, not humans. Apparently, it is a great source of phosphorus and potassium for plants so how on earth did it end up in a sports drink? “Monopotassium phosphate is a soluble salt used as an additive in cigarettes, fertilizer and as a fungicide and buffering agent in vaccines. The synthesized, active, end-use product is a crystalline powder containing 100% active ingredient” (novaccine.com). Clearly this ingredient is being used as some sort of additive, a preservative is most likely. Whatever role it plays in the sports drink; based upon its synthetic and chemical structure you can guarantee that it in no way benefits your body or your energy levels.

Glycerol Ester of Rosin—this oddly named ingredient acts as an emulsifier, it prevents any separation between oil and a liquid when the two have been mixed together. Once again, this ingredient is synthetic. Derivatives of Glycerol Ester Rosin, such as Glycerol ester of gum, Glycerol ester of tall oil rosin, and Glycerol ester of wood rosin have all been labeled as “On Alert” ingredients by the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand.

Red 40—the last ingredient on the label, but certainly no less innocent than its predecessors. When thinking about food coloring, I’m automatically brought back to when I was a kid on Easter Sunday and we would dye eggs. Not once am I prompted to consider what these seemingly harmless food dyes were actually made of. “Red 40 is a certified color that comes from petroleum distillates or coal tars” (healthline.com). Not only can this ingredient be incredibly toxic to its consumer, “Red 40 contains p-Cresidine, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says is ‘reasonably anticipated’ to be a human carcinogen” (Healthline.com), but “research shows they can also cause hyperactivity in children” (healthline.com). As if the 21 grams of sugar in the sports drink wasn’t enough to cause this kind of behavior. My next concern is the effect energy-boosting drinks such as Gatorade are having on the brain activity of its consumer.

As you’ve probably already deduced from my descriptions of each ingredient, Gatorade isn’t exactly my go-to product when I’m looking for a healthy boost of energy. The worst part about sports drinks as a whole is that they are often marketed toward children. Those cute mini-bottles Gatorade now sells are the perfect size for kids of all ages involved in sports. Whether it’s game day or just another practice session, this beverage is often distributed as a “beneficial” option for the athletes. However, the ingredient label, the 34 grams of sugar per serving, and 270 milligrams of sodium on the nutrition label of a 20 ounce bottle tend to disagree. I may not have any children just yet, but if I saw this nutrition label, I would never think to give it to them as a “healthy” snack. Apparently, I’m not alone! My cousin, who has two children ages 6 and 4, recently informed me how she avoids sports drinks like the plague because of the sugar rush it gives the kids. According to her, the kids become hyper, out of control, and just plain crazy immediately after consuming any kind of sugary sports drink. She said the amount of hyperactivity created by these types of beverages is worse than soda. The worst part is that the effect of the poor quality ingredients in Gatorade continues long after the sugar rush is over. As physics dictates, what goes up must come down, and down they all go. Their energy, their patience, and their overall ability to be kind seem to crash right along with this so-called “energy boost.” Although at this point, I think psychotic episode might be a more accurate way to describe the behavior prompted by products such as Gatorade. So you get unmanageable behavior for who knows how long and then you have grumpy kids for the rest of the day…if you are a parent reading this right now, you’re probably wondering why you ever bought your child Gatorade. Your motivation was good; it’s not your fault that this happens to be a crappy product! The best thing you can do right now is to learn from it and move on. Bottled water or fruit-infused water is always the better choice!

Speaking of fruit-infused water, when you think about increasing your energy using food and drink products, do vegetables and fruits ever come to mind? Probably not. When I think about vegetables my mind is automatically redirected to dinner where I’m used to eating a type of green veggie, such as broccoli or green beans, as a side dish or I think of salad…once again a side dish to a meal. Green vegetables have been stifled into this category over the years and as a result we have been deprived of their energy-boosting abilities!

Fruits have been stifled into more of a snack category, meant to eat alone or, depending on the fruit, to complement a meal. Once again, they’re never considered as an energy boosting food. And why should they be when society and produce companies never market these products as such??

I have two words that will blow every other marketed energy-boosting drink, food, or powder out of the water…Green Smoothie. Not the processed kind that you can buy bottled at your local grocery store. No, I’m talking fresh, organic veggies and fruits that are washed, cut and thrown into the blender then liquefied into a very healthy and very potent energy-boosting juice. Notice I said Blender and not Juicer…I’m not trying to worm my way out of paying for an expensive juicing machine and therefore choosing the cheap or less effective route. For those of you that do not already have a juicer, but happen to own a blender this news I’m about to share is going to be a Win-Win for you! Juicing machines are one of the most overrated inventions ever created! I’m not saying this because I don’t have one, but secretly really, really want one and I’m redirecting my own personal envy into this article. Unfortunately, I do own a juicer and I still consider it to be one of the most ridiculous purchases I have ever made, not to mention a huge waste of money, as well!

Here’s the thing about juicers, they liquefy anything you put into them, but discard all of the pulp from the fruits and veggies. Sure, you get a fantastic texture in your homemade juice, but you also get a product that has been completely stripped of its nutritional value. You see, the pulp is where the majority of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables are found. The skin of fruits such as apples, are packed full of vitamins! The inside is just an added bonus to the fruit, if you’re looking for nutrients; you want the skin, the pulp, basically everything that is discarded by the juicing machine. It completely defeats the purpose of trying to be healthy and consume more vitamins and minerals. If this were discussed more often we would most likely see a significant decline in the sale of juicers.

So why is the blender so much better? It doesn’t discard anything! It blends the insides of your choice of produce and the pulp so that you get the best of both worlds. You get the flavor you’re looking for and the nutrients your body desperately needs. For those of you that are texture people, try finding a blender that offers a liquefy option in addition to the blend option. Personally, whenever I make green juice I always blend everything together for one minute and then I liquefy the contents for two minutes. It always produces a perfectly liquefied product, no existing pulp, foam, or chunkiness. If this texture still isn’t fluid enough for you, liquefy it again! It doesn’t matter how long you blend the ingredients for, you’re not draining any of the vitamins or minerals; you’re simply combining the ingredients even more! Just in case you’re looking for a new blender and need a recommendation, I am currently using a model created by Breville. I also own a toaster by this company and so far their products have proven to be great quality machines! The great thing about my Breville blender is that it has a variety of options including “Blend” and “Liquefy,” which come in handy for making juice!

Like many of the other topics I have written about here on Seize the Day Blog, my inspiration behind the idea of replacing commercial energy-boosting products with fruits and veggies is personal experience. I only recently began using this method for my own energy needs. It all started when I began going to the gym regularly again. My personal trainer created a personalized meal plan for me, which included two green juices a day. He recommended drinking the first juice one hour before my workout session at the gym and the second immediately after with a little added protein powder (you can find a super simple recipe for homemade protein powder here). I didn’t give these instructions much thought; I simply followed them and hoped for the best. What I got was a complete shock! I decided to take full advantage of this all-natural charge of beneficial vitamins and nutrients via green juice twice a day so I increased my intake to everyday. Even on days I didn’t workout, I still drank my green juice at 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM. After about two weeks of consistently consuming this amount of green veggies and fruits, I noticed an interruption in my sleep pattern. Ordinarily, I sleep like a baby…just ask my sister, she’ll tell you how crazy it is that I literally fall asleep after only 10 minutes of going to bed (I like to tease her that she’s just jealous of my apparent superhuman ability, I don’t think I would be fulfilling my duties as a “big sister” if I didn’t). Once I’m asleep, I sleep all night and don’t wake up again until 7:30 AM, now that I think of it this doesn’t exactly sound like a realistic typical night sleep for a baby, but you get the picture. So it was completely out of the ordinary when I got into bed and struggled to fall asleep. In fact, I really didn’t even feel tired or ready for bed when 10:00 PM (my typical bed time) rolled around. One bad night sleep is random, two could be coincidence, but three nights of struggling to fall asleep and actually stay asleep began to concern me. Maintaining a consistent sleep pattern has always been key in preventing seizure activity for me, personally. So when this inability to fall asleep persisted I was concerned about more than the shadows beginning to form under my eyes, my overall brain health was being affected. Something had to be done before another seizure happened.

As I looked back over the past few weeks, the only two changes I had made to my daily routine were going to the gym three times a week and drinking green juice every day twice a day. Well, I figured an increase in physical activity certainly isn’t going to make it more difficult for me to sleep so it must be the green juice. I definitely wasn’t going to stop drinking it altogether! I love the way it makes me feel, not just in the gym but everywhere! You know when that feeling when your body just feels good in a way that tells you whatever you’re doing is making your entire body very happy? Well that’s how I felt! So I decided not to overreact and I began experimenting with the amount of green juice I drank on the days I didn’t workout. Instead of drinking it twice a day, I tried drinking it once a day. The first day I made this change, the effect was immediate…I had no issues going to sleep and I didn’t wake up once…Basically, my superhuman ability was back. It has been one month since I made this change and I am yet to have a bad night’s sleep. Long story short, my body loves the green juice!

As crazy as this may sound compared to society’s perspective, you really don’t need any synthetic energy-boosting products to give you an energy boost so powerful it will work all day and all night. What you seek does not lie in a chemically altered juice or powder; it lies in the produce section of your grocery store (preferably, the Organic section). We have severely underestimated the benefits of spinach, kale, chard, cucumber, green apples, kiwi, carrots, cantaloupe, honeydew, and a multitude of other fruits and veggies! Next time you’re looking for a boost of energy, I hope you choose a source that is naturally derived and doesn’t require any added ingredients to get the job done!

I’ve provided a few of my favorite personal creations I’ve made over the past two months since my return to the gym. Each is super easy and all it requires is a blender!

If you know of any yummy green juice recipes please comment via Twitter & Instagram (@seizethedayblog) or email me at katie@seizethedayblog.com, I’m always looking for new juices to try!

Thank you!

Refresher Smoothie Recipe:

Ingredients:

½ bunch spinach

½ bunch kale

½ cup cucumber, sliced

½ lime, peeled

1 green apple

2 kiwis

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Tbsp honey

1/8 cup greek yogurt

½ cup water

Handful ice cubes

Directions:

Put all ingredients into the blender and liquefy until it reaches your preferred consistency, I usually let it run for about 2-3 min. This may sound like a long time, but it is necessary if you want a thin, liquid texture more than you do a thick, smoothie-like texture. Drink immediately.

 

Honeydew Fusion Recipe:

Ingredients:

½ honeydew, peeled, cored, & chopped

1 bunch spinach or kale

½ lime, peeled

1 kiwi

1 green apple

1/8 cup greek yogurt, unflavored

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Tbsp honey

Handful ice cubes

Directions:

Put all ingredients into the blender and liquefy until it reaches your preferred consistency, 2-3 min seems the best amount of time for a thin, liquid texture without any pulp. Drink immediately.

 

Not-so-green Smoothie Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach

2 carrots, peeled & chopped

½ cup cucumber, sliced

½ cup cantaloupe, peeled, cored, & chopped

1/8 cup greek yogurt, unflavored

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Tbsp honey

¼ cup water

Handful ice cubes

Directions:

Place the spinach, carrots, and cucumber into the blender and blend for approximately 1 minute. Add the cantaloupe, yogurt, coconut oil, honey, water, and ice cubes. Liquefy for 2 minutes. If the texture is still too pulpy, blend for another minute or until it reaches your desired consistency. Drink immediately.

 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information posted on Seize the Day Blog, including but not limited to, articles, images, recipes, text and other material are shared for informational purposes only. None of the writings should be looked upon as advice meant to replace that of an actual medical professional. If you suspect you have a serious medical condition you should seek help from a healthcare professional immediately. Please be aware that the author of this website is posting information simply to inform NOT to recommend others about health-related topics. Before following any information (i.e. undertaking a new healthcare or diet routine) found here on Seize the Day Blog, you should always consult a medical professional first. Please be sure to never disregard any medicinal advice because of something you have read on this website.

 

Sources:

Be Food Smart: http://www.befoodsmart.com/ingredients/citric-acid.php

Care2: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/reasons-vegans-read-labels-natural-flavorscastoreum.html

Ethical Foods: https://ethicalfoods.com/citric-acid/

Gatorade: http://www.gatorade.com/products/g-series/thirst-quencher/?jump=flow

Healthy Eating/SF Gate: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/difference-between-sucrose-glucose-fructose-8704.html

Healthline:

-Red Dye 40: http://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/is-red-dye-40-toxic#overview1

-Dextrose: http://www.healthline.com/health/dextrose#overview1

Life With Greens: http://www.lifewithgreens.com/differences-between-refined-and-unrefined-salt

No Vaccine: http://novaccine.com/vaccine-ingredients/monopotassium-phosphate/

Prescribed for Life: https://pforlife.com/potassium-bicarbonate-natural-usp-food-grade-crystalline-powder-39-k.html

RAW HONEY: The Sweet & Sticky Side of Natural Skincare

Finding a healthy, chemical-free set of skincare products has been an absolute nightmare for me lately! There are so many reputable companies proudly claiming that their products are paraben-free, phlalate-free, and sulfate-free, but the ingredients in their formulas say the exact opposite. Some days I research products for hours without finding any cleansers, toners, serums, or moisturizers that are truly chemical-free.

Not to mention, fad ingredients like Rosehip are becoming widespread amongst the little guys and huge corporations producing skincare products for the face and body. And while Rose hydrosol is an incredibly beneficial ingredient for balancing your overall complexion, its sister ingredient, Rosehip, is an absolute nightmare for your hormones because it naturally increases your estrogen levels. Be careful not to mistake the two ingredients when reading the label of a product because though they do share a similar source, one can benefit your overall body while the other can act as a hormone disruptor.

Little side notes like these are crucial for me when choosing a skincare regime because I’m already fighting against estrogen dominance. I need a product that is going to compliment my health not capitalize on an existing issue. Is this such a grand request to make for the products I put on the most absorbable organ in the human body? We may not always see the pores in our skin, but they’re there just the same and they will absorb the cosmetic products you put atop them.

I’ve gotten to a point where looking to cosmetic companies for products containing clean and healthy ingredients is no longer an option. Honestly, with the large amounts of poor quality ingredients being approved for use these days, finding good-quality skincare products is yet another overwhelming feat to accomplish. It’s seriously almost as difficult as trying to find organic jalapenos at the grocery store. Whenever I do find them, I can’t help but do a little victory dance in the produce section. I may look crazy, but I just found pesticide-free jalapenos…and do you know what that means?? Bacon, Jalapeno, and goat cheese grilled cheese sandwiches! Yum (psst…there’s a link to the recipe included)!

