Here are my four top tips for helping your children to stay healthy and avoid illnesses in the new school year.

The foods that make kids the sickest are sugar and dairy.  

1.  Avoid dairy

If you can possibly raise them without milk products, you will prevent the most common mucus conditions, especially colds and ear infections.  Milk is a great mucus producer;  bacteria love living in it, and casein, the protein in milk, is commonly used in laboratories to set up bacterial cultures.  Cheese is just as much of a problem, and yogurt is little better.  And it’s not because of the fat – in fact, butter does not bring on infections, according to my observations – it is the protein and the calcium, which in cow’s milk are intended to help baby cows become big cows (or steer), and are excessive for humans.

2.  Don’t reward them with sugar

If you can avoid giving your kids sugared foods – including sugared breakfast cereals, cookies, cake, candy, and ice cream – you will allow their immune systems to do a better job of keeping them healthy.  Sugar is known to depress the immune system, and what is worse, it is really addictive.  According to a recent study at the University of Bordeaux, France, it appears to be more addictive than cocaine.  I know that we tend to reward the children with sweet goodies, but that habit is perhaps best reconsidered – crayons, balloons, comic books or nuts and raisins might be a better idea for rewards.

3.  Give them lots of protein

To keep the kids healthy, they also need to eat sufficient protein (some in each meal, such as fish, chicken, meats, or beans and legumes), with lots of vegetables both cooked and raw, as well as good quality fats (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, organic butter).  See my post on protein breakfasts for more advice.

4.  Make sure they get plenty of rest

Most importantly, they need enough sleep and rest, which will allow their bodies and their brains to recuperate and restore, as well as grow.  Lack of sleep is one of the major causes of stress and illness.

So there you have it:  feed them well, keep them off the ice cream and sweets, and make sure they sleep enough, and they will avoid many illnesses.
 

No shoes in the house (as most household dirt, pesticides and lead come in on your shoes)

• Go barefoot or wear slippers

Place floor mats vertically by your entryways to wipe your shoes

• This way more dirt and residue from your shoes stay on the mat

Keep the air clean

• Keep your windows and doors open as much as possible to ventilate
• Have your air ducts and vents cleaned with nontoxic cleaners
• Get a portable air cleaner/purifier, especially for the bedrooms
• Use green plants as natural air detoxifiers
• Remove odors with baking soda
• Use fresh flowers or bowls of herbs like rosemary and sage to add a pleasant fragrance to rooms

Be conscious of the potential for carpeting to hold toxins

• Use natural fiber wool & cotton rugs
• If possible, replace your wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors, all natural linoleum or ceramic tiles
• Use nontoxic glues, adhesives, stains or sealers for installation

Keep house dust to a minimum (as more dust means more toxins).

• Mop all surfaces at least once a week
• Vacuum carpets with a vacuum cleaner (with a HEPA filter, preferably) HEPA-filter vacuums capture the widest range of particles and get rid of allergens

Avoid excess moisture (as it encourages the growth of mold and mildew)

• Check areas for moisture accumulation or leaks (particularly basements)
• Regularly clean surfaces where mold usually grows – around showers and tubs and beneath sinks

Get a shower filter (as many contaminants in tap water become gases at room temperature)

• A shower filter can help keep these toxins from becoming airborne

Get a water filter (as more than 700 chemicals have been identified in drinking water)

• Filtering your tap water is better than drinking bottled water

Switch from the standard household cleaning products to cleaner and greener ones

• These don’t damage your health nor the environment’s as much and work as well as the mass marketed ones. You can also use basic ingredients you have around the house, for instance, you can use vinegar in place of bleach, baking soda to scrub your tiles and hydrogen peroxide to remove stains. According to our very own blogger, Annie Bond, the author of “Better Basics For The Home” you can clean anything with water and these 5 basic ingredients: Baking Soda, Washing Soda, Distilled White Vinegar, Vegetable based liquid Soap eg Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap and Tea Tree oil

Use Plastics wisely (as some contain BPA, which is linked to cancer).

• Avoid plastic food packaging (when you can)
• Don’t wrap food in plastic
• Don’t microwave food in plastic containers
• Choose baby bottles made from glass or BPA-free plastic
• Stay away from children’s toys marked with a “3″ or “PVC.”

Avoid non stick pans, pots, bakeware and utensils (because they contain Teflon)

Clean out your medicine cabinet (personal care products are loaded with toxins)

Seal or replace particleboard walls, floors or cabinets (as they contain formaldehyde, which causes sensitivity)

• Avoid plywood, fiberglass, fiberboard and paneling

Tell the dry cleaner not to use the plastic wrap (as the plastic traps the dry cleaning chemicals on clothes and in your closet)

• Let your dry cleaning air out (preferably outside) before storing it
• Use “wet cleaning” if you are lucky enough to have it in your area

Avoid toxic pest control in your home and toxic lawn chemicals in your garden

• These lawn chemicals get inside on your shoes

When painting indoors, use latex (water based) or other least toxic brands

• Open all windows to ventilate

And most important, no amount of environmental toxins are as important as emotional toxicity. You can do all the above, but if there is a house full of anger, resentment, jealousy, hurt and a lack of love, compassion and forgiveness, the house will remain toxic

My friend Sally used to corral her three teenage children to clean their house every Saturday morning. I was envious of her chutzpa to demand this of her kids, but the part of the story that was always tragic to me was that every Saturday afternoon without fail, Sally’s son Sam was sent to his room for hyperactive, “out of control” behavior.
Looking at the cause and effect of the son’s behavior through my lens of awareness of how neurotoxic many cleaning chemicals are, I could see it would make sense that the son’s central nervous system and brain could be reacting to these chemicals. Symptoms of neurotoxicity include lack of concentration, personality changes, depression, hyperactivity and the mimicking of psychiatric disorders.

