My friend Sally used to corral her three teenage children to clean their house every Saturday morning. I was envious of her chutzpa to demand this of her kids, but the part of the story that was always tragic to me was that every Saturday afternoon without fail, Sally’s son Sam was sent to his room for hyperactive, “out of control” behavior.

Looking at the cause and effect of the son’s behavior through my lens of awareness of how neurotoxic many cleaning chemicals are, I could see it would make sense that the son’s central nervous system and brain could be reacting to these chemicals. Symptoms of neurotoxicity include lack of concentration, personality changes, depression, hyperactivity and the mimicking of psychiatric disorders.

Not being particularly “green,” the cleaning products Sally would buy for her kids to use were the standard store-bought fare readily available in supermarkets. Examples of neurotoxins found in such products include VOCs (furniture polish can contain VOCs), neurotoxic disinfectants, petroleum distillates, fragrances (scented products are notoriously neurotoxic,) and waxes (VOCs again in the solvents), to name a few.

Read the rest on HuffingtonPost

You can create a wide assortment of aromatherapy oils for the bath by adding essential oils to the Nourishing Bath Oil Blend below, or to any other nut or vegetable oil of your choice. The resulting oils can also be used for massage.

Ingredients for Carrier Oil
3 oz. almond oil
1 ½ oz. olive oil
1 oz. sesame oil
1 oz. canola oil
½ oz. wheat germ oil

Use 1-2 teaspoons of Aromatherapy Bath Oil per bath. (Note: Concentrated essential oils make the carrier oil stronger, so less oil is needed for the bath.)

Aromatherapy Oils to Add
Add 15-25 drops of essential oil to the carrier oil.

Essential Oil Choices
Juniper: Know for its purifying and detoxifying ability; it works especially well with the fatty layer of the skin, a place that holds many toxins.
Lemon: Cleansing and uplifting, it stimulates the circulatory system and helps fight against infection.
Grapefruit: Works on skin problems such as cellulite and “congested” skin; helps with substance abuse, is antiviral and antibacterial.
Geranium: Stimulates the lymphatic system to release toxins.
Rosemary: Combats fluid retention, cellulite, and lymphatic congestion.

A few others that are less commonly known essential oils used for special purposes:
Helichrysum: For alcohol and drug detox; helps the liver

By Annie B. Bond, author of Homemade Detox Baths (Green Chi CAfe, LLC, 2009), and other books including the recently published True Food (National Geographic, 2010).

Annie’s daughter Lily tells about the flu from her generation’s perspective, and what she has learned from her mom about how to kill germs in the home, dorm, or office using methods and products that are government-approved, but that won’t harm your health…or the environment.
See more>>>>

According to Breast Cancer Options, recent studies reveal that there is a 60 percent increased incidence of breast cancer among night shift workers, and researchers have classified night shift work as a possible carcinogen.
Read More Here>>>>

We humans are moving bodies of water. In HOMEMADE DETOX BATHS and I am so happy to show you how to use water—and the pleasures of a good soak—to cleanse and purify your systems. Sea salts and Epsom salts, clays and herbs, mud rich with minerals: these have been used for centuries to draw impurities from our skin. Here I gather my best recipes and formulas, native remedies and botanical knowledge to put in this guide for the healing waters…of home!

Spas and salons now have detox treatments–ionic foot baths, mud and seaweed wraps—that are hugely expensive. In HOMEMADE DETOX BATHS, I share the simple, effective and age-old principles they are based on. Most importantly I shows you how to put those principles to use at home, naturally and very inexpensively. I offer a wide range of options for treatments geared towards the reader’s own needs, skin type, moods and preferences.

Why is seaweed a natural skin purifier? What essential oils are most effective for dry skin? What is the skin’s acid mantle, and why is it important to maintain? How are toxins stored in, and released from, our bodies? I provide all of this information and more; all that you need to know to establish a rejuvenating regimen of cleansing, relaxing detox soaks. HOMEMADE DETOX BATHS: read it as you run the water…

HOMEMADE DETOX BATHS booklet has dozens of recipes using a variety of salts, herbs, seaweeds, essential oils, and other all-natural ingredients. Each recipe is targeted towards a particular purpose, from specific detox needs to general stress relief.

Also Features:

* Natural Mud Bath
* Long Handled Wooden Brush
* Lavender Buds
* Seaweed for Soaks and Wraps
* Muslin “Tea” Bags
* Exotic Essential Oils
* Fabric-lined Willow Basket

Plus, if you act now, you’ll also get Fun Homemade Baths eBook completely free with your order!

