I wanted to share this article sent to me by Yuka, an app I use on my phone to help understand all the chemicals we find on labels and make safer choices.
I’m hearing others say the name “Yuka” more and more, and that makes me really happy. I’m so glad folks are using this valuable tool to defend themselves against all the dangers in the grocery aisles.
(Wow, what did I just write??? This place that should be so safe… we need an app to safely shop. Yes, that IS where we‘re at.)
I love that they included the alligators of Lake Apopka, Florida. I grew up in Florida and remember this happening. The young male alligators were trying to mate with the other males, and the females were left out of the action… and the population declined. 🐊
Not making a political statement! But, the endocrine system controls hormones. And hormones control sexual development.
I watched TV with my husband last night, and every commercial break was for things we would never buy, knowing what we know now. Mainstream things that carry hidden harms and toxins, which most people don’t realize…
Time to put the roast on.
Tide laundry detergent: There are a lot of harmful chemicals and endocrine-disrupting scents in typical laundry soaps, such as Tide. Years ago, I reacted to clothes washed in Tide, got a full-body rash, and haven’t touched it since. We used Purex after that but recently changed to Meliora soaps for our laundry. Check them out at https://meliorameansbetter.com/
Febreeze plug scent boosters: This is a little machine that takes artificially-scented oil and shoots it into the air of your home, so that you and your loved ones can breathe endocrine-disrupting scents/chemicals at the touch of a button! You can also sign up to have more toxic chemicals sent to you regularly in the form of scent cartridges! Because your house smells so bad, folks…. don’t clean it or open windows, give your money away in exchange for this little button.
Downy fabric softener: First, the advertisement convinces you that you simply must get those smells out of your clothes! But we know that if you only used natural fibers, you could get the smells out with hot water. With polyesters, nylons, etc., you’ll need this chemical-laden potion to get smells out. There are so many alarms going off about this… People breathing microplastics shed from the polyester, chemical smell-removers, and endocrine-disrupting scents to follow you around when you wear the clothes. It’s too much. But the song is so catchy (Total eclipse of the heart, Bonnie Tyler)…
Starbucks Keurig pods: Brew your coffee thru plastic! Yay! Don’t think about how these things are artificially flavored or preserved. Don’t think about the waste you’re producing. Think of all the time you’ll save by not having to scoop the coffee into the little basket yourself. You deserve that little convenience, right?
Too many prescription drugs to mention, with strange names that I can’t begin to spell… and horrible side effects that may be worse than the original condition.
Charmin Ultra Soft: All I’m going to say is, if you eat better and take care of your microbiome, you won’t have situations that call for special, deluxe, quilted, top-dollar toilet paper. Enough said… Except did you know that every mainstream toilet paper brand exceptScottissue uses formaldehyde in the paper?? Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, folks!
Universal Orlando: Ok, this one looks good and reminds me of my son’s 12th birthday. 🫠 yes, go have some fun!
Sorry for the snark, but it’s as a “buyer beware” sort of world. Don’t let yourself be persuaded, fooled, or robbed of your money and health. XO.
When I first got diagnosed, my sweetheart of a husband started baking bread for me. Eventually, I found a brand that’s really good, has omega 3s, and gets a high score on Yuka.
There are a couple of varieties — seedtastic, graintastic, thin slices, thicker slices, etc.
I don’t eat a lot of bread, but when I do, it’s this brand.
100 out of 100 … that’s a rare thing. Thanks, Aldi!
If you are thinking of baking your own bread, I recommend One Mighty Mill flour. Expensive but really pure. Here’s their information:
I’ve learned a lot about diet and nutrition since being diagnosed, but I hadn’t looked at the brain health/mental health aspect until recently.
Side note: A few weeks ago, I came across a mention, from a researcher I very much admire, that the ketogenic diet didn’t seem to have much of an effect on cancers of the immune system. So, briefly, I have “normalized my relationship with carbs,” and while it sure tastes good, I can feel a sluggishness taking over. Gotta get back on track.
The almighty algorithm put this video in my path today, and I am glad to see it. I’m amazed to find so much overlap with what I have learned about eating for cancer management and physical health.
The house smells wonderful this morning as I’ve made a batch of homemade granola. It’s delicious and also good to know all the ingredients are whole foods from sources I’ve scrutinized myself.
Including the chia and flax seeds is a way to add Omega-3s into my diet. Using coconut oil helps reduce my Omega-6 load because even organic granola includes seed oils.