Back to the topic of skincare…

Should we just give up and use the substandard products? Oh how those cosmetic companies would love for you to do this and use their products! But, my answer will always be no! I already have seizures, I’m not exactly looking to add anything else to my medical history. If you’re teetering between using the standard chemical-filled products and truly healthy products, remember this one very important fact: You deserve better! Your body deserves better! And so does your overall self-esteem!

Be better than synthetic-filled products! Living a healthy lifestyle just feels good because it’s good for you! Also, if you’re experiencing problems with acne and breakouts, consider this: are these chemicals helping to clear up your issue or are they contributing to it? Logic tells us that bad ingredients will produce bad results while good ingredients can’t help but improve upon your body. When you put a moisturizer, for example, on your face, the effects are far more than just skin deep, contrary to what you see in the mirror.

I recently took the high road and ditched the commercial skincare products altogether. They weren’t producing the results I was looking for anyway, plus I wasn’t feeding my body nutrients by putting those chemicals onto my skin. In reality, I was actually poisoning my body and getting nothing in return except poor health. No extra soft skin, no perfect pH balance, no clear skin. I’ve reached the point where I’m no longer asking “Which product should I try next?” rather I’m starting to wonder “Why am I choosing to poison my body?” It’s as though I’ve hit a brick wall in the search for the perfect skincare regime. Honestly, now I’m questioning my methods altogether.

Well, the dilemma with this confusion brings us right back to the commercial skincare industry.

Society tells us that we should use these amazing and cutting-edge brands that have not only been promoted by well-known dermatologists, but are advertise incessantly on social media platforms, television, and paper advertisements. We don’t always realize it, but we’re bombarded by this industry on a daily basis to believe their lies…one lie in particular: buy these types of products if you want positive results. So it really shouldn’t come as that much of a shock to discover that everyone and their brother not only uses this particular method, but views it as the normal way (and sometimes the only way) to treat skin issues, as well.

I certainly fell for these lies! Even after I ditched the chemical skincare products, I was still searching for something similar only healthy. I’m talking about still using the same basic system recommended by the dermatologists. If you look at any supposed “well-rounded” skincare system, it is typically comprised of a cleanser, a toner, possibly a serum (depending on the severity of your acne), and a moisturizer. Some other systems also recommend an eye cream and some sort of spot treatment for stubborn cystic acne. But wait, there’s more! An exfoliant once a week to clean dead skin off the surface of your face is held in high regard by skincare professionals AND on top of all this, a facemask to replenish your skin and make it “glow.” I’ve used plenty of facemasks over the years from a variety of brands and I’m still yet to see my skin “glow.”

If you want to get really complicated, you can also try the Korean method which uses anywhere from 7-15 different products in the routine. I wouldn’t recommend this method to anyone who is typically in a rush in the mornings. Not only is it time-consuming, but it is also complicated. I have tried this method and I have to admit that using 7 products for my regime did produce decent results in my skin, but it was nothing to brag about. In fact, I’ve actually had better results from using only 3-4 products. As you can imagine, this amount of products from a name brand company cost a pretty penny! Worst of all, at the end of the day, the penny was prettier than my skin and I was sick of it!

I then moved on to a more natural form of skin treatment. I found some products by a company called Rawsum Organics that are natural enough to eat. The company called their product raw skincare because not only were their ingredients natural, they were also organic and food grade! Their set consisted of the standard cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and exfoliant. However, instead of a huge ingredient list only found on the packaging because it is literally too long to fit on the product itself, the entire set of skincare printed each ingredient label loud and proud on the very front of each bottle. Why? Probably because the ingredient list for the cleanser only consisted of four ingredients total, the toner 3 ingredients, the moisturizer 3 ingredients, and the exfoliant also 3 ingredients. You could combine the ingredient lists of the all four products and it would still be less than the ingredient list of one commercial product. Who knew this even existed??? I was shocked when I found the set, but more than anything it restored my hope that maybe the cosmetic industry isn’t completely devoid of good quality manufacturers.

I used these edible skincare products for almost two months and never experienced any interference with my epilepsy. Typically, skincare products contain the soy-derived ingredient, Tocopherol, which is a seizure trigger for me, personally. To my great relief, Rawsum did NOT use any soy-derived ingredients. To my great dismay, they did use other ingredients that just did not react well with my skin-type. I have oily skin naturally and although I noticed the Jojoba Oil, Olive Oil, and Castor Oil ingredients on the labels, I was desperate for something free of chemicals. As expected, my skin reacted with increased breakouts and an incredibly uneven skin tone. It reached a point that made it absolutely necessary for me to make a change. I still recommend the Rawsum products to anyone with a dry skin complex, but Oily-Combination skin types should be wary. There is no guarantee that your skin will react the same way mine did, but it’s always good to be careful!

When the raw products didn’t work out, I had absolutely no idea what to do next. Finding the Rawsum products was a miracle from God, I knew that trying to find something similar was going to be a long shot. I stopped researching products being sold by other organizations and started researching DIY skincare. I’ve always enjoyed cooking, I do it with food all the time, so why couldn’t I do it with my skin products, too? Plus, if I was able to find a decent recipe for a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer, it would be a guarantee that I was finally feeding my skin instead of harming it.

Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner??? Well, I have but other rabbit trails got in the way and my actually pursuing the idea. Part of me probably thought it was going to be too much work and the other part of me still had faith in the skincare industry. I was also skeptical about whether or not I could actually make something that would be beneficial, not just some crazy concoction that pales in comparison to the typical products with the perfect texture being sold today. I failed to look past the outer and focus on the inner because the ingredients of these products are far from perfect.

This time around, I was out of any other ideas, I had already tried the majority of options provided by commercial products, and my skin was NOT looking good.

I was way past the point of “pulling out the big guns” and I had reached the state of desperation where, as anyone who has also been in my shoes knows, anything is possible. And I do mean anything!

My skin had seen better days and I wanted nothing more than to clear it up. The acne on my face and neck confirmed the obvious…my pores were being clogged by my previous choice of skincare and the visible blockage was spreading quickly…I needed a miracle and I needed it yesterday.

As I researched recipes for a healthy cleanser, one ingredient kept popping up in a majority of the recipes. It was Raw Honey. Huh…so simple. Was it actually possible with its natural sucrose structure to improve my acne rather than add to the existing problem? The answer is yes. Honey is famous for being anti-bacterial and healing to the skin. Though we mostly use honey for eating purposes these days, this delicious nature given product was commonly used amongst medical professionals as a disinfectant to treat burns, cuts, and other minor injuries. As it turns out, honey has been used to heal the skin for generations…we just forgot this helpful information thanks to all of the commercial products that have been created over the years to replace it (although not one of them has ever been able to compete with the natural abilities of raw honey). You can’t create God-given abilities in a lab, no matter how hard those scientists try! I’m sorry to burst those scientists’ bubble (actually, I’m not), but Honey is one of a kind! I just like to give a shout out to those hard working bees across the globe…thanks for doing what you little guys do day in and day out!

Right now, I don’t know what I would do without raw honey and I hate to think about what my skin might look like if this simple product wasn’t the beneficial powerhouse history has proven it to be!

I decided to skip a DIY recipe and go back to the basics instead. I started using just straight up organic raw honey (I prefer Tropical Traditions, you can’t beat the quality of their product!) on my face instead. After I get out of the shower, I spread an even layer of honey on my face and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. I usually leave it on my face for the full ten minutes just so that the honey has plenty of time to really get into my pores and clear out the bacteria causing my breakouts. After ten minutes, I wet my hands with warm water, not hot water! Hot water will kill the beneficial elements in the honey that not only clean your skin, but naturally balance the pH levels in your skin, as well. Bye, bye red blotchy skin when you use raw honey as your cleanser and toner!

Once your hands are wet, take some time to thoroughly rub the honey into your skin. Think of it as working the honey even deeper into those pores. In this way, you will also incorporate water into the honey mask, loosening the sticky layer, and making it much easier to wash off.

Once the honey is completely removed, I like to pat dry my skin using a washcloth. Instead of rubbing the cloth across your face, pat your skin so that you are not wiping away any honey residue that might be left. When I say residue, I mean the good stuff that is happily soaked into your skin already, not the leftover sticky substance that was missed while washing. I’m not expecting you to leave any honey on your face all day, that would be inconvenient for anyone. By all means, wet your washcloth and wipe that honey off!

The pat dry method helps to further work the honey soaked into your pores further into your skin. You definitely want this on your skin all day, which is why I have chosen not to use a toner afterward.

The toner is a potent cleansing device that will wipe away anything on the surface of the skin. It does not discriminate, therefore, it will wipe away the beneficial matter in addition to the detrimental matter. Using a toner means removing the healthy leftover honey in your pores, you do not want to do this nor do you need to! The honey is already attending to this issue.

The toner is also created to help restore balance in your skin’s pH levels, but the honey takes care of this issue too (and much more successfully than any other product I’ve used in the past). So I have found it to be irrelevant in my honey based skincare routine.

I do, however, still follow up the honey with my moisturizer despite the fact that I am yet to find a chemical-free commercial moisturizer product or a decent diy recipe for this particular product. I’m still on the lookout and once I find one I will be sure to announce it here on Seize the Day Blog. Until then, I’m stuck with what I have. I tried only using the honey and not following it up with anything, but my skin felt shriveled, tight, and like it needed a serious drink of water. If you have any suggestions for a natural and chemical free moisturizer, please comment!

I apologize that I do not have a healthy moisturizer to recommend in combination with the Raw Honey. However, if you are interested in the moisturizer I am currently using and which I have found to be the best yet in accordance with all skin types, I can most definitely share that info!

The brand is Karin Herzog and it is called Oxygen Face. For a more intense moisture delivery I recommend the brand’s Vitamin H Cream. My mom uses this one and she loves it! Both products ship the fastest from amazon if you are interested in trying them out (there is a link with the product name above and in the sources list below). The ingredient list isn’t perfect, but it is free of soy-derived ingredients and I do not have a seizure when I use it! This is a huge benefit for me and also says something for the overall quality of the moisturizer despite the chemicals.

Who knew that something as well-known as honey, could be so beneficial for human skin? It took about three days to begin seeing serious changes in the amount of acne on my face, but it only took one use to begin seeing healing. I honestly could not believe my skin when I looked in the mirror after rinsing off the honey mask for the first time. Not only that, it felt good to put something on my skin that I knew was healthy for it, truly healthy. I haven’t been able to say that about my skincare in a long time! Finally, an affordable product that will treat your skin at a miraculous rate! Honey is fed to people from all walks of life on a daily basis, so why not feed it to your skin too???

 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information posted on Seize the Day Blog, including but not limited to, articles, images, recipes, text and other material are shared for informational purposes only. None of the writings should be looked upon as advice meant to replace that of an actual medical professional. If you suspect you have a serious medical condition you should seek help from a healthcare professional immediately. Please be aware that the author of this website is posting information simply to inform NOT to recommend others about health-related topics. Before following any information (i.e. undertaking a new healthcare or diet routine) found here on Seize the Day Blog, you should always consult a medical professional first. Please be sure to never disregard any medicinal advice because of something you have read on this website.

Sources:

http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2008/12/estrogen-in-moisturizers-may-worsen.html

https://www.dermstore.com/product_Vitamin+H+Cream_13414.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnubLBRC_ARIsAASsNNlo1amiPsI9WPx5u52-alnzf63GxCphbxHxqwaUxAmBVrc1bOThXc4aAmIHEALw_wcB&scid=scplp13414&sc_intid=13414&utm_source=fro&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_term=skin+care&utm_campaign=500686

https://www.amazon.com/Karin-Herzog-Oxygen-Face-Ounce/dp/B0002Y5JC8

https://us.karinherzog.com/en/about-us

https://healthytraditions.com/organic-raw-honey-17-6-oz-glass-jar.html

http://www.rawsumorganics.com/mini-kit.html

http://www.rawsumorganics.com

Rosewater

https://wellnessmama.com/13344/homemade-honey-face-wash/

Let’s Talk About Petroleum Part 2: Cosmetics

The cosmetic industry is a no-brainer when it comes to products containing petroleum-derived ingredients; therefore it was an obvious choice for my mini-series on petroleum. Deciding which petroleum-polluted products to analyze, now that was a bit more challenging. “In 1907 Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, meaning it contained no molecules found in nature” (ChemHeritage.org) so the world has had an abundance of time since then to creatively sneak petroleum into virtually every industry in existence. Plastics were just the beginning of a thriving career for Petroleum and cosmetics have been an inevitable stop along the way.

For Part 2 of the “Let’s Talk About Petroleum” series, I’m going to analyze 3 primary cosmetic products most people come into contact with on a daily basis. Though I was tempted, investigating every single cosmetic product under the sun was out of the question. Petroleum has become too prevalent in our world to be able to complete that endeavor in one lifetime. So, the three cosmetic products I will be analyzing are Lotion, Lip Balm/Lipstick/Lip Gloss, and Toothpaste.

As complicated as most ingredient labels have become these days, the majority of people probably aren’t even aware of its presence in these products let alone the entire cosmetic industry. Be prepared for some pretty shocking insight into the world of cosmetics.

I know that the word “cosmetic” is most often translated as meaning “makeup” only, but it actually includes a variety of products that can pertain to both men and women. Even though the Lipstick and Lip Gloss sections of this article are entirely directed at the female demographic, I can guarantee that an equal amount of discussion is devoted to lip balm, which easily pertains to both genders. Who knows, you might even find a good alternative product to the one you’re using now (I certainly hope so!). So don’t tune out just yet, boys, you might be interested in what I have to share.

Both men and women alike use each product listed on a daily basis, yet the majority are unaware of what every ingredient label actually contains. Truthfully, I could analyze each ingredient present on the labels of multiple specific products and shed some serious light on their true quality, but for the sake of this mini-series, I’m only going to highlight petroleum-derived ingredients.

Unfortunately, all three of the previously mentioned products have been produced with petroleum derivatives thanks to a multitude of brands. Here we are in the supposedly advanced 21st Century yet it is more difficult to find clean, healthy products at your average retailer than it is petroleum-laden products.

Personally, I believe this to be the saddest part about the cosmetic industry nowadays. These massive corporations make poor quality products, some even carcinogenic (cancer-causing), readily available to the consumer and yet the good-quality, organic products are frequently banned by the FDA for illegitimate reasons!

