My ideal morning does not include my kids bringing me a tray filled with delicious breakfast goodies (like oatmeal banana pancakes) that I can eat before my feet even touch the floor.
No, my ideal is making pancakes for my family.
You see, I love pancakes. As in, guys, I LOVE pancakes!
And even though I’m in no way a morning person my absolute favorite thing to do very first thing is make a batch of fluffy, syrup covered circles of deliciousness.
For me, making pancakes is cathartic. I can go through the simple and familiar motions of adding milk and eggs to flour and baking powder and then pouring batter onto a hot skillet as my brain slowly and gently wakes up. By the time all the pancakes are cooked I’m ready to face my day and three young children.
Bliss, I’m telling you, pure bliss.
But my love for pancakes extends beyond just making them. They’re one of my favorite foods. And it all started with these banana oatmeal pancakes.
I remember as a child crowding around the electric skillet placed on the table in great anticipation as these perfect pancakes turned golden brown before our eyes. We even got to pour syrup out of a bottle shaped like a woman wearing an apron!
I carried this family recipe with me into adulthood but some changes needed to be made. I subbed out all non-real food ingredients and replaced them with nutrient dense ones. And I got rid of the sugar. Not only because it’s not good for us but also because who needs sugar INSIDE their pancake? Everyone covers them with syrup or some other topping so what’s the point? I just don’t get it.
The bananas and oatmeal in these pancakes make them so satisfying they won’t leave you hungry before lunch. And they freeze so well that when you reheat them they taste like they’re fresh off the skillet. So do yourself a favor and make a double batch. That way the morning you make them will be blissful, and so will many mornings after!
¼ cup butter (melted)
1½ cup whole wheat flour (could be subbed with a gluten-free all-purpose blend)
2 teaspoons aluminium-free baking powder
1½ cup rolled Oats, or other oatmeal
2 eggs
2 cups milk, any kind
2 bananas (mashed)
Melt butter and set aside to cool
Combine flour, baking powder, salt and oatmeal in a large mixing bowl and stir well
Combine cooled butter, milk, eggs and mashed banana in another bowl
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. There should be some lumps
Cook pancakes in a medium-high skillet until golden brown. Flip and cook until golden brown on other side.
If you plan to freeze leftovers, cool pancakes completely on a cooling rack and place layers of wax paper in between pancakes so they don't stick together.
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Original article and pictures take redandhoney.com site
Nutrition DOES Make a Difference in Oral Health Nutrition DOES Make a Difference in Oral Health @learningandyearning
My entire life I have been prone to cavities. My mom cooked nice meals, but I was also allowed to over-indulge in sugary treats. When I married, I began to change some of my eating habits as I’ve talked about in my post My Clean Food Journey. As I mentioned in that post, I haven’t craved or eaten much in the way of sugary foods in a long, long time. And I’ve eaten whole grains and lots of vegetables for years. Despite that, I still frequently got cavities. At my last dentist appointment two years ago (I always mean to go every year), I had 6 cavities. Yikes! They were each very small, but still. Six cavities! So, I had a dentist appointment recently and I dreaded it. But guess what? No cavities! As the hygienist cleaned my teeth, she kept marveling. “I can’t believe you haven’t had your teeth cleaned in two years. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.” Not only did I not have cavities, I had very little plaque build up. The other difference I found was that I usually experience some sensitivity when my teeth are being cleaned, and I had very little this time.
What could have made the difference? I am now convinced that eating according to Weston A. Price Foundation principles can work wonders. For about three years now, we have been purchasing all of our meat, eggs and raw milk from local farms who raise their animals on pasture without antibiotics and hormones. I didn’t begin immediately, but I now make broth from the bones of these animals, and I eat butter, lots of good quality butter.
It has been just about two years that I have been properly preparing grains, nuts and seeds. I soak my oatmeal overnight in water and lemon juice. I only use sprouted flour. (Sourdough and soaking flour are also acceptable methods). I soak nuts and seeds in a salt water brine and then dehydrate them before eating. All of this preparation helps to assure that I’m getting the minerals my body needs from these otherwise difficult to digest foods.
DISCLOSURE: In order for me to pay my blogging expenses, I may receive monetary compensation for my endorsement and/or link to products mentioned on this blog. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
And for the past year, I have been making yogurt and culturing vegetables as a way of preserving them and a way to add beneficial bacteria to my diet. I’ve also begun to use coconut oil, eat liver and take fermented cod liver oil. (I don’t credit the cod liver oil since I’ve only been taking it a short while). Is it possible that all of this is why my teeth were now in such good condition?
