What's in your deodorant?

Do you ever think about what's in the products you use?  What chemicals are you putting on your body every single day?  Is it safe?  I'm on a quest for health - not weight loss - health.  That includes the products I use: Make-up, Shampoo, soap, moisturizer and toothpaste.  Today I'm going to talk about deodorant.  This is something we all use everyday, some of us use it a few times a day, and I want to know what exactly is going onto and eventually into my skin.  I have 2 different brands that claim they are completely natural so I'm going to do a little digging on: Jason and Toms of Maine.

The First one is Jason:  On the label it says "Natural Pioneer since 1959", "Pure natural deodorant stick" and "No Aluminum, Parabens, Phthalates or Propylene Glycol"


Pretty good start...

But I should point out that there is no where on here that says "No animal products", although it does tell me they don't test on animals.


Let's google the ingredients to see what really is in here:


Propanediol: This is what I found -
Propanediol may refer to either of two isomeric organic chemical compounds:

• 1,2-Propanediol (Propylene glycol)
• 1,3-Propanediol (Trimethylene glycol) 

(Source)

 So which one of the 2 chemical compounds are actually in this?  Why doesn't it tell me which one?

The first (of the 2 options) is this - Propylene glycol, also called 1,2-propanediol or propane-1,2-diol, is an organic compound (a diol or double alcohol) with formula C₃H₈O₂ or HO-CH₂-CHOH-CH₃. It is a colorless, nearly odorless, clear, viscous liquid with a faintly sweet taste, hygroscopic and miscible with water, acetone, and chloroform.

(Source)

Chloroform?!  That stuff is HAZARDOUS!!! "Chloroform was discovered by three researchers independently of one another. Chloroform was reported in 1831 by the French chemist Eugène Soubeiran, who prepared it from acetone (2-propanone) as well as ethanol through the action of chlorine bleach powder (calcium hypochlorite).^[9] The American physician Samuel Guthrie prepared gallons of the material and described its "deliciousness of flavor."^[10] Independently, Justus von Liebig also described the same compound.^[11] All early preparations used variations of the haloform reaction. Chloroform was named and chemically characterized in 1834 by Jean-Baptiste Dumas. "


(Source)


I don't want that going into my body!!!

The second (of the 2 options) is this - 
1,3-Propanediol is the organic compound with the formula CH₂(CH₂OH)₂. This three-carbon diol is a colorless viscous liquid that is miscible with water.<sup>[2]

(Source)


Seems OK...

But later in that same article I see this:</sup> 1,3-Propanediol does not appear to pose a significant hazard via inhalation of either the vapor or a vapor/aerosol mixture

<sup>And that gives me a bit of a warning... it doesn't say definitely that it is or isn't harmful - I say avoid this.

So I didn't get past the first ingredient and I already want to throw this away.

It goes on to say: Aqua, Glycerin, Sodium Stearate, Zinc, Ricinoleate, Polyglyceryl-3 Caprate, Aloe Baradensis Leaf Juice, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Allantoin, Behenyl Alcohol, Ethylhexylgycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Silica, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sucross Cocoate, Tocopheryl Actetate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Benzoate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Fragrance (Parfum).


The second one is Tom's Of Maine: The front says "aluminum-free" and "natural"


The back tells me this is "Cruelty Free" (yay!), "Giving Back" (double yay!) and "Sustanable Practices" (triple yay!!)


Here's what's in it: Propylene glycol - Hold the phone! That's the first ingredient in the last deodorant!  I'm outta here!


Clearly I need to make my own, I found this video that says to try alcohol and baking soda.  Off to the store - I'll let you know how it works!</sup>

RIP, Lennox

 BOYCOTT IRELAND

Let them know how you feel!

Asking for help...

We spent the evening driving around North Vancouver to go to local businesses to see if they would donate anything for the fundraiser I'm doing.  I'm looking for anything they can donate for a raffle that will be done at the car wash/bottle drive for Chelsea next weekend (you can read about Chelsea here and watch her story in the news here).  We hit up about 20 places including Restaurants, pubs, a spa and Canadian Tire asking for anything they can donate to us.  We are going to do a minimum $5 donation for a car wash with the option of donating more to get tickets in our raffle ($10 = 3 tix, $15 = 5 tix and $20 = 10 tix).  I'm hoping to raise around $10,000 for Chelsea and her family through this event and to be honest, I'm getting a little stressed out over the whole thing.  It's turned into a pretty big event with news teams planning to be there, newspapers advertising for the event and even the amount of people on Facebook getting involved - it's pretty overwhelming.  If there is anyone out there reading this that wants to volunteer time or donate anything, please get in contact with me, it would be greatly appreciated. =)

Now onto some food!