Despite this unfortunate reality, I am happy to announce that I have found clean, natural solutions to each of the 3 cosmetic problem products I am discussing in this article (the majority of these solutions have been tested by your truly). I can’t point out a problem and then do absolutely nothing to help fix it, especially when finding a truly good product is such a struggle. I want each of my readers to know that avoiding carcinogens (like petroleum) is not impossible if you know where to shop and what to buy.

After 8 years of research, I have had plenty of time to not only understand the very relevant problem at hand, but to reverse it entirely in my own life, as well. My goal in writing this article is to help others learn how to reverse it too. All it takes is the motivation to make the necessary changes and the drive to stay consistent with it in every aspect of their life. This may sound overwhelming, but it is actually much easier than you might think if you take it slowly…‘one product at a time’ is a good strategy to have when handling the cosmetic industry.

Let’s begin by analyzing a product necessary in the everyday lives of men and women alike…Lotion.

Whether it is hand lotion, face lotion, or body lotion, we all need it if we don’t want dry, cracked skin! But, before you use some random product you need to make sure petroleum isn’t a component of the ingredient label.

***Side Note: If you use a lotion product not discussed, please comment below and I’ll be more than happy to help you determine whether or not you should switch brands.

Three lotion brands I see most often advertised and stocked by retailers here in the U.S. are Neutrogena, Lubriderm, and Jergens (although I feel like these are pretty universal companies). And yes, all three contain at least one petroleum-derived ingredient. Neutrogena Body Lotion contains an ingredient called PEG-100 Stearate, which despite its complicated name is actually “a synthetic polymer made by combining Oxirane (Ethylene Oxide) and fatty acids (source)” (Truth in Aging). If it’s synthetic, you can pretty much guarantee that it’s bad for you. Oxirane (Ethylene Oxide) is a petroleum derivative and occurs in the form of “a flammable colorless gas with a sweet odor. It is used primarily to produce other chemicals, including Anti-freeze…The ability of Ethylene Oxide to damage DNA makes it an effective sterilizing agent but also accounts for its cancer-causing activity…Lymphoma and leukemia are the cancers most frequently reported to be associated with occupational exposure to ethylene oxide” (Cancer.gov).

Notice at the end of this quote, the National Cancer Institute cites ‘occupational exposure’ as a main cause. Translation: industrial factories with dangerous amounts of this chemical present in the environment. What leaves me completely shocked is the fact that while factory workers are forced to face conditions with ethylene oxide exposure, Neutrogena is purposefully using PEG-100 Stearate in their product, therefore exposing all of their consumers to a dangerous and potentially life-threatening chemical. The icing on the cake is the fact that despite extensive research, the only discovery scientists have been able to make about this particular ingredient is that it does not serve any beneficial purpose for the human body. Whether PEG-100 Stearate is sitting by itself in a lab test tube or mixed together with a bunch of other chemicals in Neutrogena Body Lotion avoid at all cost if you value your health! Also, be wary of PEG-100 Stearate/Ethylene Oxide in other cosmetic ingredient labels, it tends to be a frequently used ingredient.

The next lotion product is Lubriderm Daily Moisture, a product my entire family has been using for years. Unfortunately for us and anyone else who has used this product, it does contain a petroleum derivative among many other nasty ingredients. If you noticed with the Neutrogena petroleum derivative, many companies like to hide their petroleum ingredients behind code-names that the majority of everyday people like you and I aren’t going to even begin to comprehend or go the extra mile to try and understand its true nature.

The most common code-name used by the cosmetic industry for petroleum-derived ingredients? Mineral Oil. Not as complicated as “PEG-100 Stearate,” but still just as vague. The 2nd ingredient listed on the label of the Lubriderm bottle? Mineral Oil.

Truth be told, it is hard to find any beneficial ingredients in the entire list except for maybe water and even that is questionable because we do not know the source. Basically, Johnson & Johnson made watery petroleum, mixed a few extra synthetic chemicals in to create their desired texture and somehow interpreted the concoction as lotion. No joke, this sounds more like an experiment gone wrong from my high school chemistry class than it does an FDA approved skin care product that is actually recommended for daily use.

Obviously, Mineral Oil is terrible because it is petroleum based and, therefore, contains carcinogenic qualities. But, did you also know that Mineral Oil cannot be metabolized by the human body? Naturally your body is incapable of breaking down and utilizing a synthetic ingredient like Mineral Oil. Alternatively, it gets trapped inside your body by accumulating in your cells and tissues until it can be discarded from your body entirely. Typically, this “discard process” would happen through the passing of urine and stool, but since it can’t be metabolized, your body does not send Mineral Oil into your digestive system to be broken down and passed out of your body.

Instead, your body stores it and accumulates this toxin until it begins causing other problems that just might be detrimental to long-term health. The real issue begins when this accumulation starts to negatively impact those around you. Pregnant women, for example, should take extra care to avoid Mineral Oil and all petroleum derivatives during and after pregnancy (in general and for breast feeding purposes) if they do not want their newborn babies exposed, as well.

“Researchers removed fat specimens from 142 women who were undergoing C-sections, and collected milk-samples from them post-delivery. Scarily they found that both the fat and the milk were contaminated with mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons. The authors concluded: ‘The increase in MOSH [Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons] concentration in human fat tissue with age suggests an accumulation over time. Cosmetics might be a relevant source of the contamination’” (Beauty Editor).

Notice the word Beauty Editor uses to describe Mineral Oil and its presence in the human body…‘Contamination.’ The largest organ in the human body is the skin and it is covered in countless amounts of pores just waiting to absorb those toxins and/or nutrients your body comes into contact with on a daily basis. Long story short, petroleum derivatives contaminate your body just like they do the poor quality products they’re found in.

Lastly, we have Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion. I’d really like to know who is in charge of naming these products. It can’t be the scientists creating the formulas because there is no way they would consider the product they created in the lab to be ‘Ultra Healing’ no matter who the user is. Jergens’ ingredient label is much like Neutrogena’s and Lubriderm’s in that it also contains petroleum-derived ingredients. However, its level of toxicity is a bit greater due to the fact that the fourth ingredient is just straight up Petrolatum.

The biggest difference between Petrolatum and other petroleum-derivatives is the chemical makeup of the ingredient. Ingredients such as PEG-100 Stearate, Mineral Oil, etc. are formulated with many other ingredients, thereby diluted by extra additives and chemicals. Petrolatum happens to be a “byproduct of petroleum refining” (Safe Cosmetics) so there isn’t much to it other than petroleum. Some sources claim that when properly refined, Petrolatum is safe for use. Personally, I seriously doubt this statement because petroleum based ingredients never serve any beneficial purpose for the human body. I am yet to find one that is actually good and I have thoroughly researched a multitude of ingredients!

Safe Cosmetics also points out an alarming fact about the refining process: “With an incomplete refining history, petrolatum could potentially be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. PAHs are byproducts of organic material combustion, commonly stored in fats upon exposure due to its lipophilic properties. There is no way to confirm proper refinement unless a complete refining history is provided.”

So basically, unless Jergens forks over the refining history for the Petrolatum included in their ingredient label, all we know is that they may or may not have an ingredient in their lotion that is contaminated with toxic chemicals.

For obvious reasons, I am not convinced that the Petrolatum used by the Jergens Company is safe. Not to mention, this particular body lotion also contains Laureth-3 and Ceteareth-20, both of which are derived from ethylene oxide, a petroleum-derived ingredient found in PEG-100 Stearate and Neutrogena Lotion. If they’re willing to also use these poor-quality ingredients in their product, my guess is that their refining process is not quite to the standard required for non-contaminated Petrolatum.

If this information is not convincing you of just how bad this cosmetic product truly is, check out its product listing on the Jet website. Right below the Add to Cart button, you’ll notice a warning link for California Residents (although it pertains to residents across the globe) about Proposition 65.

Let’s shed some light on Prop 65…“California Proposition 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase. Proposition 65 entitles California consumers to warnings for products that contain chemicals known to California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm if those products expose consumers to such chemicals above certain threshold levels” (Jet.com). As a Californian, I appreciate the warning, but I also believe that potential consumers around the globe should be extended this same courtesy.

I’ve reached a point where I’m seriously wondering if there is any good news about Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion. Also, is it just me, or does naming a product with a Prop 65 Warning attached to it “Ultra Healing” seem like a bit of an oxymoron?

A few honorable mentions that should also be avoided like the plague are Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream (contains Petrolatum), Aveeno Anti-Itch Concentrated Lotion (Petrolatum), Nivea Smooth Daily Moisture (Mineral Oil), and a new, but highly sought after product called Fasáli Unicorn Essence (Propanediol, Polysorbate 20, Red 40, Red 33, Blue 1, Ethylene Oxide).

Even though I’m already aware of the extreme poor quality of the majority of products, it still shocks me the amount of just plain BAD ingredients that have been approved by the FDA and incorporated into everyday cosmetics. It has reached a point where I’m shocked when a petroleum derivative isn’t listed. Rock bottom doesn’t even begin to describe the current state our standards have reached; this includes both the consumer and the manufacturer. The consumer should never have to sacrifice their health when purchasing a product and manufacturers should never prioritize company income above merchandise quality.

Do not be put into a position where you have to choose between good or bad health just so you can have nourished skin…take the initiative to choose the right products the first time, starting with your lotion. The smallest step can have the largest impact on your long-term health, so why wait? Here is a list of clean alternatives, most of which are made from Organically grown ingredients. If you know of a product that you think should be included in this list, please comment below and I’ll check it out!

 

HEALTHY LOTION ALTERNATIVES:

 

 

100% Pure extra gentle baby lotion

100% Pure vanilla bean nourishing body cream

Calypso Glow coconut water 

Kopari coconut melt

Osmia Organics vanilla shea hand cream

S.W. Basics cream

White & Elm intense hydration cream

 

Lip Balm/Lipstick/Lip Gloss is a necessity for anyone wanting hydrated lips so I obviously had to dissect this product. It is a particularly important product in my day to day routine due to the fact that I live in a desert-type area of Southern California where it is insanely dry no matter the time of year. I definitely don’t leave the house without my lip balm! The biggest challenge, when it comes to this product, lies with the manufacturers and the ingredient label they produce.

More often than not, a product promising “moisture” and “protection” is actually delivering petroleum-based formulas that offer no benefit to the human body. So much for those kissable lips you were hoping for. In reality, you are exposing your body to petroleum derivatives by applying the lip balm to an area that, like the skin, also contains innumerable pores waiting to absorb whatever they come into contact with. And, to make matters worse, your body also ingests a portion of the petroleum-derived ingredients due to the location of the application area and its close proximity to the tongue and mouth. It’s a double whammy when it comes to this particular product.

Ignorance is never bliss when it comes to petroleum-based products. Exposing everyday brands for the true, poor quality of their products is the first step toward understanding so you can begin avoiding these products in the future.

To start, I’m going as basic as it gets with the Chapstick brand of lip balm. The marketing team put the same amount of effort into naming their product as the company itself put into the quality of their formula…zero! The ingredient label contains only 15 ingredients, which is a positive surprise. However, 14 of the ingredients are synthetic. Eight of which are considered carcinogenic. Another three of those ingredients are petroleum-derivatives. Those are some pretty scary ingredients used to create a product designed for application on the lips!

The complete ingredient label for Chapstick Moisturizer Original is as follows: aloe barbadensis leaf extract, carnauba wax, cetyl alcohol, fragrance, isocetyl stearate, isopropyl lanolate, isopropyl myristate, lanolin, methylparaben, mineral oil, paraffin, propylparaben, tocopheryl linoleate/oleate, vitamin E acetate, white wax.

The only ingredient with even the slightest chance of being non-synthetic is the aloe barbadensis leaf extract. However, the Chapstick Company does not reveal enough about their source to be 100% sure whether it is or is not synthetically derived. For now, we’ll just hope for the best and assume it came from a natural source.

Cetyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Methylparaben, Mineral Oil, Paraffin, Propyl Paraben, Tocopheryl Linoleate, and Tocopheryl Acetate are all considered carcinogenic ingredients with contributing factors toward breast cancer, skin cancer, and lung cancer (Cancer Institute). Chapstick Original Formula contains three petroleum-derived ingredients. After listing off the 15 synthetic ingredients and 8 carcinogenic ingredients this doesn’t sound too bad. But, it is. Many times, cosmetic products will have only one petroleum-derivative, not three. Add in the fact that this product is for your lips, a very sensitive region for absorption, and it suddenly makes so much sense why cancer-rates have dramatically increased over the years.

In my personal life alone, there have been a multitude of cancer diagnoses just in the last two years. All have come as a complete shock. Every time I hear about a new diagnosis, I can’t help but wonder if it could have been prevented if healthier products, diet, and lifestyle were utilized.

Don’t wait until you’ve hit rock bottom to make a change. Don’t make the same mistake I made 8 years ago and wait for a serious diagnosis to make you rethink your current lifestyle. Make the change while you’re still healthy enough to do so. Make it now (with the supervision of a doctor, of course)!

Some of the smallest changes can have the most significant effect in the long run. Don’t make the same mistake I made 8 years ago and wait for a serious diagnosis to make you rethink your current lifestyle.

The next product on my list, EOS Lip Balm, is actually one that has done a very successful job at posing as a healthy product. However, by digging a little deeper into the ingredient labels of EOS Lip Balm products, one will discover the same synthetic ingredients that happen to be present in previously discussed poor-quality products also present in every flavor EOS has to offer. The standard 6 count pack of EOS Lip Balm includes the following flavors: Blackberry Nectar, Coconut Milk, Vanilla Mint, Vanilla Bean, Organic Pomegranate Raspberry, and Organic Sweet Mint. Although the EOS brand poses as “organic” and “healthy,” their product actually has a few dirty secrets.

All six flavors contain an ingredient called “Tocopherol,” also known as a Vitamin E derivative. Slightly lesser known as a petroleum derivative when procured from a non-organic source. Now, the ingredient label on the EOS product itself gives no indication whether the source is synthetic or natural. In fact, it happens to be lacking an asterisk, which typically classifies ingredients as organically derived. Based on this information, I can only assume that the origin for the EOS Company’s Tocopherol is definitely filled with pesticides and most likely raised as a synthetic product, therefore a petroleum derivative, as well. “Synthetic Vitamin E does not come from natural food sources and is generally derived from petroleum products” (Poulin-Grain).

In addition to Tocopherol, the EOS Lip Balm products also contain Natural Flavor (a code name for Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)), Plyglyceryl-3 Diiostearate (synthetic ingredient), Ascorbyl Palmitate (synthetic ingredient), Raspberry Leaf Extract (common Estrogen-increasing ingredient), and Sunflower Seed Oil (synthetic ingredient).