I haven’t changed how I’m caring for my teeth, except that I’ve been either making my own toothpaste, or buying more natural brands.
My dentist is Dr. Blanche Grube and she was a speaker recently at the HealThy Mouth Summit, (she mentions me in her talk when she’s asked about highlights of her career!) along with 20 other amazing speakers. The Summit consists of over 20 hours of expert presentations from the leading biological dentists, doctors, nutritionists and authors from around the world! A few of the speakers are parents who have found that a diet similar to the one I’ve been following has healed cavities in their children. Find out more about the Summit here.
Have you seen a change in your oral health after changing your diet?
Original article and pictures take learningandyearning.com site
Nourishing and delicious, this Nutrient-Dense Raw Milk Tonic is the perfect bedtime snack for little ones!
What’s best for baby.
Feeding the baby can be a pretty controversial topic. I remember all the unsolicited advice I got from well meaning mothers when I was a new mom. Whether it’s at church, at the park, in the grocery store line… everyone has an opinion! No matter our differences, though, there’s one thing we all agree on. It’s important to give our babies the best start we can!
As a mom of five I’ll be the first to admit that every kid is different. Different temperaments, different personalities, different tastes. But there’s one thing every baby has in common. A clean, unrestricted response system when it comes to food. They have no idea that the majority of adults would say brussels sprouts are disgusting, or that (everyone knows) lima beans are nasty. Babies also don’t know that crayons aren’t considered edible, or that dog food won’t supply them with the nutrients they need. ��
A eye-opener for mom.
Now, I’ve never been very conventional when it came to feeding my kids. With my oldest I tried the whole baby cereal thing, and it seemed like an immense waste of money to me. Then I tried a baby food grinder, and that was a waste of time. By my third I was pureeing my own baby food. But I still felt that it wasn’t worth the time, he was over that smooth stuff faster than I could make it! They all wanted what I was eating, so I gave it to them.
It seemed to be the easiest and best way, but by kid number four, I knew something needed to change. After finding out I couldn’t have gluten, or eggs, or dairy, or broccoli, or garlic, or carrots, or – the list was seeming infinite – I hit the books (or the internet) trying to figure out what was wrong. Much research lead me to realized that I and a few of my children were dealing with leaky gut issues that were contributing to our constant sickness and allergic reactions to food everyone else seemed fine with.
An unconventional start.
After more studying and prayer I realized that the way I was feeding my babies were eating was not giving their guts the best start. Contrary to popular opinion, rice cereal or oatmeal is not the best food for your baby. They don’t have the enzymes needed to properly digest grains until their molars come in (usually around 14-18 months), so starting off with grain-free, easy to digest foods is so important!
And so, even though the first child is usually considered the Guinea pig, number four became mine! When she was around one year old we started the GAPS diet as a family(you can read more about that here). And it was eye-opening. She didn’t eat grains (not even gluten-free ones) until she got her molars around 18 months. Instead, when she ‘started solids’ we introduced her to bone broth, avocados, raw egg yolks from pastured hens, homemade yogurt, and boiled veggies. After about 6 months on that diet we began introducing gluten-free grains. Let me tell you, it was not easy, but I know that it was worth it.
Nourished Beginnings.
If you’ve been on the fence or wondering if there’s a better way to start your babies off on solid foods, let me recommend a wonderful resource to you. My friend Renee, from Raising Generation Nourished, has a new book hot off the press all about giving babies the best start possible! Nourished Beginnings hit the stands last week and I was one of the first to get a copy!
Let me tell you, friends, this book is wonderful. Renee provides recipes that encourage little ones to develop a broad palate and become and adventurous, well-rounded eaters. From simple starts to recipes the whole family can enjoy together, the recipes are nutrient dense and flavor-full.
Renee encourages the use of traditional, real-foodssuch as bone broth, veggies, eggs, and meats, and includes recipes for common baby ailments such as colic, fevers, and tummy aches. There’s even a wonderful little section on first treats that I’m excited to try (forget my 18 month old – I’m totally eating that Raw Cocoa Avocado Pudding myself at nap time)!
Nutrient-dense Raw Milk Tonic.
I’m excited to share a wonderful recipe from Nourished Beginnings with you today, as well as give away a copy! Make sure you scroll down to the bottom and enter to win a copy! As for the recipe, it’s a delicious, warming, nutrient-dense raw milk tonic. Perfect for calming down little ones before bed at night, or waking them up on a chilling morning.
