Looking for some healthy food for your children?

Some of my favorite brands of baby and children's food is Happy Baby and YoBaby. They both make healthy, organic food for babies. I am just starting to feed solids to my little guy and I make sure everything he eats is organic to give him the best foods possible and to keep pesticides out of his body!

One of my favorite blogs, Your World: Healthy and Natural talks about pesticides and the dangers of them in our lives, bodies, and food. You can read it here.

Cara also has some great giveaways going on to help you get started eliminating those pesticides from your food! Go enter to win a huge Happy Baby prize pack and YoBaby prize pack! Put your child's health in safer hands - get them started on organic food today!

And the Bonus Question Answer is....

And the bonus answer is.....

Your Skin!

(Good job "the mad woman behind the blog"! I will have to pick a harder question for you next time!)

You might be surprised to find out it's the skin, because you might not think of it as an organ, but IT IS!

Skin is composed of water, protein, minerals, chemicals, and lipids and serves a variety of functions for the body. The average weight of the entire organ is about six pounds, and skin helps to protect the body from germs and infections. Skin is constantly changing and regenerates itself about every 27 days!

What's Wrong Wednesday...?

What's Wrong...When I Have Plantar Fasciitis?

Today I am changing focus down to the foot. I have had some requests to cover the condition Plantar Fasciitis (plan-tar  FA-CEE-EYE-TIS). If you have had a foot problem, listen up today because this could be YOU!

What is it?

Plantar Fasciitis is a common problem both among athletes and non-athletes. Let's first talk about what the plantar fascia (the cause of all these problems) is. The Plantar Fascia is a thick bundle of fibrous tissue that starts at the heel and ends at your toes. It assists in maintaining the stability of your foot especially when landing.

Cause

So what causes this condition? Well, unfortunately a lot of different things can lead to this condition - tightness of calf muscle, wearing shoes without sufficient support in them, running on soft surfaces, different leg lengths, tightness of arch of foot, and lengthening your stride too much while running. Now most of these causes can be fixed or altered to help plantar fasciitis and we will talk about that later.

Signs you may have it

Signs of this are very clear because most of the time - it is very painful! You will feel pain in the heel and it will spread down into the middle of your foot. It is marked by being particularly painful and bothersome in the morning when you get out of bed or when putting weight on your foot after sitting for a long period of time. However, as you walk a little ways, the pain will lessen. You can also test for this condition by pulling your toes and foot toward you (see Picture 1 below in stretching). If this elicits a lot of pain, this will usually point towards Plantar Fasciitis because you are stretching the aggravated plantar fascia.

Care

Keep in mind that you cannot nor will not fix this condition right away. It takes time for it to heal and also to fix the causes. It is not uncommon for it to take as long as 8-12 weeks for this to completely heal and symptoms to stop. It is especially hard to fix because it is a body part you most likely use fairly often. This slows down the healing process. Now that the depressing news is out of the way, on to the encouraging news of how to fix it! You will need to refer to the pictures to see how to do specific exercises.

REST: The first step you always want to take with an injury is rest. This is the only way the injury will get better. I know, I know. It is your foot. You must walk on it to get around. Well, seriously you may need to get some crutches. If it is so bad you must limp around, you need to use crutches, because once you start limping, other parts of your body will start hurting and you will have new injuries and have to start this whole process over again. Fun, huh? If you don't have crutches (or refuse to use them) just try to stay off of it. Do not walk if you don't have to, keep your foot up and elevated at all times.

STRETCH: This is a big one with this injury. You will want to do this as often as you can throughout the day and for at least 3 sets holding for 30 sec. Always do stretches gently and not to the point of pain. It should (almost) feel good!

   Wall/Stair stretch - See Picture to the left. Find a stair or wall and put the bottom of your foot against it. You will feel a pull - do not push too hard - pain is not good!

Picture 1 - Doing this will cause pain if you have Plantar Fasciitis.
However, it is also a great stretch!

