3 Natural Remedies For Damaged Nails

3 Home Remedies For Strong & Beautiful Nails

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Experts say that nothing gives away our age like our hands do. I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, almost always, we pay more attention to our skin and hair (masks, special creams, expensive in-salon procedures) and forget about our fingernails, telling ourselves “I’ll get to them when I have time...” Sounds familiar?

"The hands are one of the first places where we see the signs of aging, and also the area most people neglect when it comes to skin care," says dermatologist Rhoda Narins, MD, professor of dermatology at the NYU School of Medicine in New York and the president of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery.

While applying some hand cream works for reducing (and masking) the dryness and dullness temporarily, hiding bad looking nails is not so easy. And because I believe many of you will agree that having strong and beautiful nails is essential for every woman, today I decided to share with you my favorite natural remedies to battle brittle nails. I promise that none of them will take you more than 3 minutes per day and the results you’ll get are worth every minute spent!

Sweet Almond Oil

Regardless of whether your nails are weak and dry because of frequent nail polish application, too much exposure to water or using aggressive household product, in all cases, daily massage with Sweet Almond Oil will give strength and shine to them. Sweet Almond Oil is rich in vitamin E, zinc, potassium, iron, some vitamins from the vitamin B complex and essential fatty acids. No wonder Sweet Almond Oil is one of the most widely used oils in the formulation of nail strengthening products.

If your nails look unhealthy, chances are the reason is mineral insufficiency. When used externally, Sweet Almond Oil can help restore the mineral balance and the vitality of your nails. Here I’d like to mention that paying attention to what you eat i.e. your diet, is just as important as topical application of plant oils (or any other product) rich in minerals and vitamins. How you nourish your body from the inside always reflects on the outside. Make sure to eat foods rich in Biotin – bananas, eggs, peanuts, oats, cheese, avocado, cauliflower, etc. But enough for that – let’ go back to the Sweet Almond Oil!

How I use it? I apply a few drops Sweet Almond Oil in my palm and start dipping my fingers until they are all soaked in this ultra-nourishing natural goodness. After that I gently massage the oil for a few minutes until absorbed (if the oil is not fully absorbed, rub your hands together – yes, it can be used as hand cream, too). I prefer to perform this ritual before bed – this way I leave the oil to do its job during the entire night and the next day my nails are shiny and hydrated.

Looking for 100% Pure Organic Sweet Almond Oil?

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Vegetable Starch

As odd as it may sound, starch works wonders (I know it from my aunt who used to be a model, so… you get the point - I trust her when it comes to beauty related stuff). It strengthens the nails and softens the skin of your hands so much that you can’t stop touching them afterwards. Seriously! Silky smooth!

To be honest, I can’t explain scientifically how starch helps the nails/the skin (must be some kind of magic), but I’ve tested this many times and I always get great results.
Note: I am not the type to recommend something without trying it first. Be sure about that.

How I do it? I fill a bowl with warm water and add 1 tablespoon of starch to it. Then I soak my hands for 5 minutes (be sure not to overdo it, because you can get the opposite effect – water tends to dry out the skin, so be careful). Lastly I rinse with lukewarm water and tap dry using a cotton towel. Baby soft hands, I am telling you! A must-try recipe!

Vitamin E

When your goal is to revive your nails and improve their overall condition, the place, where you need to deliver nutrients is the nail matrix (situated right below the cuticle). When I want to really transform the appearance of my nails, in short time, I always turn to Vitamin E Oil (also great for the skin, by the way) – it softens the cuticles, makes your nails smoother and shinier and hydrates in depth. Immediate relief for dry, brittle nails! Oh, and it also increases the flexibility of your nails, making them less likely to break. What else can you ask for?

How I do it? I apply one drop of vitamin E oil on each nail and gently, with a small wooden stick, push the cuticles back in order to allow the oil to get below them. Then I proceed with 1-minute massage and I am done. Simple and effective!

Looking for 100% Pure Organic Vitamin E Oil? 

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Now it's your turn - tell us in the comments below, what are your favorite, tested-and-proven-to-work natural recipes for shiny, strong nails?

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La Mav in the Press: September, 2015

As September passed, La Mav was proudly featured online and in print. We’d love it if you show the La Mav Love and support all the below publications by clicking through and reading the posts and leaving a comment where you can!

Pregnancy Life + Style – Issue 6, 2015

Featured: La Mav Nourish Body Moisturizer

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"Avoiding dry and itchy skin is a lot easier than treating it once the need to scratch begins" - Pregnancy & Birth 

Dealing with dry skin can be tough, but with the right natural products, less hot showers and more omega 3 in your diet, you can improve the condition of your skin significantly. Applying rich, nourishing body lotions, that restore skin's lipod barrier and maintain its moisture levels is especially important for future mommies, as this will help reduce the risk of getting stretch marks (the monster, we all fear!).

Note: Make sure to go for organic and natural products, if you don't want toxins entering in your body! (that doesn't apply for the future mommies only)

Pregnancy Life + Style: Soothing Skin Saviours

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Get It Magazine Online – September, 2015

Featured: La Mav Pure Organic Sweet Almond Oil

Who doesn't love beauty hauls? In their latest issue, Get It Magazine are sharing with us their best beauty buys for the months one of which is La Mav's Pure Sweet Almond Oil. Great for your skin, for your nails and for your hair, this multi-purpose plant oil is sure to turn into your new favorite! For more ideas how to use it, visit this link. 

Get It Magazine: What's New

Beauticate – September 15, 2015

Featured: La Mav Pure Organic Jojoba Oil

"Just as health nuts trawl through the ingredient lists of the foods they eat, reading beauty product ingredients is essential if you're going organic. With a plethora of savvy marketing terms finding their way onto skin care bottles it's no wonder we're left confused." 

If you are new to the organic skin care world, or you just want to learn more about the safety of the ingredients you are applying on your skin daily, make sure to check Beauticate's article!

Beauticate: How To Buy Organic Skin Care

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Squash Bread Recipe

This time of year, the squash literally just takes over my garden!  Everything from pumpkins to butternut to gourds to zucchini start growing, and when I harvest all of these things, I really can’t even give them away I have so many!!  And believe me – I’ve tried (sorry, unsuspecting friends!) So after a week or […]

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Jessie’s Morning Skin and Hair Routine…Exposed!

We love when a bare-bones routine full of DIYs still feels luxurious, and how could it not when gorgeous botanical oils and Ayurvedic herbs take center stage? Name: Jessie Age: 38 City: Los Angeles Weather: Sunny and dry as a bone Hair: Medium golden brown (dyed to hide some grays), not-quite-wavy/ not-quite-straight in a perennially growing out bob. Skin: Oily and very pale. (True story: while shopping for cosmetics at a drugstore overseas, the assistant told me, “You are very white and greasy.”) Favorite star from the past: Katharine Hepburn–uncompromising, authentic, bold. FIERCE. I am a high school teacher and […]

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Purple Smokey Eye Tutorial featuring Eye of Horus Sheba Mystical Goddess Palette

Smokey purple eyeshadow tutorial featuring Eye of Horus along with other organic and mineral makeup products. Continue Reading →

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31 Foods with Surprisingly More Sugar Than Doughnuts

By Dr. Mercola

The American Heart Association and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend limiting your daily added sugar intake to nine teaspoons (38 grams) for men and six teaspoons (25 grams) for women.

I strongly recommend limiting your daily fructose intake to 25 grams or less from all sources, including natural sources such as fruit — regardless of whether you’re male or female. That equates to just over six teaspoons of total sugar a day.

The average American, however, consumes around 20 teaspoons of added sugar a day, which is more than three times my recommended amount.

There’s simply no doubt that this overconsumption of sugar is fueling the obesity and chronic disease epidemics we’re currently struggling with, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.

Most people are aware that sugar is present (in abundance) in sweet processed foods like doughnuts, cakes, and candy.

