Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by a virus. It is spread much like HIV - through infected bodily fluids and dirty needles, and it can be passed from mother to child during childbirth. You can have Hep B and have no symptoms or you may have flu-like symtpoms such as fatigue, upset stomach, etc. Hep B can get better on its own after a few months or it can become chronic. Chronic Hep B can lead to liver damage, failure and/or liver cancer. About 5.000 people die a year from chronic liver disease/cancer from Hep B in the United States each year.

According to the Hepatitis B Foundation's site, children with Hep B are at no risk for physical disabilities and can live a "long and healthy life" with proper care. (source)

Those in the high-risk group include illegal drug users, someone who lives with someone with Hep B, the promiscuous, h*mosexuals and those who handle human blood in their jobs like healthcare workers (source)

So. If Hep B is a disease mainly of those who are s*xually promiscuous or sharing drug needles WHY (WHY?!?!?!) you ask, are they vaccinating our tiny, sweet, healthy babies the day they are born?!?!?!

Because its easier to vaccinate tiny babies then to get pr*stitutes and dr*g addicts to come in and get a 3-dose vaccine series. Nice plan eh?

It makes me absolutely FURIOUS that they do this; and even more so that people have no idea how NOT at-risk their babies are and how dangerous this vaccine is. Its a social injustice and its harming our children (because this vaccine in particular is not safe).

In my next post I will share some specifics on the safety (or lack thereof) of the Hepatitis B vaccine.

Vaccines 3

One more thing. Autism is NOT - I repeat, NOT - the only risk in vaccinating your child. You have to think about the immune system as a whole and the toll that multiple vaccines could take on a child. The preservatives used can have affects on the brain (because they far exceed the levels they'd allow any other person to have of heavy metals like aluminum or mercury) but this can show itself in other ways besides autism (like learning disabilities). The overall toll could trigger or worsen allergies and asthma or make the child actually more susceptible to other diseases.



Again, we should take each vaccine one at a time (and we will, I promise). If we were going out of the country I might consider having my children vaxed for Polio. If I had HepB I may consider that vaccine for my children (ok, probably not)



I always hear people say "no, its safe now. They took the mercury out of the MMR". Well .... the MMR never had mercury in it because its a live vaccine so it doesnt require a preservative. Its the inactive vaccines that had/have mercury. The MMR however is a very potent and strong vaccines because it introduces 3 live vaccines at one time to the body. THAT is why it may be linked to autism because it just may be too much for some children (see my post below).



A women I "know" from online, who always happens to live near me, has a site for her autistic son Cameron. Check it out http://www.camsvoice.com/ Her son actually tests positive for Measles. They couldnt find it but finally figured out it was living in his gut. He also tests positive for Rubella but they dont know where it is - perhaps in his brain (scary!). He also has extremely high titers (measure of antibodies) for Heb B. His body thinks he has it and is chasing it all over his body making antibodies when he doesnt actually have it at all (its an inactive vaccine). His immune system is confused. She has seen the top specialists in the world which is why she knows this information and she definitely believes vaccines played a role in her sons disease. Many austic children test positive for having measles ... makes you wonder doesnt it........



Hep B coming up soon.......

Remember - dont make decisions based on fear. I dont want anyone freaking out - NO freaking out LOL.

Pray and ask for the wisdom to discern the informatoin. I still pray about this issue to make sure we are doing what is best for *our* children - because only the Lord knows.

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

Vaccines 2

Anyone who has ever started to study vaccines knows what a scary decision it becomes when you start to question their safety. There is a lot of propaganda and scare-tactics used on *both* sides and it makes it hard to seperate fact from fiction.

The most important thing is to go in with your eyes wide open. If you are reading this then you can no longer be naive to the fact that vaccines DO damage millions of children. Do they help prevent disease? Yes. Is it as wonderful as "they" say it is? Maybe, maybe not. Is it worth the risk? You'll have to decide for yourself.

Ive heard the argument several times that vaccines benefit the masses. Its a "herd immunity" idea. I find it unbelievable as a mother that some moms are fine that some are sacraficed for the masses. I guess it seems ok until its your child.

And the thing about vaccines and autism is its like proving something causes cancer. The truth is MANY things cause cancer and there are A LOT of things that play a role in our growing autism rate. Its a very complex issue.

My opinion - reached after hearing the stories of many mothers of autistic children - is some children are predisposed genetically to have weak immune systems and for some of those children *something* can "tip the scales" and result in autism. For some, an inherited weakened immune system means food allergies, asthma, etc. but for some it means a more devasting breakdown in the bodies ability to function and process attacks. Many mothers of autistic children believe vaccines were the "straw that broke the camels back" for their child/children.