   Do it yourself stretch: If you are too nervous to try the wall stretch, just start by doing it with your own hand. See Picture 1 to the right. You must do it gently and still hold for 30 sec but you can control this one easier.

   Ball Roll: This exercise may be painful but pain is OK in this exercise because it is helping to break up the scar tissue and knots that have occurred. Find a ball or thick stick (something that rolls) and put it under your foot. Step down on it and roll it under your foot putting as much pressure as you can handle for at least 10 sec. Do it twice. Always do the stretches from above after and ice.

ICE/ELEVATE: You will hear me say these words a lot with every injury. But honestly, it will be your best friend. Ice the first 72 hours at least. Ice and elevate your foot at least 20 min at a time and do it as often as possible. Do it for sure after you do the exercises from above - because you will get sore!

IBUPROPHEN: Take as prescribed to relieve pain and swelling.

ORTHOTIC:  Go to the store and pick out a cushion for your shoe. If this doesn't work to relieve pain/symptoms you may need to go see a specialist to get a custom orthotic made.

PREVENTION

 1) Buy good quality shoes - especially if you are on your feet a lot and/or exercise a lot. You should always give your shoes a 24 hour break for the cushion to re-cushion itself/spring back. So it is a good idea to have two pairs that you switch off each day. The sales people are usually pretty good at stores about knowing which shoes are good and bad. Ask for help - it won't kill ya! :)

2) Always stretch - especially the calf/foot stretches I showed above. This will help prevent you from getting it again.

3) If this injury reoccurs over and over for you, make sure to go get your feet checked out by a professional and look into custom orthotics. Many people have a foot type that predisposes them to this injury and if you don't cushion your foot right, you will continue to hurt your plantar fascia and other parts of your body.

**And remember, always go and get checked out by a medical professional if home treatments do not work. This article is not meant to be a diagnosis or treatment plan for you or your injury. You must be looked at by a professional to know what is exactly wrong. **

Hope this article is helpful!

Let me know if you have any questions!!!

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Bonus Question:

What is your body's largest organ?

And the Bonus Question Answer is.......

Here is the moment you have all been waiting for! The bonus question answer! (If you have no idea what I am talking about, see my article on knee injuries from yesterday)

The longest bone in our bodies is the.....

 FEMUR

it is a little over 19 1/2 inches long!

[now go tell someone and look smart! :)]

What's Wrong Wednesday.....with My Knee!!???

****Before I begin today...just a quick note...please take a look at my medical disclosure on the left hand menu. To sum it up...I am not a physician - Please only take what I say for informational purposes. If you have a serious injury, please see your personal physician. I will try to answer any questions you have though! ****
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Alrighty..now that we got all that hocus pocus out of the way, let's get down to the serious business - What's Wrong Wednesday???! I am hoping everyone will enjoy this little series each Wednesday! I would love for it to turn into answering all of your questions because I can't possible guess what is wrong with everyone that reads this! But I would love to help! So send me your injuries, illnesses, aches, and pains either through a comment or through my contact button on the left side (if you would like a little privacy:)

Today I am going to give you some info about what may be wrong with...your knee!!! I am going to try to make this as informative as possible without boring everyone! If you don't have the time to read all of this (no one does until it is them that is hurting, right?), just scroll towards the bottom of the page where I give a quick recap.


I decided to start with the knee because through my experience with non-athletes the knee seems to be one of the most common body parts complained about. I usually find that people have no clue what they did or how they did it... or they know what they did and it really hurt! So let's begin...


The knee is one of the most complex parts of the body, which sadly makes it one of the hardest to explain or help with. Let's start with a couple questions to ask yourself which will break it into 2 categories - chronic or acute

Chronic: Has it hurt for a long time? Do you remember this hurting before? Is it the same pain in the same spot as before?


Acute: Do you remember doing something recently to it? Did something happen to it where you said "OWW!"? Is it swollen? Bruised? Can you walk on it without limping? Did you fall on it awkwardly with your leg turning to either side?