While I shy away from giving my babies conventional milk, due to over-processing and the unhealthy diets of the cows, I have no qualms about giving my little ones fresh, raw milk. I also have no issues feeding my children raw egg yolks, as long as they come from pastured hens. Though some may frown upon eating raw eggs, I’ve never had any of my children react to them, and even I can eat them despite my intolerance to conventional eggs!
If you’re not convinced, though, you can leave out the yolk in the recipe below and/or just add in a healthy oil like avocado, olive, or coconut oil instead.
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks! ��
This popcorn is a nice change from the regular butter and salt version and, with the addition of nutritional yeast and garlic, it has a nourishing twist. So, yes, it’s healthy popcorn!
This popcorn is a nice change from the regular butter and salt version (which is delicious too). Plus, the addition of nutritional yeast and garlic give it a nourishing twist. So, yes, it’s healthy popcorn!
Nutritional yeast provides B vitamins, while garlic is a powerful antioxidant.
The savory popcorn makes a great healthy snack, but I will admit to having it for dinner on a few exhausted occasions!
In a large stock pot, heat the oil on medium-high. Add the popcorn kernels and shake the pot shaking to be sure all kernels are coated with oil and spread in a single layer.
Cover with the lid and shaking the pot back and forth throughout the popping process (not continually, just every now and then). This helps prevent scorching the kernels or popped corn.
Once popping slows to approximately once every 5 seconds (or so), turn off the heat, and shake the pot until popping stops.
Add butter or ghee to the pot and melt. Pour over the popcorn and stir to combine.
Sprinkle sea salt, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and pepper over the popcorn. Stir to distribute evenly.
Enjoy your healthy popcorn!
*Note from Ann: Popcorn is a favorite in our home. In fact, with six teenagers we go through a ton! I love this easy way to add valuable nutrition and fats to something they already love to snack on. Garlic has awesome antibacterial punch and nutritional yeast is packed with a number of vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber and, perfect for popcorn, it has a pleasing cheesy flavor! Thanks for sharing Stacy!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy through our links, we earn a small commission, which helps to keep this site going so that we can continue to offer free and useful content, so thanks! Original article and pictures take keeperofthehome.org site
“Natural” food colors may be to blame for your child’s mysterious allergic reactions. Annatto and carmine can be just as harmful as artificial food dyes.
As a fairly new mom, I remember being shocked when my sweet 18-month-old son started violently and repeatedly banging his head against anything. Even concrete. Within no time, his sensitive little forehead would drip with blood.
I knew something was very wrong, but had no idea what it could be. Was his newfound aggression just a stage?
One night after my head-banging son was tucked in bed, I happened to stumble across online testimonies about other children with head banging issues. Strangely enough, their behaviors completely changed once their parents removed annatto from their diets.
What is annatto?
Annatto, extracted from South American annatto seeds, is used to naturally color orange or yellow foods. Because its properties easily bind to milk proteins, it’s frequently used to color dairy products like cheese, and cheese items like Goldfish and Cheez-It crackers.
Unfortunately, annatto causes just about as many reactions as artificial colors, including headaches, irritability, restlessness, sleep disturbance, and head banging in young children.
Once I discovered this, I searched our pantry and refrigerator and immediately removed any product with annatto.
My son had been exclusively breastfed, then started on fresh vegetable and fruit purees. His diet quickly expanded to include meats, dairy, and grains. But we introduced him to snack foods when he hit the year and a half mark. He particularly loved cheesy crackers. And since it was in the middle of summer, he liked to cool down with natural (yet processed) ice pops.
Because they all contained annatto, I got rid of his beloved cheesy crackers, ice pops, and yellow cheese.
Within days our son quickly changed back to his normal self. After we saw the drastic change with our own eyes, we were so relieved to have our sweet little boy back.
Because annatto is a color taken from a plant, it’s often called “natural color” on ingredient lists. It’s not the only natural color that’s known to cause adverse affects – carmine is another.
Carmine is cochineal extract, a red coloring made of the pulverized bodies of dead female cochineal insects. (Yes, the red is extracted from ground-up bugs.) Aside from a gross-out factor, carmine is known to aggravate asthma and it also can cause anaphylactic shock.
While natural colors like beta carotene, beet powder, caramel color, saffron, turmeric, or fruit and vegetable juices are safe, children with known food sensitivities should avoid ingesting products made with annatto and carmine.
Red No. 40, also called Red Dye 40 or Red 40, causes aggression, hyperactivity, temper tantrums, kicking, uncontrollable kicking and screaming, nervousness, dizziness, and headaches. Red No. 40 is found in all kinds of processed foods like candy, soda pop, Pop Tarts, Kool-Aid, Cheetos, Doritos – and even in vitamins and medications.