Not being particularly “green,” the cleaning products Sally would buy for her kids to use were the standard store-bought fare readily available in supermarkets. Examples of neurotoxins found in such products include VOCs (furniture polish can contain VOCs), neurotoxic disinfectants, petroleum distillates, fragrances (scented products are notoriously neurotoxic,) and waxes (VOCs again in the solvents), to name a few.

Pesticides take front seat in the arsenal of poisons that hurt the central nervous system and brain. After all, they are designed to kill. A new study reported in the June issue of Pediatrics, published online May 17, links organophosphate pesticide metabolites found in urine to a much higher incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

“Each 10-fold increase in urinary concentration of organophosphate metabolites was associated with a 55 percent to 72 percent increase in the odds of ADHD,” study author Maryse F. Bouchard, PhD, of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Montreal, told Medscape Psychiatry.

Another example of subtle neurotoxic exposure children suffer through that most adults miss is to the solvents in markers in art class. When my daughter was in school, one year the math class was the period after art class, and she said that the kids were always “off the walls” in math class. What a tragedy, and one that could so easily be avoided if schools stopped allowing neurotoxic art materials to be used. How many kids thought they were bad at math when the culprit was the colored markers?

I’ve often wondered why the dots haven’t been connected by most people between neurotoxic chemicals and ADHD-type behavior. After all, if a neurotoxic chemical is known to cause depression, for example, and that chemical is being used, why do so few people (and almost no psychiatrists) say, oh my gosh, let’s remove the neurotoxin?

At least one thing parents can do is to remove neurotoxins from the home. Here are eleven quick solutions:

Yes to “green” dry cleaning using C02, no to dry cleaning with perchlorethelene (and hanging clothes in bedroom closets);

Yes to water-based markers, no to solvent-based markers;

Yes to natural furniture polishes or simple jojoba oil (a natural wax), no to furniture polish made of volatile organic chemicals;

Yes to organic produce, no to highly processed foods.

Yes to food with natural food coloring, no to food with FD&C dyes;

Yes to safe integrated pest management, no to synthetic pesticides;

Yes to cedar and herbs for moths, no to moth balls;

Yes to natural essential oils for fragrance, no to synthetic perfumes and fragrances;

Yes to vegetable-based Free and Clear detergents and cleaning products, no to cleaning products containing volatile organic chemicals;

Yes to efficient heating systems, no to kerosene, open gas, or other systems that could leak carbon monoxide;

Yes to educating yourself about lead paint and other sources of lead, no to hoping for the best if you live in a house built before 1978.

Simple steps such as these can make a big difference. Being away from neurotoxins helps you have more serene sleep, babies are less fussy, children concentration is improved, people are calmer and the lifestyle helps you have a better sense of well-being.

Bob asks, “What is nirvana?” He then explains how it is the ultimate, real state of our existence and how we can develop a peace within ourselves that absorbs stress.
Recorded at Menla Mountain Retreat Center, October 2006.

It’s time for skin renewal. Time to look deeper into what you are using on your skin. Your skin is your largest organ and absorbs the most toxins. It is important to get intimate with the products you apply to it, so you know what you are being exposed to. I am a big believer in choosing your toxins, not having them choose you. I live what I call the 85-15% life style. 85% of the time I eat healthy and take care of myself and 15% of the time I indulge in my version of vitamin J (junk). I do this knowing the effects of all my junk, the choice is mine.

Choosing a product that is not only effective but safe for your body can be harder than it seems. Labels often use key words such as ‘all-natural’ and “organic”, or highlight a specific ingredient in order to entice the consumer into purchasing it. Many times, the label is misleading. We want to be confident that what we are purchasing is healthy for our bodies; we want to know a product is right for us. Use these quick tips when shopping for skin care, body and makeup products.

Forget about the label/packaging. Many times a company will spend a lot of money on their packaging in order to attract the customer but their ingredients may not be as alluring. Flip the container over and read the ingredients. Be sure to avoid the following:

• parabens
• sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfate; ammonium laureth sulphate
• propylene glycol
• ingredients containing Petroleum
• nanoparticles
• formaldehyde
• pthalates
• synthetic fragrance
• diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA)
• diazolidinyl urea and imidazolidinyl urea
• PVP/VA copolymer

Make your own criteria of what you consider ‘safe’ for you and your body. Everyone’s ‘safe’ is different so by creating a specific list of product you’d choose to avoid, you are now in control of your bodies chemical intake and lack thereof.

Trust the facts, and those are found in ingredient lists! Don’t be persuaded by your local sales associate, mother-in-law or brand name.  Dig deeper, empower yourself with knowledge and make an educated decision. And don’t get confused by a chemical name that has.. (made from corn or coconut or ?) after it.

Limit your exposure. Clean out that bathroom cabinet and rid yourself of excess chemical intake.  Pull every bottle out and separate the your “must have” products from the products you can eliminate. You can also limit your exposure by picking products with more than one use. When your products can pull double or triple duty, you can limit your chemical exposure immensely. Try using your lip balm on cuticles, or eye balms around the mouth.  Just be sure to read all warning labels first.