On the Walmart website, EOS Lip Balm is advertised as 100% Natural and 95% Organic, as if this is a healthy product. Unfortunately for EOS, the ingredient label they created contradicts both of these claims. In conclusion, the idea of this product is good, but the actual execution is nothing short of disappointing.

The next lip balm product is one that should be avoided at all cost. Carmex Lip Balm is more widely known as a medicated treatment for cold sores, but it also acts as a solution for dry, chapped lips. Unfortunately, Carmex has been a very popular product around my household for years. Once I began researching this product, I discovered that almost half of the balm is made from White Petroleum (45.3% to be exact (Carmex.com)), while the other half contains 1.70% Camphor (an ingredient also used in nail polish) and 10 other synthetic ingredients, including Paraffin and Phenol (Carmex.com).

As I discussed earlier, Paraffin is a petroleum derivative and serves no beneficial purpose to the human body. Phenol is a new discovery for me, but just its name alone sounded synthetic so I did a little research and actually discovered some pretty scary information!

According to PubChem, “Phenol is a toxic, colourless crystalline solid with a sweet tarry odor…Exposure of the skin to concentrated phenol solutions causes chemical burns which may be severe.” PubChem’s analysis sums up the ingredient as “Highly toxic and corrosive to the skin.”

Cosmetically, Phenol is used to remove layers of dead skin (PubChem), a convenient ability for any lip treatment most especially Carmex, but at what cost to the long-term health of the user? In conclusion, Carmex is a very toxic product that shouldn’t be used if you want to avoid petroleum-derivatives.

***Side Note: Please remember, I am not a doctor so any suggestions I make in this article should be viewed as my own personal opinion. It is always important to consult a doctor before making any changes to your daily routine.

 Okay, so this facet of the “Lip Balm” section is more for the ladies, but men should pay attention too because lipstick can make a nice gift and you want to make sure you get your lady a good-quality product. The only issue is that this can be a very difficult feat to accomplish. The majority of brands nowadays create a product filled with synthetic, carcinogenic, and petroleum-derived ingredients.

After researching three specific lipstick products, I noticed a recurring trend. Each product contains ingredients that, when viewed on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website, issue the same warning to users: ‘Organ System Toxicity (non-reproductive).’ The “non-reproductive” detail they include as an afterthought jumped out at me when I first read this article. I’m not quite sure if including this particular information is supposed to make the entire situation better somehow in the eyes of the EWG, but it still results in potential internal damage for us (the user) so that just seems silly.

Yet scientists at the FDA sit back and give it their stamp of approval because it doesn’t affect the reproductive organs. What about the other organs??!

The product may slowly kill its user, actually the organ system as a whole might take a hit from the consequences of this ingredient, but no worries on their part, they label this detail as a “Moderate” concern. We’re talking about people’s internal organs; I think it deserves to at least be marked as a “Critical” concern!

If you were ever curious about where the consumer ranks on the manufacturer’s list of priorities, this should shed some light on the reality of the situation…the consumer and his or her health is a moderate concern and is therefore treated as such when the chemical makeup of a product is being determined.

I don’t know about you, but this definitely makes me re-think some of the products I use and the companies I support when I purchase their products. Truthfully, I own a lot of lipstick and lip gloss…definitely more than I need because I still haven’t used half of them. After researching ingredients, I really just want to throw every single one of them away at this point. I know, I know, this sounds wasteful, but once I share with you what I have discovered, you’ll want to help me fill my trashcan with these products!

While I have quite the variety of brands and products, there are three somewhat unexpected products in particular that I have chosen to examine. For lipsticks, I have chosen to analyze Butter London Moisture Matte Lipstick, Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick, and BareMinerals Pop of Passion Lipstick.

 

 

To me, Butter London has always seemed like a healthier company than most. Their nail polish is free of a lot of the common toxic chemicals; I guess I hoped their lipstick would be formulated with the same effort and care. Unfortunately, I was wrong…Butter London’s lipstick contains nine (Yes, nine!) petroleum-derivatives: Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Red 6, Red 7 Lake, Red 27, Red 30 Lake, Red 33 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, and Blue 1 Lake. Each of these ingredients has also been deemed safe for use in food products, so be careful when purchasing products with artificial dyes because they just might contain one of these petroleum derivatives.

Next, we have Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick. As a drugstore brand, Maybelline made me less than hopeful for a good quality product. And though they do use eight petroleum derivatives in their product, it is still better than the Butter London formula! There is a $14.00 difference between the two lipsticks (Maybelline being $7.99 and Butter London being $22.00 (ulta.com)), yet the more expensive product is of poorer quality than the cheaper product. Apparently both products have been formulated without an incredibly vital ingredient…Logic.

The Maybelline lipstick contains the following petroleum derivatives: Microcrystalline Wax, Tocopheryl Acetate, Red 7, Red 28 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Red 22 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, and Blue 1 Lake. When you combine this list with the synthetic nature of every ingredient included on the label, you get a hot mess of a product that offers no real benefit to the consumer.

Lastly, we have BareMinerals Lipstick, which also contains eight petroleum derivatives. These are Hydrogenated Polyisobutane, Blue 1 Lake, Red 6, Red 7 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Red 27, Red 28 Lake, and Red 22 Lake. I feel like BareMinerals is another company that has tried to advertise as one with healthier aspirations, but missed their mark a bit when it comes to their follow through. My research only further confirms this observation.

If you’ll notice, the integrity of all three lipsticks is sacrificed when they begin adding synthetic dyes. It takes numerous “Lake” chemicals to reach that perfect shade they’re aiming for.

***Side Note: If you find any product (cosmetic or not) with “Lake” ingredients, keep in mind their petroleum base. They’re toxic and harmful to the human body regardless of form so it is best to avoid these whenever possible.

 Some other lipsticks with toxic/carcinogenic/petroleum-derived ingredients are Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Créme, Makeup Forever Rouge Créme, Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick, and NARS Cosmetics Lipstick.

Lip gloss is very similar to lipstick when it comes to chemical makeup. I know this article is pretty lengthy so I’ve only analyzed one lip gloss product. But the product I chose is one that should be made of the highest quality ingredients available based on price and brand name. Chanel Rouge Allure Ink Matte Liquid Lip Colour, though very effective as an “intense lipstick” (Nordstrom) or lip stain, contains fifteen petroleum-derived ingredients.

The ingredient list for Chanel Rouge Allure Ink (petroleum-derivatives only): Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Isohexadecane, PEG-8, Tocopheryl, Parfum (Fragrance), Red 36, Red 6, Red 7 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Red 33 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Red 22 Lake, Red 28 Lake, and Red 30 Lake.

After reading through the product ingredient list, I’m tempted to return the lip gloss and get my $37.00 back. At the time of purchase, I had the mindset that good quality was guaranteed just because it was Chanel. Wrong again! The only thing you need to know about this lip gloss is that it’s toxic! Save yourself $37.00 and skip this product if you’re considering buying it. Simply based on Chanel’s synthetic formula, it is clear that this product belongs better in the trashcan than it does on your lips.

As a lipstick and lip gloss user myself, I understand the dilemma faced by any woman trying to cleanse her current stock of products. Replacing petroleum-laced products with natural products is no simple task! Let’s face it, we all need a good lipstick or lip gloss for work and play, but where do you find one?? All of those synthetic dyes (such as Red 6, Blue Lake 1, etc.) are standard ingredients in the majority of mainstream brands. So where are the healthy products with natural ingredients that work just as well as the synthetic ingredients?

Lucky for those of us trying to make a healthy change to our lipstick and lip gloss game, fruit pigmentation rather than synthetic pigmentation has recently grown in popularity. I’m certainly a fan! One brand in particular has done a marvelous job at utilizing the benefits of fruits and veggies within the cosmetic industry. It is called 100% Pure and they use fruit pigmentation in the majority of their makeup products, including lipstick. This immediately eliminates all synthetic dyes and guarantees a much better quality product right from the start. After in-depth research, I can confirm that no petroleum derivatives are used in 100% Pure lipstick products and all pigmentation is derived from Organic fruits (no need to worry about pesticides).

My only criticism for 100% Pure products is their use of “Organic Tocopherol.” You’ll notice with previously discussed lip products, I listed Tocopheryl/Tocopherol as a petroleum-derivative. So why is Organic Tocopherol so different from non-organic Tocopherol? Believe it or not, the chemical makeup is completely changed when it is produced organically because companies like 100% Pure derive their Tocopherol from soy instead of petroleum. While soy is a much better alternative to petroleum, it still isn’t a stellar ingredient to expose your body to on a daily basis. Contrary to popular belief, soy can actually be considered a very unhealthy ingredient due to its synthetic production process.

For epileptics, soy can irritate the brain and interrupt brain activity, which ultimately results in more seizures. So, although I do recommend 100% Pure lipstick, I also caution all of my readers to be wary of the soy-derived Tocopherol present in the product, especially those with a soy sensitivity.

S.W. Basics is another “natural” brand that excels at creating products with good quality ingredients and a very short ingredient list. For example, their Organic Lip Balm in Peppermint contains Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Beeswax, and Organic Peppermint Essential Oil…that’s it! Don’t believe me? Check out their full product listing here. S.W. Basics has quickly risen to the top of my list of favorites because every one of their products is exactly what it claims to be…basic. Not only is the brand USDA certified Organic, but they’re also Cruelty-free, which I love to see in every company I choose to support!

 

Healthy Lipstick Alternatives:

 

100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Lip Glaze

100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Lipstick 

100% Pure Cocoa-Butter Semi-Matte Lipstick

S.W. Basics Chapstick

S.W. Basics Salve

Tropical Traditions Lip Moisturizer

 

Once again, if you know of any healthy alternatives for lip balms, lipstick, or lip gloss please comment below. I am always interested in finding new products!

Lastly, I would like to discuss toothpaste. We all use it, but we all don’t necessarily know what products to buy that are healthy for your teeth, gums, and long-term health. Keep reading to discover some truly good quality products!

White teeth, something we all want but sometimes struggle to maintain. The Crest brand addressed this struggle when they created their Crest 3D White Toothpaste. However, Crest and the FDA fail to mention the fact that certain ingredients present in their toothpaste formula are also present in products such as Rat Poison and insecticides.

You’ll notice below in my list of sources I cite an article titled “5 Harmful Ingredients in Toothpaste” (which is a worth a read, by the way). Well, Crest 3D Toothpaste contains 4 out of 5 of those ingredients: Sodium Flouride, Blue 1, Sodium Lauryl Stearate/Sulfate, and Hydrated Silica.

Sodium Flouride, the only “active” ingredient in this toothpaste, is also a prime ingredient in rat poison. Fluoride is commonly misconstrued as a beneficial ingredient for teeth. Many toothpaste brands like to advertise the inclusion of this ingredient in their product, but your main goal when choosing a toothpaste brand should be finding one that is Fluoride-free.

“There are two types of fluoride: calcium fluoride and sodium fluoride. When taken in excess, both types can be harmful to health. Calcium fluoride is found naturally in underground water sources. In sufficient concentrations, it can actually weaken bones and teeth rather than protecting them. However, it is less toxic and damaging to health than its counterpart. Sodium fluoride is much more insidious. Created as a synthetic waste byproduct from fertilizer, aluminum and nuclear industries, this type of fluoride is added to many public water supplies. Already laden with lead, aluminum and cadmium, sodium fluoride has the ability to combine with other toxic materials and increase their potency. Far from healthy, the side effects of taking fluoride may have far-reaching negative effects on health as you will see, yet until recently it was advocated by both the American Dental Association and the US Public Health Service” (Dr.Axe).

As you’ve probably already come to realize, going Fluoride-free is both the healthier and safer option for your dental health. However, please remember that with a Fluoride-free product you aren’t necessarily “out of the woods” quite yet when it comes to the ingredient label, but it’s a good start.

Blue 1, a petroleum derivative and synthetic coloring agent is made entirely from petroleum and/or coal tar. It has also been deemed carcinogenic by the EWG. Basically, because of ingredients like Blue 1 you have to take your life into your hands just to brush your teeth.

Sodium Lauryl Stearate/Sulfate has been “linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, organ toxicity, skin irritation and endocrine disruption” (Livestrong). You know that foamy texture toothpaste gets while you’re brushing your teeth? It’s not because you have brushed for the right amount of time or even because you did a “good” job brushing. The only reason why there is any foam at all is because of Sodium Lauryl Stearate/Sulfate. I’m not trying to burst your bubble (no pun intended), but you’re getting synthetic foam when brushing with toothpaste brands like Crest. Watch out for this foaming agent in other products such as body washes, soaps, shampoos, and laundry detergent (Livestrong).

Hydrated Silica is a whitener that actually damages tooth enamel. In the “5 Harmful Ingredients Article,” this chemical is described as “an abrasive in toothpaste…scratching the surface of the tooth with an abrasive such as hydrated silica harms the enamel and prevents re-mineralization, much like using sand to clean glass.” Not only is Hydrated Silica a threat to your overall dental health, but it also offers no beneficial properties for long or short-term enamel health. It really is crazy to think that the product meant for the purpose of preventing dental decay could actually be accelerating this process.

Some other toothpaste brands to avoid are Colgate Optic White (3 petroleum derivatives), Sensodyne Fresh Gel (1 petroleum derivative), Arm & Hammer Toothpaste (2 petroleum derivatives), and Tom’s of Maine Natural Toothpaste (2 petroleum derivatives).

 

Healthy Toothpaste Alternatives:

Truthpaste Toothpaste

Coral White Toothpaste

Krista’s Natural Products Toothpaste

 

I used to trust commercial companies and the products they created wholeheartedly. I never gave it a second thought to check the ingredient label on the toothpaste I used or the lotion I kept on my nightstand because I had faith in these companies to provide me with something clean and beneficial. It took a diagnosis of epilepsy to wake me up to the fact that toxic formulas are more prevalent than healthy formulas these days. Whether it’s lotion, lip balm, or toothpaste, always be sure to scrutinize every label. You never know what ingredient might be hiding amongst the others.

If you’re looking to further cleanse the cosmetic products you are currently using, I suggest beginning with your deodorant. It is applied in a highly absorbable area and often times contains Aluminum. We get plenty of exposure to heavy metals on a daily basis; therefore, the last thing we should be doing is purposely applying one to our skin! Thanks to Reviews.com and their top ten list of all-natural deodorant products making this change has become even easier. The choice is yours, but please remember one very important fact…only you can make these beneficial changes to your beauty routine. The sooner, the better!