And Yellow No. 5, also called tartrazine or Yellow Dye 5, causes other reactions, including asthma, eczema, hives, hyperactivity, irritability, lack of attention, migraines, restlessness, sleep disturbances, and carpal tunnel syndrome. (Go here and here for further reading.)
In what certainly seems to be a distinct correlation, hyperactivity, head banging, and restless legs became common symptoms in children after processed foods were introduced to American diets in the 1960s.
What you can do if you suspect food dye sensitivity
For parents who are dealing with behavior problems in their children, trying a strict elimination diet for three weeks is a good way to identify food-related causes.
First, eliminate artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. During the three weeks without the food additives, observe your child’s behavior and physical tendencies. After three weeks, all the chemicals should be out of your child’s system. Slowly reintroduce additives and watch for any behavioral changes.
Keep in mind that children can be sensitive to the additives in foods they consume, and food additives also transfer through breast milk, making it possible for nursing infants to be affected by colors and preservatives. Because of this, parents – especially nursing mothers – should monitor their own diets, to make sure they’re not passing along additives.
All of this information can be overwhelming, but as parents, we want to protect our kids and keep them healthy! Work on gradually improving your family’s diet, and give yourself grace in those seasons when things aren’t ideal. There are lots of ways to eat healthy even if you can’t afford organic food!
To avoid natural and artificial food dyes in your children’s diet, here are some “kid-friendly” foods you can make from scratch!
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
“Back to Sleep,” we were told when our oldest was born in 2005.
The pamphlets and posters were everywhere, instructing bleary-eyed parents to place their infants *only* on their backs for sleep, because research had shown that the position decreased Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Your baby, dying in their sleep? What could be more terrifying?
So we Americans do what the posters say. And within seconds, or maybe twenty minutes, our babies wake up. If not well swaddled, the startle reflex kicks in and their eyes bolt open.
We used to joke that babies weren’t dying of SIDS as often because none of them were actually spending any time sleeping in their cribs when all the parents were putting them “back to sleep.” We’re now raising a nation of children who sleep in their carseats, in baby swings, and propped up slightly by foam bumpers, all because desperate parents yearn for some shut-eye but are afraid to put their infants down on their tummies for sleep.
So why is my baby in the photo smashing his little face into the crib mattress?
Because we’ll take what sleep we can get.
While Americans were fighting SIDS and making gains, but certainly not winning the war with over 2,000 babies still dying every year, New Zealanders were trying something different.
They began wrapping mattresses, especially older mattresses, with polyethylene covers. Polyethylene doesn’t allow gases through from the mattress to the baby.
And you know what? While the US was celebrating a 50% reduction in SIDS deaths, not one single baby died on a properly wrapped mattress in New Zealand.
100% success rate.
And for some reason, we continue to ignore it.
We say “the rate of SIDS decreased as babies lying on their backs increased.” But you know what? From what I’m understanding in this NPR report, infant deaths aren’t counted as SIDS if the baby is in an “unsafe sleep environment,” one definition of which is “sleeping face down.”
Um.
So if you don’t count the babies sleeping facedown as dying from SIDS, amazingly, SIDS rates are dropping.
Isn’t that a bit of a case of changing the definition, or is it just me?
Non-toxic Sleep May Save Your Baby's Life. Get a safe mattress and you may save your baby's life! Important info on SIDS, flame retardants in mattresses, and your options for natural mattresses and mattress wrapping.
In 1999 the definition of SIDS was updated. Notice how any gains made against SIDS after that point are offset by accidental suffocations (the green line). Taking the facedown infants out was the only way of making the SIDS rate continue to drop.
New Zealand Does it Differently
Dr. James Sprott, a scientist from New Zealand, completed research in 1996 that confirmed and expanded a study done by a British Dr. Richardson in 1994 (Journal of the Forensic Science Society 1994;34(3):199-204). They both found what they believe is a link between mattresses and SIDS (or “crib death” or “cot death” as it’s referred to down under and by the Brits).
Their “toxic gas” theory is actually alarmingly simple:
When flame retardant chemicals commonly applied to all mattresses (including but not exclusive to crib mattresses) react with common household fungi in the mattress, toxic nerve gasses are produced which hover low above the mattress near the baby’s face.
In an unrelated study from Scotland published in the British Medical Journal, 2002, researchers discovered that “Routine use of an infant mattress previously used by another child was significantly associated with an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.” Correlation does not equal causation – meaning there is not proof that something in a used or older mattress actually contributes to unexplained infant deaths – but it may lend some credence to Richardson and Sprott’s theories. Older mattresses would likely harbor greater bacterial and fungal growth, increasing the risk of creating the toxic nerve gas.