Alright, if you answered yes to most of the acute questions, you should probably go get it looked at. Any blunt trauma (besides a common bruise from maybe running into a corner of the cupboard or something) can be very harmful - especially the older you are. You could have meniscus damage (the cushioning for your knee), ligament damage (what holds your knee joint together) or a muscle strain(which makes your knee move). If you have any specific questions about blunt trauma or a fall, let me know!

So let's move to chronic knee injuries. If you answered yes to any of the above chronic questions you probably have a chronic or recurrent injury -  mostly likely tendinitis (where the tendon- that attaches the muscle to the bone- is irritated or inflamed). This occurs from doing the same motion over and over again such as bending down to pick up a baby, squatting, walking, jumping, running, starting an activity while not in shape for it, pushing in the recliner with your legs (seriously) - any activity that you have done over and over for a period of time. Somewhere in that time you started to feel some pain doing it and then the more you did that activity the worse the pain got.

The most common form of tendinitis in the knee is patellar tendinitis. This is your patellar tendon (the big white strip down the middle of your knee) 
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It is what makes the lower leg extend out. It is what gets inflamed and angry when you do that too much!


Alright let me simplify it now for you: Check out the causes, signs, and what you can do for it


Cause: as I said before, repetitive jumping, kicking, running, and other similar motions


Signs that you might have it: pain/tenderness over the front or top of the knee, pain gets sometimes better after doing the activity for awhile (early stages), pain gets worse until activity must be stopped because of pain (later stages), feels like pain is right under kneecap and if you could reach under there you would


What to do, what to do:

-Ice, ice, ice! Let me clear up a common question of when to heat or ice: heat before activity, ice after - that is the general rule. NEVER heat after activity if you have an injury - it will increase swelling!

-Anyways back to fixing your ailments. Ice as much as you can - 20 min on ice, 40 min. off ice if possible every hour (yes seriously)

-Stretch - GENTLY. Check out this picture to the right and do it gently until you feel a slight stretch WITHOUT pain. Don't give yourself more pain than you already have! Always hold it for at least 30 sec and do it 3 times or you are just wasting your time and you might as well not do them!

-Rest - refrain from(stop!) the activity that has caused this pain in the first place until the pain has seized then slowly work back into it

-Ibuprophen(Advil and the generic brand are the same thing - save some money)- Take this as prescribed on label. This will help with the inflammation and the pain.

Recap:

Let's recap quickly:

1) Ask yourself the questions above to whether your injury is chronic or acute

2) If it is acute and does not feel better after a few days, see a orthopedic MD

3) If it is chronic, figure out what activity is causing it -- and stop it!

4) Rest

5) Ice

6) Ibuprophen

7) Stretch

8) Return to activity when pain does not come back all day for at least 3 days

9) Thank me! :) J/K

Hope this helps! Let me know if there is anything you need clarification about or have additional questions about. I want to help so don't be shy!

And for those of you who made it through this whole thing...I have a bonus trivia question!!! Woohooo!!  You will look so impressive in front of your children and husband tonight at the dinner table! Just answer in a comment below and I will let you know who is right and what the answer is tomorrow! Ready...(don't be afraid..I will start with an easy one)

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What is the longest bone in your body?

What's Wrong Wednesday

Alrighty...so I decided to name my new series What's Wrong Wednesdays! Every Wednesday, I will pick an injury/illness and cover the symptoms and what to do about it! Get your questions in now if you want me to cover a specific topic...otherwise I have an injury in mind to start with!

(and no complaining about it...especially if you didn't request a topic! :)

New Blog Series!!

Starting next week....


I am going to get back to my Health/Athletic Training roots and start a series about certain orthopedic, health, injuries, sicknesses, etc! I would like to do a new post each week about some common questions and concerns about injuries and etc.

If you have any questions you want answered or injuries you would like to know more about or anything health related you have a question about...let me know! Otherwise, I will start with my own subjects and hopefully it can turn into a more Q & A type of posts eventually!

I hope these posts will help many of you because I know from working with many people, that there are a lot of common questions, misconceptions, and myths - and I want to help you all get to the bottom of them! (Plus, they will help me stay on top of my hard earned knowledge and skills!)


