Where Did The Week Go?

This week just seems to have disappeared!

Australia Day.....
As I said in my last post we were going in the boat for two nights. We met up with friends out on the water and had a lovely time even though it rained quite a bit Sunday afternoon and evening.

Here is our Australia Day sunrise.....

and our Australia Day breakfast.....

Here are a couple of pelicans we met along the way.....

Garden....
This week (26th jan - 2nd Feb) we've been in the New Moon phase. I planted a new lot of lettuce and silverbeet seedlings.

Weather....
In our backyard we've had a lot of sun, rain and humidity, while my relatives in Victoria have been coping with the heatwave.

Cleaning my insides.....
I am still "almost" clear of dermatitis :-) I had a visit with the naturopath on Tuesday and am now doing a bowel cleanse for 10 days. I am using my rebounder every day and the body seems to be toning up.

Birds.....
We recently put a terracotta tray up on a fence post. This gives me somewhere to put food scraps out for the birds, and keeps any visitors safe from our dog and cat. They never harm the birds but they do tend to chase them out of the house yard. So far I have only seen a few magpies and a couple of sulfur-crested cockatoos enjoying the scraps.


Have a great day.

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #6

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.






Dermatitis Update....
I am happy to say "I am almost clear of dermatitis at the moment" :-)
My naturopath and I are both very impressed as we knew the holiday season would put a lot of temptation in front of me.

I was already avoiding sugar and dairy foods, and the testing we'd done before Christmas gave me a list of other things to try avoid....
Food: Corn, bakers yeast, egg yolk, lettuce, sweet potato, wheat & yogurt.
Environment: Cabmium, chromium, nickel, parasites & tin.

I found dairy, sugar and wheat the hardest to avoid as they are in so many yummy foods.

Most the time I was good, but there were times when I just couldn't resist.
I made up for the bad stuff by drinking more water ;-)

Water....
During every visit to the naturopath he has stressed the importance of drinking water.

We are on tank water here so we carried our own water for the trip to avoid the chemicals.... and the unpleasant taste in some town water supplies. When that ran out we bought containers of water and decanted it into our smaller bottles.

Since arriving home we have installed a Brita On Tap filter in the kitchen to avoid the parasites that can be associated with tank water.


How much water is enough? For me, it's around 1.8lts per day.
Click here to learn How Much Water Is Enough for you.

Exercise....
The next step in my life style change is exercise. The naturopath recommended getting a rebounder (mini trampoline) as it's much cheaper than a gym membership and it is gentler on the joints than pounding the pavement.

After reading the leaflet outlining benefits I realised this is going to help Green My Insides as it strengthens the cells by eliminating waste and increases blood flow, helps circulation, oxygenates the blood and brain.... and it's considered aerobic if I exercise more than 20 minutes.

So I picked up a rebounder this morning, then called past the naturopath to pick up an exercise sheet.

Meet my new friend....
Ok, that's enough exercise for today.... I'll get serious tomorrow ;-)

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #5

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.






What caused my dermatitis?
For nearly 20 years I have believed chemicals were the cause. The dermatitis began under my wedding ring while I was working in a take away food shop, and then crept over my fingers, across my hands and up my arms. My duties at work included preparing foods for the day (slicing lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cold meats, etc. for sandwiches & hamburgers), serving customers during the lunch rush, then cleaning the shop and kitchen. Saturday was the day I cleaned our house from top to toe.... and Sundays was family day.
I did all the cleaning at the shop and at home without gloves, so it's easy to assume the chemicals in the various cleansers were the initial cause…. and other things irritate it.

What irritates my dermatitis?
Friction - doing housework, driving the car, gardening, etc.
Heat - hot weather, driving into the sun, exercise.
Various things I come in contact with, often unknown.
The juice from vegetables makes my hands itchy if I don't wear gloves while slicing, dicing, etc.

What triggers a major breakout?
Most the time I can’t pinpoint the cause of a breakout, but on a couple of occasions the offender has been obvious.
A certain brand of shampoo/conditioner caused the worst reaction I’ve had (see Greening My Insides #1). Their advert says “it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”…. believe me, it happened overnight! Within 30 minutes my face was itching and by the next morning a stranger was looking back at me from the mirror!
Touching lettuce triggers a breakout that lasts around two weeks. I discovered this a few years back when I was preparing a salad and forgot to put gloves on while I shredded the lettuce. Usually eating lettuce doesn’t cause a problem, but recently I prepared what I thought was a healthy lunch... shredded lettuce, grated carrot & beetroot fresh from my veggie patch, grated cheese, sliced boiled egg and ham. Within 30 minutes I felt a burning sensation in my top lip, which was followed by peeling for the next two weeks.

