Health Advice for Women

Can one person save 86,000 barrels of oil in a day. Yes! If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 25oz petroleum-based diswashing liquid with a plant-derived product we would save 86,000 barrels of oil. This is enough oil to heat and cool 4,900 U.S. homes for a year.

That’s inspiring to think of how much power we have with our purchases! So here’s my challenge to you. Convince one relative or neighbor to do this and ask them to do the same. Don’t just replace your dishwashing liquid, replace your laundry detergent, shampoo, liquid soap, and household cleaners with a plan-derived product! Think of how much oil we will all save then. We could end the oil crisis with our choice of purchases. To top it off, plant-derived products are much more healthy. It’s all I have in my home, in fact there are no products in my home made with petrochemicals. It’s time to move into the 21st century, get rid of those petroleum based products and help save our world!!

I went online and sent my sister a complete array of personal and household products that are plant-derived versus made with petrochemicals. Go to mothernature.com and the shipping is free.

Once I realized I had multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) I was relieved, but not for long because finding treatment for multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is really difficult. The best treatment you will find is to improve your environment, I’ve benefited strongly from lifestyle changes I’ve continued to make for the past 7 years. Unfortunately, there is no immediate cure. Removing the toxins from your environment will allow your body to heal and this is what I started working on immediately. There was a lot of trial and error in my process. I hope in this website I will be able to give you my insight to my process, and that you can benefit from what I learned along the way.

I’m not a doctor, but luckily I have a mind that loves problem solving. Not to sound ultra dramatic, but I was problem solving to save my life, at least a life worth living. My major symptoms were chronic fatigue, headaches, sinus congestion, joint pain, allergies, stomach indigestion and depression. I had about 2 good hours in the day when I felt decent. I had dealt with allergies and stomach indigestion most of my life, but the list of symptoms started getting longer and chronic fatigue was the final straw. I didn’t have the energy for normal functions, much less to exercise and I’ve always loved exercise. Stay tuned for my next article on “How to treat MCS”.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity as described in wikipedia.org:

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is described as a chronic condition characterized by adverse effects from exposure to low levels of chemicals or other substances in modern human environments. Suspected substances include smoke, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fabrics, scented products, petroleum products, and paints.

Biochemist Martin L. Pall says that that MCS sufferers “report being exquisitely sensitive to a wide range of organic chemicals,” and from 100 to 1000 times more sensitive to hydrophobic organic solvents than normal people.

MCS has also been termed toxic injury (TI), chemical sensitivity (CS), chemical injury syndrome (CI),^[3] 20th Century Syndrome, environmental illness (EI), sick building syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI), and toxicant-induced loss of tolerance (TILT).

Could low levels of the substances above be damaging your health? Most people don’t believe it until they are so sick they will try anything. The first time I read this description of multiple chemical sensitivity it was an OMG moment. Below are the symptoms of MCS.

Symptoms of MCS may be mild to disabling. The symptoms are essentially any symptom which the patient finds distressing and attributes to this cause. A partial list of common symptoms include anaphylactic shock, difficulty breathing, chest pains and asthma, skin irritation, contact dermatitis, and hives or other forms of skin rash, headaches, “brain fog” (short term memory loss, attention deficit), neurological symptoms (nerve pain, paralysis, weakness, trembling, restless leg syndrome, etc.), tendinitis, seizures, visual disturbances (blurring, halo effect, inability to focus), extreme anxiety, panic and/or anger, suppression of immune system, digestive difficulties, nausea, indigestion/heartburn, vomiting, diarrhea, food intolerances, which may or may not be clinically identifiable (e.g., lactose intolerance, celiac disease): commonly wheat and dairy, joint and muscle pains, extreme fatigue, lethargy and lassitude, vertigo/dizziness, abnormally acute sense of smell, sensitivity to natural plant fragrance, natural pine turpines, insomnia, dry mouth, dry eyes, and an overactive bladder.

It’s daunting reading through this list, but realizing I had MCS and taking action has enable me to live a sorta normal life. Check out this list below, if you have any of these in your enviroment, get rid of them!

Food

• Tartrazine (a.k.a Yellow #5 or FD&C E102), and other Azo dyes (True allergy must first be excluded)
• Caffeine (may cause migraine headaches apart from MCS)

Environmental

• Petrol or gasoline, diesel and exhaust fumes
• Petroleum-based products, including petroleum jelly, tar, asphalt
• Tobacco or any form of smoke
• Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and other agricultural chemicals
• Industrial cleaning chemicals, such as dry cleaning fluid
• Formaldehyde and aldehyde
• Glues, varnishes, polishes, paints, solvents, paint-thinners, and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s)
• Bleach, fabric softeners, wool-wash, and laundry detergents
• Perfumes, lotion, after-shave lotion, nail polish, or skin care products
• Air-fresheners, deodorizers and scented candles
• Shampoos, hairsprays and hair care products
• Household cleaning chemicals
• Dishwashing liquid and dishwasher detergent (may cause migraine headaches for those without MCS)
• Marking pens, such as highlighters (significant exposure will cause headaches for anyone)

Houseplants can improve indoor air quality and remove pollutants and toxins, counteracting outgassing and balancing internal humidity.

Research has shown that these 10 plants are the best for indoor air quality.
* Reed palm
* Dwarf date palm
* Boston fern
* Janet Craig dracaena
* English ivy
* Australian sword fern
* Peace Lily
* Rubber plant
* Weeping fig and Areca palm

Start with a few plants in your house or office, and if you love flowers and plants like I do, you will end up with a house full! So treat yourself with a new houseplant, get a Potted Peace Lily from JustFlowers.com.