Yet, many are unaware of just how much sugar they’re consuming, as it’s oftentimes hidden under other less familiar names, such as dextrose, maltose, galactose, and maltodextrin, and found in foods you wouldn’t necessarily expect.

According to SugarScience.org, added sugars hide in 74 percent of processed foods under more than 60 different names!¹ So, needless to say, if you eat processed foods then consuming more than the recommended daily amount of sugar is far easier than you might think.

31 Foods with More Sugar Than a Doughnut

Doughnuts are one of the worst foods you can eat, and they’re also one of the most sugar-laden. So they serve as a good barometer of sugar content. If the food you’re eating contains more sugar than a doughnut, it’s probably not doing your health any favors.

There’s more to a food’s nutritive value than its sugar content alone (so eating a piece of whole fruit with 10 grams of sugar is going to offer you far more value than a doughnut with 10 grams), but the point is that even some “healthy-sounding” foods are too high in sugar to actually be healthy.

Krispy Kreme's original glazed doughnut contains 10 grams of sugar. Take Part, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, and Mother Jones compiled 31 foods that have more sugar than this, some of which may surprise you.^2,3,4,5

1. Chili’s Caribbean Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken = almost 7 doughnuts (67 grams of sugar)
2. Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino = 6 doughnuts (64 grams of sugar)
3. Jamba Juice Banana Berry Smoothie, small = 6 doughnuts (60 grams of sugar)
4. Odwalla Superfood Smoothie, 15.2 ounces = 5 doughnuts (50 grams of sugar)
5. Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake = 4.5 doughnuts (45 grams of sugar)
6. California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Salad = 4.5 doughnuts (45 grams of sugar)
7. Kraft French Style Fat Free Dressing = 4 doughnuts (42 grams of sugar)
8. Dunkin’ Donuts Reduced-Fat Blueberry Muffin = 4 doughnuts (40 grams of sugar
9. Snapple Peach Tea = 4 doughnuts (39 grams of sugar)
10. Burger King Chicken, Apple, and Cranberry Garden Fresh Salad with Chicken = 4 doughnuts (38 grams of sugar)
11. Craisins Dried Cranberries (1.75 ounces) = 3 doughnuts (34 grams of sugar)
12. Vitamin Water, 20 ounces = 3 doughnuts (33 grams of sugar)
13. Naked Pomegranate Blueberry Juice = 3 doughnuts (32 grams of sugar)
14. McDonald’s Fruit and Maple Oatmeal = 3 doughnuts (32 grams of sugar)
15. IHOP Whole Wheat Pancakes with Banana, four pancakes without syrup = 3 doughnuts (32 grams of sugar)
16. Pom Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice, 8 ounces = 3 doughnuts (31 grams of sugar)
17. Starbucks Greek Yogurt and Honey Parfait = 3 doughnuts (30 grams of sugar)
18. Starbucks Blueberry Muffin = 3 doughnuts (29 grams of sugar)
19. Stonyfield Fat Free Blackberry Blend Yogurt = 3 doughnuts (28 grams of sugar)
20. Can of Coca-Cola = 2.5 doughnuts (26.4 grams of sugar)
21. Yoplait Blackberry Harvest Yogurt = 2.5 doughnuts (26 grams of sugar)
22. Tropicana Orange Juice, 8 ounces = 2 doughnuts (22 grams of sugar)
23. Nutella Spread, 2 tablespoons = 2 doughnuts (21 grams of sugar)
24. Campbell’s Classic Tomato Soup on the Go = 2 doughnuts (20 grams of sugar)
25. Dole Mixed Fruit Cup = 1.5 doughnuts (17 grams of sugar)
26. Subway 6" Sweet Onion Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich = 1.5 doughnuts (17 grams of sugar)
27. Motts Applesauce (one cup) = 1.5 doughnuts (16 grams of sugar)
28. Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Fruit and Nut Granola Bar = 1 doughnut (13 grams of sugar)
29. Kellogg’s Froot Loops = 1 doughnut (12 grams of sugar)
30. Prego Fresh Mushroom Italian Spaghetti Sauce = 1 doughnut (11 grams of sugar)
31. Luna Bar = 1 doughnut (11 grams of sugar)

Beware of Trans Fats and Aldehydes in Doughnuts (and Other Processed Foods)

Download Interview Transcript

Aside from their high sugar content, doughnuts are often a source of highly toxic synthetic trans fats, which are linked to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and other health conditions.

In June of 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced partially hydrogenated oils (a primary source of trans fat) will no longer be allowed in food unless authorized by the agency due to their health risks.

According to the FDA, this change may help prevent around 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 heart disease deaths each year. The new regulation will take effect in 2018. In the interim, food companies have to either reformulate their products to remove partially hydrogenated oils or file a limited use petition with the FDA to continue using them.

In order to gain approval, the company would have to provide evidence showing that trans fat is safe to consume — which could be difficult, considering the Institute of Medicine’s declaration that there's NO safe limit for synthetic trans fats. However, be aware that while the food industry has reduced the use of harmful synthetic trans fats, they’ve reverted back to using regular vegetable oils, and this is far from an ideal replacement.

Especially when heated, vegetable oils like peanut, corn, and soy oil degrade into highly toxic oxidation products that appear to be even worse than trans fats! One category of these byproducts, called aldehydes, are of particular concern. In animals, even low levels of aldehydes oxidize LDL cholesterol and cause high levels of inflammation, which is associated with heart disease.

Cyclic aldehydes have also been shown to cause toxic shock in animals through gastric damage, and this seems consistent with the rise in immune problems and gastrointestinal-related diseases in the human population.

Added Sugars Versus Natural Sugars: What’s the Difference?

One problem with processed food is that when you look at the label, you have no way of knowing how much of the sugar is natural to the food itself and how much of the sugar was added. According to endocrinologist Robert Lustig, one of the most well known crusaders speaking the truth about the real dangers of sugar, it’s important to distinguish between natural food-based sugars and added sugar, because clinical trials have shown that consuming added sugar, such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other forms of processed fructose, can increase your risk factors for cardiovascular disease within as little as two weeks.

Food-based sugars tend to be far less hazardous, in Dr. Lustig’s opinion. Lactose, for example, which is a natural sugar found in dairy, does not cause any major harm, according to Dr. Lustig. Still, I believe that if you are insulin/leptin resistant, then limiting ALL forms of sugar, including natural food-based sugars such as lactose, is advisable until your insulin/leptin resistance has been resolved.

Nutritionist, fitness trainer, and author JJ Virgin agrees with my assertion that even natural sugars can be problematic. For instance, agave, natural fruit juice, raw cane sugar, and any number of other natural sugars will still wreak havoc on your health. Virgin, who authored the book The Sugar Impact Diet: Drop 7 Sugars to Lose Up to 10 Pounds in Just 2 Weeks, says:

“[S]ugar is really public enemy number one… That’s why I chose to focus on it. I don’t think added sugar is really the problem; I think it’s what’s in a lot of our food that we don’t recognize [as sugar]. Whether it’s having apple juice (which is worse for you than a soda), or having a yogurt sweetened with fruit juice concentrate, or whether you’re just thinking that fruits are free for all, these are all creating problems.

I wanted to create a structured program that could help someone break free of those sugar cravings, drop the weight forever, and then let them go back and [do a food] challenge... in order to connect the dots between what happens when they drink one of those big fruit smoothies that are supposed to be so healthy.”

The Sugar and Beverage Industries Want to Keep You in the Dark About Sugar

Added sugars, however, should be limited or eliminated as much as possible. As Dr. Lustig states, 77 percent of food items in US grocery stores contain added sugar. And as the list above shows, it’s not always easy to gauge how much sugar is in processed foods. As a result of the mounting evidence linking sugar to chronic disease, there's a proposal to add a line to the nutrition facts label indicating the amount of added sugars in food. Listing the percentage of daily value for sugar on nutritional labels would more readily identify high-sugar foods and could help rein in overconsumption caused by "hidden" sugars.

