Bug Spray, Sunscreen, and Ketchup!
Summer time is often the time we layer chemicals on our bodies, go cook it all in with the sun and eat extra chemicals too!
Summer Mindset:
Summer happens every year and generally starts in May and doesn’t end until August. That’s ¼ of the year we take a vacation from our health. And the holidays swallow up another ¼ of the year. We eat & drink like we will never see summer again!
Bug Spray: It’s a bug eat human world out there!
The CDC reports that cases of disease from mosquito, tick and flea bites more than tripled in the U.S. from 2004 to 2016, and the rate of emergence of new or newly recognized pathogens is increasing. Tick-borne diseases, primarily Lyme disease, account for much of the increase. The incidence of Lyme disease has nearly doubled since 2004, with 36,429 cases reported in 2016.1
It feels like a catch 22. Lymes disease or neurotoxicity? There’s a solution!
Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus is a good botanical based bug spray. “Some testing has shown that concentrations of 20 to 26 percent PMD may perform as well as 15 to 20 percent DEET against both mosquitoes and ticks.” EWG Scientists do not know enough to determine differences between PMD and Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, but one study found that Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus provided longer protection than the equivalent concentration of synthetic PMD
doTERRA Terrashield
Ingredients:
Fractionated Coconut Oil, Ylang Ylang Flower, Tamanu Seed, Nootka Wood, Cedarwood Wood, Catnip Plant, Lemon Eucalyptus Leaf, Litsea Fruit, Vanilla Bean Absolute, Arborvitae Wood
*Can add geranium, peppermint, and black pepper oil.
-If going somewhere with increased tick exposure:
Picaridin is a synthetic pesticides made from plants that make black pepper.
“Picaridin does not carry the same neurotoxicity concerns as DEET, but has not been used as extensively by people. Overall, EWG’s assessment is that picaridin is a good alternative to DEET with many of the same advantages and without the same disadvantages.”
Skin Deep on Sunscreen:
Sunscreen is a body care product that consumers are directed to apply a thick coat over large areas of the body and reapply frequently.
Environmental Working Group-
“For decades, Americans have been told that sunscreen use is critical to prevent lasting skin damage and skin cancer from sun exposure. But the FDA has not ensured that the ingredients meant to provide such protection have been adequately tested for safety and efficacy.” Active ingredients in sunscreens function as either mineral or chemical UV filters that keep harmful rays from the skin. Each uses a different mechanism for protecting skin and maintaining stability in sunlight. The most common sunscreens contain chemical filters. These products typically include a combination of two to six of the following active ingredients: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate. Mineral sunscreens use zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. A handful of products combine zinc oxide with chemical filters.
***When the FDA began to consider sunscreen safety, it grandfathered in active ingredients from the late 1970s without reviewing the evidence of their potential hazards.***
“The good news: The FDA is finally proposing big changes that address many of our concerns, and should make all sunscreens safer and more effective.”
But wait: Those changes will not be in sunscreens on the shelves this year. For this year’s Guide, we assessed more than 1,300 products with SPF, including 750 currently available beach and sport sunscreens, and found that about two-thirds still offer inferior sun protection or contain concerning ingredients, such as oxybenzone, a potentially hormone-disrupting chemical that is readily absorbed by the body.” EWG Executive Report
Particular concern about oxybenzone – especially for kids
“Oxybenzone is one of the most commonly used sunscreen active ingredients, found in more than 60 percent of the non-mineral sunscreens in this year’s Guide. In 2008, EWG called on the FDA to investigate the safety of oxybenzone use in sunscreen, because of mounting evidence that the chemical readily penetrates the skin and could potentially disrupt the human hormone system.
The FDA’s proposal confirms our position, saying that although oxybenzone is one of the more thoroughly tested sunscreen ingredients, additional data is needed because existing tests raise health concerns. Of particular concern to the FDA were test results showing:
Oxybenzone is allergenic.
