Buycott

Buycott - the app

I recently found this app and wanted to share it with you.  I love having these types of app's on my phone so that when I am out shopping I can scan a product and get the information I need right then and there.  Then I can either buy the product or reject it on the spot. 

Description 
Buycott helps you organize your everyday consumer spending to support causes you care about. 

How it works
Join a campaign to help a cause you care about and commit to actively supporting the companies on your side of the issues, while avoiding those that oppose your position. Scan bar codes and Buycott will find out what company owns that product and who owns that company.  Using this information, Buycott will determine whether you have joined a campaign that includes the product owners. 

Features
Look up the ownership structure of any product and trace it all the way back to its parent company with the interactive family tree diagram.  Offers a variety of contact data for companies and brands, so you can easily inform them of your decision to support or avoid their products.  Bar code scanner scans all major retail bar codes.

Want to buycott Mansanto?  You can add that to your campaign list. Want GMO labeling? Add that to your campaign and find out which companies spent money to stop the initiative for labeling. The campaign list goes on with topics such as woman's rights, animal welfare, education, social responsibility, etc.

I hope you give it a try and make your voice heard with your consumer dollars.   

Once a week vitamin D

Product News! 

Bio Tech 

Once a week vitamin D 

I recently found this vitamin D product and wanted to share it with you. 

If you do the research on vitamin D you will discover that most people are deficient in it.  What's important to know is that it has a whole host of heath benefits so if you are deficient you can experience some serious health issues. 

Vitamin D is important for normal immune function.  High levels of vitamin D have been found to protect people because it has a significant impact on our genes that are involved in biologic pathways associated with illnesses, including cancer, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, and infectious disease just to name a few. 

I was told by my doctor that I was deficient after she did some blood work. That being the case I started taking a few thousand mg daily, having to take at least 2 or three tablets each day.  After a few months of that I discovered this high potency product from Bio Tech that you take once per week.  Since I hate taking pills I was all over this.   Now I take one pill on Sunday and I am done for the week.  

I ordered this from Lucky Vitamins and I paid approximately $24.00 for 100 capsules.  

The manufacturing process and raw materials of vitamins are extremely important in the body's ability to absorb the nutrients so please do your research on Bio Tech.  I have found them to be a high quality company with quality products which is why I chose to use them. 

As always please check with your health care provider before taking any supplements. 

Why is everyone talking about gluten?

Like me, I'm sure you are seeing gluten free items everywhere these days. You can't watch a food commerical on TV without seeing gluten free items. And if you really look around at the grocery store you will amazed to see how many items are using gluten free as part of their packaging. When did all this begin? And Why?  What's the story? You probably have a friend who has gluten sensitivity and can't eat certain things anymore.  I recently had to give up pizza because of my gluten problem.

I'm going to give you the short condensed version of today's gluten otherwise your eyes will glaze over if I go into this in great detail. Suffice it to say, we are not eating the same wheat our grandparents ate. It's a whole new strain that is being grown now by big agri company's, and they do it for various reasons. 

Gluten is a sticky protein found in grains, mostly in wheat, barley and rye. This stickiness is why it is used in processed foods as a binder and filler. This is often referred to as hidden gluten. It's in lots of food items and it's never identified on the ingredient list so you won't know if it's in there. This is a huge and dangerous problem for people with celiac disease. 

Like I said, the wheat we are eating today is not the same wheat our grandparents ate.  The grains have been hybridized to achieve drought resistant, bug resistant, and faster growing strains that we have today. These new strains, or new proteins, are causing system inflammation and intolerance of gluten in our digestive tract. 

If you have celiac or gluten sensitivity  it effects the walls of your intestine and deceases your ability to absorb nutrients and allowing the walls of your intestines to become leaky.  This can manifest itself in digestive  symptoms including bloating, constipation, diarrhea, weight loss, fat malabsorption, and malnutrition like iron deficiency or anemia, low vitamin D and even osteoporosis   This condition is considered an auto immune disease. Basically the gluten is causing your body to attack itself. You can become very ill if this continues for a long time. 

Additionally, many people who do not suffer from gluten sensitivity have decided not to eat gluten because they know that it causes inflammation in the body. Since inflammation is a root cause of disease, the thinking is that if you want to do all you can to be healthy, remove gluten from your diet. 