When a vaccine enters the body its job is to make the body think it has contracted that disease so that it produces antibodies resulting in immunity. This can take up to 2 weeks and several doses of the vaccine. But whether a live vaccine (chickenpox, MMR and some flu vaccines) or a "dead"/inactive vaccine, its designed so that the child doesnt actually get sick. The body of a child who's immune system isnt working propery may get confused and 'malfunction' to put it in simple terms and this can wreak havoc in the body and brain.

On the other side of things, we dont live in a culture that is healthy to begin with. A child who eats fruit loops for breakfast, goes to the Dr. and gets 6 vaccines at one time and then has McDonalds on the way home isnt healthier than an unvaccinated child who eats no sugar or processed foods and eats lots of meat, fruits and vegetables. We can do things to strengthen our childrens immune systems so that they can fight off viruses/bacteria on their own (vaccinated or not) and it will also help them to recover more quickly when they do get sick. Breastfeeding is the first step, but as they get older, feeding them healthy whole-food diets, limiting processed food and sugar/white flour, getting them exercise, etc. will help.

Some things to remember before I get into each vaccine:

- just because a child is vaccinated does NOT mean they are immune to a disease. Some vaccines have rates as low as 70% even after a 3-dose series (pertussis/whooping cough)
- its not all or nothing. you as a parent have the right to choose some and refuse others
- the CDC's schedule is a recommendation and it is designed to make it more likely for people to get their children vaccinated (e.g. when they are infants) not on how beneficial it is to the child to vaccinate at that age
- "Preservative free" or even "Mercury free" vaccines sometimes still contain mercury. Some just replaced mercury with other preservatives like aluminum or formaldehyde.

My next post will be about the Hep B vaccine which is one of the ones I feel most strongly about. We will build from there, getting more controversial as we go ;)

Vaccines - intro

Ive been putting off writing about vaccines but Im in the mood to jump in, so here goes!

I studied vaccines intensely for about 4 years. I read the governments sites and anti-vaccine sites. I read every single package insert for each vaccine they wanted to give my second son. Im a mathematician so I wanted numbers and I studied and compared and analyzed whatever I could get my hands on..... I learned a lot from all those pages and pages of tiny text because they manufactuers data isnt sugar-coated like the CDC's. The CDC obviously has objectives so they also like to leave out key pieces of information that dont suit their cause.

I will be writing about each individual vaccine as I have time and I hope the information will be helpful. I am not "anti" vaccine, I am anti-ignorance. Many vaccines have toxic ingredients like mercury, aluminum and formaldehyde (I cant spell, sorry) and we as parents need to know exactly what the risk to vaccinating, and not vaccinating, are.

We also need to be aware that some shady things take place to hide information from the general public.
(Here is a website if you want to know more on this right now)

How do vaccines work?
How do they help/hurt the immune system?
How risky is it to not vaccinate?
What can you do if your child gets a disease like Whooping cough?

and more........ to come!

**Print this out!**
Article by Robert F. Kennedy for Rolling Stone Magazine regarding the governments cover-up about the mercury issue. A MUST-read!

Tear-free Shampoo

So Ive heard and read several times that the reason some soaps and shampoos are "tear free" is because a chemical is added to them that actually numbs the eye when it comes in contact with it. This is obviously alarming. When I researched it I found other articles (from sites like Johson & Johnson) that say its a PH thing - getting it at just the right PH means it doesnt sting?

I found this, which seems to make sense:

"PH of hair and skin of humans is 4.5 to 5.5.PH of eyes is 7.By making the PH of the shampoo the same as the eyes, it doesn't causeas much stinging and tearing. It does however, dry out the hair and scalp."

Here is a store selling a tear-free shampoo that they say is tear-free because of a ph of 6.5 but they do claim that other companies use a tear-supressing chemical in their tear-free products. So maybe its both??? or maybe its just a big internet myth?

J&J didnt score well for any products on the EWC site - click here. But there are much healthier options for shampoos (click here) like Ca Baby and even Huggies shampoo (shockingly) got an "ok" score.

If anyone knows if there really is a chemical used in some of these tear-free shampoos Id love to see some proof!