Not surprisingly, the sugar and beverage industries are hard at work opposing any and all federal actions that might dampen their sales. For example, the Sugar Association and the American Beverage Association have filed copious amounts of comments with the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, challenging scientific associations between sugar and chronic disease. Industry lawyers have even gone so far as to claim that including "added sugars" on nutrition labels is unconstitutional.

They don’t want you to know how much sugar is really in the food you eat because the more sugar you eat, the more you’re going to want (and the more you’re going to buy their products). Dr. Lustig explained:

“In the reward center, sugar stimulates the neurotransmitter dopamine, and dopamine drives reward. But dopamine also down-regulates its own receptor (which generates the reward signal). This means the next time round, you’re going to need more sugar to generate more dopamine to generate less reward, and so on, until you’re consuming a whole lot of sugar, and getting almost nothing for it. That’s tolerance, and sugar is guilty as charged.”

Sugar Is Highly Addictive

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 10 percent of Americans consumed 25 percent or more of their daily calories in the form of added sugars. Further, most adults (71.4 percent) consumed at least 10 percent of their daily calories from added sugar.⁶ Why are added sugars (and natural sugars) making up such a large portion of Americans’ diets rather than, say, leafy greens, eggs, or hot peppers? When you eat refined processed sugars, they trigger production of your brain's natural opioids – a key ingredient in the addiction process.

Your brain essentially becomes addicted to stimulating the release of its own opioids as it would to morphine or heroin. Writing in The Atlantic,⁷ Dr. Lustig takes on the debate of whether sugar is truly addictive, and essentially proves that it very well is:

• According to an animal study, Oreo cookies are just as addictive as cocaine or morphine, activating more neurons in the brain’s pleasure center than exposure to illicit drugs⁸
• Rats exposed to sugar water demonstrate all the criteria necessary to diagnose addiction: binging, withdrawal, craving, and addiction transfer (or addiction to other substances as well)⁹
• Humans want sugar even more than they want fat, as evidenced by a study that showed sugar, but not fat, stimulated the brain’s reward center¹⁰

Is Sugar Really a Health Hazard? It Depends on the Dose

The main problem with sugar, and processed fructose in particular, is the fact that your liver has a very limited capacity to metabolize it. According to Dr. Lustig, you can safely metabolize about six teaspoons of added sugar per day. As mentioned, the average American consumes 20 teaspoons of added sugar a day.¹¹ All that excess sugar is metabolized into body fat, and leads to many of the chronic metabolic diseases we struggle with, including but not limited to:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Dementia
• Cancer

A report by Credit Suisse Research Institute, which explored the impact of sugar and sweeteners on humans' diets, also suggested there may be a threshold level in the body for sugar below which it causes little or no harm… but once you pass it, health problems may emerge.¹² Consuming small amounts of sugar may not be a problem, but consuming sugar by the pound certainly is.

"While medical research is yet to prove conclusively that sugar is the leading cause of obesity, diabetes type II, and metabolic syndrome, the balance of recent medical research studies are coalescing around this conclusion. Advances in understanding the negative effects of refined carbohydrates on blood sugar regulation and cholesterol, and the metabolic impacts of fructose, are undermining the traditional view that all calories are the same," the report stated.

Are You Ready to Break Free from Sugar?

If you currently eat sugar, there's a good chance you're struggling with sugar addiction. So I highly recommend trying an energy psychology technique called Turbo Tapping, which has helped many "soda addicts" kick their sweet habit, and it should work for any type of sweet craving you may have. Remember that in order to minimize your sugar intake, you need to avoid most processed foods, as most contain added sugar.

If you’re insulin/leptin resistant, have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or are overweight, you’d be wise to limit your total sugar/fructose intake to 15 grams per day until your insulin/leptin resistance has resolved. For all others, I recommend limiting your daily fructose consumption to 25 grams or less. Please refer to my free nutrition plan for a step-by-step guide to making positive changes in your diet. You simply cannot achieve optimal health on a diet of processed foods and sugar. A couple of other tricks to try to kick your sugar cravings:

• Exercise: Anyone who exercises intensely on a regular basis will know that significant amounts of cardiovascular exercise is one of the best "cures" for food cravings. It always amazes me how my appetite, especially for sweets, dramatically decreases after a good workout. I believe the mechanism is related to the dramatic reduction in insulin levels that occurs after exercise. Additionally, if you do eat sugars or fruits around the time of the exercise, your sugar levels will not rise as it will metabolized for fuel
• Organic, black coffee: Coffee is a potent opioid receptor antagonist, and contains compounds such as cafestol – found plentifully in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee – which can bind to your opioid receptors, occupy them, and essentially block your addiction to other opioid-releasing food.^13,14 This may profoundly reduce the addictive power of other substances, such as sugar.
• Sour taste, such as that from cultured vegetables, helps to reduce sweet cravings, too. This is doubly beneficial, as fermented vegetables also promote gut health. You can also try adding lemon or lime juice to your water.

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Most Americans Will Be Misdiagnosed at Least Once

By Dr. Mercola

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that up to 98,000 people die each year due to hospital mistakes. A health advisory committee with IOM has built on this knowledge in a new, yet equally concerning, report released in September 2015.¹

Most people will suffer from at least one wrong or delayed medical diagnosis during their lifetime, according to the latest data. Americans experience about 12 million diagnostic errors a year, the IOM report revealed.

Conservatively, the report found that 5 percent of US adults who seek outpatient care will experience a diagnostic error. Further, such errors are thought to contribute to 10 percent of patient deaths and 17 percent of adverse events in hospitals.

They're also the leading type of paid medical malpractice claims and are nearly twice as likely to have resulted in the patient's death compared to other claims.

Devastating Diagnostic Mistakes Are Claiming Patients' Lives

"Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care: It provides an expla­nation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions.

For decades, diagnostic errors — inaccurate or delayed diagno­ses — have represented a blind spot in the delivery of quality health care. Diagnostic errors persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients," the IOM report stated.

Diagnostic errors are often incredibly harmful to patients as they may lead to delays in treatment, lack of treatment, inappropriate, or unnecessary treatment. This, in turn, can have physical, psychological, and financial consequences.

Causes are varied but include inadequate communication between physicians and patients, a health care system design that does not support the diagnostic process, limited feedback to clinicians about diagnostic performance, and a health care culture that discourages transparency, so diagnostic mistakes are typically not reported (and not learned from).

Dr. Peter Pronovost, director of the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins, told CNN:²

"It's probably one of the, if not the, most under-recognized issues in patient safety… Much of the harm that we once labeled as inevitable we're now seeing as preventable."

CNN noted several examples of diagnostic mistakes included in IOM's report:³

• A 51-year old woman with a family history of heart disease repeatedly asked her doctor's office to refer her to a cardiologist for a stress test. Three months after her initial request, on the day of her appointment, she died because of significant coronary artery disease.
• A doctor mistook a blood clot in the lungs of a 33-year old woman for an asthma attack, leading her to her death.
• An urgent care clinician misread an X-ray and diagnosed a 55-year old man with an upper respiratory infection instead of pneumonia. He died as a result.
• Doctors at a trauma center decided not to perform a CT scan on a 21-year old stabbing victim and missed a knife wound penetrating several inches into his skull and brain.
• A newborn baby suffered preventable brain damage when doctors failed to test for high levels of a chemical in his blood that had turned his skin yellow from head to toe.

