I have a test in the Nutrition and the Environment class tomorrow, so today I’m focussing on studying (a noble goal don’t you think?). But one of the things I wanted to talk about was the changes that I’ve made in our household trying to decrease the amount of chemicals used and stored here.This decision was made as a result of starting an essay about the chemicals we actually have in our house. In order to read all the ingredient labels as I was typing, I placed all of them around me at the computer. Just from the fumes coming off the packages, I felt nauseous and had an upset stomach and had to stop working (that’s my excuse – and I’m sticking to it!). What I decided to do was find ways to replace the products that I use daily and get rid of the one timers (those products that I had brought into the house to fix a problem). I’m starting with removing Windex and replacing it with a vinegar and water mix (1:3). I put the mixture into a spray bottle and am also using it in the kitchen as clean up after cooking. It works well on coffee spills too. Yes, I know that the spray bottle is plastic – but until I find a stainless steel bottle, it will do.Next step was to find a replacement for furniture polish (I have used several different varieties) that will both nourish and clean my beautiful antique wood furniture. I made up a mixture of 2 parts olive oil to 1 part lemon juice (fresh) and put it into another spray bottle (used a Sharpie to write on the bottle – outgasing more phenols into the environment). It works really well – better than the other products combined. And smells wonderful – you have to put some elbow grease into it – but worth the work because the shine on the wood is beautiful to behold.Next steps, finding a replacement for Javex which I use to keep my white towels, dish clothes, and bed sheets clean. I’ve tried non-chlorine bleach but doesn’t work very well. Picked up some Borax yesterday and will try that today – also Hydrogen Peroxide 35% is supposed to work wonders. I’ll let you know the results of my experiments.I’m off to the library for a couple of hours to study!

Marni will be holding a “Meal Planning for Cancer” class Friday, February 5th and Sherri and I will be attending. Check out her site: http://www.marniwasserman.com. Beautiful site, lots of great information. Looking forward to the event.

Hopefully I can make your reading time worthwhile!I was talking with Mark (my husband) this morning – talking about what I was reading at the time (Healing the Planet: One Patient at a Time – by Dr. Jozef J. Krop, an Environmental Doctor – who knew there was such a thing?). I don’t think that Mark was fully awake – but he suggested that I should blog about what I’m reading. First to keep track of my journey through Holistic Nutrition school (I’ve already done one year, chugging along on the second), so that I can remember who I’ve met along the way and how they’ve influenced me. Second to maybe share a little of the knowledge that I’m learning. And third because I think he’s getting tired of listening every morning before he even gets his coffee into him.I can be a little overzealous when I find something that shocks me, frightens me, or just interests me. And I have to admit that Dr. Krop’s book has done all of the three. Especially the information on Hormone Disrupting Chemicals (see pages 270-291). HDCs are such chemicals as plastics, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals and other man-made toxins. They have a profound effect on our endocrine, nervous and immune systems – they work as hormone disruptors.So why are these HDCs important – and how do they affect us? 1. They affect the endocrine system by mimicking the actions of hormones. On embryos they can affect anatomical changes especially on the urinary and genital organs. 2. Not only can they mimic the actions (xenoestrogens), they can also block the receptors from the normal action of the hormones. 3. What’s amazing to me, is that these HDCs can work in only minute amounts in the body – amounts that the Toxic Nation report show are in our bodies at birth, passed on through our mothers blood and milk thereby affecting changes in 2nd and 3rd generations.See what I mean? A little overzealous? No wonder Mark finds waking up to this information a little challenging! Me – I just want to find ways that I can make changes in this family’s life so that we aren’t adding to the toxic load of the planet.I’m hoping we can walk this path together – REB