A number of other studies contribute to the discussion and may support the theory:
SIDS occurs more often in babies further down the birth order in their families (statistics from the United Kingdom, also Risk factors of sudden infant death in Chinese babies, American Journal of Epidemiology 1997;144:1070-73)
Many studies, including those that inspired the entire back-to-sleep campaign, demonstrate that babies sleeping on their back suffer from SIDS less often than tummy sleepers. Connecting that to the toxic gas theory is a short step: The heavy gasses hang low above the mattress, so babies sleeping facedown are exposed to a greater amount of the gas.
In both New Zealand and the UK, covering mattresses to prevent gasses from reaching the baby demonstrated incredible improvement in the rate of SIDS deaths.
A British researcher demonstrated that yes, there often are fungi in babies’ mattresses: Final Report of the Expert Group to Investigate Cot Death Theories: Toxic Gas Hypothesis (Limerick Report), May 1998.
Here’s another (2012) bit of research showing that one of the common flame retardants impedes learning ability and sociability, especially when children are exposed to it. That’s totally not SIDS related, but yet another reason to avoid the flame retardant chemicals on something on which your baby or child will spend 12+ hours a day!
Simple Solutions to Fix the Toxic Problem
Non-toxic Sleep May Save Your Baby's Life. Get a safe mattress and you may save your baby's life! Important info on SIDS, flame retardants in mattresses, and your options for natural mattresses and mattress wrapping.
I want my babies and older children to be sleeping on safe surfaces already, simply because of the carcinogenic and psychological risks of flame retardants and foam that we covered earlier this week. I’ve been working on finding affordable, non-toxic mattresses for the whole family for three years now, and it’s a HUGE process! I’ll close this series in two weeks with all the possibilities for adult and child mattresses, but for today, let’s talk cribs.
My first two babies slept on a hand-me-down mattress that I was so grateful to receive from the family of one of my students. We were just starting off our adult lives, more or less, and we used anything and everything that was given to us for free.
That mattress is on a toddler bed now (free from Freecycle!), and my 3yo is still sleeping on it. We hope to move him to a twin soon, so we don’t want to invest in a new mattress for just a year, since we have another very safe non-toxic crib mattress for baby no. 4, Gabriel. The hand-me-down mattress has clearly seen better days – it’s cracked in a million places (which is making me cringe more and more as I dig into the research for this series!!!!) and is starting to take on more of a horseshoe shape instead of lying flat. We always make sure to cover it with a waterproof pad or two, which I’m hoping does something to reduce the off-gassing, but I know it’s not enough.
There are two proven ways to obtain a safe sleeping surface for your infants and toddlers:
Wrap your old mattress with a Babesafe cover
Buy a mattress without flame retardant chemicals or petroleum-based foam
Mattress Wrapping
The Babesafe mattress cover is made of food-grade, BPA-free and vinyl-free polyethylene plastic and at least 5 mils thick has been lab-tested to block all gasses from transmitting from the mattress to your baby. It also blocks dustmites and bed bugs that may be in the mattress.
Wrapping mattresses with this material is what parents did in both England and New Zealand when their SIDS rates first started dropping (in England, it was about two years before their “back to sleep” campaign). One study showed that babies sleeping with a vinyl mattress protector also had a greatly reduced rate of SIDS, which lends credence to the toxic gas theory – but you don’t want anything vinyl in the crib, because vinyl is a huge source of offgassing VOCs (ever smelled a brand-new shower curtain? Ugh.).
Babesafe is the brand sold in New Zealand, but there are also two on Amazon that are vinyl-free, polyethylene and the right thickness to prevent off-gassing: Harlow’s Earth Crib Mattress Cover and the Serendipity Mattress Cover (the second one doesn’t list the thickness but does quote Dr. Sprott, so here’s hoping they followed his protocol). UPDATE: Thanks to a reader for sharing the US distributor for Babesafe.
The mattress wraps are plastic, and they’re crunchy/loud, potentially like sleeping on a potato chip bag. Some say if you put another thick or folded blanket in between the fitted crib sheet and the plastic wrapping, it’s really not so bad. But fair warning!
You can get full-sized mattress wraps here, but the shipping could be bad from New Zealand. ? For a bit of a DIY solution for bigger beds, necessary for co-sleeping, I wonder if you could get polyethylene chair covers from Amazon and duct tape them together under a mattress pad and fitted sheet. They are only 2 mils thick though, so you’d need 3 layers to follow protocol. We slept on a plastic sheet (like the ones used for tarping while painting) in the week or so leading up to Gabe’s birth in the fall, and it was slippery and a little weird but not a sleep killer – and it was over, not under, the regular mattress protector, so I think that would make a positive difference.