Last week I was thinking about my reaction to lettuce so I went to Google and typed - lettuce dermatitis – into the search box. I found an interesting article at DermNetnz.org which said - Lettuce is an occasional cause of allergic contact dermatitis particularly in food handlers, chefs and market gardeners. It tends to cause hand dermatitis, which spreads up the forearms.

My mind went racing back to the first chore of the day at work.... slicing a full box of lettuce.
Is the humble lettuce the cause of my dermatitis?
I will never be certain what the initial cause was, but it was food for thought, so I printed the page and put it in my handbag.

During my visit to the naturopath last week I read out what I had learned about lettuce while he was giving me the low level laser therapy. I asked his opinion on RAST blood tests and prick tests for allergies. He informed me he could test me with Kinesiology Allergy Tests. He felt he could eliminate many things to reduce the amount of testing via conventional methods if I wanted to follow up further. He tested me for lettuce, carrot & beetroot that day to show me how it worked. I reacted to the lettuce, but not to the other two.

During my visit yesterday we did more testing, and will continue to work our way through a few more during each of my future appointments. I am only going once a week now so this could be a slow process.

So far I have the following lists....

OK LIST
Food: beetroot, carrots, cashews, rice, rye, seafood, soya
Environment: flower pollen, grass, mould

OK BUT AVOIDING LIST
Avoiding for now because I am on a cleansing diet, or the food is acidy.
chocolate, strawberries

AVOID LIST
Food: lettuce, sweet potato, wheat
Environment: parasites

Lettuce was obvious, and I suspected wheat, so no surprises there.
Sweet potato was a shock, and to think I was about to start eating more of it!
"Parasites! Do you mean fleas and things like that?" I asked.
"No" says the naturopath "The ones in your body"

Ok, they're curable so I can deal with that.... but now I keep imagining big fat juicy worms and other nasty parasites crawling around inside me!
There's no point worming one person in the family so look out hubby, teen son, dog and cat, you're all about to get a dose of worm medication :-)

I researched the symptoms of parasite infestation and was suprised to see Skin Conditions listed when I read Classic Symptoms of Parasitic Infections . According to this site intestinal worms can cause hives, rashes, weeping eczema, and other allergic-type skin reactions. Cutaneous ulcers, swellings and sores, popular lesions, and itchy dermatitis can all result from protozoan invasion.
Further reading informed me that parasites can infect virtually every part of the human body including the abdomen, blood, buttocks, chest, diaphragm, digestive tract, respiratory tract, feet, hands, genitals, liver, muscles, skin and upper arms..... and humans can play host to over 100 kinds of parasites.... oh my goodness, big fat juicy ones, long skinny slimy ones, itsy bitsy fuzzy wuzzy worms.

Do You KNOW WHAT'S INSIDE You? is also an interesting read.

Ok, I have learned more about parasites than I have ever wanted to know!
Be diligent people.... worm your family and animals regularly.

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #4

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.

It is now six weeks since I started seeing the naturopath again about my dermatitis (see Greening my Insides #1). There has been a big improvement but I've had a setback the last few days. I'm not sure what has aggravated it. One thing may be the trigger or there may be a few contributing factors.... doing more housework than usual & preparing food last Saturday for a hoard of visitors.... eating some of the yummy food I'd prepared instead of sticking to my diet.... something I've touched.... or it could just be the heat and humidity we've had lately.

The naturopath had planned to start reducing the laser therapy and homeopathic treatment but after seeing me yesterday he changed his mind. He mentioned Hair Analysis so he will be looking into cost and the best place to get this done if we decide to follow this route. It is interesting to note that my Zinc levels were down again.

Wheat grass juice
A couple of weeks ago the naturopath told me if I was going past a juice bar that sold shots of wheat grass juice, I should stop and have one to increase the amount of chlorophyll in my diet. He recommended doing this twice a week.

Me, consume wheat grass..... I never thought I'd see the day!

Problem - The local shopping centres I frequent don't have juice bars and I didn't want to start going to major shopping centres as I'd be inclined to visit the other shops and spend money on things I don't need.

Solution - I went to a health food shop and bought some Organic Wheat Grass Powder
I told the naturopath what I had done. He said this is the second best option, then told me I can build up to taking it every day seems I now have it on hand.

So I put 1 teaspoon of wheatgrass powder into some juice....

Gave it a stir....
.... and down the hatch it went!

Well, it tasted like they had squashed a whole bale of hay into that teaspoon of powder!

This sent me searching Google for other ways to get more chlorophyll into my diet.

I found that -

• Algae is the highest known source of chlorophyll (... yuck!)

• Dark green veggies like spinach, Spirulina, wheat grass, broccoli and alfa alfa are also very rich in chlorophyll content.

