What's in your vitamins?

In December I joined Shaklee and became a health and wellness educator, this has been a big change for me since I never realized how bad some things are for you and I have always just gone with the flow of what others have told me.  Until I found Shaklee I knew vitamins were good (at least I thought all of them were) and I’d spend a lot of time in the vitamin isle looking for the best, cheapest vitamin for me.  I also thought that if they were being sold in the store or on TV that they would work, were proven safe, and that SOMEONE was regulating them and approving them before they were sold to consumers.  Oh how my eyes have been open.

Before going any further I should say this we NEED to supplement.  We don't get all the nutrition we need from our diet.  Not only that but we don't eat as healthy as we should.  How often do you eat fast food?  There are many benefits to supplements and I will be sharing them in future post but for now please view this video: Why Supplement?

A friend of mine recently told me how she was watching the news and saw a story about how some supplement companies were putting out false reports, lying about ingredients and were poising their consumers.  I was floored.  I had been talking to her about some Shaklee supplements and had been showing her who all uses them and the research behind them, she proceeded to tell me that while she (like me) had thought that buying anything from a store (especially one such as GNC) meant that they were safe and now that she saw this story on the news she would no longer get any vitamins from any other source than Shaklee because of their outstanding reputation! 

After she told me this I decided to do a little digging of my own and to share what I’ve found with everyone how I’ve had my eyes opened in these last couple weeks.

*The FDA does not regulate or approve any dietary supplement before it goes on the shelves at stores, or becomes an infomercial. 

                Why don’t they?  Simply put because they are not a drug or food. 

                What do they do?  Watch for labels that claim to be something other than they are, and will recall products that after being sold, people have gotten sick from using them. 

                For more information about how the FDA handles recalls and vitamins check out theses links:

http://www.webmd.com/fda/vitamins-and-supplements/default.htm

http://www.webmd.com/fda/fda-101-product-recalls

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm

http://www.consumerlab.com/recalls.asp

http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com

*You can’t believe what’s in infomercials, especially ones about any supplement (weightless, sexual enhancement, and body building)

                According to this video from NBC on Dateline the companies that produce infomercials usually hire actresses to give fake testimonies, and you can even find a doctor who has no morals and will accept money to say that the product really works.  

*NBC did another segment about mislabeled and fake test behind some vitamins.

 This story really scared me about what are on our shelves and how greedy these companies are that they are willing to lie and risk our health for their profit.  I think all companies should be thinking about the effect their product will have on their costumers and be concerned for them.  I don’t see why someone would want to produce a product and conceal any info about it; I believe that people have the right to know exactly what are in our supplements.  Not only should we know what’s in our supplements we should be better educated about what we should be taking and how much.  We should have access to reports, studies, and testimonies from REAL people who have taken the products and use them.

While doing my research for this blog I found it hard to find more info about what vitamins have been recalled and why, and how often recalls happen.  The lady who introduced me to Shaklee (the only vitamins I use now) told me how she spent 6months researching the company before she joined, she also told me how while doing her research she called GNC where she was getting her supplements before and asked them how often they get recalls and she said that they are always pulling products off the shelves!  

I also found this forum that said that there was a recall on a vitamin I think I was prescribed while pregnant…thanks companies for putting me and my daughter at risk since you didn’t do enough testing before sending products out for consumers.  Not only was that a concern but I’ve also come across some scary and surprising facts about lead in vitamins in particular prenatal and children’s.  Think about this we know that lead is a poisonous metal and are warned about the risk of lead based paints and recalls on toys because of lead content, but here we are taking it into our bodies and even giving it to our kids without knowing.  The FDA has decided that the amounts of lead is “safe/tolerable levels,” but let’s think about this.  The amount of damage done by lead poising depends on how much lead the body has taken in and how long someone’s been exposed to it, if we’re taking in safe/tolerable levels every day for a couple years, that amounts to a lot of lead in our bodies.

For more information about lead in vitamins check out these links:

thedailygreen.com 

vitamins-containing-lead 

What is Lead and How is it Harmful? 

So what are some things WE can do to make sure we’re taking the best supplements to make sure we’re getting all the nutrition we need every day?? 

 

**Research the company that you’re getting your vitamins from

**Do not use any products that promise to show results in as little as 24-72hours

**Avoid sexual enhancement supplements, and others that say they are equal to pharmaceutical drugs

**Read the labels  

**Talk to someone who has personally used the vitamins/supplement that you’re looking at
**Start demanding that the FDA gets involved and monitors everything that we ingest! We have a right to know what we put in our mouths is safe!  Yes even food sometimes slips by them but companies should not be allowed to lie to us!
**Spread the word about recalls
**Share what you learn about certain vitamin companies to your friends so that they also can be aware.
**Does the company have any patents?  
**Can you get proof of their studies?