Apples

Maybe Im the only one who didnt know this, but ... you should store your apples (organic of course because apples are in the "dirty dozen") in a separate drawer from your other produce in the fridge, because apples release ethylene gas, which makes other food spoil more quickly!

yet another free tip from yours truly LOL :)

Airborne - overdosing on Vit A

Just a warning about Airborne. Yes, Airborne has a lot of great vitamins and herbs it may help you to not get sick. BUT it also carries a risk so please be careful when using it for yourself, and especially for your children.

The RDA for adults for Vitamin A is 5.000iu (some revised recomendations are even lower). Each Airbornne has 5,000iu so taking it more than once a day could lead to an overdose. The package recommends taking it every 3-4 hours!!! (but not more than 3 doses in a day). An overdose of Vit A can be toxic and even result in death.

Children 4-8 should only have 1333 iu a day so giving them half of an adult Airborne (as the package says you can) will give them almost twice that dose. A dose of Airborne Jr has 1250iu so it should only be given once in a day and should not be given to children under 4. (source) Their packaging does say ages 4-10. I used to give to the boys when they were 2 and 3 though - dont make the same mistake!

You also do NOT want to take your daily multivitamin on a day that you take Airborne as this could definitely cause an overdose. Especially be careful of this with children.

I would not recommend taking Airborne while nursing but that is something you can research yourself if you dont believe me :)

When Im getting sick I take high levels of Vit C. You can also take zinc. I will post more about that soon!

Source 1

Source 2

Natural Fabric Softener

So if you read this blog you know that fabric softener is evil LOL.

I recently found a natural option, for those of you who miss that fresh scent when you open the dryer. Its called Ecover and its made with plant-based surfactants, water, salts, plant-based fragrances and a 100% biodegradable preservative.
I bought some and while it smells realy nice, it totally bothered my asthma. So Im giving it to a friend. But if you are sensitive to scents then this may be a natural option for you!

http://www.ecover.com/

Lead in Tap Water

Filtered water is best. We have a reverse osmosis filter and the water tastes sooo good.

If you do use tap water DONT run it hot. There is lead present in old pipes and it leaches more easily into hot water. So run it cold and then heat it up on the stove.

:)

just a free tip LOL.

Nitrates

One reason that processed meats like lunch meat, bacon and hot dogs, are so unhealthy is because they contain unhealthy preservatives called Nitrates.

From PreventCancer.com:

Q. How could hot dogs cause cancer?
A. Hot dogs contain nitrites which are used as preservatives, primarily to combat botulism. During the cooking process, nitrites combine with amines naturally present in meat to form carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds. It is also suspected that nitrites can combine with amines in the human stomach to form N-nitroso compounds. These compounds are known carcinogens and have been associated with cancer of the oral cavity, urinary bladder, esophagus, stomach and brain.
(Full Article), Article 2

The good news is that preservative-free meats are now much more readily available. Our Super Target even carries them now and so does Kroger/Ralphs. Your local health food store will definitely carry them. Ive had one really bad brand of preservative-free hot dogs (frozen section at Kroger) but the rest all taste the same. Even Oscar Myer has one now, I found it right there, with the other hot dogs. I love that my boys can have something "normal" like a hot dog every once in awhile, but do it in a much healthier way. :)

Because these foods are VERY high in sodium, they should still be eaten only occasionally.

If you check out my friends blog, the Green Republican, you'll see her post about Applegate Farm's new hot dogs that are made from Grass-fed beef! That is the healthiest option!

*please note* Consumer Reports commented in a hot dog review that "uncured"hot dogs can have as many nitrates as regular hot dogs. This is an inaccurate comment however because the nitrates are from different sources. Please see the response from Applegate Farm's CEO.

Marketing

I wont bore you with all my lengthy opinions about the big, rich companies and all of their horribly immoral marketing stratedgies (especially those aimed towards children) BUT I am going to rant for a minute.......

There is a new toothpate, by crest, called "Natural Expressions". If you've seen the commercial you may have noticed thats its worded carefully to make it appear to be a healthier, more natural product. Really, its the same Crest toothpaste with fancy, natural-sounding names likes "Herbal Mint" and "Lemon Ice". How stupid do they think people are????

(a much better choice is a toothpaste by Tom of Maine, available at your health food store)

It makes me FURIOUS when big companies try to cash-in on the current trend towards more natural, more healthy products by spending millions of dollars to try and trick consumers into thinking they are offering something better. Johnson and Johnson has a new commerical too where people in white lab coats are in a green house carefully inspecting plants like lavendar. Then this voice tells you all about how healthy all their products are. Seriously?!?!?! Do people actually believe this? The healthiest change would be to remove every ingredient they use except the water and add some vinegar and essential oils back in. THAT would be a public service.