• Eat greens! This is the easiest way to make sure that you are getting plenty of chlorophyll in your diet. Dark greens like spinach, chard, collard, broccoli, green beans, peas, celery & parsley

I eat my greens so I figured there must be a reason the naturopath wants me to get extra chlorophylll, so I have perservered.

I have altered the preparation a little, I now stir the wheat grass powder into a little water then add some juice.


This makes for a smoother mixture and seems to have improved the taste.... either that or I am getting used to it ;-)

Wheat grass.... now if that doesn't make me green inside, nothing will!

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #3

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.








Cleaning my bathroom

There was a time when I only used the latest chemical products to clean the bathroom. The bathroom has a lot of different surfaces so there was a super shower cleaner, creme cleanser for the hand basin & bathtub, spray and wipe type product for walls, towel racks, etc., glass cleaner for the window & mirror, a toilet cleanser and something fancy for the floor. That was six different cleaning products creating a chemical nightmare in the smallest room of the house!

It all changed when I went to the naturopath about my dermatitis 12 years ago (see Greening My Insides #1 ) and I started learning how to live chemical free. Slowly all those harsh chemical cleaners were replaced with greener products or homemade cleaners, then these were whittled down to the few items I use today.

Shower: I clean my shower with a cheap organic shampoo and a green scourer sponge.
Method: Squirt a small amount of shampoo onto a wet scourer and scrub the tiles, tap fittings and glass screen. Rinse off with water. Open the window so the breeze blows through and air dries the shower, or you can can wipe the shower dry with a dry cloth.
Hint: Once you have the whole shower sparkling clean, keep the scourer & shampoo in the shower and quickly clean one wall or screen each time you have a shower. You will never have to do a major clean of the shower again :-)

Toilet: I clean inside the toilet bowl (and under the seat) with cheap vinegar and a toilet brush.

Method: Pour some vinegar into the toilet bowl. Grab the toilet brush, scrub the inside of the bowl and under the seat, then let the brush sit in the bowl for a while. How long is "a while" you may be asking.... while I clean the rest of the bathroom.... or I just leave it there until the next time I need to use the toilet, this option works better if nobody else is home at the time :-) After a while, brush the toilet bowl again and flush. Rinse the brush in the flushing water. Return the clean brush to it's holder. Wipe the rest of the toilet over with microfiber clothes (see below).

Window, mirror and all other surfaces: I clean the rest of the bathroom with microfiber mitts and cloths.

Method: Dampen a microfiber mitt with water, clean the surface then wipe dry with a dry microfiber cloth.

Floor: I use a microfiber mop.

Method: Open the window, mop floor with a damp microfiber mop and allow to air dry.

Notes: This style of cleaning saves me a lot of money, helps the environment and it's better for our health. Not only does this help my dermatitis, I've also noticed we get less coughs & colds since I've reduced the amount of chemicals in our home. Coincidence, or not?
I'm not fussy with brands of microfiber mitts/cloths. I find the cheaper brands such Oates and Sabco work just as good as the expensive Enjo brand.
If you can't afford microfiber mitts/cloths, or you're a frugal shopper, try using face cloths. Just remember you need two cloths, one damp for cleaning, and one dry to finish off. This may be a greener option than microfiber and is what I plan on using when my microfiber cloths wear out.

Additional information on microfiber from http://www.answers.com/microfiber

Microfiber textiles tend to be flammable and emit toxic gases when burning. They are made with synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon (often constructed from polypropylene), which are made from petrochemicals. Microfibers are not made from a renewable resource and they are not biodegradable. However, the petroleum energy used in fertilizers, pesticides, transportation and processing to produce cotton and other renewable resource fibres may outweigh direct use of the petroleum as base stock for producing fibre.

Have a great day.

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #2

The Green Your Insides Challenge is about greening your home, and paying attention to what you put on your body, in your body, and around your body.







In Greening My Insides #1 I focused on my dermatitis which has made me pay attention to what I put on my body. The products below are what I have settled on after a lot of trial and error. They work for me, but they may not be suitable for you.

Personal hygiene......

Body: I use Aqueous Lotion to clean myself. It can be used as a soap substitute and a moisturiser. I chose the Skin Basics brand because it's free of colour, perfume, lanolin and propylene glycol. It's hypoallergenic and pH balanced, and helps maintain skin’s natural balance.
Hair: Over the years I've tried different shampoos & conditioners suitable for dermatitis, finally settling on Hope's Relief. Their products are suitable for eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and dandruff. They're unscented and sulfate free. The ingredients are organic herbal extracts, vitamins and Manuka Honey combined with the gentlest cleansers. I also use their moisturising cream. Hope's Relief products were developed in Australia by Jacqueline Hope, a fully qualified Naturopath based in Victoria.
Teeth: A mix of equal parts salt & bi carb soda for my own teeth. Soap and water for my dentures.
Deodorant: Some days I use a natural mineral salt stick and other days I use Avon On Duty roll-on. The roll-on does contain 17.5% aluminium chlorohydrate so some may consider this a bad choice, but I don't have a reaction to it so it stays for now :-)

Hubby and teen son aren't as green as me. They hang onto their favourite brands of toothpaste and soap but I have changed them to an organic shampoo :-)

Cosmetics.....