Please contact me via Instagram & Twitter (@seizethedayblog) or email me (katie@seizethedayblog.com) with any all-natural beauty products you are currently using! I love learning about new products! Thank you!

Medical Disclaimer:

The information posted on Seize the Day Blog, including but not limited to, articles, images, recipes, text and other material are shared for informational purposes only. None of the writings should be looked upon as advice meant to replace that of an actual medical professional. If you suspect you have a serious medical condition you should seek help from a healthcare professional immediately. Please be aware that the author of this website is posting information simply to inform NOT to recommend others about health-related topics. Before following any information (i.e. undertaking a new healthcare or diet routine) found here on Seize the Day Blog, you should always consult a medical professional first. Please be sure to never disregard any medicinal advice because of something you have read on this website.

Article Sources:

About Propylene Glycols: http://www.dow.com/propyleneglycol/about/

Arm & Hammer Sensitive Whitening Toothpaste / Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arm-Hammer-Sensitive-Whitening-Toothpaste-with-Baking-Soda-4.5-oz/20850557#about-item

BareMinerals Pop of Passion Lip Oil-Balm: http://www.bareminerals.com/offers/last-chance/pop-of-passion-lip-oil-balm/US74669.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwrYbIBRCgnY-OluOk89EBEiQAZER58iE3lFDed62wz00HAPnateGLqHesTxqRghzpZpzk3XQaAikk8P8HAQ&cm_mmc=g-_-bm-ecom-_-allscreen-_-pb_g_bm-ecom_low_sall_shopping_allages_usa-nat_broad&cm_ven=Google&cm_ite=all&campaign=pb_g_bm-ecom_low_sall_shopping_allages_usa-nat_broad&cm_pla=74669&kw=-&cm_cat=GPS&device=c&gclsrc=aw.ds&adgroup=lips%20%7C%20makeup

Beauty Editor: http://beautyeditor.ca/2014/10/16/petroleum-mineral-oil-skin-products

Blue 1: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/702408/FD%26C_BLUE_1/

Carmex Product: https://www.mycarmex.com/classic-lip-balm/original-jar/

Ceteareth-20 / Truth in Aging: https://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/ceteareth-20

Cetyl Alcohol / Truth in Aging: https://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/cetyl-alcohol

Chanel Rouge Allure Ink Collection / Nordstrom: http://shop.nordstrom.com/o/chanel-rouge-allure-ink-collection/4483169?origin=leftnav&cm_sp=Top%20Navigation-_-ROUGE%20ALLURE%20INK

Chapstick (Ingredient Label): http://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=2590

ChemHeritage: https://www.chemheritage.org/the-history-and-future-of-plastics

Cocoon Apothecary / Petroleum Derivatives List: https://blog.cocoonapothecary.com/2010/06/25/get-petroleum-out-of-your-bathroom/

Coral White Toothpaste / Vitacost: https://www.vitacost.com/coral-llc-coral-white-toothpaste-mint

Dior Addict Lip Gloss / Makeup Alley: https://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemId=21043/Addict-Lip-Gloss-(All-Shades)/Dior/Lip-Gloss

Disteardimonium Hectorite / The Personal Formulator https://www.personalformulator.com/wvss/product_info.php?products_id=155

Dr. Axe:

– (Propylene Glycol) https://draxe.com/propylene-glycol/

– (Fluoride) https://draxe.com/avoiding-fluoride-and-how-to-detox-it-from-your-body/

EOS Lip Balm: https://www.boxed.com/product/551/eos-lip-balm-6-count-variety-pack?pf=3&gid=551&gclid=Cj0KEQjwioHIBRCes6nP56Ti1IsBEiQAxxb5Gyw_gMA8oDnEuNONQWLbwJemR5QhjV5bO43y8_Z8X2MaAqtE8P8HAQ

EOS Product: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Eos-.25-Oz-Balm-Moisturizing-Lip-Balm/132995508?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227049168522&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=146710557823&wl4=pla-259089918642&wl5=9031467&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=132995508&wl13=&veh=sem#about-item

Ethylene Oxide: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/ethylene-oxide

EWG:

– (Fragrance Ingredient) https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/702512/FRAGRANCE/#

– (Red 7 Lake) https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/701826/D%26C_RED_7_LAKE/#

– (Red 27) https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/701793/D%26C_RED_27/

– (Red 30 Lake) https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/701802/D%26C_RED_30_LAKE/

– (Red 33 Lake) https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/701805/D%26C_RED_33_LAKE/#

– (Microcrystalline Wax) https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/703957/MICROCRYSTALLINE_WAX_(CERA_MICROCRISTALLINA)/

– (Dimethicone) https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/702011/DIMETHICONE/

– (Blue 1) https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/702408/FD%26C_BLUE_1/#

– (Propyl Paraben) http://www.ewg.org/research/propyl-paraben

Farsáli Unicorn Essence: http://www.sephora.com/unicorn-essence-P417141?skuId=1931526&icid2=products%20grid:p417141

Josie Maran Argan Lip Sting Plumping Butter: http://www.josiemarancosmetics.com/argan-lip-sting-plumping-butter.html#.WQ5bThi-Lwd

Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion: http://www.jergens.com/products/daily-moisturizers/ultra-healing-extra-dry-skin-moisturizer.aspx

Krista’s Natural Products Toothpaste: http://www.kristasnaturalproducts.com/products/cinnamon-toothpaste

Laureth-3 / Cosmetics Info: http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/laureth-3

Live Strong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/256783-list-of-skin-care-products-that-contain-parabens/

MethylParaben / Truth in Aging:

https://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/methylparaben

Paraffin Wax Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/274566-the-side-effects-of-paraffin-wax/

PEG-8 http://davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics—peg-compounds-and-their-contaminants/

Petrolatum / Safe Cosmetics: http://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/petrolatum/

Phenol Ingredient: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/phenol#section=Top

Polyisobutene / Paula’s Choice Skincare: http://www.paulaschoice.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/definition/polyisobutene

Polysorbate 20: https://www.annmariegianni.com/ingredient-watch-list-polysorbate-20-it-may-be-contaminated-with-carcinogenic-14-dioxane/

Poulin Grain (Vitamin E): https://www.poulingrain.com/blog/vitamin-e-synthetic-or-natural/

Proposition 65 / Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion: https://jet.com/product/detail/3479b125ba16458ba7f73b652c126513?jcmp=pla:ggl:JD_cons_Cwin_Health__Beauty_a3:Health__Beauty_Skin_Care_Body_Moisturizers_a3:na:PLA_786357252_41412387112_pla-306115865200:na:na:na:2&code=PLA15&gclid=CjwKEAjw3KDIBRCz0KvZlJ7k4TgSJABDqOK7vQBy5ddoXeJ7WYfBY-SHsDUBGZFtWuS8AuZFlVrrxRoCvJbw_wcB

Red 33: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/701803/D%26C_RED_33/

Red 40: http://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/is-red-dye-40-toxic

Reviews.com: http://www.reviews.com/natural-deodorant/

S.W. Basics Lip Salve: https://store.swbasicsofbk.com/collections/face/products/3-pack-salve

S.W. Basics Organic Lip Balm: https://store.swbasicsofbk.com/collections/face/products/beeswax-lip-balms

Sensodyne Toothpaste / Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/248944-ingredients-in-sensodyne-toothpaste/

Sephora:

– (Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick) http://www.sephora.com/amuse-bouche-lipstick-P405057?skuId=1823277

– (Makeup For Ever Aqua Rouge Liquid Lipstick) http://www.sephora.com/aqua-rouge-P374940

Sodium Lauryl Stearate/Sulfate / Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/174367-dangers-of-sodium-lauryl-sulfate/

Sunflower Oil / U.S. News: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2014/01/03/the-shocking-truth-about-sunflower-oil

Tropical Traditions Lip Moisturizer: https://healthytraditions.com/tropicaltraditions/skin-care-products/lip-moisturizers.html

TruthPaste Toothpaste: https://www.truthpaste.com/products/truthpaste

Truth in Aging: https://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/peg-100-stearate

Ulta Beauty:

– (Butter London LIPPY Moisture Matte Lipstick) http://www.ulta.com/lippy-moisture-matte-lipstick?productId=xlsImpprod10991289&sku=2277734&cmpid=PS_Non!google!Product_Listing_Ads&cagpspn=pla&CATCI=pla-18283950120&CAAGID=18002902230&CAWELAID=330000200000187669&catargetid=330000200000190441&cadevice=c&gclid=Cj0KEQjwrYbIBRCgnY-OluOk89EBEiQAZER58o8RuceR33mIwosLWjnzaJqxxwo7ZtIZPFjp_laFf-EaAq4-8P8HAQ

– (Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick) http://www.ulta.com/color-sensational-creamy-matte-lip-color?productId=xlsImpprod11351217

100% Pure Cosmetics: https://www.100percentpure.com

5 Harmful Ingredients in Toothpaste: http://www.ebay.com/gds/The-5-Harmful-Ingredients-in-Toothpaste-READ-THIS-/10000000003239604/g.html

Let’s Talk About Petroleum Part 1: Bedding

You’re probably wondering why I’m discussing this particular topic; maybe you’re thinking it’s a bit too controversial for a health & wellness blog. However, I would like to discuss a non-political and lesser-known facet of the subject matter at hand…Petroleum. For the next three weeks I am going to be posting a three-part series on Petroleum and how it is related to our daily lives in unexpected ways. For some, its prevalence may be shocking, for others it may be common knowledge…in my opinion, all should be aware of the widespread predicament petroleum manufacturers have carelessly placed people in across the globe. In this way, hopefully we will be able to combat its presence in our own lives and spread the word so that other people can do the same. Let’s just dive right in, shall we? For Part One, I would like to discuss Bedding, a commercial product commonly found in practically every home worldwide.

When I first heard about this connection, I thought it ridiculous and laughed the entire notion off, thinking it was nothing more than some crazy person’s superstition that had clearly gotten out of hand. The truth is, it was easier to chalk it all up to “ridiculous” fiction rather than accepting it is as fact because then I’d actually have to do something about my current lifestyle! I’d need to consider the effect it could be having on my health, make changes where change is absolutely necessary, spend money (God forbid) on new bedding, and most of all, make more of an effort to read the ingredient labels of products beyond the food industry. Please don’t make the same mistake I did when I first heard this news, keep reading because it will only help you and your family to become more informed on the subject!

At this point, some of you may be thinking ‘How on earth could there be a connection between petroleum and bedding??’ A completely natural inquiry, might I remind you. Especially since most people are tricked into believing that petroleum is limited to the oil/fuel industry when, in actuality, petroleum derivatives extend into a multitude of other industries as well (including but not limited to Cosmetics, Textiles, and Food).

So, before I begin answering this question I would like to first shed a little light on what exactly “petroleum” contains and the not-so-stellar chemical makeup of this product. I feel as though a brief history is necessary in order to fully convey the truly appalling quality of certain mainstream products pertaining to the bedding industry.

For starters, “Petroleum is a general term for oil and natural gas. Oil and gas are important fossil fuels formed from the decomposition and pressurization of algae, plankton and other organisms. This process forms hydrocarbons, which are compounds consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon that are powerful combustible fuels. Individual deposits of oil and gas can also contain other compounds, but it is the hydrocarbons that make them valuable” (AAPEA).

According to Earth Science Week, “A typical 42-gallon barrel of crude oil yields about 20 gallons of gasoline and 4 gallons of jet fuel.” They go on to pose the question, “What products come from the other 18 gallons?” Well, the complete answer to this question would take a while to form due to the lengthiness of the list. So instead, here are just a few items to give you a well-rounded idea: Plastics, Ink, Paint, Bug Killer, Ammonia, Vaseline, Novelty Candy, and Crayons.

Reading this list is informative at first glance, but just plain scary at second glance! Companies rarely name the specific “petroleum” ingredients in their product(s), therefore, I can’t help but wonder if the same petroleum derivative found in Bug Killer (poison) & Ammonia (very toxic chemical) has also been used to make novelty candy. How can that be safe?! My guess is that it isn’t, but somehow manufacturers have slipped under the radar of organizations like the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) with their toxic products and without any concern for the health of their customers. Sadly, this has become the norm for many companies and is part of the reason why Petroleum is now in random products such as bedding!

Lastly, I would like to remind every reader of the carcinogenic (cancer causing) qualities of petroleum. “Gasoline contains large numbers of dangerous and cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene, butadiene, toluene, ethylbenzene, yxlene, trimethyl pentane, methyltertbutylether (MTBE) and many others. For the U.S. alone approximately 140 billion gallons of gasoline were consumed in 1989. An increase in only ten cents per gallon in price of gasoline generates 14 billion dollars in extra profit per year for the oil industry cartel. Laboratory animals exposed to gasoline developed cancers in different tissues and organs. A number of epidemiological studies in humans provide evidence of increased cancer risk of leukemia, kidney, liver, brain, lymphosarcoma, lymphatic tissue pancreas and other tissues and organs” (Mehlman MA / Teratog Carcinog Mutagen). All petroleum products come from the same source, therefore, Petroleum, whether in the form of gasoline or as a highly processed derivative, should be avoided whenever possible.

So, after reading these quite disgusting details on petroleum does it make you want to double-check those sheets and blankets currently covering that mattress of yours? I hope so! My current dilemma with the companies selling these types of bedding products is the burning questions of HOW exactly did an ingredient made from petrol end up on the label for blankets??? Sure, it may save them money in the long run, but at what cost to human life?

Consider this: if the average person gets around 7-8 hours of sleep every night, that allows 7-8 hours of skin to product contact with whatever blankets, sheets, or bedspreads he or she happens to be using.

Now consider this: The skin happens to be the largest organ in the body and easily absorbs both toxins and nutrients through the pores. Obviously, this is a good thing when we want to feed our body nutrients, but it becomes quite the issue when toxins are involved because like any other organ, the skin has a specific duty to perform in order to keep the body in tip-top shape. In this case, the skin disperses said ingredients throughout the body, into the digestive tract where it can be determined as useful or harmful, and then toward the appropriate organ.

Unfortunately, coming in contact with some amount of toxins already happens to be an inescapable part of daily life due to natural (and slightly uncontrollable) causes (such as air pollution, for example), therefore, we might as well try to reduce pollution in the areas of our lives that we can control. This is when bedding comes into the picture. We can control the quality of blankets and sheets we expose ourselves to and whether or not our systems are absorbing toxins or nutrients.

Truth be told, our bodies come in contact with too many toxins as it is, therefore, adding to this toxin exposure does not improve our chances of winning the fight against a toxic environment! We win when we surround ourselves by beneficial products!