'Urgent Change Is Warranted'

The IOM committee concluded "urgent change is warranted" to protect patients from diagnostic errors, although there's likely no quick fix available. They recommended a slew of changes, including:

More training (in medical school and continuing education) in making diagnoses	Federal agencies and employers should encourage the reporting of diagnostic errors to help others learn how to avoid them
Increased monitoring of how health care facilities are diagnosing patients	Encouraging patients to be involved in their care and share concerns about diagnostic errors
Ensuring patients have access to electronic health records, diagnostic testing results, etc. so they can review for accuracy	Increased collaboration among pathologists, radiologists, other diagnosticians, and health care professions to improve the diagnostic process

At the heart of the recommendations is one that virtually everyone reading this should take to heart: a call for patients to become advocates for their own care and voice any concerns or questions. Dr. Pronovost added: "We need to encourage patients to speak up and ensure that when they do speak up, it's well received."⁴

The National Patient Safety Foundation and the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine have a checklist you can use to help ensure you get the correct diagnosis. It includes recommendations such as the following:

Tell your story well (when symptoms started, what makes symptoms better or worse, etc.)	Remember what treatments you've tried in the past and how the illness has progressed over time
Keep records of test results, medications, and hospital admissions	Learn about your illness, tests or procedures you're having done, and/or medications you're taking
Take charge of managing your health, and be sure each doctor you're seeing is aware of other doctors' visits, medications you're taking, test results, treatments, etc.	Be actively involved in your health care decisions
Know your tests results, including what the results mean	Ask questions, including whether there could be other reasons or causes for your illness

Medical Errors May Cause Nearly Half a Million Deaths Annually

Diagnostic errors are just one type of error that occurs in the medical field, and you might be surprised at just how common errors occur. While the 1999 IOM report blamed 98,000 deaths a year on hospital errors, a 2013 study in the Journal of Patient Safety projected that medical errors now account for 210,000 to 440,000 US deaths annually.⁵

Even at 210,000, this makes medical errors the third-leading cause of death in the US, right after heart disease and cancer. And when you consider instances where medical errors cause some form of harm but not necessarily death, the incidence rate may be as high as 40,000 per day!⁶ These are frightening numbers that deserve immediate attention, as the researchers noted:

"In a sense, it does not matter whether the deaths of 100,000, 200,000, or 400,000 Americans each year are associated with PAEs [preventable adverse events] in hospitals. Any of the estimates demands assertive action on the part of providers, legislators, and people who will one day become patients.

Yet, the action and progress on patient safety is frustratingly slow; however, one must hope that the present, evidence-based estimate of 400,000+ deaths per year will foster an outcry for overdue changes and increased vigilance in medical care to address the problem of harm to patients who come to a hospital seeking only to be healed."

Seniors May Be Particularly at Risk

Yet another study of more than 12,500 Medicare patients (with an average age of 76) found that nearly one in five suffer from medical injuries when receiving care.⁷ Injuries included:

• Being given the wrong medication
• Having an allergic reaction to a medication
• Receiving treatment that led to more complications of an existing medical problem

Those who had experienced a medical injury had a death rate nearly double those who had not, along with greater use of medical services and increased health care costs in the year following the injury. While the media often focuses on medical injuries in hospitals, this study actually found that two-thirds of injuries occurred during outpatient care (such as doctor's offices).

Previous studies have found about 13.5 percent of hospitalized patients suffer from adverse medical events, but the featured study found about 19 percent of seniors are harmed by medical care. Older people, men, those with lower incomes, and people with disabilities were at an even greater risk. Further, the risk of an adverse medical event rose 27 percent for each chronic medical condition a person had.⁸ The study's lead researcher noted:

"These injuries are caused by the medical care or management rather than any underlying disease… The rate of these injuries is probably higher than has been estimated."

What Medical Errors Should You Watch Out for?

Hospitals often make such egregious errors as treating the wrong patient, leaving behind surgical tools in a person after surgery, losing patients, or operating on the wrong body part. Air bubbles in your blood after a chest tube is removed, mix-ups involving medical tubing, and hospital-acquired infections are other examples of sometimes fatal medical errors that are all too common – and preventable.

Any time you're in a health care setting, be sure to ask questions – double check the treatments you're receiving, the dosages of medications, and the diagnosis you're given – and if possible bring a family member or friend with you for an extra set of eyes and ears.

Further, be aware that more than 2 million people are affected by hospital-acquired infections each year, and a whopping 100,000 people die as a result. According to the 2011 Health Grades Hospital Quality in America report, analysis of approximately 40 million Medicare patients' records from 2007 through 2009 showed that 1 in 9 patients developed such hospital-acquired infections!⁹ The saddest part is, most of these cases could likely have been easily prevented with better infection control in hospitals — simple routines such as doctors and nurses washing their hands between each patient, for example.

So make sure doctors, nurses, and other health care providers wash their hands before touching you; if you feel uncomfortable speaking up… realize that doing so could literally save your life.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about sharing the information on this site about healthy eating, exercise, and stress management is because it can help keep you OUT of the hospital and other health-care danger zones. You can use this site to find well-proven strategies that will address most chronic health problems.

Please remember you can always use the search engine at the top of every page on the site to review previous articles we have written. If you have an acute injury or life-threatening medical situation, of course you need to seek immediate competent care.

How to Stay Safe If You're Hospitalized

Download Interview Transcript

Dr. Martin Makary is the author of The New York Times bestselling book Unaccountable: What Hospitals Won't Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Healthcare, which is a story about the dangerous practices and mistakes of modern medicine. In the interview above, you can learn some important tips to stay safe if you find yourself in a hospital. Once you're hospitalized, you're immediately at risk for medical errors, so one of the best safeguards is to have someone there with you. Dr. Andrew Saul has also written an entire book on the issue of safeguarding your health while hospitalized.

One of the best suggestions is simply to have someone there to act as your personal advocate, or to take the time to stay with your loved one who is hospitalized. This is particularly important for pediatric patients and the elderly.

"Sometimes, we rely on a competent talking patient to help verify what we're doing before we go in the operating room. But if we got somebody who's not mentally coherent because they're elderly or a kid and there's no family member around, these are danger zones. These are high-risk areas for medical mistakes,"

Dr. Makary warns. "It's important to ask what procedure's being done or why is the procedure being done. 'Can I talk to the doctor?' You have a right to know about what's being done to you or your loved one in the hospital. When you've got a kid in the hospital, I think it's particularly important to ask the questions."

For every medication given in the hospital, ask, "What is this medication? What is it for? What's the dose?" Take notes. Ask questions. Building a relationship with the nurses can go a long way. Also, when they realize they're going to be questioned, they're more likely to go through that extra step of due diligence to make sure they're getting it right — that's human nature. Dr. Makary also co-developed a checklist for surgeons to use before surgery or any other hospital procedure.

Dr. Pronovost, who is Dr. Makary's research partner, created a checklist in the ICU for patients who are in the intensive care unit. The World Health Organization (WHO) ended up taking an interest in their checklists and used some of their principles to develop the official World Health Organization checklist.

The WHO surgical safety checklist and implementation manual,¹⁰ which is part of the campaign "Safe Surgery Saves Lives" that Drs. Makary and Pronovost were a part of, can be downloaded here. If a loved one is in the hospital, print it out and bring it with you, as this can help you protect your family member or friend from preventable errors in care.

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Ballooning Diabetes Rates Highlight the High Cost of Cheap Food

By Dr. Mercola

The recent case of an American toddler diagnosed with type 2 diabetes highlights the severity of the problems our modern processed food diet causes. According to Reuters,¹ the three-year old girl, who weighed in at 77 pounds, is one of the youngest persons ever diagnosed with this obesity-related disease.

In the past, type 2 diabetes was referred to as “adult onset” diabetes, and most patients were in the senior category. But as our diets and lifestyles have changed, so has the disease.

And, while lack of exercise is certainly a factor, one would be hard-pressed to accuse a two-year old of being too sedentary. Clearly, diet plays a more important role in individuals this young. So what’s wrong with children’s diets these days?

Many Babies Are Raised on Sugar

In short, most babies and toddlers are fed far too much sugar right from the start.  Many parents fail to realize that infant formulas can contain significant amounts of added sugars and starchy fillers,² which paves the way for chronic disease from day one.

