Ever Get A Headache After Cleaning?

This article is contributed by Sheri-anne Woolley, Sr Service Consultant of Mona Cleaning - an all natural home cleaning service provider. You can find out more about Mona Cleaning's approach to healthy home cleaning services at www.monacleaning.com

We all know that everyone wants a clean home, but not everybody likes the job of cleaning. Some of us, in our personal zeal for clean, are even using dangerous cleaning products to hasten the task in our bathrooms, kitchens, on our floors and windows. What we’re not seeing behind the shiny results of those chemically based cleaning products are the harmful substances like phosphates, and flammable toxins such as nitrobenzene, peroxide and other chemicals which are dangerous to our own health and the environment.

Generally, these products can cause skin, lung, and even eye irritation. They can also contaminate surfaces and leave a nasty deposit of toxins in so many ways. You’d be shocked to know that the air inside your home is much more harmful than the air outside… At least 67% more! What’s worse is that you could be the culprit behind it all by using chemical-based products in your home.

John Travolta himself admitted that he was obsessive about cleaning. He even claims that excessive use of chemicals to keep his home clean (particularly his carpets) attacked his son’s immune system and caused Kawasaki syndrome. It ‘s pretty evident that the commercial cleaning products we’re using for our homes are simply not safe for our health. Couple this with the new and improved energy efficient homes that promise to lock in heat and prevent your AC from seeping out your windows, and you can only imagine how these new features trap pent up air (and toxins) from things like new furniture, plastics, faux finishes on objects and other items that are brought into your home.

No need for alarm, there are alternatives! Avoid dangerous, toxic and non-biodegradable ingredients that can lead to serious illnesses and try using natural cleaning products instead. They’re not only better for your health, but also less expensive than conventional cleaning products. Many homes and offices have already switched to using natural cleaning products, so what are you waiting for?

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Change your furnace filter regularly.
2. Keep ceiling, floor and wall vents clean of debris and dust.
3. Ensure your dryer has breathing room, 6-10 inches from the wall so that the ventilation can vent!
4. Let the fresh air in! Open up windows for at least 20 minutes per day creating a cross breeze and allowing fresh air to replace stale toxic air.
5. Use a paste of vinegar and baking soda for those hard to remove stains or soap scum instead of a harmful commercial product.
6. Try vinegar and very warm water on glass and mirrors instead of commercial brand glass cleaners.

There are many cleaning alternatives for cleaning your home thoroughly and efficiently without causing harm to you or your family’s health. Try buying green products that don’t contain phosphates, bleaches and other harmful chemicals instead. By using biodegradable and natural solutions not only do you preserve your own health, but the health of our environment too.

Sheri-anne Woolley

Sr. service consultant
Mona home and office cleaning inc.
www.monacleaning.com

The Effects of Food Preservation

So, since I had a request from one reader (who I admit is my Mom, but who could deny their Mom?) for more information about the effects of food preservation methods on the life energy of food, I will assume she represents the masses of my readers who are just to shy to ask! So here you have it! Once again, this information comes largely from Anne-Marie Colbin's "Food and Healing."

Speaking generally, of course, food that is freshly picked (or killed) is going to deliver the highest energy vibration. But, it is not likely that most of us have access to food that is going from field to plate, and preservation is a necessity. Preservation, by definition, aims to keep a food's freshness and nutrient quality alive as long as possible. Some methods are better than others, and while usually the vitality of a food will decrease the longer it's preserved, and usually the vitamin and mineral quality will also be reduced, in some cases food will become more nutrient dense!

Cold Storage

• hardier vegetables are affected minimally
• some of the more fragile food nutrients (eg: Vit C) will break down in warehouse storage
• if the cold storage is outdoors or in a cold cellar or porch where there is air circulation, the energy field will be less affected
• Refrigeration (which is an insulated and closed box with an electrical current) will have more impact on the life quality and taste

Drying

• water soluble vitamins are lost between 10-20%
• carbohydrates generally become more dense (think of raisins vs grapes)
• sugar turns to starch (corn to cornmeal)
• method of drying will impact - eg: sun-drying will have more energetic quality than tunnel, spray, or drum-dried foods

Salting

• preserves by inhibiting the proliferation of bacteria, usually used for meat and fish
• in conjunction with drying, it will increase nutrient density
• in conjunction with immersion in brine, it will decrease nutrient density
• can be harmful for those who need to reduce their sodium intake, and in North America, this is almost everybody

Pickling or Fermenting

• popular foods include wine, bread, cheese, miso, tempeh, pickles, sauerkraut
• microorganisms alter the food by increasing the lactic acid content; this changes the taste and smell, making them stronger, and sometimes sour tasting
• some loss of vitamins and minerals, overall the influence of fermentation is positive for our health
• easy to digest (which is why many cultures will pair pickles or sauerkraut with sausages or processed meats)
• nutritional values (especially B vitamins) are enhanced
• some have antibacterial properties so can help enhance immunity
• some provide probiotics, also enhancing digestion and immunity

Smoking

• usually used for meats and fish, in conjunction with drying
• preservation occurs through antioxidants and bactericides in the wood smoke, however often accompanied by small quantities of other compounds that may be toxic or carcinogenic

Freezing

• water content turns to ice
• this process and the storage and thawing cause a loss of 20-25% of nutrients in fruits and vegetables (so really 75-80% are maintained so that is not sooooo bad)
• HOWEVER, here is a new perspective on freezing: when you free water in plastic bottle, what happens? The bottle bursts. The same thing happens with the cells of fruits and vegetables when the water in them is frozen. This explains why frozen fruits and vegetables are mushy when thawed. And, since form is related to function, it has to be considered that the cellular destruction will cause a loss in the food's vitality.

Canning

• before food is canned it is first heated to at least 240 degrees, then sealed; as the food cools, it forms a vacuum to keep out oxygen and bacteria
• lowers nutrient content significantly
• lack of oxygen creates a "dead" food from an energy perspective; if you're not physically active or doing an activity regularly that helps to increase oxygen uptake to compensate, eating canned foods regularly will lower your energy levels dramatically; pay attention the next time you eat canned foods, especially to your mental alertness

Chemical Preservatives/Additives

• This the most negatively impacting methods of preservation
• the list of chemicals used is long: dyes, bleaches, emulsifiers, antioxidant, preservatives, flavours, buffers, sprays, acidifiers, alkalizers, deoderants, moisteners, drying agents, gases, extenders, thickeners, disinfectants, defoliants, fungicides, neutralizers, sweeteners, anticaking agents, antifoaming agents, conditioners, curers, hydrolizers, hydrogenators, maturers, fortifiers....
  
• with this long list of additives, each food contains only miniscule amounts but over the course of a week, month, year, decade a person's intake grows substantially, and leads to a "subclinical poisoning"; the use of food chemicals has been linked conclusively to many diseases from allergies, to autism, to cancer, blurry vision, aching backs, hyperactivity, obesity...
  
• chemical preservatives act in a variety of ways, but generally they will block access to oxygen and microorganisms, which in effect blocks the life processes of foods
• rats fed synthetic diets may do ok, but become infertile (how can you support new life on food that the life energy has been blocked?)

Irradiation

• cesium-137 (a nuclear waste by-product of the manufacture of nuclear bombs) is used to irradiate food
• the food will not ripen or sprout and some bacteria will be killed, therefore the food will not spoil
• however microorganisms can develop resistance to radiation (superbugs)
• creates free radicals (contributes to aging, and cancer)
• may affect fertility