Saturday, October 17, 2009

Mercury and Aluminum and Squalene, Oh My!

Part 1 of a 3 part series

     Ok, courageous readers...it is time.

     Time to address the blazing hot topic of immunzations. Now that the H1N1 vaccine is readily available, there is pressure from all sides to make the best possible decision regarding you and your family's health.

     Last night at our monthly Holistic Moms Meeting, we heard from April Renee (keynote speaker for Educate Before You Vaccinate) and Gary Tunsky. Ms. Renee lost her 4-year old daughter 10 years ago to what she deems Vaccine Induced Damage. She has two healthy, unvaccinated children. Mr. Tunsky is a Certified Nutrition Counselor (CNC) and Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND).

     Granted, their message is definitively anti-vaccine; there are no ifs, ands or buts about it. And if you visit the websites, you will see very strong religious convictions and conspiracy theories. However, the vaccine information they laid forth is pretty (or should I say NOT-so-pretty) convincing and well-documented.

     Here is what I considered to be the most eye-opening part of Ms. Renee's talk: the list of vaccine ingredients.

* MSG
* Anti-freeze
* Formaldehyde
* Aluminum
* Glycerin
* Lead
* Cadmium (a heavy metal)
* Sulfates (preservative)
* Yeast protiens (related to MSG)
* Anti-biotics
* Acetone (yes, that's right...fingernail polish remover)
* Neomycin
* Streptomycin
* Mercury (a.k.a. Thimerasol)
* Monkey kidney
* Dog kidney
* Chick embryo
* Chicken egg
* Duck egg
* Calf serum
* Aborted fetal tissue
* Pig, horse, & sheep blod
* Rabbit brain
* Guinea pig
* Cow heart
* Animal viruses

     Hmmm.

     I asked myself, "If I go to such great lengths to protect my family from consuming things like MSG in our food, does it make sense that I would pay to have it injected into our bloodstream?"

     Ms. Renee's website is http://www.vacinfo.org/ and the other is http://www.educatebeforeyouvaccinate.org/

     Mr. Tunsky focused primarily on the history and origin of vaccinations. Most interesting was the information on these animal viruses that are now "jumping species" to humans. Apparently it is impossible in nature to find how animals are able to infect humans (otherwise, he noted, we'd be sick all the time from the viruses and bacteria that our pets carry). When vaccines are created in a lab, the infected specimens which carry the illnesses are taken from all these animals mentioned in the above list of vaccines. Then the live viruses are injected into humans, after which our bodies "shed" the vaccines (onto others) as our human systems frantically try to reject the animal virus.

     Hmmm. Another thought provoking point is that when these vaccines are shot directly into the bloodstream, they bypass the body's natural immune defenses, including fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Realistically, the "immunization" actually allows the body very little chance to fight the infection and build up the immune system-- which is why some studies are showing that people who have already had a flu vaccination are more susceptible to catching swine flu (more on that tomorrow).

     Gary Tunsky's website is http://www.drcelltox.com/

    Enough already? Tomorrow I will include information from Dr. Mercola and Mike Adams from Natural News. I'll include dialogue on the vaccine's effectiveness, as well as details on the eye-popping amount of money being made by the pharmaceutical companies on the vaccines.

    Monday we'll talk about what you can do to boost your family's immune systems naturally.

    Be of good cheer! The more education you have, the better you will feel about the choices you make for yourself and your family. This is good news!

   

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Life is Poetry

Mary's note: This is a guest post from Zen Habits by Leo Babauta (zenhabits.net) Please let me know if you like this and if you'd enjoy seeing more of the same.

Life is Poetry

‘My life is my message.’ - Gandhi

Each of us lives a life that expresses who we are, reacts to the world around us, shows our passions, reflects our deep river of feeling and being.

We might sing out in joy, through our words and actions and expressions, we might hide in fear and pain, we might lash out in anger. Every thing we do, everything we are, expresses.

Gandhi’s message was his life, and yours is your life. What message are you giving the world, through your actions, how you live, how you treat others, what you accomplish, how you choose to be, every moment of every day?

Are you an angry rant? A ballad? An epic poem?

Perhaps a sonnet, a limerick, a haiku?

If your life is a poem, what do you want it to say? What would you rather leave out? What will the essence be?

Enjoy each moment as the perfect syllable, recognize the lyrical in the everyday, and sink your teeth softly into that cold delicious fruit.



This Is Just To Say

by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

Natalia's First Birthday

     This Sunday we celebrated Natalia's first birthday!
Sergio's parents, sister, niece and cousin from Brasil are in town for the momentous event.
Talk about a green adventure.

     I freely admit, I can be neurotic and paranoid when it comes to my home and my kids.
The wonderful news: my in-laws are really respectful of my green household habits. They dutifully recycle every scrap of paper, plastic, and anything else remotely conceivable. Naturally this means I end up scrounging through the recycle bin and separating trash, but we're getting there.
     In Brasil they live in a rainforest, so water consumption (should I say over-consumption) is what we'll work on next visit. Thankfully, we're not in the middle of a major drought like we were two years ago.

     The bad news: my children have been eating non-stop for the last ten days, with little regard to mealtimes, bedtimes, schooltimes, party times, or any other verifiable time.
Granted, I have very little junk food in my house, but since its been PART-AY time for the last ten days...aurgh. My obsessive compulsions that are generally well-behaved have been unleashed, roaring to the surface every time I see one of the in-laws hand my kids a giant lolliop or a full cup of juice/soda right before dinnertime. To quote Mrs. White from the absurdly funny film Clue: "Flames...flames on the sides of my  face... heaving...breath...breathing...HEAVING breaths..." And so it goes.

     I force myself to step back. Take stock. What's really important here?
I observe from a neutral viewpoint what is happening, and I find myself becoming aware of more than just my steaming brain.

     Like many people (it's not just a cultural thing, although I'd like to make it that simple), my relatives pacify themselves and their children with food. Large slice of leftover birthday cake for breakfast? Check. Bottle of milk with a packet of hot chocolate tossed in to pacify the screaming toddler? Check. Family dinner at the Mexican restaurant with $1 maragaritas to wash away the stress of a gargantuan birthday party and three nights of lost sleep. Got it covered.

     Guess what I realized? I do the same thing. Granted, it's with fine dark chocolate, a luscious red wine, and organic potato chips...but I do it.

     So what? Do we need to work on some things? Sure. But as long as I don't let it become a me vs. them situation-- as long as I can find perspective, I realize my children are not going to die from two weeks of poor eating. And in the meantime, I find connection with my in-laws that wasn't there before. That's a great part of the adventure.

Friday, October 9, 2009

My first blog post!

Hello everyone and welcome to my first blog post!

I am excited about sharing our green, healthy adventure together.
My goals are to share my passions and adventures, and make a green, healthy lifestyle simple and accessible to anyone and everyone.

I plan to share everything from my own stories & experiences, articles, tips, resources, recipes and ideas for how we busy moms can have well families with minimal fuss.

I am also wild about education-- the more information we have, the better choices we can make.

Most of all, this blog will be FUN!

Thanks for joining me in this adventure!