Im using a recipe titled “Maple and Chia Seed Granola” by Maria Provenzano, changed a bit based on what we had in the cupboard:
4 cups old fashioned oats
½ cup slivered almonds
¾ cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup coconut oil, measured then melted
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup dried berries and/or raisins
1/4 cup dried apricots, diced into small chunks
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, and salt until well mixed.
Melt the coconut oil in a small pan over low/medium heat until melted. Combine the coconut oil and maple syrup together, and mix in the vanilla.
Pour the oil/syrup mixture over the oat mixture, and use a spatula to mix it together so that everything is evenly coated.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (not wax paper, not aluminum foil), and evenly distribute the granola between the two sheets.
Keep the granola somewhat compact, because that prevents it from getting too crunchy; it allows the center to stay chewy, and the outside pieces to get a bit more crunchy.
Bake at 325 degrees for 12-14 minutes, or until starting to become slightly golden around the edges. Don’t bake longer than 14 minutes.
Allow the granola to cool for at least 10-15 minutes after baking. If you skip this step, then the granola won’t come together.
After it has cooled, add in all the extras like coconut flakes and dried fruit.
Each time I save a good jar from the recycling bin, I feel a little closer to my elders who went through the depression. I remember those comments… Hey, don’t throw that out. That’s a good jar!
I love how the cabinets and spice rack have changed since I started detoxing my home. Bye bye, plastic! Hello glass, steel & sustainability!
Many years back, at a rained-out fourth of July party, stuffed in a garage apartment with a bunch of people, I was talking to my friend Corey about an idea I had to investigate food additives and sources.
This must have been an idea for a newspaper column because the internet was (at the time) still in its infancy. Blogs hadn’t been invented yet, nor social media.
She thought about it for a moment and then foresaw how paralyzed a person would become, unable to make decisions about eating, unable to trust food and food sources, unable to relax and enjoy a meal.
Which got me thinking about the pressure on papers back then, needing advertising revenue to keep afloat, and needing to NOT offend the advertisers.
I didn’t pursue the idea.
Years later, I became aware of The Food Babe, Vani Hari, and was glad that someone had done this and was gaining a following.
This woman recently gained national attention when she spoke at a healthy foods round-table, which included Senator Ron Johnson and now-HHS secretary RFK, Jr., and other folks I’ve talked about on this blog, showing us the visible difference between the US formula for Froot Loops vs. the Canadian product.
Soon after, she led a group of protesters to the General Mills headquarters, where company officials refused to even come outside. She delivered a petition signed by thousands of people (including me), asking them to follow through on an old promise to remove dyes linked to ADHD and other behavioral issues.
Some General Mills employee even put a hand-written “Get Off My Lawn” sign in the window.
Her actions sparked change, and many people will benefit from it.
She is now part of the push to clean up infant formula. It’s so upsetting to find out that formulas often contain seed oils, corn syrup, and heavy metals. Are you kidding me?
I breastfed my kids, but I remember being admonished/warned by the pediatrician not to give my infant plain old water, or weak chamomile tea.
These were things that my mom and grandmother had given their babies (including me) in the heat of summer…. and we turned out fine!
Anyway, check out her website, sign up for her newsletter, or give her some likes or a follow on the socials.
I’ve been traveling a bit, down to Florida, to see family and work on our old house. Along the way, I’ve been reading The Monsanto Papers by Carey Gilliam.
This is the story of the lawyers who took on Monsanto, the plaintiffs they represented, and many internal emails and documents from within Monsanto that were shared with the public in 2017.
There are parts of this book that made my mutated blood boil.
For example, this passage from page 243. This is text from the court testimony of Dewayne Johnson vs. Monsanto Company, showing internal an email from Dr. James Parry, indicating not only that the company knew – in the 1990s – that glyphosate caused cancer, but that they knew to look for mutations of the lymphocytes.
They already knew which cell would be affected first.
Even though the plaintiff won his case, and even though more and more cases came to trial, and even though there was a flurry of publicity surrounding each one… glyphosate is still the most used herbicide on the planet.
It’s still used as a desiccant during harvests.
And it’s still in most foods you can buy in any American supermarket.
If you’d like to know more, there’s a film called Into The Weeds which shows scenes from the courtroom. You’ll get to know Dewayne Johnson and hear and see his heartbreaking story. The film can be streamed for $2.99 through Amazon.
Carey Gilliam has written a few other books on this topic, and there are some interesting interviews with her on YouTube.
The Cancer Canary 