If you've read my past blog about those ridiculous Febreeze commericals then you may have watched their new one with different eyes (why cover up smells with fragrance when you could just CLEAN your house!). They actually show children hanging out in a room next to this plug-in air freshner that is dispensing fragrance (aka toxic chemicals) into the air. You'd laugh if you saw me screaming at my TV when its on ;)

So dont buy into what they what you to believe. Research it for yourself - or just ask me ;)

HFCS

HFCS = High Fructose Corn Syrup

This probably is a familiar ingredient to you since its in so many of our foods. I think it flew under my radar for so long because it doesnt sound that bad. You can pronounce each word and it has "corn" which is a vegetable and "fructose" which we associate with fruit.

Unfortunately HFCS is another hidden ingredient that is VERY unhealthy. You can read how it is made HERE if you want the scientific explanation - but here is a recap: they process corn starch to yeild glucose. It is processed by using 3 enzymes - 2 of which are genetically engineered. It is a complicated process involving fungus and chemicals - yuck!

HFCS has the same sweetness as sucrose from cane or beet sugar but even though it is much more complicated to make, it is cheaper than sugar. The article says that only 4 companies control 85% of this 2 billion dolllar industry. They are making a fortunte because HFCS is in tons of our food - ketchup, marinades, salad dressing, fruit juice, bacon, beer, ice cream, BREAD, and even a lot of "health food".

In the article linked above they mention an experiment with rats - the livers of those fed HFCS "looked like the livers of alcoholics" and the female rats could not produce live young. Eek!

We should avoid fruit juices anyways because water is the healthiest choice but especially avoid those loaded with HFCS. Next time you need to restock on ketchup or BBQ sauce or whatever, check the labels to find one without HFCS. I was unable to find any BBQ sauce without it at Target (grrrr!) but the organic ketchup we buy doesnt have it. Also if you buy powdered marinades in a packet and mix then yourself you can avoid HFCS. Same with salad dressing.

Whether its worse than white sugar or not, we can preserve the health of our families but avoiding both in our regular diets. :)

more about the effects of HFCS on our health

Storm Picts

If you've seen the news lately you've probably heard about the flooding rains that we've been having here in Texas. Here are some pictures I took today. One thing I love about TX is how beautiful it is to see a storm roll in.

Note how dark and black the clouds are on the horizon. Black on the bottom with fluffy white on the top means its a thunderstorm.

I drove home today with black on one side and blue sunny sky on the other and only got a few drops of rain - very cool!





(this picture is my favorite. that little hole just opened up and its such a contrast to the black at the bottom of the cloud!)

Our hearts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones and/or their homes to these storms. Its so tragic. At the same time we are so thankful for the rain that we needed so badly. God's majesty has truly been shown here. What a magnificient God we serve!

Kefir

Ok this is for those of you that are super crunchy and like weird stuff. This is pretty out there for some people - I was thought it was weird and gross-sounding too but I love kefir now!

Kefir is a fermented drink cultivated using kefir grains. The grains are a combination of "bacteria and yeasts in a matrix of proteins, lipids, and sugars " (wikipedia) The end result is a probiotic drink full of healthy enzymes and "friendly" bacteria. Its more nutritious and beneficial than yogurt or even acidopholus.

There are water kefir grains and milk kefir grains. If you shop at a natural food market like Whole Foods or Central Market than you've probably seen milk kefir for sale there in the dairy section. Its still beneficial but they usually do have a lot of added sweeteners. The kind you can make at home can be sugar/sweetener-free and still taste great!

Because we have milk allergies, milk is expensive (and I think its gross) I use water kefir grains. You simply put the grains in water, add sugar (which they eat up - its like feeding a pet LOL) and let it ferment for a few days on the counter. The result is a very unique tasting beverage that is a super-powerful probiotic!



Here is a picture of mine brewing with some organic strawberries (ONLY organic fruit can be used or you'll get really sick from all the pesticides - ask me how I know) :



























You can buy a dry starter but getting some live grains to start with is even better. I got mine from a mom in Colorado who I found on the Mothering.com forums. Look HERE in the "Traditional Foods" forums to find a list of people who will send you some. Most only charge about $5 including priority shipping!


Great Article on Water Kefir - has pictures, health benefits and recipes (pdf)



Kefir info on Mothering.com, recipes, etc.



Dom - the Kefir Guy website



Kefir.net: Kefir and The Body Ecology Diet (they sell a dry starter)