How do you know if you have gluten sensitivity?  One way to find out is to simply remove all gluten from your diet for several week and then reintroduce it.  If you feel better when you stop eating gluten that is a hint. If you reintroduce it and you feel bad that is also a hint. At that point you might want to ask your doctor to test you for gluten sensitivity.

If you don't have celiac and want o be able to eat gluten occasionally you might look for ancient grains.  There are some resources on line that specialize in ancient grains. Be sure to check them out and make sure they are in there original state and have never been hybridized. If you can find products like this you might be able to tolerate it well.  One product I like to buy is Jovial. This company grows wheat in Italy and it's available at Whole Foods and Mother's Market. You can also order it on line at Jovialfoods.com. This pasta can be eaten by some people who are sensitive to gluten without a problem. They also sell some gluten free products that I really like.

So that's the story.  If you have a gluten sensitivity you should consider not eating it to stop the damage it is doing to your gut. If you are not sensitive to it consider eating only high quality grains to maintain your overall health. Your gut and your immune system will thank you. 

Acid Reflux and Stomach Acid

It is estimated that acid reflux affects more than 25 million Americans every day.  Most people think the issue with indigestion is too much acid. This is not surprising considering that all we see are ads by pharmaceutical companies who want to sell us medications that block production of acid by the stomach.  And if you go to your doctor complaining of this he will most certainly give you those same medications to help relieve your symptoms. Antacids such as Tums, sodium bicarbonate, and milk of magnesia and acid suppressing drugs, PPI's, such as Prilosec, Zantac and Pedcid all offer some temporary relief but do nothing to relieve the issue once and for all. 

The problem?  The root cause of the issue is exactly opposite of what the traditional treatment is.  If you suffer from acid reflux it indicates that you do not have enough stomach acid.  So by taking an acid suppressing medication you are doing nothing to resolve the problem.  

Most people who discover this are shocked and initially don't believe it.  This proves that we have all been lead down the wrong path, we've been lied to. I'm always surprised how these stories get started and how they become "the law".  There are many of these misconceptions out there that need to be dispelled.

An acidic gut environment helps the body break down food, absorb nutrients and fend against dangerous organisms. When you don't have enough acid you can experience malabsorption, which means you're not absorbing the nutrients from your food.  This can lead to numerous health problems.  Fatigue is a common symptom of this.  Stomach acid is an important part of the immune system. 

Acid suppression medications shut off acid production. When stomach PH is increased there is less irritation in the esophagus and stomach, which  relieves the burning symptoms associated with acid reflux.  Because we get relief we mistakenly think that the problem was too much stomach acid. 

The trick to getting your acid reflux under control is to take nutrients that promote increased production of the protective lining that coats your stomach.  A good place to start would be with digestive enzymes that aid in the proper breakdown of food.  Taking a digestive enzyme with meals will help your body break down the food more completely and reduce gastrointestinal irritation.

Continuous suppression of acid production for months or years isn't a good idea. In the stomach, hydrochloric acid plays a number of critical roles, including the destruction of Salmonella bacteria and other microorganisms responsible for food borne illnesses. 

Using PPI's over the long term can also cause other problems. In post menopausal woman it can increase the risk of fractors.   This is because you are not absorbing the calcium and vitamin B12 from the food you eat.

Coffee, soda, and alcohol can all contribute to acid reflux. Avoiding these foods while using natural aids will help to speed the recovery process. 

In you experience acid reflux you might be eating a diet that contain mostly alkaline foods, in which case you would need to add more acidic foods to your diet. 

Coconut Palm Sugar

Sugar that contains vitamins and minerals?  And is low glycemic?  Seriously?  Who'd a thunk!  It's true. 

If we can get away from the processed stuff sold to us in big grocery stores by giant corporations and look at more natural products we can find food items that are a much better choice for our overall health.  It sometimes takes time to find these products so when I do find them I like to share them with everyone.  And this is one of those items. 

Now that does not give us licence to eat as much of this stuff as we want, but its nice to know that occasionally we can have a little sweet and its not going to cause the health issues that regular white granulated cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup does.   I use this product in my coffee every morning. One teaspoon each day and its only 4 grams of sugar.   That is low.  If that's all the sugar I consume in a day, I am doing well.   I know you can bake with this product as well but I have not tried it as yet. It might be a little pricey to bake with as this 1 pound bag cost me almost $5.00.

