Shelley Pagitt

I know. This is obvious, right? Well, I have delayed sharing this ‘health tip’ for a long time because it does seem so obvious. I mean, it has been decades since the FDA put a warning on cigarette packaging in an attempt to deter smoking. But, a situation the other day shoved this tip to the top of my list.

I was leaving work and saw a young, co-worker unlocking her bicycle with a long cig hanging off of her lips. I was taken by surprise and asked her why/when she started smoking. She replied. “Oh, it’s my new thing.” :O!! She is not the only intelligent, informed 20 something person I know who has recently taken up this nasty, life-and-health-altering habit. What is going on?
They are beyond the age of peer pressure. They have heard the compelling research against smoking. They don’t need to rebel against their parents. I don’t get it.

Smoking is a proven CAUSAL factor in many health issues including cancer, and has devastating ramifications personally and collectively in every area of our society; financial, economical, environmental, biological, psychological, emotional, relational, etc. I understand the issues of free will and personal choice especially when a decision solely affects the decision maker. On the surface smoking looks like it falls into the personal choice category. But, peel one thin layer away and the nicotine and dozens of other harmful chemicals included in a single cigarette are blown in the face of each family member, friend and tax payer as we all pay the hidden costs associated with smoking.

For your body. For your health. For the struggling health care system. For your loved ones. For Pete’s sake. Please stop smoking!
P.S. If you decide to smoke, please keep your windows closed and take care of your butts and don’t throw out a burning cigarette for the rest of us to breathe in.

This information was in my email box this afternoon. Please read it and make the requested call or send an email to those who can actually initiate government changes. And, at the very least, replace your antibacterial soaps with natural ones.

“How many times a day do you wash your hands? What about doing dishes or brushing your teeth? Most of us do these things throughout the day. Unfortunately, many products like hand soap, toothpaste and dish soap contain a toxic chemical called triclosan. This chemical is being widely used in the U.S. despite evidence that it is a real and imminent threat to public and environmental health. Can you take action today to help ban this unnecessary chemical?

Many of us buy products containing triclosan, perhaps unknowingly, simply because chemical companies have marketed it in such a way to make us believe the product is more protective against illness. Triclosan products like soap, toothpaste, deodorant and makeup are often labeled as “antibacterial,” “antimicrobial,” “Microban” or “Biofresh.” Despite FDA expert advice that antibacterial soaps are no more effective than regular soap and water in fighting illness, the dangerous substance is still allowed in too many consumer products.

One of the worst things about triclosan is it persists in the environment and is recognized, like BPA, as an endocrine disruptor — a substance that interferes with the body’s hormones. There have been massive recalls and new legislation to ban BPA in products like baby bottles and food containers, but there’s been very little done about triclosan, which could be just as damaging. We need Congress to take strong action to ban all non-medical uses of triclosan. Help protect your family by signing the petition to ban triclosan for non-medical uses today.”

Please follow this link and sign up for the newsletter. It is a good thing!

Whether we want to acknowledge them or not, toxins are everywhere. We interact with tens to hundreds of them on a daily basis and they are wreaking havoc on our bodies. Particularly our hormones, but since the hormones regulate the majority of our other body systems, our entire bodies are affected. These toxins are called ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS.

Pesticides like DDT were introduced in 1936 and have grown in use and strength since then. There have been many studies confirming abnormal development in animal life and even some connections are being made in human growth, development and and fertility as it relates to toxin exposure. Remember the defected frog that was found years ago? I do. It triggered my first thoughts that “all is not well” on our planet. Clearly the frogs are not the only victims of toxic overload.

THIS IS SERIOUS!!

Take a personal inventory of your environment and eliminate as many chemicals as possible including plastics, unnatural fibers (like polyester, micro-fiber, fleece, lycra, vinyl, rayon, etc.), chemical cleaners, faux leather/suede, perfumes, dyes, pesticides/herbicides, etc. If your list is long, start with your kids and know that their immune system is even more overloaded than yours. Keep going……

When you need to replace an item, look for a natural alternative. There are so many choices and as retailers catch on, there will be more! Enjoy the process and know that you are helping yourself and all those who live in your house.