Safe Baby Non-Toxic Crib Mattresses
Non-toxic Sleep May Save Your Baby's Life. Get a safe mattress and you may save your baby's life! Important info on SIDS, flame retardants in mattresses, and your options for natural mattresses and mattress wrapping.
There aren’t many out there, sadly, but that does make it easier to choose the one you want.
Here’s what to look for in a non-toxic crib mattress:
No vinyl (PVC).
No chemical flame retardants. The mattress should use cotton or wool to inhibit flames and pass the government’s test. Silica is another mostly natural, non-toxic fire blocker. Boric acid will be in some crib mattresses as a flame retardant, and that one is debatable on safety. When it comes to your baby, why not avoid it if you can? (more on mattress flame retardants)
No petroleum-based foam. Beware of brands that claim they use a soy-based foam – you have to ask questions about whether it’s 100% soy (many mix a small percentage of soy-based foam in with the highly flammable polyurethane foam), as well as whether there are chemicals mixed right into the foam itself. Ask about antimony, arsenic, and boric acid at least.
Organic is best, especially since cotton is one of the most highly sprayed crops in the U.S.
We got to review a Naturepedic crib mattress a few years ago, and I do believe it’s one of the best crib mattresses out there (if not the best). It’s waterproof without using vinyl, and for me, that was important. I didn’t want to have to rely on an external mattress pad to create the waterproof barrier necessary to keep my expensive mattress safe.
Here are the non-toxic crib mattresses I was able to find for you to choose from (this may not be an exhaustive list, but I’m happy to hear your suggestions in the comments if I missed any!):
As with adults, you can get a doctor’s prescription for a mattress without any flame retardant qualities at all as long as you can find a company to custom-make one.
Although I’m normally a huge proponent of using second-hand products because of both the cost savings and the environmentally friendly aspect, I can’t recommend used mattresses for babies (unless you’re willing to wrap them, which is more like a $40-60 cost instead of a few hundred).
Non-toxic Sleep May Save Your Baby's Life. Get a safe mattress and you may save your baby's life! Important info on SIDS, flame retardants in mattresses, and your options for natural mattresses and mattress wrapping.
What if “Toxic Gas” is a Load of You-Know-What?
Some say that the mattress wrapping info is totally bunk.
“Current literature supports a triple-risk model, which suggests that SIDS is the final common pathway of three coinciding factors. This model proposes that an infant must first have an underlying vulnerability and then be stressed by an exogenous source, such as prone sleeping placement. Finally, for SIDS to occur, the stress must occur during a critical developmental period, namely in the first year of life. The last two factors in the triple-risk model have been well researched and defined in the medical literature, but the underlying vulnerability remains to be identified.”
They do not discuss for one moment that the type of mattress or any chemicals could be related to SIDS. Since 2000, mainstream medicine has brushed of the toxic gas theory, largely because of a study done by Limerick in England between 1996-2000. Note that they don’t bring it up and disprove or disagree with it. It’s just completely left off the table. I’ll let you interpret that move how you wish. ???
So what’s with this Limerick report?
An expert group spent 3.5 years studying Richardson’s toxic gas theory, and when they published their results, they debunked all of it (according to media sources). They proved that antimony is in kids’ blood even before birth and called into question that it comes from crib mattresses; they found no correlation between SIDS and antimony; they couldn’t replicate Richardson’s results; and they said not enough crib mattresses were being wrapped from 1993-5 to make any impact on the decrease in crib deaths. (source)
Some argue those results. They say that only one of the three gases was tested for, only PVC (vinyl) covered mattresses were tested, and that some of the results were skewed because of the perspective from which data was analyzed. (Dr. Sprott is the assume original author of that page, although it’s been copied in many other places on the web without attribution.)
Unfortunately, a large percentage of the websites sharing the mattress wrapping information seem to have the same ultimate source, even though they’re all different URLs. That increases my distrust of the whole theory, BUT on the other hand, the research is compelling and makes so much sense to me. There haven’t been any studies that disprove the theory well, depending on how you interpret the Limerick report.
The results of mattress-wrapping in New Zealand is incredibly compelling but also controversial.
235,000 babies slept on properly wrapped mattresses in New Zealand over about a decade. In that time out of that number, the rate of SIDS would be expected to be about 1.1 per 1,000 babies. That means almost 258 babies should have died in their sleep with no explanation – and there were none. ZERO.