It is absorbed through the skin in large amounts.
It has been detected in human breast milk, amniotic fluid, urine and blood.
It is a potential endocrine disruptor.
Children may be more vulnerable to harm from oxybenzone than adults “because of the potential for higher absorption and bioaccumulation.”
The agency is requesting studies of oxybenzone that measure skin absorption and potential impacts on the hormone levels, reproduction and development.”
Solutions and Favorite Brands:
I absolutely LOVE what doTERRA has put out for sunscreen. I am doTERRA biased, BUT also super picky about what feels good on my skin and doesn’t clog my pores. The doTERRA Face lotion is so light and amazing. It don’t feel greasy and like I am suffocating. The Face + Body stick is awesome for the kids. Loving this line. Image is linked. ThinkSport is my go to for long days on the boat or at the beach. It is thicker and more water resistant.
Summer Eats:
What’s UP with the Ketchup?
A tablespoon-size serving has four grams of sugar, which is more sugar than a typical chocolate chip cookie. And how many kids actually limit their serving size to one tablespoon? My boys manage to squeeze two or three tablespoons onto their burgers before I even sit down, which means they are consuming up to 12 grams of sugar — an entire day’s worth for a child — through their condiment alone.
Grilled Meats- Heterocyclic Amines, Carcinogens
When meat is cooked at high temperatures that cause charring, the proteins react to form heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which have been associated with various cancers like colon, breast and prostate cancer. Grilling is even worse because the meat gets coated with other cancer-causing chemicals in the coal smoke and fat drips that cause flare-ups.
Solutions: Marinating your meat with a wet rub can prevent up to 90 per cent of harmful HCAs. Trimming the fat also helps. And don't eat those blackened bits!
“ Cooking under intense heat, frying, and especially grilling on an open flame have resulted in high levels of harmane and other HCAs (Pfau & Skog, 2004; Herraiz, 2000).”
Popcorn-Toxin: Diacetyl
This hidden toxin gets released into the air from the artificial butter flavor during popping. Long-term diacetyl exposure can cause scarring and inflammation of your airways, leading to an irreversible condition called "popcorn lung" or bronchiolitis obliterans. In fact, in 2012 a Colorado man won a $7.2 million lawsuit after he developed popcorn lung from his 2-bag-a-day habit!
-ACT popcorn removing it because employees having issues.
-Linked to alzhemiers, loaded with harmful preservatives THBQ, Mega Trans fats, and
artificial flavorings.
Solutions: Choose non-butter-flavoured microwave popcorn, or air-pop or cook your
popcorn on the stovetop:
3 T coconut or Avocado oil, 1/3 cup GMO Free Kernals
Nutritional Yeast Seasoning: (awesome on kale chips too)
1 1/2 TBS nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp pink salt, or to taste
Summer Salads-
The first ingredient in Brianna’s Homestyle Blush Wine Vinaigrette is refined sugar and it contains over 3 teaspoons of sugar in just 2 tablespoons. Although there’s a picture of a strawberry on the label there isn’t one ounce of fruit in this dressing. Can you imagine sprinkling 3 teaspoons of white sugar on your healthy green salad before eating it? Yuck! Many other brands are sweetened with added sugar, corn syrup (Hidden Valley), and high fructose corn syrup (Ken’s).
Solution: Make your own! So easy. My go to is 1/3 vinegar of choice, 2/3 olive oil, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. You really can’t mess it up!
Smoothies, Ice Cream, and Popsicles:
Breyer’s Oreo Vanilla Icecream 14 grams in 1/2 cup + chemicals
Outshine Fruit Popsicles 14 grams of sugar = 4 tsps of sugar
Solution:
Collagen Powder, Protein Powder, Popsicle molds, greens, and low glycemic fruits.
Blimey Limey fro 24 teaspoons of sugar...108 grams!
*I am not a medical doctor or registered dietician. Please consult your medical doctor before making any nutritional changes to your diet.