Since we left as soon as we got home from work today, we ate on the run.  Jeff ate Burger King (yuck) and I ate Subway.  My sandwich had no cheese (it's processed), no meat (I'm a vegetarian), no salt (It's in everything, why add more), and a bunch of veggies.  I know these veggies were picked awhile ago and have no nutrition because I'm already hungry.  I can eat a fresh salad with no bread or anything BUT veggies and be full for 6-7 hours, but the Subway left me feeling hungry an hour after I ate it.  This, to me, is the same as eating McDonalds.  I just got NOTHING but empty calories and zero vitamins from my "healthy choice" dinner and that means Subway is now banned.

It's funny how you don't notice these things until you start paying attention.  I've started paying attention to my body, my moods and how food makes me feel. 

After my post yesterday about the food that the world throws away I need to make some serious changes to what I eat and where I get it from.  The most difficult thing about wanting to do this is Jeff.  He couldn't care less about any of this and that is effecting the respect that I have for him.  How can he listen to the things that I'm telling him and still not care about anyone or anything but himself?  I get that bacon tastes good, but do you know what goes into that bacon you insist on eating?  Preservatives.  Do you know how that pig was raised?  How he/she was treated?  What he/she was fed?  What penicillin they gave him/her?  How he/she was killed?  How scared he/she was when he/she was killed?  How can you care so little about your body and health and care so little about the life that you are eating?  I just can't stomach a person that is given this information and still only cares about them self.

I want to plant a garden and have chickens in my backyard so I can have fresh eggs, I want to shop at local farmers markets and use home made products.  I didn't realize how hard it would be to share a life with someone that doesn't.

Food waste and other fun things that make me sick

OK, I knew we threw away food (and by "we" I mean us rich nations), but I didn't know HOW much... Take a look at these.

The one that got me was the bread one... I mean, who doesn't eat the ends of their bread?!  What a waste!  AND WHY ISN'T THIS GOING TO THE FOOD BANK?  There are people starving in the city I live in - let alone entire nations in other parts of the world - why isn't this food going to help feed people that can't afford to feed themselves?  Why is it OK to throw away perfectly good food because it doesn't look right?

I did a quick google to find out more about why we throw away so much food and found this video.

One of the things that got me was food that had travelled 10,000 km from Kenya only to be thrown away.  Think of the water that was wasted on watering it, the fuel used to get them there and the food that could have fed a hungry person.

Why is this OK?  How can I help put a stop to it?  How can I make my voice heard? 

About 3 years ago I started doing research on food and what it can or can't do for you, I had no idea what went into the food I was eating.  I slowly started to cook at home more and to try and eat more plants then from cans, bottles and boxes (nasty processed food).  Last March I started to cut out meat by making more vegetarian choices when I was cooking or eating out.  Last August a baby cow licked my hand at the PNE and it was then that I stopped eating them.  I have started learning more about the meat industry and what exactly goes into this diet that the western world has developed; I don't like it.  Factory farms, sick animals that live in pure hell and are slaughtered in unimaginable ways.  Chickens that never see the light of day and cows that are feed corn simply to make them bigger in a faster amount of time so they produce more meat - even though it's not what their diet should be - just so companies can make more money off them.  These cows are standing on piles of their own shit (and guess what shit causes?  E-coli!  That's where all the fun outbreaks are coming from.  Here's what's happening today down in Ohio.  The cow shit runs into the water that then runs down into crops spreading E-coli everywhere.  Yum)!  After watching Food Inc. I can honestly tell you that I will never eat meat again and I decided to start going to Farmers markets instead of always going to Safeway, but I still go to Safeway.  How do I tie all this together?  How do I "vote" for food that is actually good for me?  How do I "vote" for food that doesn't come from a company that is throwing away so much food simply because it doesn't look right?  Where do I go to get these things in my neighbourhood?  I want organic, natural, healthy, fresh vegetables and fruit that I can grab on my way home from work everyday so I don't throw out "bad food".  I guess I have some research to do.