This brand of coconut sugar is produced in Indonesia where farmers have harvested the nectar from coconut palm trees for herbal medicine and food for centuries.   It is 100% pure evaporated coconut sugar that certified organic, kosher, and vegan.

This is a healthy alternative sweetener that has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar, agave, or honey.  It is high in minerals including potassium, magnesium and zinc, as well as vitamins B2, B3, and B6.  You have to admit that is a big improvement over other sweeteners.  Look for it at your local health food store. 

I was recently at Costco and found a another coconut palm sugar product that is half the price.  Now I might try baking with it.  It pays to look around. 

The Truth about Orange Juice

Lets talk about orange juice.  I hear it all the time. Orange Juice is good for us right?  Well, you would think so considering it is made from oranges, but it's one of those foods that been tampered with to the point that it is no longer just the juice of an orange.  This is what we do in this county, we mess around with our food until it's no longer good for us.  The sad part is that most people are not aware of the problem, which is evidenced by all the disease in our country. The more we tamper with our food the sicker we become.  

Here's my first issue with orange juice. 

• When its processed it is held in giant stainless steel vats, and since it spoils quickly they remove all the oxygen from the vats which then allows the juice to hold for up to a year.  Unfortunately, when they remove the oxygen it removes the flavor as well.   So how does the orange juice industry solve that problem?  They develop  "flavor packets" to put taste back into the juice.  They actually hire flavor specialists to create a taste they can add back into the juice.  It's also one of the ways they ensure the product tastes the same every single time you buy it.
• They can put whatever they want in these flavor packets because they are not required to put this information on the label.  Be aware that when you buy this product you really don't know what all is in it.
• When you buy a product that says 100% fresh juice you need to know that really is not the truth.  The next time you buy a carton at the market remember that it's been sitting in a tank for a year. A YEAR!!!! I don't know about you, but that is not fresh in my book. 

Here is my second issue with orange juice.

• Orange Juice is loaded with fructose and fructose has been linked to a whole host of health issues. A typical 8 ounce glass contains 25 grams of fructose.  I don't eat 25 grams of sugar in a whole day so to have this in  one glass of juice is asking for trouble.  
• Fructose has been written about quite a lot lately because of the health risks associated with it.  You might want to do some research on it, but I tell all my clients to remove fructose from theirs diets. Because it is digested in your liver it immediately turns into triglycerides which means fructose is basically poison for your liver. 

If you still want to drink orange juice buy fresh squeezed juice from the health food store that has no added sugar, that way you will know it's juiced within the last few hours.  Of course you can always juice your own at home, that would be the best choice. But these days most people don't have that kind of time. I recommend to my clients that they eliminate orange juice from their diets.  It's not a good thing to put into the body for optimum health. Your best bet?  Eat an orange instead.  

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Our house is chemical free. I want it to be a toxin free zone and, therefore, I am always on the lookout for homemade cleaning products and all natural items I can make myself.  Many of these items also have the added benefit of saving money. I feel better about using them in my house, and I save a few bucks by not buying the junk in the stores.

I recently made this laundry detergent. I made the trial size so I could use it and check it out before I committed to the larger size.  I got the recipe from One Good Thing by Jillie.  She always posts really great DIY projects on her blog. Thanks Jillie! 

It was not easy to find the washing soda. I went to every local store and no one carried it.  I found it at my local Ace Hardware.

So here are the recipes for both sizes:

Trail Size  
2 cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda 
3 cups Borax
1 bar Felsnaptha Soap 
4 1/2 cups Oxygenated Bleach 
3/4 cup Baking Soda


Large Size 
1 Box Arm and Hammer Washing Soda 
1 box Borax
3 bars Felsnaptha Soap 
2 tubs Oxygenated Bleach
2 cups Baking Soda 

Get out your food processor.  Chop the bars of felsnaptha into small chunks, put in the food processor and blend into a powder.  

You might want to do this next part outdoors as it will release some of that powdery dust when it's all mixed together.  I did it on my balcony. 

Get a large bucket or bowl, pour the felsnaptha in, then measure each item and add to the bowl.  Mix well with a big spoon or scoop.  Pour the product into the container of your choice,  I used large size canning jars.  I labeled them and lined them up on my shelf above my washer.  

Use 2 tablespoons per load.