Past investigations have also revealed trans fats — now known to promote heart disease — in some formulas, as well as genetically engineered (GE) ingredients, which are also suspected of causing obesity and health problems in the long term, primarily by promoting inflammation and disrupting gut flora.

Last year, data³ from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that more than 29 million Americans were diagnosed with full-blown type 2 diabetes,⁴ a statistic researchers predicted in 2001 wouldn’t be reached until 2050.⁵

A more recent study,^6,7,8,9,10 which also for the first time included estimated disease rates for certain minority groups, suggests as much as HALF of the American public may have either prediabetes or diabetes.

Diabetes rates have also soared in other countries. In the UK, rates have risen by 60 percent in the last decade.¹¹

When you start investigating the diets of babies and young children, these statistics become less surprising. In fact, they’re to be expected.

One in four Americans eats some type of fast food on a daily basis,¹² and nearly half of the money Americans spend on food is spent on fast food meals.¹³ More than one-third of school-aged children and adolescent eat fast food on a daily basis.

As reported by Reuters:¹⁴

“More than 12 percent of the children and adolescents surveyed got over 40 percent of their calories from fast food, which was defined as ‘restaurant fast food/pizza,’ according to the data brief from the NCHS, a unit of the CDC.

‘It is certainly a significant amount and it would be more concerning if someone were not astonished by that number.

It is a sign we have some work to do to help families come up with practical solutions,’ said Dr. Esther Krych, a pediatrician with the Mayo Clinic's Children's Center...”

An estimated 56 percent of 8 year-olds also drink soda on a daily basis, and once the teenage years come, some kids drink at least three cans of soda a day.¹⁵

Analysis Confirms Fructose Is Primary Driver of Diabetes

Processed food and sugary beverages are now taking its toll on ever younger people as these younger generations are raised on such foods and drinks from a very early age, and this is why disease prevalence has exploded.

A meta-review published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings^16,17,18 recently confirmed that calories from fructose (think high fructose corn syrup) and other added sugars are the primary drivers of prediabetes and diabetes.

Processed fructose and other added sugars not only worsen insulin levels and glucose tolerance, they also promote a number of different markers for poor health, including inflammation and hypertension (high blood pressure).

As a standard recommendation, I strongly advise keeping your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day, which is about six teaspoons. If you have no signs of insulin resistance you should be able to consume fruit liberally even though it has fructose.

If you have signs of insulin resistance such as hypertension, obesity, or heart disease, you’d be wise to limit your total fructose consumption to 15 grams or less until your weight and other health conditions have normalized.

According to this meta-review, the research clearly shows that once you reach 18 percent of your daily calories from sugar, there’s a two-fold increase in metabolic harm that promote prediabetes and diabetes.

Babies and toddlers really should have no added sugars at all. It’s completely non-essential for their growth and development. Breast milk is ideal, and even if you cannot breastfeed, there are far better alternatives than commercial infant formula.

Buying donor milk is one option. You can also make your own infant formula using whole ingredients like whole grass-fed raw milk or goat’s milk.

Antibiotics May Play a Role in Rising Diabetes Rates

According to a recent study,^19,20 type 2 diabetics tend to have been more overexposed to antibiotics in the years prior to their diagnosis compared to non-diabetics.

This is yet another fast food factor that places young children at increased risk of diabetes and related health problems. Antibiotic overuse in food production has also led to the current scourge of antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic exposure is one reason why I don’t recommend eating foods from factory farmed animals, as they tend to be raised on antibiotic growth promoters.

Each time you or your child eat food made from such animals, you’re getting a small dose of antibiotics that, over time with regular consumption, can upset your gut flora and have a notable impact on your weight and metabolism.²¹

While a small number of restaurants have taken steps to limit meat raised on antibiotics, the vast majority of fast food restaurants and major restaurant chains have not.

A recent report^22,23,24 produced by six consumer interest, public health, and environmental organizations warn that 20 of the 25 restaurant chains surveyed have failed to take any affirmative action on this issue, and are still serving meat and poultry raised on antibiotics. Chipotle’s and Panera Bread were the only two restaurants, according to this report, that publicly affirm the majority of the meats served come from antibiotic-free producers.

Pesticides in Processed Food Also Raise Diabetes Risk

Pesticides and herbicides are another factor that has now started to come to the fore as a major driver of chronic disease — including diabetes. According to a recent analysis^25,26,27 of 21 studies, exposure to pesticide — regardless of type — was associated with a 61 percent increased risk for any type of diabetes. Twelve of the studies focused on type 2 diabetes specifically, linking pesticide exposure to a 64 percent increased risk of this type of diabetes.

"This systematic review supports the hypothesis that exposure to various types of pesticides increases the risk of diabetes,” the authors wrote, adding that: "Analyzing each pesticide separately suggests that some pesticides are more likely to contribute to the development of diabetes than others.”

Among the pesticides more clearly linked to diabetes were:

Chlordane	Oxychlordane	Trans-nonachlor	DDT
DDE	Dieldrin	Heptachlor	HCB

Toxic Glyphosate May Be a Major Health Threat in Food Supply

One of the most widely used herbicides in the US is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. In late March, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is the research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), reclassified²⁸ glyphosate as a Class 2A “probable human carcinogen,” based on evidence showing it can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lung cancer in humans.

Previous research has also linked glyphosate to an increased diabetes risk, along with a slew of other chronic health problems, including Alzheimer’s disease, which some believe may be yet another form of diabetes — basically “brain diabetes.” Swedish researchers recently confirmed that controlling your blood sugar levels appear to be an important aspect of dementia prevention for type 2 diabetics, who are at an increased risk for neurological degeneration.

The study included nearly 350,000 people, and blood sugar levels were tracked using hemoglobin A1C tests. This newer type of test provides you with an average blood sugar level over the past several months. As reported by MedicineNet.com:²⁹

“After taking other variables into account, the study found that those with HbA1c levels of 10.5 percent or higher were 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia compared to people with HbA1c levels of 6.5 percent or less.”

Make Your Family’s Nutrition a Priority 

It’s important to keep offering healthy foods to your child, even if they refuse them or seem to not like them. It can take 10 to 15 food exposures before a child becomes familiar with and likes a certain food, so persistence is important. Food is a part of crucial lifestyle choices first learned at home, so you need to educate yourself about proper nutrition and the dangers of junk food and processed foods in order to change the food culture of your entire family.

To give your child the best start in life and help instill healthy habits that will last a lifetime, you must lead by example. If you're not sure where to start, I recommend reading through my nutrition plan. This will provide you with the foundation you need to start making healthy food choices for your family. You can find even more help in the book I wrote on the subject, Generation XL: Raising Healthy, Intelligent Kids in a High-Tech, Junk-Food World.

Bring Back Home-cooked Meals

One of the basic keys to good health and disease prevention is to eat real food... This may be particularly true for diabetes prevention, as processed foods and fast food contain not just one but several components shown to promote metabolic dysfunction and obesity.

This includes processed fructose and other added sugars, trans fats, antibiotics, and pesticides, along with other artificial ingredients, such as artificial sweeteners and MSG. A 2012 study found that both of these additives cause an increase in fasting blood glucose levels and contribute to the onset of diabetes. When it comes to meat, it’s important to make sure it’s antibiotic-free and organically raised. 

Ditto for other animal products like dairy and eggs. While some grocery chains offer grass-fed meats nowadays, your best bet is to connect with a local farmer that raises animals according to organic standards, allowing them to roam freely on pasture. Other foods are also best sourced from organic and local sources, to avoid undue pesticide exposure. In the US, the following organizations can help you locate farm-fresh foods:

Weston Price Foundation30 has local chapters in most states, and many of them are connected with buying clubs in which you can easily purchase organic foods, including grass fed raw dairy products like milk and butter.