I am passionate about Natural Homes and would love to coach you through the process and share tips and information I have learned on my journey.
If you want natural cleaning products try Shaklee. I have been using these products for years and I love the economic value as well as the quality. You can contact me and I will give you my number and tell you my favorites.

The tradition of making homemade stock and broth has been creeping back into mainstream kitchens after being lost to Swanson’s boxes for decades. This, is a great thing.

Stock, or bone broth, is rich in flavor and minerals and other micro nutrients. Most of us (read-everyone) are mineral deficient. Our diets lack minerals because the foods we eat grow in soil depleted of microorganisms with chemicals that force growth rather than nutrient rich soil that produces life giving food.
Other high mineral foods we no longer consume include; sea vegetables, bone marrow, unprocessed sea salt and mineral rich mountain water.

We can increase our minerals, the building blocks to all vitamins, by making bone broth or vegetable broth. Bones are a storehouse of minerals and by boiling them for 12-24 hours the minerals disperse into the broth and we reap the tasty benefits.

There are a few options for making bone broth. My favorite, and most thrifty, is to roast a chicken for one meal. Use the left over meat for a second meal and the bones for a third meal. Here’s how I do it.
I save the bones in a ziploc bag and freeze them if I’m not making broth right away. I also save the ends of my veggies, as I cook throughout the week in a separate freezer bag. When I’m ready to make broth I fill a heavy pot with water, add the bones and a handful of frozen veggie ends with a Tablespoon of sea salt, a few cracks of fresh pepper and a piece of sea vegetable (I like the mild flavor of kombu). Make sure the bones are covered with water and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 12-24 hours. Check your pot halfway through (for sure before you go to bed) and make sure there is enough water to make it through the remaining time).

When it is complete, remove from the heat. Strain broth and let it cool. The gelatinous top layer is just that, collagen rich gelatin. Great for hair, skin, nails and bones. Use the broth within a few days or freeze it for later use.

Life is better, in all ways, when we have people to share it with.

This is especially true for me in the area of healthy living. I have sought out and invested in friendships that respect and share my desire and effort to live naturally. Honestly, these friends are treasures to me. They have open minds and hearts, and want to learn how to create a life for themselves and their families that is sustainable (this means something different to each of us) and beneficial to all of creation.

If our primary relationships (husbands or teenage children for example), are in opposition or indifferent to ours, it becomes easier to adopt their ways. Life is already a lot of work and ’swimming upstream’ increases the difficulty. The company that we keep directly effects us and our behavior so having friends who share our desires helps us keep balanced.

I encourage you to seek out friends who will support you in your pursuit of more healthful ways. The changes that you make will be more likely to become good lifelong habits if you have someone by your side.

My conversation with Doug Pagitt on AM 950 from 12-13-09.

First step: Start eating butter.
Second Step: Throw away your partially hydrogenated oils and food like products that have processed oils in their ingredient list.

It’s okay to throw away “food” that you have purchased. It is better to “waste” it in the trash than to ingest it and create havoc in your body. So, please throw away your Crisco, Butter Flavored Crisco, non-stick pan spray (unless olive oil), Velveeta, American Cheese, Jif, Skippy, margarine, etc. These items are not natural and cause inflammation and throughout our bodies (joints, muscles, arteries (heart, erectile dysfunction, head aches), intestines (IBS), etc.

Try replacing Crisco with butter and coconut oil for baking. You can melt these oils and use them as a liquid vegetable oil replacer in most recipes. Butter is better for cookies and other baked goods that call for a solid oil. Coconut oil is high in Omega 3’s and is the most stable oil at high heat so I like to use it for searing meats and making stovetop popcorn as well as for curry and Thai dishes. It is also antibacterial and makes a great skin lubricant and natural sunscreen. Olive oil is great for salad dressings and for low heat sauteing.