Keep an eye out for the first Health Post next week!

What Every Mother Should Know...Part 2

Well, it is about time I get back to my little mini-series "What every Mother should know..". Sorry, I have gotten sidetracked a lot lately! :)

So...last time I focused on the air our children are breathing in. This time I am going to focus on the products we use ON our children, such as lotions, body wash, shampoo, massage oil, etc.

Our children are the most precious gifts in the world ever given to us and it is up to us to keep them safe and healthy! There are a lot of things we have to worry about as mothers, but we shouldn't let what we put on their skin be one of them!

Chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, and sodium lauryl sulfate, have turned up in shampoos, lotions, and body washes. These products may also contain harmful chemical by-products such as 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, which the EPA classifies as probably carcinogens! Whenever I read or think about this, I get so mad - Why is our country and regulatory bodies allowing companies to use carcinogens in our baby products? My baby's skin is five times thinner than an adults', making it even easier to absorb all these harmful products! Plus, babies have a greater ratio of skin surface to body weight, so they have a harder time flushing chemicals out of their systems!

There were study results published about a year ago stating that more than half the baby shampoo, lotion, and other infant care products analyzed by a health advocacy group were found to contain trace amounts of two chemicals that are believed to cause cancer - 1, 4-dioxane and formaldehyde. Some of the biggest names on the market, including Johnson & Johnson and Baby Magic lotion tested positive.

Here is another example - in a recent study involving infants and toddlers, 81% had signs of phthalates in their wet diapers after having had some type of personal care product applied to their skin. Some experts suggest that phthlates, which is also used as softeners in plastic toys and have recently been banned from children's toys by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, can potentially have negative impacts on the respiratory system, liver, and kidneys! Why are companies allowed to put toy softeners in my baby products???!!! Ughh...it is so frustrating to me - as it should be to every mother!

I know as a new parent, all the choices and decision can get overwhelming! You assume when you are just starting out that these specialized baby product companies have our children's best interests in mind and that they are making safe products...Unfortunately, that is not the case. Why you ask? Well, to start with, baby care products are not as strictly evaluated or controlled in the U.S. as other products regulated by the FDA. They can include harmful ingredients without putting it on the label if they are considered a fragrance or trade secret. Given this lack of regulation, it comes as no surprise that there are many harmful ingredients in baby care products. Also, many products contain harmful ingredients because of the manufacturing process. They are hidden byproducts and are created when other chemicals break down over time or when foaming agents are combined with ethylene oxide or similar petrochemicals.

It really hits home to me that this is serious when I see that other countries have banned them out of their products: Formaldehyde is banned from personal care products in Japan and Sweden and the European Union bans 1,4-dioxane from their personal care products at any level and have recalled products that contain the chemical. If other countries can do it, why aren't we??!!

This can come as very discouraging and overwhelming if you are just learning this for the first time. I know it did to me. I am going to try and help you sort out the significant offenders that you should look for in the ingredients of your baby products. Lets examine these significant ingredients of concern and why they are in this group: Parabens,  1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde, benzethonium chloride, benzyl alcohol, PEG's, colorings, and fragrance.

Parabens (Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben): These are used as preservatives in many of the baby products - lotions, washes, wipes, etc. They can cause allergic reactions, are irritating to skin/eyes, and have been shown to be harmful to human sperm. They are also a concern for reproductive problems and breast cancer. They are readily absorbed through the skin and have been detected in breast tissue and tumors.

1,4-dioxane: is harmful even in trace amounts. It is a byproduct of a chemical processing technique called ethoxylation used to make petroleum based cosmetic ingredients gentler to the skin.

Formaldehyde: this is a probable human carcinogen and is associated with gene damage, mutations, and developmental problems.

Benzethonium Chloride: This is used in some baby wipes and is highly TOXIC. Ingesting even a small amount may cause vomiting, collapse, convulsions, coma, or death

Benzyl Alcohol: moderately toxic if inhaled or absorbed through skin contact. It is a moderate skin and eye irritant and larger exposures can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory distress, and even death. It is found in some baby lotions and diaper rash cream.