Local Harvest – This Web site will help you find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.

Farmers' Markets – A national listing of farmers' markets.

Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals – The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) – CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.

FoodRoutes – The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSAs, and markets near you.

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Masks That Add Moisture? Try Blissoma Lavish Loving Recovery!

  We got the following question from a reader named Carly and just had to weigh in… I’m wondering if you have some recommendations for face masks that emphasize adding moisture to the skin. I find that most of the lovely green masks on the market focus on detoxing (which I love), but I’m hoping to beat the dryness associated with the upcoming change in seasons. I would so appreciate any of your suggestions. Why yes, Carly, we do! Masks are often pegged as the kind of treatment you turn to when blemishes erupt or skin gets congested—and oh boy do […]

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Madara Moon Flower Organic Tinted Fluid

Keeping things minimal and simple has been the key in my daily makeup routine. My skin is not acting out and even my rosacea has reduced significantly, so I don’t have many reasons to use anything more than a foundation and a mascara. Although, I prefer foundations for my makeup, I find that I’m more […]

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Shifting into autumn : Pacifica makeup story

With a new season come new discoveries. I love changes, they make me get excited so easily. So does the simple time of the year switch. Well, it used to be simple when I was living in the country with extremely clear visual signs of new seasons. Here in Los Angeles seasons are mostly dictated

The post Shifting into autumn : Pacifica makeup story appeared first on TLV Birdie Blog.

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Majority of Fast Food Restaurants Get Fail Rating in Antibiotics in Meat Report

By Dr. Mercola

Antibiotic resistance has been declared "an increasingly serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society" by the World Health Organization (WHO).¹

The cause for this growing drug resistance was once thought to be restricted to overuse of antibiotics in medicine, but it's become quite clear that our food supply significantly contributes to the problem.

In fact, it may even be the overriding factor that has allowed, and continues to allow, resistance to grow and spread at the rate that it is.

In the US, animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are routinely fed low doses of antibiotics to make them grow fatter, faster, and to prevent disease associated with crowded and unsanitary living conditions.

The US uses nearly 30 million pounds of antibiotics each year to raise food animals.^2,3 This accounts for about 80 percent of all antibiotics used in the US,⁴ and nearly 70 percent of these antibiotics are considered "medically important" for humans.⁵

Globally, antibiotic use in both medicine and agriculture rose by 30 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to newly released data from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy.⁶

Along with it, antibiotic resistance has shot up as well. On a positive note, in countries that have implemented regulations to curb the use of antibiotics, certain drug resistant infections have dramatically dropped.

No matter where you live, what farmers are saving on the front end by using antibiotics instead of costlier alternatives (such as using essential oils,⁷ and feeding them a higher quality species-appropriate diet), consumers pay for on the back end, via exorbitant health care costs and lives cut short.

In the US alone, the price tag for antibiotic resistance is $20 billion in additional annual health care costs,⁸ and an estimated 23,000 Americans die from antibiotic-resistant infections each year.

Fast Food Restaurants Show Few Signs of Change

Efforts have been made to curtail the use of antibiotics in meat production, but so far, the industry is falling far short of making a dent in the situation.

According to a new report^9,10,11 "Chain Reaction: How Restaurants Rate on Reducing the Use of Antibiotics in Their Meat Supply," produced by six consumer interest, public health, and environmental organizations, most fast food restaurants are still serving meat and poultry raised on antibiotics.

Most also lack a publicly available policy to limit the use of such meats. Of the 25 restaurant chains included in the report, the following 20 received a "Failing" score: 

Subway	Starbucks	KFC	Domino's Pizza
Wendy's	Burger King	Denny's	Olive Garden
Papa John's	Taco Bell	Pizza Hut	Applebee's
Sonic	Chili's	Jack in the Box	Arby's
Dairy Queen	IHOP	Outback	Little Caesars

Only Two Fast Food Restaurants Earned an 'A' Grade

Chipotle's and Panera Bread both earned "A" ratings. According to the report, they are the only two fast food restaurants that publicly affirm the majority of the meats served come from antibiotic-free producers.

One-third of Panera's turkey and 100 percent of its pork and chicken is antibiotic-free. The company is also reviewing its policy for beef, although its primary beef supplier does not use antibiotics, and its secondary supplier uses antibiotics for medical necessity only.

Chipotle's policy prohibits routine use of antibiotics, and the company states this policy applies to at least 90 percent of all meats served. As for the remaining three restaurants, the report notes that:

"Chick-fil-A and McDonald's have established policies limiting antibiotic use in their chicken with implementation timelines, while Dunkin' Donuts has a policy covering all meats but has no reported timeline for implementation."

One in four Americans eats some type of fast food on a daily basis,¹² and nearly half of the money Americans spend on food is spent on restaurant meals.¹³

When you consider that, it's easy to see that this widespread resistance among restaurants to reduce antibiotics in their meat supply chains can have a significant impact on mounting drug resistance, and take an increasing toll on human health.

It's been estimated that some two million Americans are infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria each year. In addition to hard-to-treat infections, overexposure to antibiotics has also been implicated as a factor that can raise your risk of developing diabetes in subsequent years.¹⁴

This Can Have Significant Influence on Agricultural Practices

It's important to realize that every time you eat meat from animals raised on antibiotics, you're getting a small dose that, over time with regular consumption, can upset your gut flora and have a notable impact on your weight and metabolism¹⁵ — and that's over and above the issue of antibiotic resistance.

As noted in the Chain Reaction report:¹⁶

"When livestock producers administer antibiotics routinely to their flocks and herds, bacteria can develop resistance, thrive, and even spread to our communities, contributing to the larger problem of antibiotic resistance.

The worsening epidemic of resistance means that antibiotics may not work when we need them most: when our kids contract a staph infection (MRSA), or our parents get a life-threatening pneumonia...

Most top US chain restaurants have so far failed to effectively respond to this growing public health threat by publicly adopting policies restricting routine antibiotic use by their meat suppliers...

Restaurant companies should also encourage producers to improve animal diets and management practices within their facilities, as this reduces the reliance on routine drug use for disease prevention."

Why Eating Antibiotic-Free Meat Matters

The vast majority of meat and animal products such as dairy and eggs sold in the US — both in grocery stores and restaurants — come from animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The way in which these animals are fed and raised significantly alters and diminishes the quality of the food. The use of antibiotics just makes a bad situation worse, by promoting drug resistance on top of inferior nutrition.

In 2011, researchers found about half of all meats and poultry sold in grocery stores were contaminated with drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria that causes most staph infections. Now, a new Consumer Report study^{17,18,19,20,21,22} warns that all store-bought ground beef contains fecal bacteria, and factory farmed beef often contains dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria as well.

Consumer Reports purchased 300 packages of ground beef from 103 stores in 26 cities across the US. The beef samples (181 conventionally raised, 116 more sustainably produced, including organic grass-fed) were analyzed for the presence of five types of disease-causing bacteria. The samples were also put through secondary testing to ascertain whether the bacteria were resistant to antibiotics used in human medicine.

Their results showed that:

• 100 percent of all ground beef samples contained bacteria associated with fecal contamination (enterococcus and/or nontoxin-producing E. coli). In humans, these bacteria can cause blood or urinary tract infections
• Nearly 20 percent contained Clostridium perfringens, a bacteria responsible for an estimated one million cases of food poisoning each year in the US
• 10 percent contained a toxin-producing strain of Staphylococcus aureus, which cannot be destroyed even with thorough cooking 
• One percent contained salmonella, which is responsible for an estimated 1.2 million illnesses and 450 deaths in the US each year
• Three of the conventional samples had methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which kills nearly 19,000 people each year.^{23, 24} None of the sustainably raised beef samples contained MRSA

Grass-Fed and Organic Meats Pose Fewer Health Risks

Overall, Consumer Reports found that beef from animals raised in CAFOs was more likely to be contaminated with bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria, compared to beef from sustainably raised animals. Eighteen percent of the CAFO ground beef samples contained antibiotic-resistant superbugs resistant to three or more antibiotics, compared to nine percent of sustainably produced beef, and just six percent of the grass-fed beef.  