So, let’s talk about how to do this.

First of all, if these companies can turn petrol products into bedding materials than I’m sure they are creative enough to figure out a healthy alternative that could actually benefit human life! Can I get an amen?!

Of course, presenting companies with an idea like this is comparable to talking to a brick wall, but I hope for my readers it will come across as a rare look inside the honeycomb. Seeing the inner-workings of what seems like such an innocent product will hopefully prompt change amongst the families currently using what are actually really very harmful products.

In our world today, we hear about many children developing learning disabilities and too many people, in general, becoming deathly ill at every age. Cancer is a word that has become much too common in the everyday vocabulary of people worldwide.

The current definition of “Toxin” (as found in Webster’s Dictionary) is “an antigenic poison or venom of plant or animal origin, especially one produced by or derived from microorganisms and causing disease when present at low concentration in the body.”

Petroleum products are, in my opinion, toxins. At this point, I think the only question we need to be asking ourselves is, “Do we want to purposefully, knowingly, and intentionally expose ourselves to toxins for 7-8 hours on a daily basis by using bedding containing petroleum derived ingredients?”

Based on the fact that healthy lifestyle choices are a growing trend (just look at the expansion of organic products now found in your average grocery store), I’m going to assume that the majority of the population would answer “No” to this question. Which is fantastic! But, how do you become truly healthy when companies make it practically impossible to know the truth behind their products?

For me, personally, it has become all about digging as deep as I can go with a product because, thanks to the internet, there are people trying to find out the exact same answers as me! And there are even more helping to clear up these kinds of questions all together by sharing the answers they have found. There are some who might respond to my avid research with a snarky remark like “Curiosity killed the cat,” not-so-subtly hinting at the notion that I’m over-stepping my right as a consumer…Umm, what?! As the consumer, I think I have the right to know what exactly a product contains before I spend MY money on it! In all honestly, if I’m not curious then my cat might die anyway from sleeping on the toxic bedding products! Trust me when I say this isn’t taking a famous mantra too literally…

I’m very sorry to inform my readers that the bedding most often containing petroleum-derived ingredients (Or, as my Mom likes to call it, “Sludge”) are the super soft and fuzzy blankets. You know, the warm, cozy ones that can turn even the most active human being into a Grade A couch potato? I believe the technical term is “Fleece.”

By digging a little deeper into the chemical makeup of fleece blankets, one will discover two main types: Synthetic Fleece and Cotton Fleece. While both can be bad if you do not purchase Organic Cotton Fleece, Synthetic Fleece is the worse choice of the two.

Essentially, Synthetic Fleece is exactly what it claims to be: synthetic, fake, artificial, faux. It is made to look, feel, and act like real, natural fleece, but what lies beneath the surface is actually a collection of imposter ingredients, one being petroleum.

***Side Note: I would like to think that petroleum derivatives began being used in an attempt to be more efficient with leftover ingredients that really should be thrown away in some special dump area covered with those bright orange “Warning! Hazardous!” signs (kind of like an insane recycling attempt gone-wrong), but I just can’t ignore those nagging suspicions in the back of my mind, causing me to see it more as an irresponsible scheme that increases paychecks for CEOs of large corporations and leaves us, the consumer, with the short end of the stick. Food for thought…

The truth is, synthetic fabrics have been in use for quite a while and actually date way back before the 21st century (“How Products are Made” // madehow.com). Is the word ‘Polyester’ familiar to any of my readers??? Personally, whenever I hear this word I am instantly reminded of those perfectly creased, brightly colored pants my Grandma used to wear. I never knew one style of pants could come in so many different colors!

The last thing I think of is petroleum, but without fail it manages to pop up here, as well. “Polyester is made by reacting terephthalic acid, a petroleum derivative, with ethylene glycol, another petroleum derivative (commonly known as anti-freeze). When the two chemicals are combined at a very high temperature, they form a new chemical known as a polymer” (How Products are Made, madehow.com). It is still commonly found in a variety of clothing products, but back in the 1940s when it was first created (madehow.com), Polyester was a dream come true to people world-wide. My own Great-Grandmother called it “the greatest invention the world has ever seen” because it refused to wrinkle when washed and dried. Little did she know it was actually laced with both toxic and harmful ingredients!

Fast forward to the 1980s when interest in recycling plastics had sky-rocketed…everyone wanted a piece of this action (clearly it was before BPAs had come onto the scene), including the Polyester Manufacturers! They were already using petroleum-derived ingredients, why not throw some plastic into the mix? And that is exactly what they did! With recycled soda bottles.

As it turns out, the afore mentioned chemical compound called polymers (crucial in the production of polyester), can also be turned into polymer fibers when adding recycled plastic bottles. What we end up with is a thick syrup substance that is currently used to create polyester, polyester fleece garments, and new plastic bottle products! (For more details on this process please visit the How Products are Made website, link available below in the “Sources” section).

Although the production process for each of these products is absolutely horrendous, I’m focusing on bedding in this article, therefore, I would like to take a moment to review just how bad synthetic fleece blankets truly are.

Right off the bat we have a 100% man-made item on our hands that not only contain petroleum-derivatives from the polyester, but incorporates recycled plastic materials into its foundation, as well.

Do we know if the plastics being used contain BPAs? How about if (whether or not) the previous products housed in these recycled plastic containers were Organic? For argument’s sake, let’s say they were not Organic because then we have to consider if the recycled plastics were properly cleaned before they were used again. Especially if the second product happens to be Organic, no one paying for an Organic product wants leftover pesticides contaminating it.

Research has found that recycled plastic containers do contain a certain percentage of the previous product housed due to absorption of the production into the makeup of the plastic container itself. So many questions, so few answers. What we do know is that petroleum derivitives and plastics (therefore, BPAs) do exist in much of the bedding currently being sold, today.

When I’m shopping for new sheets, blankets, or other bedding necessities, I have found it best to avoid polyester and fleece no matter what! I try to stick to the basics and choose products I know to be good quality. 100% Organic Cotton is always your best option. So, at the end of this article I will share a few of my favorite companies and a few I prefer to avoid.

Before I learned this tragic fact, the cabinet in my own living room used to be full of these types of blankets! My bed even used to have one in between the sheet and the duvet. To me, no bed seemed complete without a super fuzzy blanket! Isn’t that terrible?! I was blinded by appearance; I never stopped to consider exactly what went in to making this specific set of sheets or that particular bedspread. My first mistake was automatically assuming that everything is probably “good enough” since it’s being sold in a legitimate store.

Naivety took over and made me picture these blankets coming from sheep hair. I don’t know what made me make such a crazy assumption. I guess it just seemed really simple to shave a sheep (in a humane way, of course) and use it’s hair for something like a soft blanket. Boy was I wrong!

Maybe this is how soft blankets are made in a Disney fairytale (woodland creatures do seem to appear in great quantities so it wouldn’t be that crazy of a notion), but unfortunately our world has found petroleum to be more procurable. Consequentially, here we are, with sludge blankets to cuddle up with.

Although things have taken a depressing turn, I’m very happy to inform all of my readers that this is NOT the end of my story and a happy ending does exist for those of us interested in eliminating the toxic bedding from our households!

It is called Organic Cotton and it has been used to create 100% Organic Cotton sheets, blankets, duvets, and pillows! Not only is it derived from organically grown cotton plants, but the products made contain 0% petroleum, as well! Amazing, right?

Make sure you’re careful to buy only 100% Organic Cotton bedding because products not grown organically will be full of pesticides, hormones, and who knows what else!

I have found a few manufacturers that are reliable when it comes to the quality of their products. I will share this list shortly. First, please know that I am in no way linked to these companies nor do I receive any kind of compensation for mentioning them. The list you see below is comprised only of companies that sell products of the utmost quality. I have thoroughly researched each company and I even own a few blankets from two of the mentioned companies, Magnolia Organics and Glo-Organics. Needless to say, I am very happy with my purchase!

When it comes to the blankets on my bed, I am very particular….maybe it’s just me, but during the winter I need more than sheets and a comforter to keep me warm! If any of my readers happen to share this preference, I recommend Coyuchi’s “The Organic Bed” collection. Their organic cotton woven blankets are perfect for layering on your bed. They do the job perfectly without being too heavy. Plus, they offer organic flannel sheets, which I absolutely LOVE during winter! Switching to Organic bedding does NOT mean you have to sacrifice comfort!

You will have to spend a little more for any Organic bedding product available on the market, today. I know this is a huge bummer, but you will save money in the long-run by switching to Organic sheets, blankets, and mattresses. You save money on medical bills when you’re no longer exposing yourself and your families to toxic ingredients. You also save yourself a lot of emotional stress and heartache dealing with the suffering linked with sickness, whether it be you or a loved one! So, going Organic can be thought of as a pro-health/longevity protocol of sorts. The good thing is that you don’t have to “Go Organic” all at once. Making the change gradually is also fantastic for your future health! As long as you’re decreasing your toxin exposure, you’re making positive changes within your household! Kick-start this change by checking out the companies listed below!

Organic Companies:

Coyuchi (Blankets, Sheets, Duvets, Pillows, Comforters, Mattresses, Mattress Pads)

Magnolia Organics (Bedding, Nursery, Towels)

The Company Store (Bedding, Towels)

Glo-Organics (Bedding, Nursery, Mattresses, Clothing)

Garnet Hill (visit their Organic Store for a variety of bedding products)

Pottery Barn (“Down Blend” insert and flame retardant-free options for furniture)

For more Organic recommendations, check out Apartment Therapy’s articles, “The 10 Best Organic Bedding Sources” and “The 10 Best All-Natural and Organic Mattress Sources.”

I hope these suggestions have been helpful to all of my readers! Also, If you know of any 100% Organic Cotton bedding companies that I failed to mention please share on Twitter or Instagram (@seizethedayblog)! I know I would appreciate it and I’m sure your fellow readers will, as well!

 

Source List:

Down Linens: http://www.downlinens.com/pages/what-to-look-for-when-buying-a-fleece-blanket
How Products Are Made: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Polyester-Fleece.html
Coyuchi: https://www.coyuchi.com/organic-bedding/blankets-throws.html
Coyuchi Blog: https://www.coyuchi.com/the-naturalista/bedding_basics/
Organic Cotton Plus: http://organiccottonplus.com
Webster’s Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxin
APPEA/The Voice of Australia’s Oil and Gas Industry: https://www.appea.com.au/oil-gas-explained/oil-and-gas/what-is-petroleum/
Earth Science Week: http://www.earthsciweek.org/classroom-activities/products-made-petroleum
Mehlman MA/Carcinogenic Qualities: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1981951

 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information posted on Seize the Day Blog, including but not limited to, articles, images, recipes, text and other material are shared for informational purposes only. None of the writings should be looked upon as advice meant to replace that of an actual medical professional. If you suspect you have a serious medical condition you should seek help from a healthcare professional immediately. Please be aware that the author of this website is posting information simply to inform NOT to recommend others about health-related topics. Before following any information (i.e. undertaking a new healthcare or diet routine) found here on Seize the Day Blog, you should always consult a medical professional first. Please be sure to never disregard any medicinal advice because of something you have read on this website.

 

6 Common Seizure Triggers That May Be Lurking in Your Kitchen Cabinets

SeizeTheDayBlogPic

As I discussed in my previous article, the trial and error process has been and continues to be a substantial part of my journey with epilepsy. I learn as I go, stumbling and, every once in a while, falling along the way, but never staying down for long because it isn’t until I get back up that the “success” part of this process can be attained. Especially when it comes to my seizures and going beyond the symptoms to figure out the cause.

There have been so many times when I’ll go through a phase of increased seizure activity, every phase being completely out of the blue. The most frustrating part of this increased activity (apart from the seizures, of course) is always the resonating mystery of what exactly caused this surprising intensification.

In my opinion, most of us epileptics can’t help but always keep that question of “Why” in the back of our minds. If we are truly going to heal our bodies of this condition we constantly deal with on a daily basis, having an answer to this question would certainly be a helpful start! As I have pondered this question strictly for my own symptoms, the biggest revelation I have come to realize is that there are typically multiple answers to this one question. And they vary from person to person, which is also why this is such a difficult question to answer. So, if you were thinking I was just about to reveal the miracle answer, I’m very sorry to disappoint you. But, what I can do is share one of the most common contributing factors that has had quite the influence on many epileptics’ current condition, some (like me and my own first year with epilepsy) without their knowledge. If the title of this article didn’t already give the answer away, the factor I’m referring to is diet/nutrition.

It is truly astonishing the effect foods and eating habits can have on both your brain and total body health. Obviously, synthetic/processed foods and ingredients aren’t the healthiest types of products we can be pumping into our bodies on a daily basis, but what about all-natural foods? By “all-natural,” I mean something like a plant-based food, such as Rosemary (fresh or dried), which only consists of one ingredient as opposed to a processed food product, such as a Pop Tart, which is filled with numerous synthetic ingredients.

Organic or non-organic fruits, vegetables, and spices have always been advertised as perfectly healthy; therefore we never assume there could be any cause for suspicion. But, the unfortunate truth is that many all-natural food products, sans synthetic ingredients, can act as seizure triggers (a.k.a. products containing elements (synthetic, natural, or both) that can prompt seizure activity in certain people). Similar to an excitotoxin (click here to read more about excitotoxins), the seizure trigger contains an element that interacts with your body and brain in a negative manner, ultimately resulting in the occurrence of a seizure. Seizure triggers concerning fruits, veggies, and spices are no longer referring to synthetic ingredients a product might contain but rather the natural effect each tends to have as they are digested and dispersed throughout the body.

**Side Note: Seizure triggers can also be found in other types of product groups such as cosmetics, bedding, and cookware. But, ultimately, each of these groups share a common and widespread culprit existing at the heart of the cause…synthetic ingredients. What it really comes down to is the quality of the product.

In this article, I am going to discuss six all-natural products that I have recently been forced to move to the “allergic” list due to their widespread tendency to be seizure triggers for not just me, but other epileptics, as well. These products are Rosemary, Nutmeg, Allspice, Cloves, Tarragon, and Sage. Each of which can be found as dried spices in your typical spice rack, fresh in the produce section at the grocery store, or, if you’re into growing your own plants, in the backyard garden.

Before I dive into the full details on Rosemary, Nutmeg, Allspice, Cloves, Tarragon, and Sage (the six ingredients listed above), I would like to bring to light one very important bit of information I believe everyone needs to be aware of. Each person reacts differently to varying ingredients and/or products. Therefore, if something acts as a seizure trigger for me it may not for you, hence the need for use of a trial and error process when determining your own “allergic” list. I still believe it is a wise idea to consume these types of foods with caution whether or not you have a history of seizures; they are excitotoxins, after all!

