Harmful artificial colorings, chemicals and preservatives in food and daily personal care products

Some artificial colorings and chemicals in both food, personal care and cosmetic products should be avoided. Some are believed to contain cancer causing agents as indicated in the CAP GUIDE published by Consumer Association of Penang. I recently read 3 of these guides (priced at RM4.00 to RM6.00 each from Popular Bookstore) which list down the ingredients that are either confirmed/suspected to be harmful to human. I always look through ingredient list of the food and personal care products to screen for harmful preservative and chemicals but could not tell which is harmful until I read these guides...

Some of the harmful ingredients listed are Sulphur Dioxide (preservative), FD&C Caramel artificial color (E150), Saccharin (artificial sweetener), Chlorine (common in toothpaste), artificial Fragrance (in cosmetics and bath products to cover the bad chemical smell), FD&C Blue No. 1 (color in bath products), Talc and the common Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). There are many such items and we cannot avoid ALL but can definitely avoid most.

It was also published in the New York Times dated 30th Mar 2011 that the federal government is for the first time publicly reassessing whether artificial colorings is the worsen behavior problems like hyperactivity in some children.FDA concluded long ago that there was no definitive link between the colorings and behavior or health problems.The consumer science group is asking the government to ban the dyes, or at least require manufacturers to include prominent warnings that ''artificial colorings in this food cause hyperactivity and behavioral problems in some children.''

Many popular food, cosmetics and personal care products on the shelf contains artificial coloring. Just close your eyes, pick one and you will hit the bulls eye.

I was happy to find the Iherb online shop that provided me with the opportunity to buy reasonably priced, safer personal care and cosmetic products with natural ingredients. Click http://www.iherb.com/?rcode=TOJ670 and you will end up shopping with your fingers for hours and find lots of products that you can use. It is a totally reliable company. I've bought 2 shipments over 3 weeks. Enjoy USD5.00 off your first purchase by entering coupon code TOJ670. Follow my facebook page Natural Healthy Life http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natural-Healthy-life/173225486061490 for regular updates on recommended products that I've tried.

Use natural and/or organic skincare products

As a mum, not only am I careful with what I feed my children and family, I try to use natural bath and skincare products which is free or contains minimal chemicals.


These days, we are exposed to so much free radical and chemicals that we cannot avoid from the environment we live in. This lead to the need for us to try to minimize exposure to other harmful chemicals from products that you apply on your skin daily and protect yourself with supplements that could help negate some of these effects.

Look for natural products with minimal harmful ingredients such as artificial fragrance, paraben, SLS, alcohol and/or harmful FD&C artificial colors. All these chemicals increases one's risk to cancer. Finding natural and/or organic bath & beauty products on shelf at reasonable prices n in Malaysia is not easy. I've bought some products from organic shops such as BMS Organics, Organic Farm and Justlife and premium bath & body products shops such as Crabtree and Evelyn and Origins at up to 4 times the price you pay for normal products. Recently, I found a good alternative that allows me to buy natural and/or organic products at no more than 2 times the price of the regular products that contains chemicals - online shopping. I found this reliable website that sells over 600 brands and 20,000 products. Already received 2 shipments over the last 3 weeks and counting....

You will be able to find some of the well-known brands like Aubrey, Avalon & Jason in there. They also sell re-known supplement brands such as Now Foods and Natural Factors.

I end up spending hours and find lots of things that I need at reasonable prices. I also found a product that I bought at an organic shop 50% the price. It’s unbelievable. Why pay more for the same product!

The name of this website is Iherb. Click http://www.iherb.com/?rcode=TOJ670 to visit the website. You can also enjoy US$5.00 off your first purchase. If this discount does not appear, enter coupon code “TOJ760”.


Some tips:

1. Each product comes with a detail description and ingredient list. Most products contain natural, non-harmful ingredients. Read through them-it helps you decide which to choose.

2. Iherb has a reward program – remember to check that out too.

3. Delivery using International airmail is not-guaranteed. Use it for low value products that you can risk losing. I received my first parcel via International airmail within 12 days in full. Alternatively, you may use courier– Iherb refunds 80% of any returned/missing products. I used courier for my second parcel and received it within 4 days.
 
4. Products are professionally wrapped with bubble wraps. If you receive any damaged products, send an email to them with a photo of the damaged products and Iherb will refund you at 100%. I received one damaged product in one of my parcel and Iherb provided me with a refund without further questions.

Series Six : Go organic as much as you can afford

Eating more vegetables and fruit that may be contaminated with pesticides is just as detrimental to the body as eating more meat and processed food.
One of the leading organic retail outlet under Berjaya Group is Country Farm Organics.
Before you buy organic products, you need to know whether they are genuinely organic. One of the best ways to find out is to look for organic certification logos on the labels. Below are some of the important certification bodies around the world that ensure the production, storage and processing of organic food are done within strict guidelines extracted from Country Farm Organics :-


One good organic food center that I frequent is Kenko Real Organic Shop in SS2, Petaling Jaya. This shop has its own 400 acres farm in Pahang and is certified organic by Skim Organic Malaysia.

However, buying organic food is not something that everyone can afford ALL the time. An alternative to this would be the ozone food and sterilizer machine. It removes 80% to 95% pesticides, antibiotics &  growth hormones from meats and vegetables, kills 99% living micro-organism, viruses, germs in the meat, vegetable and fruit and preserve food's freshness. It can also be used to sterilize kitchen utensils, baby bottle, etc. The sterilized water can also be used for facial purposes and to treatment skin diseases like athlete foot (Hong Kong foot), etc. For more information and illustration, visit Ozone machine information.

10 healthy eating habits

I will be writing a series of articles on the following 10 healthy eating habits:-

1. Say grace before each meal – ask God to sanctify the food.
2. Psyllium husk - 2 times a day (one in the morning, one in the night) helps ease bowel movement
3. Less meat, more vegetables and fruits.
4. Too much of anything is no good. Eat with variety and in moderation.
5. Antioxidants - raw garlic, purple cabbage, beetroot, berries and anything red!!
6. Go organic as much as you can afford to. Make sure they are certified organic.
7. Home cook food. If you can't cook yourself, find a surrogate mother to cook for you.
8. Natural is best. Cut down on highly processed food.
9. Start young – get your children eating habit right.
10. Go for “preservative free” products.

Stay tuned.....

What we eat determines what we ARE

Have you ever wonder why baby smells so nice. That's because their body is free from contamination and all they eat or rather drink, is MILK.

It's quite amazing what human put in their mouth these days. When my parents were young, chicken was only meant for festives. It was a luxiourious food back then. Today, we eat chicken every other day and each meal has meat in it.

I once spoke to an alternative medicine doctor and was told a vegetable and fruit only diet is the best. Alternative medication focuses on proposing a right diet coupled with herbal and natural supplements to cure patients. He told me that God did not create animals for us to eat. True? I've yet to ask my pastor if this is true but I do believe that eating less meat and more vegetables and fruits is good for us.

I love to eat meat and still do. However, for the sake of heatlh, I'm trying to change my diet to less meat, more vegetables and fruits. So, wish me luck!!