I never had a bad reaction to cosmetics, but I did notice every time I put make-up on I felt really tired, so for many years I didn't wear any. Eventually I threw out all my cosmetics as they were so old they were bound to have bacteria growing in them.

I heard about natural mineral make up so I went online to research brands, ingredients, etc. I chose Inika Mineral Cosmetics because they're Australian Owned and their products are pure and natural, made from crushed mineral pigments. They contain no harsh chemicals, fillers, talc, bismuth oxychloride, GM ingredients, parabens, preservatives or fragrances. Inika is also 100% certified cruelty free and 100% certified vegan.

Here's my everyday make up bag....

Yep, that's it, a foundation, kabuki brush and a lip gloss.

Here's my special occasion make up bag....

Mascara, lip liner, 2 lip sticks and an eye shadow.
Note: Eyeshadow is from Masquerade Professional range.
It was a marked down bargain :-) The others items are from Inika.

All mineral cosmetics are not created equal, so do your own research before trying a brand. Many of the big names in mineral cosmetics add other ingredients to their products. For example you will often find fillers which dilute the pigments and mean that the cosmetics are not as pure. They are cheaper to produce like this so may suit the frugal shopper who doesn't have any skin conditions to consider. You may also find ingredients such as Bismuth Oxychloride which causes irritation to some people or Talc and Parabens.

Other.....

I don't use perfume on my body. On very rare occasions I spray a little onto the clothing I plan to wear.

I don't use sunscreen. I cover up well. An added bonus of mineral make-up is that it provides some natural sun protection.

I don't use insect repellent. I cover up.... or slap myself a lot! ;-)


If you have a skin condition or allergies feel free to add a comment on what works (or doesn't work) for you.

--
BevB

Greening My Insides #1

I’ve just read Melinda's Green Your Insides Challenge and thought this was a timely find as I have been seeing my naturopath over the last two weeks due to my dermatitis getting out of control again. At the moment I’m having Low Level Laser Therapy twice a week, taking Dr Reckeweg R23 homeopathic treatment for skin conditions, zinc and fish oil supplements as well as a detox diet. The detox is definitely greening my insides :-)

A little history.....
My dermatitis started nearly 20 yrs ago under my wedding ring then quickly spread over my hands and up my arms. Doctors and 2 skin specialists prescribed many lotions and potions to no avail. Patch tests didn’t show any allergies. Cortisone creams made my skin weaker. Taking anti-histamines, washing myself with aqueous cream, wearing cotton gloves and avoiding harsh detergents helped. Eventually I was told to learn to live with it, which I did until I washed my hair with a popular brand of shampoo & conditioner. Within 20 minutes my face and neck were itchy, the next morning my face was puffed up like a balloon with slits for eyes and a button nose. One look in the mirror reduced me to tears so mirrors were avoided for awhile ;-)

Hubby insisted on taking me to a doctor. He was determined there must be something they could do, and was then shocked and disgusted when the doctor said there was nothing more to be done than I was already doing. The only thing we did learn was that if I hadn’t been taking my antihistamines regularly I’d have likely ended up in hospital.

During the next couple of weeks I slept a lot (not a good thing when you have a toddler in the house), went through two face peels and lived on antihistamines, then hubby mentioned a naturopath sign he passed every day on his way to work and reckoned it was worth a try seems the doctors couldn’t do anything. The naturopath said the build up of chemicals in and around my body had got to a level I couldn’t cope with anymore. After a detox, supplements that benefit skin conditions and some educating I was on the road to being able to control my dermatitis through diet and trying to live chemical free.

It’s about 12 yrs since I last saw my naturopath. During those years I have been able to keep my dermatitis under control dealing with minor outbreaks when I’ve come into contact with the wrong thing. I’ve improved our home a lot, but I’ve slowly let my diet slide and more recently I unknowingly entered chemical laden environments in the outside world. When the dermatitis was on my face again I realised I couldn’t keep doing this on my own it was time to go back to the naturopath and start at square one.

This time I will be having follow up visits and we will be working out a new diet for me to stick to so my insides stay green forever. In future posts I will write about some of the changes I’ve made over the past 12 years as well as changes I will be making now.

--
BevB