Alright lets break it down! 6 common seizure triggers that may be lurking in your kitchen cabinets:

Rosemary, whether it is a whole twig plucked fresh from the plant itself, crushed into tiny flakes in a spice jar, or incorporated in the flavor of a meal, this unprocessed herb is notorious for worsening seizure activity in epileptics. Just to be safe, I avoided Rosemary like the plague after I was diagnosed with Catamenial Epilepsy. As it turns out, this extreme avoidance was actually a complete waste of time because this very common seizure trigger is one of those ingredients, as I described above, that has the opposite affect on me. It happens to be one of those cases where a “seizure trigger” doesn’t necessarily prompt seizures from every epileptic.

For those of you who enjoy eating out, be extra careful when browsing the menu because Rosemary has recently become a very trendy ingredient and can be found in a multitude of dishes across various restaurants. Be especially wary of Rosemary in Italian food and chicken dishes. If you’re attempting a new recipe and find Rosemary to be a key ingredient, don’t skip the dish! Simply substitute it with a similar ingredient, such as thyme or basil.

Nutmeg, Allspice, and Cloves are ingredients commonly found in the same types of foods because of their very similar flavor. In fact, these three ingredients are key in any gingerbread cookie recipe. Last November, I posted a recipe for gingerbread cookies on Seize the Day Blog because I was baking way too many of these delicious holiday treats and absolutely had to share! Interestingly enough, I was also having an increased amount of seizures during the 2015 holiday season. Coincidence? I think not. My entire family can attest to the fact that I probably ate way too many gingerbread cookies between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, which also means I ate plenty of Nutmeg, Allspice, and Cloves. Once I stopped eating the gingerbread cookies, my seizures immediately began to decrease and I was on my way to a stable lifestyle once again.

If you come across my Gingerbread Cookie Recipe and are living with epilepsy, I encourage you to skip the Nutmeg, Allspice, and Cloves and substitute each with Cinnamon instead. I have tried this before and it actually turns out quite yummy! It might sound like too much cinnamon at first, but it actually gives you the perfect flavor for your gingerbread, not too bland and not too strong. This group of ingredients is also frequently found together in many pumpkin pie recipes. It’s best if you make your pie from scratch in the comfort of your own home and, once again, substitute all of the iffy ingredients with Cinnamon. I’m currently on the hunt for a good ketchup recipe because cloves and allspice are usually found in any store bought ketchup product, but Cinnamon won’t work as a substitute in this specific case for any of the recipes I do happen across. So, if you know of any Ketchup recipes free of cloves and allspice please comment below!

Tarragon, though a good source of numerous vitamins and minerals, is very similar to Rosemary in taste, structure, and its status as a seizure trigger. This plant-like herb is used in a variety of food and medicinal products because it is filled with so many beneficial nutrients. For being such a healthy plant, I was astonished to find Tarragon on the seizure trigger list! Well, despite all of the beneficial effects this ingredient can have on people of all ages, it turns out that it also has a bit of a dark side. An unintentional dark side, of course, but a dark side nonetheless.

Consequently, while the potential for healing is a strong point for Tarragon, it would seem as though the ability to provoke seizures is, as well. Tarragon, like the other five seizure triggers I’m discussing in this article, is an excitotoxin and contains elements in its cellular makeup that excite the brain by generating too much activity in the brain’s cortex for the body to handle. Unfortunately, the result of this excitement in the brain is a seizure for everyday people and increased seizure activity for epileptics. Unfortunately, the result of this excitement in the brain is a seizure for both epileptics and non-epileptics.

Due to the negative effects this herb can have on the brain, it is completely understandable if you wish to avoid it completely. Before you can do this successfully, you should probably know that Tarragon is frequently found in salads, Italian food and a variety of sauces. Cooking without this ingredient can easily be done by replacing it with any of the following herbs or spices: dried dill, basil, marjoram, or oregano.

Lastly, we have Sage, an ingredient that tends to pop up in the most random of places. Like Rosemary, it is widely notorious for its ability to trigger seizures in epileptics and non-epileptics alike. The biggest concern for people trying to avoid this ingredient is the unfortunate fact that Sage has become a trendy herb with an ever-expanding popularity amongst gourmet chefs. After browsing recipes and eating at a variety of restaurants, I have found chicken dishes to be most often connected with this particular herb. Sauces, salad dressings, sausage, and Italian cuisine are also good to be wary of when it comes to Sage. The strong flavor of this ingredient is best substituted with marjoram or thyme.

Personally, I have made an extra effort to avoid this particular plant in all of its forms. During my extensive research, Sage has always stood out as the most common seizure trigger worldwide and for people of all ages. It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly makes one excitotoxin more potent than the next, but my guess is that flavor plays a pretty prominent role in this case. Sage has such a strong essence in taste, smell, and, well, everything! Sage is an herb that always wants its presence to be known, even when it is traveling through the body after being digested. What a diva!

Rosemary, Nutmeg, Allspice, Cloves, Tarragon, and Sage…such frequently used ingredients that have managed to fly under the “seizure trigger” radar pretty successfully! Although excitotoxins can create issues for people with or without epilepsy, it seems that most of this information gets lost in translation unless it is desperately needed, such as during a health crisis. Therefore, I encourage anyone reading this article to do a little research of their own on the topic of seizure triggers. I guarantee that the full list of these foods and products is much more extensive than the six ingredients I explored in this article.

If you have questions about any of the seizure triggers I discussed, please share via Twitter and Instagram or email (katie@seizethedayblog.com)!

 

Medical Disclaimer:

The information posted on Seize the Day Blog, including but not limited to, articles, images, recipes, text and other material are shared for informational purposes only. None of the writings should be looked upon as advice meant to replace that of an actual medical professional. If you suspect you have a serious medical condition you should seek help from a healthcare professional immediately. Please be aware that the author of this website is posting information simply to inform NOT to recommend others about health-related topics. Before following any information (i.e. undertaking a new healthcare or diet routine) found here on Seize the Day Blog, you should always consult a medical professional first. Please be sure to never disregard any medicinal advice because of something you have read on this website.

Ingredients & Ingredient Labels: Be Sure to Read the Fine Print!

What is your typical routine when you make a trip to the grocery store? Do you try to only purchase foods that work with your new diet? Or do you shop based on what sounds good to you while you’re browsing the store aisle by aisle? I’m only asking because I really want you to stop and consider exactly how big of a role the ingredient label on foods plays in your daily life.

Seven years ago, if someone asked me about the ingredient label I would have laughed and said, “What ingredient label???” I never stopped to consider the possibility that maybe not everything listed on the ingredient label of a food is necessarily “good” for me. Instead, I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to, and never stopped to consider the consequences. That is until my health took a turn for the worst…I was having seizures for unknown reasons, my hormones were severely imbalanced, and no neurologist seemed to have any solution for my problem outside the sphere of medication.

So, I tried the alternative route, I kept taking my medication, but I began looking at solutions outside of modern medicine. This led me to discover the very important role nutrition plays in every person’s overall state of health.

Which, also eventually lead to a drastic diet change for me. My grocery store routine went from grabbing anything that sounded good to reading every ingredient label before purchasing a product. It sounds time-consuming, but it is completely worth it! By eliminating ingredients like MSG, soy, and basically anything synthetic, my mental health greatly improved. I saw a decrease in the number of seizures I was having each month, something that seemed impossible at one time. In addition to avoiding poor quality ingredients, I also made the switch to organic foods.

I have found that specialty health-oriented grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s, Sprout’s Market, and Whole Foods Market (for those of you in the Southern California area) are always the better option for finding good quality, organic groceries free of synthetic ingredients.

What do I primarily look for in a food product? Simple and real ingredients. As long as the ingredient label contains only natural ingredients (sugar, salt, butter, flour, etc.) and is free of chemical and/or synthetic ingredients (Xanthan Gum, Soy Lecithin, Guar Gum, etc.), I know the product is okay!

To give you an example of what a good ingredient label and a bad ingredient label look like, I’m going to breakdown the ingredient label of a snack product commonly found in the pantry of many people’s kitchens…Ritz Crackers. I don’t know about you, but this is a product that most people I know consider to be a snacking favorite. If you look on the side of the box, you will find an ingredient label containing the following information…

Ingredients: Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, Riboflavin {Vitamin B2}, Folic Acid, Vegetable Oil (Soybean Oil and/or Canola and/or Palm and/or Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil), Sugar, Salt, Leavening (Baking Soda and/or Calcium Phosphate), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soy Lecithin, Malted Barley Flour, Natural Flavor.

Let’s just dive right in, shall we?

Unbleached Enriched Flour—“flour in which most of the natural vitamins and minerals have been extracted. This is done in order to give the bread a finer texture and increase shelf life. When the bran and germ (the parts of wheat that contain fiber and nutrients) are removed, your body absorbs wheat differently” (ahealthiermichigan.org). So, instead of acting as an energy source for your body, which is what flour should do, this ingredient causes your body to store it as fat (ahealthiermichigan.org)! This is exactly the reason why many people find that cutting bread from their diet can greatly facilitate weight loss! However, in order to lose weight, you don’t necessarily have to cut bread out of your diet completely. You simply need to find the right kind of bread that is made with ingredients meant to help energize you, rather than fatten you up like a Thanksgiving turkey! To learn more about Unbleached Enriched Flour and the role it plays in the food industry, What’s in Your Food? Enriched Flour Tops List of Unhealthy Ingredients by Jodi Davis, is a must-read.

Thiamine Mononitrate {Vitamin B1}—“Thiamine Mononitrate is the synthetic form of Vitamin B1” (livestrong.com). So, an ingredient that gives the illusion of being healthy by pretending to be the true, blue natural version of Vitamin B1 is actually toxic to the human body! We see the term “Vitamin” and assume it must be healthy, but in actuality, it is furthest from the impression it gives and actually can cause a lot of negative side effects for our health. Not to mention, it is also very difficult for the body to digest due to its synthetic and chemical form. Read more about Thiamine Mononitrate, here: The Side Effects of Thiamine Mononitrate by Elizabeth Thatcher.

Riboflavin {Vitamin B2}—This synthetic ingredient acts in the same stealthy way as Thiamine Mononitrate! It sits there in the Ritz Crackers ingredient label pretending to be healthy and posing as a natural vitamin that will be beneficial to our health, but riddle me this…what is healthy about a chemical created to be a synthetic form of the real, whole-food version of an ingredient or, in this case, a vitamin??? Absolutely nothing! It’s fake! This means that just like the Vitamin B1 (Thiamine Mononitrate) also found in Ritz Crackers, it too is hard for the body to digest. Let’s think about this from the long-term perspective for a moment…if you consistently fill your stomach with lots of synthetic ingredients (a.k.a. hard-to-digest foods) you’re going to start experiencing problems with your digestive system. And guess what? Most processed foods are filled with these synthetic ingredients! An all-time low for the food industry, if you ask me.

Seeing as how synthetic Riboflavin {Vitamin B2} is a completely unnatural ingredient, it only makes sense for there to be more than one health issue! This brings us to problem #2 with this specific type of Riboflavin {Vitamin B2}…this ingredient required only by our bodies in small doses (in its real, whole food form), is found in the majority of our popular processed foods in its synthetic form. Please note that only the whole food form of Riboflavin is recommended as a healthy supplement for the human body. The synthetic form of Riboflavin should be avoided at ALL costs!

To make matters worse, thanks to synthetic Riboflavin, you might want to rethink the vitamin supplement you’re currently taking. Excessive amounts of Riboflavin can be found in commonly used dietary supplements. That’s right, not even the vitamin aisle is safe anymore! Gummy vitamins might be a fun concept (who doesn’t love for their vitamin to be in the shape of a tiny bear?), but I’m sorry to say that nothing is healthy about vitamins such as these.

Our bodies should only be getting about 2 milligrams (mg) of Riboflavin a day from dietary sources. If you’re taking a dietary vitamin supplement of some sort, check the ingredient label before taking it again because you just might be getting “10s or 100s of milligrams” (smart-publications.com) without even knowing it!

If we add both of these problems together, we get one gigantic health concern as a result: excessive Riboflavin. Because this ingredient is so prevalent in most of today’s staple food and dietary supplement products we basically get a double whammy when it comes to our Riboflavin intake. The result? An incredibly toxic combination. When the excessive Riboflavin spreads to our body tissue it mixes with our sunlight exposure and begins causing problems for our eyes, as well as our liver health. To read more about the toxic side effects of excessive Riboflavin, click here: Excessive Vitamin B2 – Riboflavin Can Be Toxic!

Folic Acid—“Oxidized synthetic compound used in dietary supplements and food fortification” (chriskresser.com). Here’s the biggest issue I have with Folic Acid: it’s an oxidized synthetic compound. Once again, Ritz has chosen to include a synthetic compound rather than using the whole food, nutrient-rich version of the ingredient. In this case, the well-known food company has chosen Folic Acid rather than Folate, which is “the general term for a group of water-soluble b-vitamins, and is also known as B9…” furthermore, as opposed to Folic Acid, Folate “…refers to the various tetrahydrofolate derivatives naturally found in food” (chriskresser.com).

If you examine Ritz’s ingredient choice from a logical standpoint, their decisions so far seem completely irrational. I mean, after examining only 4 ingredients, we have discovered that Ritz Crackers are only composed of synthetic ingredients. Hmm…not exactly something I want to be giving to my body in large doses. Read more about Folate and Folic Acid, here: The Little Known Difference Between Folate and Folic Acid by Chris Kresser. (Click here to read a brief, but thorough overview of the entire Ritz Cracker Ingredient Label)

So why do they do it? When an ingredient like “Folate” exists, why does the Ritz Company knowingly choose synthetic over naturally occurring? Because it’s cheaper and synthetic additives give the product an unnaturally long shelf life (Yuck!).

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the processed foods industry in a nutshell. When it comes to their choice of ingredients, the deciding factor for Big Wig food companies (like Ritz Crackers) clearly no longer includes the state of our health.