PEGs: Polyethylene glycols should not be used on damaged skin due to concerns over kidney toxicity. It is also associated with cancer of the blood and lymph systems. PEGs are found in cleaning products and lotions.

Colorings: FD&C Yellow #5 is an allergen and has been associated with hyperactivity in children. It is added to some bubble baths and baby washes.

Fragrance: this is a catch all term that manufacturers can use without listing specific ingredients. Phthalates are often ingredients in fragrances. These include chemicals that are suspected carcinogens and hormone disruptors.

Here are some other ingredients of concern to keep an eye out for - talc, triethanolamine and cocamide DEA, Isopropanol, 2-phenoyxyethanol, glycerin, linoleic acid, cholecalciferol, 1,4-dioxane and triclosan.

So what can we do to fight these companies who are killing our children one bath at a time? Well, for starters..start to be choosy about what products you use. Read the labels on all the baby products you have in the house right now. Avoid or throw any products away that have any of the ingredients listed above. Luckily, people and companies are starting to recognize these bad ingredients and are creating healthy alternative products for our children - so there are options out there! I will help you out by listing some of my favorite alternative brands for different baby products.

Baby bath/wash: Shaklee, California Baby, Avalon, Yes to Carrots

Baby oil/lotion/diaper rash ointment: Shaklee, Earth Mama Angel Baby

Baby shampoo/conditioner: Shaklee, Yes to Carrots, Aubrey Organics

Diapers: Earth's Best, Seventh Generation, Tushies

Baby Wipes: Tushies, Seventh Generation, Earth's Best

Want to do something else to help keep your children and the future children of this world safe? Here are some other suggestions:

• Simplify: Select products with fewer ingredients and no sythetic fragrance or dyes, and use fewer products overall
• Tell manufacturers that safety is important to you - write major companies that do include these harmful ingredients and tell them that safety for your children is important to you!
• Take action: Tell Congress you want safe cosmetics for babies, adults, and everyone in between.

If this is alarming to you, it should be. However, I don't mean to start a riot or anything. I just want to inform parents that products can claim to be gentle and pure, but are really contaminated with carcinogens, which is completely unnecessary.

Please for the safety of your children, the rest of your family, and the earth we live on, read the labels and choose wisely.

And please share with us any other products you have found that are safe for your children. I will add them to my lists above as you send them to me!

What every mother should know....Part 1

This post is going to focus on the subject I like most to talk about--Health. I have chosen to do a lot of research on this and share what I have found with you so that I can save you some time and energy and share the truth that most of the world is hiding from you!

Now that I have a baby my focus on health has really switched from my health to focusing on making my child's life and health as healthy as possible. What I have learned over the last year as I have researched the best products for my family is that it is a very scary world. Almost all the products you buy in the store are unhealthy for you...it scares me to death and often infuriates me. WHY and HOW can industries and companies sell things to humans that they know are hurting us! We wonder why rates of obesity, cancer, diseases, chronic inflammation, and earlier death rates have increased over the years..our own society is poisoning us. When I started learning this, I knew I had to change my life and spread the word to other mothers.

So I will start a little blog series of serious health risks that are especially bad for our children.

Today I will focus on how the cleaning industry is affecting our air and our health by the products they are giving us to use.

Let's talk about what is in our air..that our child breathes every day...every second...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called indoor air pollution one of the nation’s top environmental health concerns. The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating this disturbing phenomenon, too. In fact, the WHO states that 40% of all buildings pose a serious threat to health because of polluted air. A cubic foot of untreated indoor air alone can contain up to 20 million particles such as pollen, dander, and smoke. Scary, I know!

Even scarier is the fact that more than 99% can’t be seen, and many particles are small enough to enter your lungs. Pollen, ash, and dust come indoors from the outside. Pets give off dander. Dust mites, feeding on decomposing skin (gross!!), thrive in mattresses. And cigarette smoke
lingers. We all know smoking is bad but second-hand smoke has been identified as a major health risk too.