Video conversation from Doug Pagitt Radio (12-06-09).

I am surprised that people are still buying and using margarine and other hydrogenated oils with the recent media coverage of the negative health implications from ingesting these processed oils. So, I want to exclaim to all who will listen, “Butter is Better!”.

The origins of butter go back thousands of years to when our ancestors first started to domesticate animals. The first written reference to butter was found on a 4500 year old limestone tablet illustrating how butter was made. It is natural and a great source of beneficial Omega 3 fats. The best butter is from pastured cows with a grass diet who are not given hormones or antibiotics (organic) or grains. This butter is more nutritious and also more expensive. Other butter is fine though, if it is rbgh free, and always better than margarine or soy based butters like Earth Balance.

Butter and other animal (saturated) fats have gotten a bad rap and blamed for coronary heart disease. But if you trace their history, you will see that this has been misrepresented and heart disease and other inflamatory health conditions directly correlates with the increase in consumption of hydrogenated (highly processed) oils. (Check out Weston A. Price for research).

Some benefits of butter-
*Butter is rich in the most easily absorbable form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health.
*Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
*Vitamin D found in butter is essential to absorption of calcium.
*May promote fertility in women.
*Is a source of quick energy, and is not stored in our bodies adipose tissue.
*Reduces cravings for simple carbohydrates and sugar and keeps you feeling full longer acting as a n appetite suppressant.
*Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children’s brain and nervous system development.
*Is your only source of anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints.
…. and so much more.

I talked about Butter on Doug Pagitt Radio (11-22-09) if you want to take a look.

Sometimes I just want to SHOUT into a megaphone and make people listen!!!
This is one such moment.

I just watched A THOUSAND SUNS on the Food Matters website. It is a short (27 mins) documentary about the inseparable relationship between agriculture and spirituality in the Gama Valley in Africa. I am sickened every time I hear a reductionistic statement or report on health when the issue at hand is ALWAYS more complex.
This film presents many sides of a very complicated situation – world hunger, philanthropy, biodiversity, sustainability, history, genetic modification, production, future generations, ecosystems, spiritual practices. big business, world politics, etc. Where does the benefit lay?

I am a fan of listening to the wisdom of the past. We don’t have to go ‘back to a better time’ but we do need to consider as many aspects of a situation as possible before coming to a conclusion and acting in ways that prevent a sustainable future!

I IMPLORE YOU TO WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!!

The Holidays are quickly approaching and often accompanied with large meals and irresistibly tempting treats. I have discovered a few helpful ideas over the years. Maybe you are ready to try a new approach this year or have your own ideas to share.

1-Offer to bring the veggies and other foods that you can make in a more nutritious way. I like to bring steamed cauliflower (cut stem off but keep the bunch in tact) with butter and salt and pepper. I steam peas as well and pour them around the edges of the cauliflower. The presentation looks pretty and they make a tasty pair. If there are lots of kids, making a cheese sauce to pour over the top is usually a winner.
I also like to make the yams sans marshmallows. Peel and dice yams. Put in a baking dish and sprinkle with sea salt. Drizzle with maple syrup and little pats of butter all around. Cover and bake at 375 (or whatever temp your oven is already baking at) for about 20-30 minutes. Serve hot.
2- As the hubbub of getting the meal on the table begins, drink a full glass of water before you sit down to eat. This will fill you up so maybe your eyes and your stomach will be more evenly matched for the meal event.
3- Enjoy your time with friends and family and enjoy your food! Eat smaller portions of the less healthful items and just take your time.
4- Get up and do the dishes.
5- Go for a walk. Make it a new tradition and get everyone to join you. They want to but will need someone to motivate them. Let it be you.
6- For Pete’s Sake- DO NOT USE FAKE WHIPPED CREAM! I hope we are all capable of buying a pint or two of good, fresh whipping cream, adding a dash of sugar and vanilla and whipping some tasty pie topping. Try it!

Happy Holidays~