Cunsumer Report on Arsenic

Some very discouraging news has reached me through a fellow mother with a mission. There is now a consumer report that tells us that there is a level of arsenic in rice products that cannot be ignored.

 http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/11/arsenic-in-your-food/index.htm

This report goes so far as to warn that rice milk is not suitable for babies or toddlers. When I took my son off of cow milk, guess what I gave him? You guessed it. When he had a Toxic Element Profile done years ago, we were shocked to see that he did have a touch of arsenic in his system. Now we know where it came from. 

My family currently lives on rice. I have been feeding my family quite large amounts of brown rice in the form of stir fries and pasta for years, because it is the most affordable whole grain we could eat that is not contaminated with gluten. I am at a loss. There are other whole grains that are gluten, corn, and soy free. They are more expensive. They would require me to re-learn how to cook... again.

My current plan for this moment is to "Keep Calm and Carry On,"  and not "Freak Out and Scream." I find it more productive.

For starts, we are currently doing all we can to support our son's methylation cycle, which is our natural system for cleansing the body from toxins. He gets magnesium, folic acid, and B6 everyday, in addition to a slew of other good things. We will at some point do another Toxic Element Profile. It is unfortunately an expense not covered by insurance, but if we find heavy metals, his doctor can oversee a round of chelation therapy to help extract them from his body. We can test his brother, too. (On a side note, his brother has thankfully been drinking almond milk.) I will also at some point ease us into eating more of the expensive, corn free, soy free, and gluten free grains, and less rice. Some lemon doTERRA essential oil in our daily regimen will probably be cleansing as well.

The report mentions that there are producers that plan on doing testing and such, but really, the problem is not really the rice.Ultimately, this issue is a problem that engulfs us all, rice eater or no. When the water we drink and that our food is grown in is poisoning us, it is a global environmental issue. It is about our world and how we care for it. The more toxic our world becomes, the closer the level will come to our toxin tip, and the more health issues we will face. Autism has increased to 1 in 88. Imagine their toxin tip levels, which are lower than the general populous, and imagine what issues we will face if this all continues. 

I'll keep telling myself that 'Freak Out and Scream' is not productive....

What's the Dirt on Synthetic Soap?

Lately I have discovered natural mineral makeup. People who sell this stuff claim that the norms in the commercial world are toxic and we absorb these things in our blood stream. I believed these statements after perusing some ingredient lists and running some of them through Wikipedia. I am an avid makeup wearer, and it's amazing the amount of these chemicals I have been putting on my face all these years. To start combating this problem, I've just ordered some lovely samples from etsy seller www.theallnaturalface.etsy.com

This experience led me to think about what other toxins I am exposing myself to voluntarily and what is my sensitive son with autism being exposed to in our home? If food additives and pollution can bother him, what is he absorbing into his bloodstream through his skin?

I can only attack a question like this bit by bit. My main focus lately has been soap. I have been searching for a natural supply of soap that is affordable for us. The natural food store has some, which are kind of spendy. I love the handmade soaps on etsy, but I can't always afford the $5 a bar plus shipping. I was thinking of learning how to make it myself. I have been reading a book called Essentially Soap by Dr. Robert S. McDaniel. He has some great recipes I want to try someday. Also in his book he explains how during WWII the oils and supplies to make soaps were scarce, and so synthetic detergents were used, and it has remained that way to this day. So I have been washing my son with synthetic detergents. Great.

Making my own soap would require quite an investment in materials and having enough time Eli-free to handle the dangerous lye without him around. Those things are not happening right away. For the long term plan, I still intend to be a soaper, so watch out friends, you may be the unlucky recipient of mysterious samples. :)



Just when I was getting frustrated, I found this bar at my local Macey's grocery store. It was 99 cents! It is Kirk's Original Coco Castile. Castile means it is made with plant based oils. I wish they would name it something else, because if I hadn't known the word Castile, I would have looked over it easily. I washed with it last night, and it was NICE. So much lather and moisture, something a synthetic soap cannot give. Here are the ingredients:

Kirk's natural formula includes: Coconut soap, water, coconut oil, vegetable glycerin, natural fragrance.

Good bye Lever 2000, we are never going back.

I'm sure I'll be continuing this topic in another post, because trying to rid your home of chemicals is a big task!