According to Urvashi Rangan, executive director of the Center for Food Safety and Sustainability at Consumer Reports:²⁵

"We know that sustainable methods are better for the environment and more humane to animals. But our tests also show that these methods can produce ground beef that poses fewer public health risks...This study is significant, because it's among the largest scientific studies to show that sustainable methods of raising cattle can produce cleaner and safer ground beef... We suggest that you choose what's labeled 'grass-fed organic beef' whenever you can..."

Do keep in mind, however, that even grass-fed beef is more prone to carry potentially hazardous bacteria than steaks, so always cook ground beef through and through. The reason why ground beef tends to be far more problematic than solid cuts of meat is because on a steak, the bacteria tend to remain on the surface of the meat. Once you cook it, most of the bacteria are destroyed.

When the meat is ground, any bacteria present on top of the meat get mixed throughout the meat, contaminating all of it. So if you like your hamburger on the rare side, the pathogens may still be alive and well in the center of the beef patty.

Another contributing factor is the fact that in the making of ground beef, meat from a number of animals is mixed together, and all you need is for one contaminated animal to affect a very large batch of meat. Moreover, there is a limited number of meat processing plants, so opportunity arises for cross contamination to occur as meat from various farms is run through the machinery.

Grass-Fed Beef Is Also Nutritionally Superior

Besides reducing the risk for bacterial overgrowth and antibiotic resistance, feeding animals a species-appropriate diet (which for cows means grazing on grass, opposed to grains laced with antibiotics) profoundly improves the nutritional quality of their meat. It also virtually eliminates toxins such as glyphosate and other pesticides, which is the other side of the healthy-diet equation.

In 2009, a joint research project between the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Clemson University determined the numerous ways grass-fed beef beats grain-fed beef for your health. In a side-by-side comparison, they determined that grass-fed beef was superior in the following ways:²⁶

Higher in total omega-3s	Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs. 4.84)	Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter	Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)	Higher in beta-carotene

When shopping for beef, keep the following labels in mind to help you find high-quality products.²⁷ And remember, your safest alternative is both organic and grass-fed.

100% USDA Organic label offers excellent assurance that antibiotics have not been used at any stage of production.

"No antibiotics administered" and similar labels also offer high assurance that antibiotics have not been used, especially if accompanied by a "USDA process Verified" shield.

"Grass-fed" label coupled with USDA Organic label means no antibiotics have been used, but if the "grass-fed" label appears alone, antibiotics may have been given.

"American Grass-fed" and "Food Alliance Grass-fed" labels indicate that in addition to having been raised on grass, the animal in question received no antibiotics. This is the best label of all but is in the early stages of development so you will likely not see it widely until next year.

The following three labels: "Antibiotic-free," "No antibiotic residues," and "No antibiotic growth promotants," have not been approved by the USDA and may be misleading if not outright fraudulent.

"Natural" or "All-Natural" is completely meaningless and has no bearing on whether or not the animal was raised according to organic principles. "Natural" meat and poultry products can by law receive antibiotics, hormones, and genetically engineered grains, and can be raised in CAFOs.

To Eat Well, Eat More Meals at Home

The foods you eat can be a major source of chronic low-dose exposure to antibiotics, and to protect your health you need to buy antibiotic-free, organically raised meat. Chipotle and Panera's appear to be doing a good job providing their customers with healthier meats, but your best long-term bet is to pick up a good cookbook and start cooking more of your own meals.

Connect with a local farmer that raises animals according to organic standards, allowing them to roam freely on pasture. Some grocery chains also offer 100 percent grass-fed meats these days, as do some small organic restaurants. Still, such eateries can be hard to come by, and for most people the best solution is to buy the meat, and cook it at home, along with other fresh (preferably organic) foods. In the US, the following organizations can help you locate farm-fresh foods:

Weston Price Foundation28 has local chapters in most states, and many of them are connected with buying clubs in which you can easily purchase organic foods, including grass fed raw dairy products like milk and butter.

Local Harvest – This Web site will help you find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.

Farmers' Markets – A national listing of farmers' markets.

Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals – The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) – CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.

FoodRoutes – The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSAs, and markets near you.

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Antibacterial Soap Is All Washed Up

By Dr. Mercola

A survey by the American Cleaning Institute and the industry-run Personal Care Products Council revealed that 74 percent of Americans use antibacterial soap.

Fifty-six percent of them use it regularly, and, reportedly, 75 percent of moms with children in the household said they would be “angry” if antibacterial soap was no longer on the market.¹

This “anger,” however, would be misplaced, since antibacterial soap manufacturers have been suggesting the products are necessary to fight germs, and insinuating they’re superior to plain soap and water in keeping away illness, for years.

Such soaps may have their place, such as in an operating room prior to surgery, but they’re being vastly overused in homes, schools, restaurants, and other settings with potentially devastating consequences.

Despite the reality, 84 percent of US adults surveyed said they have no health or environmental concerns about antibacterial soap.

The actual health and environmental risks of antibacterial soap have only relatively recently been uncovered, and they’re still not widely known, at least among consumers. Hopefully, the tide is beginning to turn, however, as yet another study has shown no significant benefit to using antibacterial soap.

‘No Significant Difference’ Between Plain Soap and Antibacterial Soap

In December 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a rule stating that manufacturers must provide data to demonstrate that antibacterial soap is more effective than plain soap and water.

The current study examined this question by exposing 20 FDA-proposed bacterial strains to plain or antibacterial soaps.²

The bacterial strains included Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enteritidis, among others, and the antibacterial soap used the same formulation as plain soap, but containing 0.3 percent triclosan (the most widely used antiseptic agent in soap, as the maximum concentration allowed by law).

The bacteria were exposed to the soaps in petri dishes for 20 seconds at 22°C (room temperature) and 40°C (warm temperature) in order to simulate hand-washing conditions typically used by adults.

The bacteria were also spread onto the hands of study volunteers, who then washed their hands for 30 seconds using either type of soap and warm temperature water. The researchers found:

“Antibacterial soap containing triclosan (0.3 percent) was no more effective than plain soap at reducing bacterial contamination when used under 'real-life' conditions.”

It was only after the bacteria were soaked in antibacterial soap for nine hours that the triclosan-containing soap killed more bacteria than the plain soap – a clearly useless “benefit” for the average consumer.

The study’s lead researcher noted that exaggerating the effectiveness of antibacterial products should be banned, as it can confuse consumers.³

You’re Just as Likely to Get a Cough, Cold, Stomach ‘Flu,’ and Other Symptoms

Studies have shown that people who use antibacterial soaps and cleansers develop a cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms just as often as people who use regular soaps.⁴

Part of the reason for this is because most of these symptoms are actually caused by viruses, which antibacterial soaps can't kill. But even for symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, which may be caused by bacteria, using antibacterial soaps will offer you no advantage over plain soap and water.⁵

So, the rational conclusion is antibacterial soaps are completely unnecessary for the purpose of washing away bacteria.

A 2007 systematic review published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases also confirmed that antibacterial soap containing triclosan did not provide any additional benefit compared with a non-antibacterial soap.⁶

Triclosan Is Harmful to Human Health

If it were simply a matter of antibacterial soap working about the same as plain soap and water, you might still opt for antibacterial soap due to personal preference.

However, know that when doing so you’re most likely being exposed to the antibacterial chemical triclosan, which has been linked to concerns over antibiotic resistance and endocrine disruption.

Some animal studies showed that triclosan caused fetal bone malformations in mice and rats, which may hint at hormonal effects.