$64.94 BUY NOW

As I write, my feet are soaking in a tub of warm water that has been mixed with 1 cup of bentonite clay and ground herbs. The herbs send their healing aromatherapy into the air, while the clay pulls impurities out of my skin. This is a natural detox treatment alternative to expensive ionic foot baths: simple, effective, and powerfully relaxing.

This foot bath is like all of the treatments in this eBook–an easy, natural way to relax and rejuvenate as you cleanse, in the serenity of your own home.

Native peoples have rubbed their bodies in mud to detox for centuries. This foot bath is much the same idea. I love learning about these natural methods, and sharing them with others who are searching for natural alternatives.

Plus, they cost pennies in comparison to their expensive counterparts. And they work in an age-old way. I feel such a lightness after I have give myself a foot bath—the detox feeling is palpable!

All these tips and more are in my new eBook, Homemade Detox Baths, including:
- Baths to rid your body of cellulite
- Essential oils to help you detox and relax
- How to properly use Epsom salts to calm your nervous system
- The secret behind Dead Sea salts.

And, I can’t resist…with your purchase I’ll include a free eBook with fabulous formulas for fun, fizzy baths. My daughter and I have had so much fun with these formulas over the years, I hope you give them a try, too.

If you place your order now, I’ll include Homemade Detox Bath Kit loaded with all the ingredients you need for the natural detox recipes, for only $64.95.

That’s a price well below any commercial massage or spa treatment. The basket will introduce you to a range of relaxing and revitalizing methods—with natural clays, aromatherapy and essential oils, dry and wet skin brushing, hard copy booklet, natural bath salts, and mineral-rich seaweeds—to renew yourself physically and spiritually.

Or, the eBook is available for $6.95.

According to Science News, bisphenol A, the hard plastic found in water bottles and other food containers, is found to cause heart arrhythmias and reproductive damage in animals, according to new studies. The plastic is also found to last much longer in the body than previously thought.

Hello Annie,
I am a new mother who is planning to puree and freeze foods for my infant. The most popular method of doing this is by using ice cube freezer trays. I have found some trays that are PVC, phthalate and BPA free. I am trying to decide between using this “safe” plastic or silicone. What do you recommend. Also someone just developed stainless steel ice cube trays that are due out this month. Do you know if that’s the best option? Thank you. —Jasmeen

Dear Jasmeen,
Awww, your question brings back memories! I remember making my own baby food and freezing it in freezer trays! Doing this is a great idea, and your questions about which ice cube trays to use are right on to protect your baby’s health. Your very best bet is to use the stainless steel ice cube trays. That being said, until they are available, I personally would choose the PVC, phthalate and BPA -free plastic over silicone. While plastics in general are under scrutiny for more endocrine disrupting chemicals than the ones you mention, in my opinion the jury is out regarding silicone. The chemical hazard database at Scorecard repeatedly reports that there isn’t enough research to determine the hazards for silicone.

The oil that makes silicone so malleable is the same oil that leaks from silicone breast implants and emerges, bit by bit, from silicone bakeware and bracelets, according to an engineer who works with it. Very small amounts of migrating silicone oil could get in food.

An FDA study found that women who had silicone breast implants that leaked had a statistically higher incidence of fibromyalgia and neurological symptoms.

I’m a firm believer in The Precautionary Principle, which recommends only using materials that have proven their safety over time. Especially for babies! I’d go for stainless steel. While not perfect (it can leach nickel), so far it is the safest food container besides glass. I envy you those baby years. They go by so fast!

One of my sisters gave me this beautiful shawl. One of my favorite colors is purple, and she knew I would adore the color and style. I do. The challenge for me was just about how it smelled when new. Given that it is imported, it was impregnated with some sort of disinfectant to cross the border. I expect most of you are familiar with it as it smells a bit like incense? What to do?

I first filled the sink with cool water to which I added 1 cup of white distilled vinegar. I gently swirled in the shawl until it was fully emersed and let it soak for an hour. I next washed the shawl by hand using Ecover’s wool detergent. After carefully rinsing I smelled the shawl, found the smell removed, and lay it out to dry. If it still had some residual odor I would have followed all the steps, above, but substituted baking soda for the vinegar. (I’d first have dissolved the baking soda in very warm water before adding to the cool water.)

Here’s another good reason to avoid processed food. BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) and BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) are commonly used as preservatives in some foods such as crackers and cereals to reduce rancidity. BHA is listed as a possible carcinogen with the World Health Organization and is considered an endocrine disrupter.

BHT is sometimes added to packaging cardboard. BHT may be toxic to the kidneys according to researchers at Michigan State University. It may also have a deleterious effect on those who take steroid hormones and oral contraceptives. BHT is prohibited in England.

If BHT and BHA are added to an ingredient used in a processed food, they need not be specifically listed. To avoid BHT and BHA you need to avoid processed food.