Lets look into these air monsters even more...First there are Microbials. They are microscopically small living health hazards— bacteria, fungi, and mold thrive in moist indoor environments. Mold grows to some degree in almost every man-made structure. Worse, mold loves heating and cooling ducts. Here is a scary thought...Every time you turn on your heat, air-conditioning, or ventilation, a variety of microbes may blow into rooms serviced by the ducts. This happens in cars, trucks, office buildings, and hotels, too.

Next there are Gases. A variety of gases escape from our carpets,
drapes, and furniture. Cleaning products, copy machines, paints, insect spray, hair spray, and insulation emit gases as well. Many are chemicals
known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are easy to breathe in. We can’t always smell indoor gases — which pose a hidden danger.

Lastly there are the particulates that we talked about earlier...pollen, dander and smoke to name a few. These are the ones that cause many allergies in our loved ones. There are around 150 chemicals found in the home that are associated with allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological disorders.

And as much as we care about our children, over the years the air has hurt us women the most. There has been a dramatic increase in rates of asthma in women in the past 10 years because of our longer exposure to household chemicals. We often work closely with toxic chemicals and research has shown that our health care costs are $12.2 billion just from environmentally associated diseases!!! Scary, I know!

So..what can we do to fight these harmful air pollutants in our homes and in our children's lungs? The good news is there are lots of things we can do! And I can honestly tell you..once you start trying to make a difference you will notice a difference...I did...and my conscience is clear too!

Well first we need to start by cleaning up that air. Look into buying a air purifier. There are a lot of options out there so make sure you do your research on what kind you want to meet your needs. Look for one that attacks all three types of air pollutants that we talked about above.

Also, it is important to ventilate your home. Run the exhaust fans in your bathroom and kitchen, open your windows, make sure you have a good exhaust system in place for appliances and stove. Check out The American Lung Association's recommendations for more ideas. http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/indoor-air-quality-47020101#ixzz0eJQL3iPT

Next, we will touch on how to prevent these air hazards.

One thing I made sure of when I was pregnant and getting ready for our baby in a new house was to use no-VOC paint. Paints release trace amounts of gases for months after application -- even though they appear to be fully dried and the smell is gone. These gases are called VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, and can include highly toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. So try to use "low-VOC" paints, varnishes, waxes and other chemicals. Best of all though is the no-VOC paint. If painting indoors, open windows and use exhaust fans to remove gases. Do not store open paint containers indoors. Think of how many rooms in your house have been painted...this is a huge culprit. Do something about it!!!

The biggest tip I have to prevent these toxins in our home is to use non-toxic cleaning products. Most cleaning products on the market today can produce harmful air pollution indoors. Hair and nail products, cleaning products, art and hobby supplies and other common products can increase the levels of VOCs, once again. Some of the VOCs in these products include substances linked to cancer, headaches, eye and throat irritation and worsened asthma.

I recommend using Shaklee's Get Clean line of products if you would like a fresh clean start. I did this when I vowed to make my house cleaner for my child and for my husband who suffered from severe asthma and allergies. It has worked wonders and is safe to have around the baby and adults too! My husband's allergies have all but disappeared and my baby can breathe healthy clean air. And I dont have to worry about cleaning my house and killing myself in the process.
Check all the products out at http://marissaoachs.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sku=50446

The reason I chose these products is for the many reasons we have talked about. They are always safe (non toxic, no harmful fumes, hypoallergenic, no VOCs emitted), very powerful (they cleaned as good, if not better, than the bad cleaners I had before), and to top it all off, they are also environmentally friendly. I couldn't find anything any better out there. Most of all, the price is hard to beat. They give you a very concentrated solution that you mix with water yourself so you get more for your money.

I know it is a lot of information and it can get depressing at times. But believe me, once you decide to change for the better you will start to feel better physically and mentally about it all. Take some time to think about it all. Is your family worth it? Your families' health?

Let me know if you have any questions and share with me the products you love that keep your family and your air healthy! And stay tuned for the next health subject...