The dissenting sources often cite 3 deaths on wrapped mattresses. The counterpoint is typically given that those mattresses may not have been wrapped with thick enough polyethylene. But you know what?
Even if that statistic is true, I bet those 255 parents who didn’t lose a baby would be grateful beyond belief. I’ll bet my forty bucks on being in the 255 instead of the 3 and wrap my mattress. (In the U.S. the rate of SIDS is 0.57 per 1,000 babies, but that would still equate to 136 deaths out of the 235,000.)
In the end, more unbiased research is needed.
But for my family? In the face of the unknown of SIDS plus the known risks of chemical flame retardants, it only makes sense to me to buy the safest non-toxic crib mattress I can find and rejoice in the fact that decreased risk of unexplained death is a likely byproduct of that choice. The only downfall of getting a non-toxic mattress is the cost – which can be a big problem for many families, unfortunately. I fervently hope that costs of non chemically treated mattresses continues to come down!
Click to Read the Whole Healthy Sleep Series:
How to Have Healthy Toxin-Free Sleep - a series at Kitchen Stewardship
Disclosure: Links in this post will generate commission for this site, but I worked hard to include many resources beyond my affiliate links as well. I received a Naturepedic mattress for review directly from that company three years ago.
Original article and pictures take www.kitchenstewardship.com site
Want to keep your kids scalp and skin safe from unnecessary toxins? Here’s what I do for non-toxic hair care for kids, as well as a kid-safe shampoo recipe that’s easy to make yourself!
This post contains affiliate links, FYI.
This week is National Poison Prevention Week. For the health of yourself and your family, I want to encourage you to always check labels on any personal care products, as well as your food.
An unnatural beginning.
Ten years ago, when I had my first baby, I was just like every other new mom out there. I set up a baby registry with all the things my friends and the internet said a newborn needed. Among those things, baby shampoo.
I mean, what’s more natural than lathering up your cute newborn’s head with a dollop of Johnson’s tear-free baby shampoo? We all probably have baby photos of ourselves or our siblings with Santa beards or funny hair-dos from soapy bubble baths. Or at least our moms do… ��
But I never really thought about the ingredients in those shampoos and bubble baths, and the effects they could be having on my child’s health.
Opened eyes.
By the time my oldest was 2 years old, and my second was about 8 months, I began to wonder. My toddler’s head was covered with cradle cap, and worse than that, her head began to smell awful! I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so I did what any other mom would do when her kid’s head smells. I washed her hair.
But every time I washed her hair, it smelled worse.
I was so confused. Finally I decided it was time to change things up and see what happened. So I cut the Johnson’s baby shampoo. And friends, you’ll never believe what happened next….
She was fine.
Her hair was fine. Not only was it fine, it didn’t smell at all! Slowly the cradle cap dissipated, and the stubborn patches came right off with coconut oil.
What’s that for?
It turns out, my daughter’s tender scalp couldn’t handle the chemicals in the shampoo. Not that companies who make baby skincare products don’t try to use gentle chemicals, I’m sure they do. But my point isn’t that it doesn’t make your baby cry, my point is that even gentle chemicals still aren’t necessarily natural ones.
Just take a look at the ingredients in the Johnson’s stuff I used to use:
I don’t know about you, but the only things in there I recognize are water, glycerin, sodium chloride, and citric acid. And as anyone living a real food lifestyle knows, if you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t be putting it inyour body!
The breakdown.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty of these ingredients – what they are, and what they do:
Cocamidopropyl Betaine (CAPB) is a mixture of coconut oil derivatives and dimethylaminopropylamine. It is used as a surfactant in personal care products. According to Wikipaedia CAPB can cause skin reactions due to the amidoamine (a fatty acid) and dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA) it contains. DMAPA is moderately toxic when ingested.
PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate is an ethoxylated sorbitan monoester of lauric acid with an average of 80 moles of ethylene oxide. Yeah, that’s Greek to me too. Actually, I’d probably understand Greek better than that. But anyway, suffice it to say that there is strong evidence that this ingredient is a human skin allergen. It’s usually used as a fragrance, a surfactant, and an emulsifying agent.
Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, a surfactant and foaming agent, is the sodium salt of sulfated ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol. It’s generally not associated with any skin allergies, and is usually considered safe, but I would suggest staying away from it if you have any sulfa allergies.
PEG-150 Distearateis a polyethylene glycol diester of stearic acid and is used as a surfactant and thickening agent and is not considered toxic. It should be noted, however, that impurities of PEG-150 Distearate have been known to increase the incidences of brain, uterine and breast cancers, and leukemia.