If you haven't seen Food Inc. I think you should watch it, it's an eye opener (I've watched it twice... Just to make sure I never wanted to eat meat again).  I found this and this (have I mentioned how much I LOVE Bill Maher before?) which are 2 interviews with Michael Pollan (the dude that made Food Inc) and he has some good stuff so check them out right now before you watch Food Inc in the next few days (trust me, watch it).

I'm off to research where I can get local, organic food from a source that doesn't waste.  Wish me luck!

Life without "Boob" is good

I'm a happy camper this week cause my boss (or as I call him "Boob" or "The bain of my existence") is away alllll week long.  I can actually do MY work as opposed to his little tasks (like planning his dental appointments or setting up his and his wife's new iPhones for an entire day).  So I've been getting my stuff done and it feels great to not be behind.  This also means I can show up when I want and leave when I want because there really isn't that much to do at this time of year so I can get my stuff done in about 2 hours.

I also planned my meals today for work!  In the morning I had 600ml of water with about a tablespoon of cayenne pepper and half a lemon squeezed in, I highly recommend the cayenne pepper and lemon water in the mornings! On the days that I do it, I honestly feel great.  I got the idea from a Facebook group I'm in Called Health Motivation that a very good friend of mine started for people to share food and exercise tips and to help motivate each other, I've found it very helpful (you can see it here).  For lunch I had one of my salads with my home made dressing.  I wasn't hungry at dinner time so I went for a walk with my friend and our mutts (another beautiful night) and when I got home I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich - I know!  So bad.

I find I eat better at work... does anyone else find that?  Why do my habits get unhealthy when I'm at home?

How lazy are you?

It's funny how much writing some of this has made me think.  Jeff and I used to go for months without grocery shopping (yes, I said MONTHS).  We would go out for literally every single meal.  It scares me to think of the sodium we put into our bodies, but that's the laziness problem that we have.  Sure, we are active with our dog and we are outside whenever we can be, but it's easier to go to the local pub for lunch or dinner then to buy food, cook it and clean up after it.  I can't tell you how many times we have gone grocery shopping and then watched food go bad because we were to lazy to cook it.  I've been reading a lot of these "health blogs" lately and they are all about exercise and eating properly, but I don't think going for a walk or eating veggies is what people have a hard time doing.  The hard part is all the work that goes into eating a vegetable; go to the store, buy it, take it home, prepare it, eat it and clean up after it.  Why do all that when you can go out and eat or eat a hand full of cookies.  I bet everyone would eat healthy if an organic meal was prepared for them every night so they didn't have to do any of the work that goes into one.  How can we strive for that?

Here's what I find has been working for us:

Lately I've been stopping off at the grocery store on my way home from work to pick up fresh veggies and fruit for the evening and into the next days breakfast and lunch.  I only buy enough for the next 24 hours so it's fresh and it doesn't sit in my fridge.  We have done a big shop at the beginning of each of the last 2 months to stock up on things that (are bad for you) don't go bad in a matter of days.  We freeze bread and any meat we buy (for Jeff, not me as I'm a vegetarian), get our canned tomatoes, soup stock, crackers, things that can last longer then a few days we then buy anything else as we go.  I've found it to work for us as the fresh stuff is always fresh.

Try stocking up on basics for your freezer, fridge and cupboard that won't go bad in a matter of days.  Cooking won't seem overwhelming if there is a deadline on your food.  Then slowly start buying a few veggies on your way home to make yourself something.  I almost always make enough for lunch the next day so I can kill 2 birds with one stone.  Let Me know if this works for you.

Do you have a dog?

No?  I would suggest getting one.  They really help you get your bum off the couch.

I have a 2 year old Boarder Collie/Husky/Black Lab/Pit Bull (I'm serious) and she is full of energy so I'm forced to take her out for long walks or swimming or a ball throw.

Tonight after dinner I was sitting on my couch watching "Love it or List it" thinking how awesome sweat pants would be when I looked over at Layla who was tapping her paw in anticipation of her walk.  So off we went.  I'm lucky because I live 4 blocks from a lake with an off leash area so we walk there, play with the other dogs, walk around he lake and then head home.  We were out for well over an hour and I gotta say how much better I feel having gone for a walk vs. sitting on my couch watching crap TV.

Good news... There are 1000's of dogs waiting to be adopted RIGHT NOW! =)  So go get one and go for a walk.  I know some of the best spots around Vancouver, just ask.