Allergies and Asthma, If only I had known what I know now about allergies and asthma today! Well, that’s the main reason www.healthadviceforwomen.com exists. We hope you learn how to get healthy, stay healthy and pass on this information to others.

Below are 3 “killer” tips and you want to avoid these things at all costs if you have allergies and asthma.

1. New paint and new construction has many many chemicals off-gassing, and it takes many months for them to fully off-gas. I avoid new paint and new construction like the plague!! Have you ever walked into a new house or a room that was just painted, I get an immediate heahache. But if you need to paint the inside of your house or office use no VOC paint. There are low VOC paints, but they still have too many chemicals. If you have to do construction, move out until it’s over and chose products that are eco friendly and have very little or no off-gassing. I would use a contractor that specializes in “green construction”. You can find good contractors at National Contractors.com, but inquire about their previous “green projects” and talk to their references. Your health is important!

2. Never get new carpets. New carpets are loaded with chemicals and they also take months and years to off-gas. Carpets and carpet pads trap mold, mildew and lots of other allergens as well. If you really want to help yourself or a loved one, throw out your carpets and get tile or hardwood floors. Ripping out every square foot of carpet in my house was the best thing I ever did for my health. Fastfloors.com has beautiful porcelain, marble and travertine tiles and hardwood floors. Their prices are great and they offer free shipping. I did most of my house in porcelain tiles because they are non porous and the best thing for allergies, but I also put in hardwood stairs, some travertine which is beautiful, and I get complements from everyone who sees it.

3. I know changing habits is really hard, but this next tip is really a big one. Stop using perfume or scented body and bath products, and replace all your cleaning products and detergents with eco alternatives. I’ve had people tell me “I’ve been wearing perfume for 20 years, that’s not hurting my allergies”. That’s what people that smoked cigarettes said for years until they got cancer. Perfume is made from man-made chemicals and believe me they are bad for you and everyone else on the planet. MotherNature.com has a great selection of natural unscented bath and body products, as well as eco cleaning products and they offer free shipping! Click on the banner below for free shipping, save money, gas and time!

Do you want the real answers on how to improve your allergies? When I was gobbling down decongestants and taking allergy shots in the 1970’s my allergist told me he cure my allergies. Wrong! Thirty five years later I have learned more about “improving my allergies” than you want to hear, so I’ll impart my wisdom in the “Reader’s Digest” version.

Allergy symptoms. Allergies can cause everything from a runny nose, congested head, itchy eyes, nose and throat, headaches, joint pain, fatigue, vomiting, stomach aches, coughs and a variety of other things. Our bodies all react differently, but the allergy symptoms are your body saying “help”!

Avoid. If we could live a glass bubble with filtered air, those of us with air-born allergies would be a lot better off, but we can’t! It’s really hard to avoid all the things we are allergic to and knowing what one is allergic to is a science in itself. If allergies are wreaking havoc in your life, take charge of your life and clean up your environment, start with my list of 10 things to improve your allergies.

1. Kill your carpets, rip them out and install tile or hardwood- this is the #1 thing I recommend! Buy your hardwood or tile online at Fastfloors.com FREE Shipping, their prices are great and they offer free shipping.

2. Install Air Filters, they are a life saver! I’ve tried dozens of brands and varieties. I recommend the HealthMate Air Filters and you can find them online at Real Goods, they will clean your air and leave you feeling so much better. They are expensive, but worth every cent.

3. Remove as many allergens or toxins from your home and work environment. Mold and dust mites are usually the biggest problems, but below are some other big problems and you need them out!

4. Perfume or scented products- read the label, if it says “fragrance” throw it out. You may have trouble finding unscented shampoo, lotion, soap and cosmetics. MotherNature.com has a great selection of natural products and they offer free shipping! You can now buy CLINIQUE make-up online, it’s fragrance free too

, click on the pink box and you get a free gift with purchase!

5. House-hold cleaning products, only buy the natural kind and unscented. Fantastic, Comet, Windex and their close relatives are all made with harsh chemicals, not good! Here’s a link to my favorite products MotherNature.com. You will also want to avoid fertilizers in your grass, flowers and plants, it’s pure poison to you and the environment.

6. Laundry soap- you need to toss your Tide, Cheer, etc. It’s made with petrochemicals and not good for you. Go buy the natural kind that’s not made with chemicals, here’s a link to buy them online and the shipping is free! Chemicals are bad for you, and over periods of time they weaken your system.

7. People with allergies do best with leather furniture vs. cloth, try to take the minimalist approach. No drapes, feather pillows and avoid synthetic materials. Install blinds instead of drapes that hold dust, JustBlinds.com has the best prices I’ve found on the web for all varieties of blinds. I prefer organic cotton for bed spreads, sheets and comforters that I can wash a million times. I love to shop at Gaiam, they have a great selection of organic bedding, pillows, and towels. Free Shipping on $25 or more at Gaiam.com. Use code AFSUM.

8. Exercise every day! ~ It’s just that easy, start walking and move up to more cardiovascular exercises that get your heart pumping. You want to strengthen your body, lungs and heart. The stronger your body is the better it will handle those nasty allergies.

9. Eat real food! I’m talking fresh veggies and fruits, lean meats, nuts, legumes. Stay away from frozen or processed foods, that’s right no fast food and restaurant food only on occasion. Go organic if you can.

10. Last, but not least. Your body needs to get stronger and desensitize. I’ve tried everything from allergy testing, allergy shots, homeopath, acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, yoga, elimination diets, vitamin’s and the list goes on. I will spend more time on this in another article, but until then feel free to leave me comments. I found some great doctors that helped me heal along the way, but I also found some doctors that were of no help. This will be frustrating, but we are here to help!