However, do not be discouraged by the extremely poor quality of ingredients found in Ritz Crackers because other companies (you know, the ones that are actually concerned about whether we live or die after eating their product) do exist and they have created products free of synthetics! Take, for example, the Late July Organic Classic Rich Crackers or as I like to call them the healthy version of Ritz. We picked apart the Ritz Cracker ingredient label, now let’s do the same to Late July’s ingredient label and see if we find any minor and/or major differences. For starters, let me just say that they print on the front of their packaging these important details (something the Ritz packaging and product appears to be lacking): Produced without Synthetic Pesticides, Non-GMO, No Artificial Flavors, Colors, or Preservatives. Although I would rather it said “Produced without any Pesticides,” the fact that they’re both acknowledging the presence of these characteristics in typical processed foods and choosing to exclude them is HUGE! All in all, I would say they’re off to a pretty good start. Now for the ingredient label…

Late July Organic Classic Rich Crackers Ingredients: Organic Wheat Flour, Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar, Organic Expeller Pressed Sunflower Oil and/or Organic Expeller Pressed Safflower Oil, Organic Palm Oil, Sea Salt, Leavening (Baking Soda, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar).

Organic Wheat Flour—Nutritional value alone is enough to give Red July a round of applause for choosing this flour ingredient over white flour. Although I do use white flour when baking, I never realized the great difference between the two types of flours. “White flour is made from heavily refined and processed wheat grains, while whole-wheat flour is made from grains that have not undergone heavy processing. Whole-wheat and white flour differ in their nutritional value” (healthyeating.sfgate.com). If you examine both flour’s fiber and vitamin contents, you will discover the drastic difference between each flour’s nutritional value. Read more about this difference here: Healthy Facts About Whole-Wheat Flour Vs. White by Sylvie Tremblay. Also, check out a variety of healthy flours here: 5 Healthy Flour Substitutes Vegans Need to Know About

Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar—Okay, so this type of sugar may not contain as many vitamins, minerals, or nutrients as the organic sugar cane in its natural form, but it’s most definitely a much better quality form of sugar compared to the typical “Sugar” ingredient found in many processed foods. For starters, it’s Organic and still contains a multitude of nutrients that haven’t been tainted by pesticides. Furthermore, it does not go through the same process as refined sugar, which means it will be easier to digest and healthy for your body to absorb. “Raw natural sugar has a balance of sucrose, glucose, and fructose, whereas refined sugars are almost exclusively sucrose (the fructose and glucose have been washed out). The more sucrose, the more it raises your blood sugar” (processedfreeamerica.org). It is very refreshing, for me, to see a company choose the healthier ingredient over the cheaper ingredient. As I continue to examine Red July’s ingredient label, you too will soon discover that not every processed food product falls under the stereotype of being “bad” for you.

Organic Expeller Pressed Sunflower and/or Safflower Oil —First, let me just point out that this ingredient (like the previous three) is Organic. So, right away you’re getting (or at least you should be getting) zero pesticides from the oil used in this product! Now, although Sunflower and Safflower aren’t typically known as “healthier” oils, I need to put a special emphasis on 2 extra details that set this oil apart from your everyday vegetable oils: Organic and Expeller Pressed. Expeller pressed is an old-fashioned process that uses a screw press to mechanically extract oil from the seed, nut, or grain. It is less common because it costs more and produces less oil than other known processes, but it is known to produce the best quality oil (foodbabe.com). This is mostly due to the fact that, unlike other processes, the oil is not extracted using methods involving toxic chemicals (such as Hexane) or unnecessary refinement. By the time companies have their finished product, it is so synthetic it honestly should not be considered edible nor should it be consumed! In essence, the extra money and time required for this process are most definitely worth it!

***Side Note: Where cooking oils are concerned ignorance is NOT bliss! It is best to be extra careful because every oil is different, therefore each is going to have its own unique characteristics. For example, did you know that olive oil can actually become unhealthy for you if it is cooked at too high of a temperature? It is best to arm yourself with knowledge about the ingredients you use whenever you cook. Because Olive Oil is such a popular cooking oil (I know it’s one of my favorites!), here is a fantastic article from Kitchen Ambition where the author, David Lewis, answers a simple, yet necessary question…“Does Olive Oil Go Bad?” Take it from me on this one when I say the information he provides is more than just food for thought!

Palm Oil (a.k.a. Palm Fruit Palm or Palm Kernel Oil)—Actually one of the few healthy oils used in foods. Although I prefer to use coconut oil whenever it comes to cooking, Palm oil is definitely my 2nd choice! It isn’t hydrogenated (a process involving turning a liquid unsaturated fat into a solid fat by adding hydrogen (healthline.com)), which is excellent for avoiding trans fats and poor heart health in the future. “Fortunately, there is a healthy fat that can be used in processed foods in place of those nasty polyunsaturated vegetable oils that meet the profit demands of food company shareholders and also satisfies the ever-growing consumer clamor for a healthy, traditional fat. That fat is palm oil” (thehealthyhomeeconomist.com). Once again, we see Red July choosing the healthier ingredient over the cheap ingredient. An action not many inorganic processed food companies are making just yet.

Sea Salt—It’s all-natural, the flavor is 10x better than iodized salt, and it has a much more beneficial mineral/nutrient content. Common table salt is typically stripped of most of its nutrients while it goes through the commercial process that takes it from its place of origin to your kitchen table. “Sea salt is obtained directly through the evaporation of seawater. It is usually not processed, or undergoes minimal processing, and therefore retains trace levels of minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, and other nutrients. Table salt, on the other hand, is mined from salt deposits and then processed to give it a fine texture so it’s easier to mix and use in recipes. Processing strips table salt of any minerals it may have contained, and additives are also usually added to prevent clumping or caking” (sodiumbreakup.heart.org). Many people and health experts constantly say that there “are no real health advantages of most sea salts” (sodiumbreakup.heart.org).

HA! (<– This is Me scoffing at that statement!) How can there be no health advantages when sea salt is an unprocessed, mineral-filled product as opposed to table salt, which is intensely processed and altered by synthetic additives? Let me answer this question with a question…which salt would you rather feed to your family?

The last and final ingredient found in Late July Crackers is Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Bicarbonate, and Cream of Tartar)—When it comes to the leavening agent typically used in most processed food products, it is composed of Baking Soda and Sodium Phosphate. In other words (a.k.a. the truth), the leavening agent is probably 30% baking soda and 70% chemical phosphates. The recurring problem with too large amounts of synthetic ingredients does NOT strike again with these Red July Crackers! On the all too rare occasion, we find that instead of phosphates these crackers have Sodium Bicarbonate, which is “…commonly called baking soda, is a natural substance used in the human body within the bloodstream to regulate pH as a counterbalance to acid build-up, which is critical to life. It affects the pH of cells and tissues, balances cell voltage, and increases CO2 which helps with oxygenation” (drsircus.com). Let’s emphasize the HUGE difference between these two components: one is natural (Sodium Bicarbonate) and one is chemical (Sodium Phosphate). Although these two ingredients begin with the same word in their name, they are about as different as night and day! Lastly, we have Cream of Tartar; a better alternative to the chemical leavening agent as far as the stabilizing job is concerned. It is a naturally occurring substance produced during the process of fermenting wine. It is then sent through a purification process and Voilà! You get the white powdery substance commonly used in numerous baked goods (thekitchn.com).

At face value, the only difference between these two products seems to be the brand name printed quite distinctly on each of the cracker’s packaging. Amazing, isn’t it, the striking difference that actually exists, causing these products to be, in reality, polar opposites? Now that you’ve seen firsthand the types of ingredients commonly used in the majority of processed foods, are you motivated to investigate that ingredient label a little more closely the next time you’re in the grocery store? I certainly hope so!

Trust me when I say that the truth about some ingredients can be a tad frightening to discover. It is shocking what the FDA has approved as “suitable” sources for ingredients. Let’s just say, this administration no longer gives me comfort about the quality of foods being sold in grocery stores or restaurants. But, please do NOT let this stop you from getting the better of those food companies! You deserve the right to know exactly what you’re feeding your body! So, Seize the Day for your knowledge because ignorance is not bliss when it comes to nutrition. Take advantage of technology and the vast amount of knowledge available through the Internet! You’d be amazed at what you will find!

 

Sources:

  1. https://www.ahealthiermichigan.org/2011/07/26/whats-in-your-food-enriched-flour-tops-list-of-unhealthy-ingredients/
  2. www.livestrong.com/article/313249-the-side-effects-of-thiamine-mononitrate/
  3. www.smart-publications.com/articles/excess-vitamin-B2-riboflavin-can-be-toxic
  4. www.chriskresser.com/folate-vs-folic-acid/
  5. www.healthyeating.sfgate.com/healthy-wholewheat-flour-vs-white-3305.html
  6. www.processedfreeamerica.org/resources/health-news/405-the-truth-about-evaporated-cane-juice/
  7. www.foodbabe.com/2015/02/04/cooking-oils/
  8. http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/ways-to-avoid-hydrogenated-oil
  9. http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/the-many-shades-of-palm-oil/
  10. sodiumbreakup.heart.org/sodium-411/sea-salt-vs-table-salt/
  11. http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-what-is-cream-of-72125
  12. drsircus.com/medicine/sodium-bicarbonate-baking-soda/

Medical Disclaimer:

The information posted on Seize the Day Blog, including but not limited to, articles, images, recipes, text and other material are shared for informational purposes only. None of the writings should be looked upon as advice meant to replace that of an actual medical professional. If you suspect you have a serious medical condition you should seek help from a healthcare professional immediately. Please be aware that the author of this website is posting information simply to inform NOT to recommend others about health-related topics. Before following any information (i.e. undertaking a new healthcare or diet routine) found here on Seize the Day Blog, you should always consult a medical professional first. Please be sure to never disregard any medicinal advice because of something you have read on this website.

Protein, It’s Kind of Important

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Do you frequently visit the gym? Are you seriously into lifting weights? Are you a health nut? If you answered “no” to all three of those questions, guess what? Protein is still crucial for your diet and overall wellbeing! I feel like the word “protein” has become associated with a very specific stereotype, you know who I’m talking about…the kind of people whose ultimate fitness goal is looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. I have absolutely nothing against this stereotype; if I could say one thing to these people it would be “more power to you!” However, I am frustrated with how often people walk around with the misconception that protein, in general, is limited to this group of people. As if the only purpose in consuming protein is to build muscle (Ha!). I’m here to tell you that protein is a seriously misunderstood food group and is actually a fantastic source for the nutrients your body desperately needs to remain in a healthy state.

How big of a role does protein play in your daily diet? If you consume any protein at all, how good is the quality of that protein? The fact of the matter is, if your source of protein lies within meats, you’re only consuming a healthy android quality protein if you are eating Organic meats free of antibiotics and GMOs. So, stop and reevaluate your current source of protein…is it 100% healthy or does it come with some not so great chemical and/or hormonal additives?

 

For those of you who are vegetarians or vegans, how do you make protein a key part of your diet? It is challenging enough for those of us who do eat meat and dairy products to find acceptable protein. Unfortunately, it is all too common for food companies to automatically add preservatives and chemical ingredients instead of using the real thing. Our food industry has developed a habit that severely hurts us, the consumers, in the long run. You see more and more people developing serious health disorders these days. Autism is becoming too common among children, as is epilepsy.

I developed epilepsy as a teen and I thought I was perfectly healthy at the time! The saying, “don’t judge a book by its cover” is very appropriate for my situation because my insides would have told a VERY different story from my “healthy” exterior! My poor brain was struggling and I had no idea. It’s going on 7 years since I was first diagnosed and I’ve learned quite a bit about the cause of my epilepsy during that time. While I started out thinking it was simply my brain “misfiring,” I’ve come to learn that the human body rarely “misfires.” No, there is always an underlying cause that is to blame for one’s poor state of health. This underlying cause could be a multitude of things including deficiencies, diet, lifestyle, environment, etc. (the list goes on and on).

 

Discovering the cause of my seizures to be a hormone imbalance was my first step toward figuring out how to return to a state of good health. Some people are content to simply take their medication and listen to everything their doctors have to say. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to be one of those people. I don’t want to take my medication forever and I certainly don’t plan on dealing with seizures for the rest of my life. I have found that considering all factors as a cause of poor health is the best way to think beyond doctors and actually get to the root of the problem.

It was this very thinking that led me to consider my diet as a contributing factor to my hormone imbalance and my seizures. Once I began my own research on the quality of those foods I frequently ate, it was no longer a mystery why my hormones were so unstable and why I had multiple deficiencies.

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From the nasty preservatives to the synthetic ingredients, I was basically eating junk on a daily basis. Processed foods may taste good, but they certainly aren’t doing your body any favors. None of these foods have any nutritional value (despite what the box says!). The fruits and veggies I typically bought were not organic; therefore I was filling my body with pesticides. All the meat and dairy products I consumed were treated with antibiotics, hormones, and who knows what else because they also were not Organic.

After learning about all of the horribly toxic ingredients I was consuming during every meal, it’s a shock I hadn’t started growing an extra limb. After switching completely to Organic foods and carefully looking over every ingredient label before buying anything, my health improved immensely. However, I realized that one challenge still remained: providing my body with the appropriate amount of protein.

 

I’ve had people tell me to use protein powder, such as whey or pea, to solve this problem, but it is nearly impossible to find a product without toxic ingredients and harmful preservatives. So, do I carry on being deficient in protein or do I consume a healthy amount of protein and compromise my health by also pumping it full of toxins??? It sounds like quite the dilemma, I know, but I can happily answer this question with an alternative solution…make your own protein powder instead! Thanks to a brilliant recipe from Back to Her Roots, you only need three ingredients and a coffee grinder to do this! Here is a breakdown of the protein powder recipe:

 

PROTEIN POWDER RECIPE

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Homemade Protein Powder (per 1/4 cup of powder):

-130 calories

-8g protein

-1g fat

-24g carbs

Store Bought Protein Powder (per 1/4 cup of powder):

-80 calories

-14g protein

-0g fat

-5g carbs

(Recipe and nutritional information courtesy of Back to Her Roots)

I know that the levels of calories, fat and carbs are a bit higher in the homemade powder, but it is also free of toxic ingredients, artificial flavorings and preservatives, so this truly is the better option. Thanks to the brilliant resources available on the Internet, you will have no trouble finding recipe ideas for protein shakes! Here’s a link I have found helpful: 48 Delicious Protein Shake Recipes. You will be shocked at how delicious and filling these shakes are (I certainly was!). Protein shakes, in particular, tend to be thought of as exclusively for weight lifters, but they truly are an excellent way to get protein into your diet and to start your day off right! Plus, they’re great for vegetarians, vegans, and meat eaters!

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If you could use some more protein in your diet, seize the day and implement more of it into your diet whether your source is (Organic, antibiotic-free) meats and dairy, protein rich grains (like Chia seeds and Quinoa), or protein shakes.

 

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