                Personally I only use Shaklee because I’ve done my research on them, was introduced to Shaklee by living green expert Lisa Alexander, I’ve meet with and heard from one of the scientist who works for Shaklee, and in May I will be meeting with the CEO of the company, Roger Barnett.  The products from Shaklee are the only ones I will use for my family and loved ones.  I know that the company spends $250 million dollars each year on research and development, they test every raw ingredient as soon as they come in and continue quality test throughout production, and they care more about the people who are taking the supplement than the profit they make.  Why do I say that?  A couple years back there was a fungal break out on ginseng and Shaklee refused to use any ginseng for their raw ingredients and wrote letters to all the consumers telling them that they would not have ginseng products until they found a clean source and have gone onto back order.  That is the type of company I would trust.  They also have a 100% money back satisfaction guarantee.  Look into your vitamin company and see where they stand on such issues.

                Also talk to people who use the products and have them tell you how they feel and what type of a difference the vitamin has made.  I have a lot of testimonies about Shaklee from myself, my friends, my family, and other people I’ve met through the company and talked to.  I was weary about Shaklee until I talked to two people personally and heard what a difference they could feel, and then I started using Vitalizer, Nutriferon, and the Get Clean system and fell in love with them.  My husband loves the energy he has on Vitalizer, I love that I can get over a cold quick, and feel great even with a common cold thanks to Nutriferon, and I love how safe and how wonderful Get Clean works, it cleans my floors, windows, bathroom, daughter, and she's even drank it and it didn't hurt her.  I have a lot of testimonies about the products and know even more people with their own experiences.

And proof Shaklee has: 

Ongoing proof of our product performance is demonstrated by: 

• Over 100 scientific publications, 90-plus in peer-reviewed journals
• The Landmark Study, the only study of its kind, which showed that people who took Shaklee supplements over a period of 20 years had markedly better health than both single-multivitamin and nonsupplement users
• Shaklee products powering athletes to win 125 medals
• Shaklee products fueling world explorers, 7 of Time-Life's "Greatest Adventures of All Time," and NASA Shuttle astronauts with a special rehydration product (called Astro-Ade)

I just went to a couple meetings and seminars and should have more info up in the next day or two to share with you, please stay tuned in.

Big News This Week

The big news this week in our house is my daughter is potty trained!!!

I wanted her potty trained as soon as she could walk (that did not happen).  I was really starting to struggle with the idea that my 3 year old was still in pull-ups and showed no interest in going pee on the potty unless we were out shopping or to eat then of course she'd say she had to go pee, but hardly ever went - I think she used it as an excuse to get to walk around or just wanted make sure there was a potty.

So how did we do it??

The Diaper Fairy!!

A friend told us how she got her niece off the binki by coming up with a Binki Fairy, she made a pretty box and the child put her binki in and when she woke up there was a toy she really wanted there.  She said it worked really well for them.

We took her idea and twisted it and came up with the diaper fairy.  I sat my daughter down and asked her if she wanted the diaper fairy to come to our house and leave her presents.  Her face lit right up at presents.  I explained to her that she'd have to give up her pull-ups and show him that she was a big girl and could go pee and poo in the potty then we'd set out all her pull-ups and the diaper fairy would leave her a present when he took the pull-ups away.

That night we had her out of a pull-up and in her big girl panties.  We went all week with only one accident so the diaper fairy came by and left her a basket of presents (including more big girl panties).  Since then she's been doing really good with going potty but only when she has to she won't go "sit and try," but I can live with that.  Now the only trouble time is if she's outside playing, like most kids she doesn't want to stop, but we put a potty outside for her and that seems to be working well.

I should mention that she hasn't wet at night in over a year and half, and some other tricks we tried were candy/treats (I know not healthy but we're starting to change to healthier living) and money (spare change) for every time she went pee or poo in the potty.  Those tricks only worked when she felt like going for treats or money...every once in a blue moon.

Good luck to all you other moms working on potty training!!

The Truth about our Cleaning Products

Do you or your children have asthma?  Do you get headaches or nauseous while cleaning?  Have you ever thought about what's in your cleaners that you use?


I use to gag every time I cleaned because of the fumes, but even so I never thought about my cleaning products as being harmful as long as no one drank them.  Then I saw some eye-opening videos and I started to do some digging to find out more.  What I found scared me and I hope that by sharing what I've found I'll open everyone's eyes, especially other mothers, that we can all live a little better and healthier and make our world a little more safe and green.  I'll have all links at the end of this blog.  