One 2006 study found that triclosan induces changes in the thyroid hormone-mediated process of metamorphosis of the North American bullfrog,⁷ and a 2009 study demonstrated triclosan significantly decreases circulating concentrations of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) in male rats.⁸

Triclosan has also been found to cause estrogenic activities in human breast cancer cells, which may stimulate the growth and development of cancer cells.⁹ The chemical has also been found to impair muscle function in both humans and animals,¹⁰ and is linked to an increase in allergies among children.¹¹

It’s even been found to help staph bacteria colonize in the human nose. Of 90 participants tested, 41 percent had detectable levels of triclosan in their snot, and this presence, the researchers found, can double a person's risk of carrying and spreading the staph infection.¹²

Its prevalence is part of the problem. Studies show triclosan penetrates your skin and enters your bloodstream much easier than was once thought,¹³ and it’s now found in the majority of Americans. As noted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG):¹⁴

“Despite the absence of efficacy data, manufacturers have aggressively marketed antibacterial soaps to the American public. As a result of widespread use of such soaps, 75 percent of Americans have triclosan in their bodies, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data…

Triclosan has been found in pregnant women… in cord blood… and in breast milk…  indicating that triclosan exposures start from the first moments of life.

A pilot study found triclocarban [another antibacterial chemical] in a third of urine samples collected from American adults with no known triclocarban exposure… The exposures would likely be much higher among consumers who buy triclocarban products.

New data point to the risks of triclosan and triclocarban to human health due to their endocrine-disrupting potential, indicating that each and every non-medical use of these potent chemicals must be scrutinized from public health and safety point of view.”

Antibiotic Resistance and Environmental Threats

Triclosan also shows evidence of harm in the environment. When you wash your hands, that triclosan in your antibacterial soap goes down the drain, and small quantities persist in water even after treatment at sewage plants.¹⁵

It’s been frequently detected in US streams and other bodies of water, where it’s been found to affect algae’s ability to perform photosynthesis.^16,17 Once in the environment, it may also be travelling up the food chain and accumulating to a concerning degree. As Smithsonian magazine reported:¹⁸

“The chemical is also fat-soluble — meaning that it builds up in fatty tissues — so scientists are concerned that it can biomagnify, appearing at greater levels in the tissues of animals higher up the food chain, as the triclosan of all the plants and animals below them is concentrated.

Evidence of this possibility was turned up in 2009, when surveys of bottlenose dolphins off the coast of South Carolina and Florida found concerning levels of the chemical in their blood.”

As mentioned, triclosan may also be contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The chemical isn’t only found in antibacterial soap; it’s also used in detergents, body wash, toothpaste, and even cutting boards and lipstick. All of this exposure adds up and may be offering bacteria an opportunity to build up resistance. As reported by Scientific American:¹⁹

“Laboratory studies on bacteria exposed to triclosan demonstrate evidence of cross-resistance to critically important antibiotics including erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, and gentamicin. Further, there is evidence that resistance to triclosan itself exists in Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus, Escherichia coli, and other species of bacteria.

Strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis tolerant to triclosan have also showed resistance to the drug isoniazid (INH), which is used to treat tuberculosis.

Although the overuse of antibiotics in humans and livestock is a greater contributor to the public health crisis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the potential increased risk of antibiotic resistance from the use of antimicrobial chemicals is unnecessary.”

Kids Getting Poisoned by Hand Sanitizer

Using alcohol-based hand sanitizers may be suggested as an alternative to triclosan-containing antibacterial soap, but such products are not more effective than washing with plain hand soap and water. They can be useful in a pinch, but be aware that they don’t work if your hands are visibly dirty – and they may also be hazardous to children.

In 2013, US poison centers had more than 16,000 calls about children under 12 eating hand sanitizers – a 400 percent increase from 2010.²⁰ The gels often contain appealing scents (like strawberry or vanilla) and may come in brightly colored bottles. Some even contain glitter, making them appealing to kids.

However, hand sanitizer may be 40 percent to 95 percent alcohol, so even a small amount can be toxic to kids. Many schools are now including hand sanitizers on children’s school supply lists, so be sure to talk to your children about the dangers (and if they’re too young to understand them, refrain from sending it in your child’s backpack).

You may also want to discuss the potential hazards with your child’s teachers, as there have been cases of children “drinking” squirts of hand sanitizer from large bottles sitting out in classrooms.

Another under-recognized risk of hand sanitizer concerns the penetration-enhancing chemicals they may contain and the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is found in many cash-register receipts, and research shows using hand sanitizer prior to handling receipts may increase BPA absorption by up to 185 times.²¹

Tips for Effective Hand Washing

Hand washing is a simple way to reduce your exposure to potentially disease-causing germs and reduce your chances of getting sick. While not the only factor (the health of your immune system also plays a major role), it can drastically reduce the germs that get access to your body, especially when you do it at key times, such as before eating or touching your mouth, eyes, and nose, and after using the restroom or visiting public areas.

Hand washing needs to be done correctly, however, in order to be truly effective for disease control. Simply rinsing your hands with water, or giving a quick scrub with soap, is not enough to remove germs. In one study, only 5 percent of people washed their hands in a way that would actually kill infection and illness-causing germs.²² So, to make sure you're actually removing the germs when you wash your hands, follow these guidelines:

• Use warm, running water, and a mild soap (avoid antibacterial soap)
• Work up a good lather, all the way up to your wrists, and scrubbing for at least 15 or 20 seconds (most people only wash for about 6 seconds)
• Make sure you cover all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers, and around and below your fingernails
• Rinse thoroughly under running water
• In public places, use a paper towel to open the door as a protection from germs that the handles may harbor

Keep in mind that your skin is your primary barrier against germs, so obsessive-compulsive washing, especially in dry environments that typically exist for most in the winter months when the heat is on, can actually increase your risk of getting sick by drying out your skin and creating small cuts or tears.

So keep a balance — avoid washing your hands to the point of irritating your skin, as dry, cracked areas are a perfect entryway for germs. Finally, if you want a natural alternative to antibacterial cleaners around your home, try 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. Simply put each liquid into a separate spray bottle, then spray the surface with one followed by the other.

In tests run at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, pairing the two mists killed virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, and E. coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food and surfaces when used in this fashion, making this spray combination more effective at killing these potentially lethal bacteria than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner. The best results came from using one mist right after the other – it is 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself and more effective than mixing the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in one sprayer.

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Why I'm NOT part of Gorgeously Green Gathering 2016

Some of you maybe couldn't care less if I am/am not involved but for those who do want to know I thought a quick post may be of interest!

Unfortunately, due to the huge amount of time and pressure involved with planning an event like the Gorgeously Green Gathering I have unfortunately taken the decision to step back and leave GGG2 in the capable hands of Jen and Sarah.

My random, over ambitious and unfocused thought of 'let's host the Uk's first green blogger event' over a year ago gradually morphed into the Gorgeously Green Gathering and I couldn't be prouder of what we created on the day. However, I didn't feel I could actually enjoy the day as a blogger. Don't get me wrong - I loved being so involved and helping to run it BUT I feel like I missed out a lot as well.

I didn't get two seconds to browse, chat, chill, catch up or anything! I enjoyed all the talks but I had my 'organiser' and 'videographer' head on, not to mention constantly clock watching to keep us on schedule. I never got to play with any products because, by the time we reached the networking session, I was exhausted! Plus there was the tidy up to think about and the goodbyes to say as each person filtered out at different times.

I would hate for this to sound like a negative post, I loved the day for what it was and the role I played in it was so rewarding and special. However I don't feel I have the time and energy to do the day justice next time round.

Best of luck to Jen and Sarah, I am sure they will do an amazing job! I look forward to hearing more about GGG2 once they have some plans to share.

Information: 
This post does not include any products sent for consideration.
The links are not affiliated.
All opinions are honest and my own, any suggestions made are based on my own experiences and are meant as a guide. Please always take care when making any DIY products and patch test to rule out an adverse reaction.

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