Polyquaternium-10is a synthetic polymeric antistatic agent and a preservative that keeps bugs from growing in your shampoo by releasing formaldehyde, which many people react very negatively to. Generally speaking, though, it’s not considered to be toxic. I guess the question you should be asking is this: is having non-static-y hair on your baby’s head really that important?
Tetrasodium EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetc Acid) is a chelating agents (binding with metals to make lotions more stable and soaps lather better) that’s made from formaldehyde and sodium cyanide. While it’s generally considered low concern on the toxic level, I’m still not ok with formaldehyde products on my kids’ heads.
Sodium Chloride… basically table salt.
Citric Acidis an alpha hydroxy acid naturally found in citric fruits and juices. It’s primary role is to adjust the pH balance (acidity) of skincare products and/or promote skin peeling and re-growth in the case of anti-aging products. Even though citric acid can naturally be found, the industrial food ingenuity has been making it from Aspergillus niger, AKA common black mold, since WWI! That’s right folks. Natural wasn’t good enough. Mold by-products are cheaper.
Sodium Hydroxide is a highly caustic and reactive inorganic base and has been classified as “expected to be toxic or harmful“ by the Environment Canada Domestic Substance List. Also known as lye, it can cause chemical burns and may induce permanent blindness upon contact with eyes. Yay! We all know kids are famous to never get things in their eyes… Sodium hydroxide is corrosive to several metals, and the reaction produces flammable hydrogen gas on contact.
Sodium Benzoateis a sodium salt used as a preservative. It’s naturally present at extremely low levels in berries, apples, cinnamon, and a few other natural foods. By itself the natural chemical is not harmful, but when combined with citric acid (see above!)lab-synthesized sodium benzoate forms benzene, a carcinogen associated with leukemia and other blood cancers.
Ethylhexylglycerin is a preservative made from vegetable glycerin. But don’t let that fool you, it is a known skin and lung irritant, and can possibly damage the eyes!
Phenoxyethanol is a preservative known to cause skin, lung, and eye irritation. It’s use has been restricted to cosmetics, which must mean it’s harmless…
And last, but not least, Parfum, which is another name for fragrance. When you see this on a product label it basically means there can be any number of undisclosed mixtures of scent chemicals and ingredients. Fragrance mixes have long been associated with allergies, dermatitis, respiratory distress, and possible harmful effects on the reproductive system. Honestly, your baby will still smell good without it.
It’s all connected.
I can hear you now: “Good grief, Raia! I’m washing my kid’s hair with it, not feeding it to her!” Sorry to break it to you, but your body is very well connected. Whatever you put on your skin makes it’s way to your blood stream and can cause an allergic reaction, just as if you were eating it. So if you wouldn’t feel safe accidentally ingesting it, I’d suggest thinking long and hard about putting it on your skin.
Honestly though, unless your baby is rolling around in mud all day, you don’t need to use shampoo on his hair. Shampoo of any kind will strip your skin and hair of its natural oils, even if just a little bit. Beside the toddler/babyhood of my two oldest girls, none of my 5 kids have ever used shampoo of any kind on a regular basis. And they all have gorgeous hair!
My non-toxic alternative.
Want to know my secret to keeping my kiddos’ hair clean? Good ol’ H2O. That’s right, when washing my kids’ hair I simply wet it well and gently massage their scalp with my hands. The end!
I started washing my kids’ hair with nothing but water about 8 years ago now, and I’ve never looked back. We have all different hair-types in my family, too. My oldest and youngest have fine, straight hair, my second has incredibly long, curly hair. My boy… well, he has a buzz-cut, so that doesn’t need much anyway, and my 4th has long, thick hair. Water works on all of them!
Kid-safe shampoo.
If they do happen to come in from playing outside with a headful of dirt, or accidentally get a bunch of greasy food in their hair (it’s been known to happen!), I use a mild mixture of organic Castile soap and kid-safe essential oils.
As my older girls get closer to puberty, I fully expect things to change, but I don’t expect that I’ll need to get a “real” shampoo. I’ve been using an “adult” version of this kid-safe shampoo for over a year now (by adult I just mean essential oils that aren’t considered safe for kids), and our hair is perfectly fine. ��
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks! ��
Kid-Safe Shampoo
Safe for ages 6 months and up.
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a liquid measuring cup and pour into a 12 oz. bottle with a squirt-lid.
Store in the shower.
To use, shake well and pour about a dime-sized portion into your palm. Rub into the scalp and work your way down through the hair.
Rinse well.
Pin this Non-Toxic Hair Care for Kids for later!
Original article and pictures take raiasrecipes.com site