The chemicals used in our cleaners have so many side effects that aren't listed on the container...actually most don't list their ingredients at all because they aren't required to.  Fragrances are considered trade secrete so the chemicals used to make that scent you may like so much could be what's causing your headaches, allergies, asthma, and many contain phthalates which are know hormone disrupters.

Here are some photos of cleaners I was using before.  Notice how they don't list all their ingredients.
What's in the other over 90%?

These chemicals used to make our cleaners have been found and known to be poisonous, cause chemical burns, respiratory irritation, birth defects, cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and more.  Many are considered to be hazardous waste and are harmful to people and our environment.  And that's just of the chemicals that we know of.  There are over 80,000 chemicals in the USA but less than 500 have been tested for toxicity.

Yes, we knew that our cleaners are toxic and to keep them away from our children-it says so right on the bottle, yet 90% of all poisoning occurs at home and household cleaners, particularly those containing Bleach, are the number one cause of poising children!!

Every time we turn around there's something new that causes cancer, so while I was surprised to hear that something we use to avoid getting sick can cause cancer, it's not really that surprising.  But the good thing is that by knowing about this we can make changes and reduce our risk.


The rest of the side effects really did surprise me and made me worry...

Did you know that 1 in 10 children had asthma in 2009? And that asthma is the number one reason children go to the hospital?  Have you wondered why asthma rates keep rising?  Why are kids with no family history of respiratory problems now coming down with them?  For the same reason our air pollution levels are 2 to 5 times higher indoors than outside.  The same study found that in some cases the pollution levels were 100 times higher.  OK, so outside we have cars and factories yet our pollution levels are higher inside our homes which should be safe.  The average house has over 62 toxic chemicals in it!  Many of these chemicals irritate or even cause asthma.  People who have any respiratory issues or heart problems should avoid cleaning with or even being around chlorine bleach and ammonia because they emit such harsh fumes.  The fumes are instantly causing irritation to your eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.  That's just each of the chemicals alone, combine them together or mix them with any other chemicals (especially oven or toilet bowl cleaners) and now there's a lung damaging gas in the air.  Read your labels as they will tell you if your cleaner is a respiratory irritant.  Look for words saying, "use in well ventilated area" or anything of the sort.  It could even be like this one I found on my old toilet bowl cleaner :

It says in bold "Do not close toilet bowl lid" I know I usually close the lid when I clean because I don't want any toys or other items in the house to go in the toilet...and not only that but is your bathroom ventilated well?  I know I don't open the windows or turn on the fan in the winter when it's cold out.

Then it goes on to say "Do not use with chlorine bleach or any other chemical products" 

This one is big Hazards to humans and domestic Animals I was surprised at looking back at all my other cleaners I uses to use and seeing that label on most of the cleaners! It says it's "Hazards to humans" yet we're cleaning with these, breathing in the fumes or over-spray, and using them around our kids and pets!! 

And it doesn't stop there this one goes on to say that you should use protective eye-wear, gloves, and to wash your hands afterward before going to do anything else!

Here are two more photos of the same product:

Where do you store your cleaners?  Before I found a safer cleaner, all of my cleaners were together under the sink...that's not well ventilated.


Look at the First Aid Warning label of this




If on the skin rinse with water for up to 20minutes and call poison control...if inhaled move to fresh air, and if not breathing call 911...just from being in contact with a cleaner...yeah that's scary!  And this use to be under my sink!  Very happy and relived to say it's not anymore.


Many all purpose cleaners that are to be used on counter tops require you to rinse the cleaned surface afterward to make sure you get most of the chemicals off like I found on this bottle:

So why are we using these cleaners that are so harmful?  Because they are what we see advertised on TV and in the newspaper, and what we can clip coupons for, convenience, right?  I know that was the case for me.  Then I'd look at the "green" cleaners and look at the price and say "That's not really in my budget."  So I never switched over to the green cleaners because I didn't know how bad cleaners are for us.  Now that I know all I do, I also know that not all green cleaners are safe and the words on the labels aren't verified by the government.

I'm very happy to say I've been able to replace all my toxic cleaners for a great safe, non toxic cleaner and I've been able to save myself a lot of money.  There are sites out there to find out how to make your own cleaner but I don't want to make my own cleaners out of vinegar or peroxide or anything like that.  It seems like a hassle.  But this cleaning system I found is a concentrate, and it comes with spray bottles that have how much cleaner you add to the bottle to make your window cleaner, all propose cleaner, degreaser, and there's hundreds of ways to clean with it.  It's easy and hassle free!  And it works!

I did my research on this company and found that they are the #1 natural nutrition company in the US, they've planted over 1million trees, and are even used in the White House (and have been since 2008)! And they are one of Oprah's favorite products

By buying the whole Get Clean kit to change over all my cleaners for these safe, non toxic, environmental friendly ones I spent $99, saved over $3,000 and have saved the world of 248 pounds of greenhouse gas, and kept 108 pounds of packaging waste out of the landfills.  How awesome is that!!  Not only is that part amazing but I've also been able to rest easy with cleaning around my daughter.  She now loves to help mommy wash the windows, or clean whatever I'm cleaning and I can give her the spray bottle of Get Clean and let her have fun without worrying about her poising herself.  It's awesome to know that we have a cleaner that works, (and it does), and it's safe enough for her to use...it won't even hurt her if she drinks it!  That made a world of difference in our home.

To learn more about anything I talked about or to look into switching over your cleaners here are all the sites and videos where I've gotten all of my information.  

Children Poisoned At Home

Asthma in the US

Air Contaminants -EPA

video: Household cleaners Cause Health Problems

Bleach

video: Toxic World

Indoor Air Quality - EPA

Asthma Triggers

Asthma Statistics

videos: Real Dirt on Clean part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4

video: Oprah and Get Clean

Oprah and going Green

book: Safe-Shoppers-Bible

How Toxic are your Household Cleaners?

Chemical Warfare Agents And Toxic Waste Disguised As Household Cleaning Products

Cleaning Product Injuries -Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics

Putting "Green" Cleaners to the test -CBSnews

Some "Green" cleaners aren't very green

Earth Day Clean Every Day

Cleaning Product Warning Labels

video: Get Clean

Household Hazardous Waste -EPA

Green Facts and Endocrine Disruptors

CDC

Hydrochloric_acid

what's in our homes?

To view all of the Get Clean line and learn more

Wonderful benefits of horses

I started my love of horses 20years ago and up until 2years ago I didn't realize how many benefits from ridding there are.  I always thought horses were beautiful and loved ridding, I had an abusive past and whenever I wanted to escape and clear my head and really feel like I belonged somewhere I'd go brush my horse, go for a ride, or sometimes just sit there with him and calm down.  Horses are strong, powerful, beautiful creatures that brings me a peace of mind whenever I'm with them  there for I knew that when my husband asked me to marry him I wanted to ride off on horse back.  Below is one of our wedding photos.

Three years ago I was blessed to have a beautiful daughter enter my life.  I was very lucky that I lost a lot of my baby weight through breastfeeding but I didn't get any muscle back.  My daughter was born in February and I was back in the saddle by August and the following spring I became a trail guide, that is when I noticed how much of a work out horses are.  Just from ridding I now have more muscle than ever before.   

Here's a photo I took of one of the best places to feel connected to nature

Ridding isn't just sitting on the back of a horse and the horse doing all the work you use a lot of muscles to keep your balance and stay in your seat especially your inner thigh, abs, legs, shoulder, and back.  The great thing about horse back riding as a form of exercise for me is that you don't notice you're working out!  It's relaxing, and fun.  I encourage everyone to take a trail with a friend and just chat, the next day you will notice the burn in your muscles, this is a nice casual way to try out horse back ridding and get in a small work out.  To really build muscles and get a good work out in take ridding lessons or see if a barn near you will offer trails one on one with a guide.


Here are some photos of me ridding some of the horses from the barn  this fall/winter:

As I said earlier I've been ridding for 20years now and have a lot of practice.  I can ride backwards, bareback, and stand up on a still horse....please DO NOT TRY ON YOUR OWN, I've been practicing this for a few years and always have people around if anything goes wrong.

How many calories can you burn from riding a horse?

Well that depends on the weather you're going to burn more when it's hot out and you're sweating a lot or when it's cold and you're body is trying to keep you warm but according to exercise.com I burn about 113 calories on a 30minute trail/exercise.  I find that most people go out for an hour tail so you're on the horse for an estimated 70minutes and someone who weights the same as me at 125 will burn 268 calories.  To find out how much you can burn fill out your weight and how long you want to ride for here 

I usually ride a lot more than just 30minutes.  When I go to the barn I'm usually there all day.  And can spend anywhere from an hour to five on the back of a horse.

 

There's a lot more to getting exercise and a clear head than just riding.  Horses need to be taken care of, they need to be groomed, stalls need to be cleaned, feed, hay, and even the horses need a work out and bonding exercises.  All of these are also great work outs and wonderful ways to bond with your horse.

Here is a photo of me round-penning a beautiful rocky mountain horse that we rescued from slaughter

I have gone through a lot that really broke down my self confidence and left me feeling insecure.  Working with these horses has really brought me a lot of my confidence and strength back.  I love how great I feel when I get a horse to do what I want him to.  Sometimes it's getting a horse to cross a stream that he's afraid of or something it's an inner strength like when I learned how to stand up on a horse.  These little things have a large impact on our lives.


For more info about working out with horses check this out