Grace’s Blog

My dad was five years old when the 1918 flu pandemic broke out.  Around the world it is estimated that 50 million people died.

My grandparents both came down with this flu.  My dad took care of them.  They survived, my dad survived.  On May 11, he will turn 96 years old.  He has lived through many flu epidemics.

So with all the panic that seems to be going around about Swine flu, step back and think about what you can do.

Practice preventive health care.   Wash your hands often.  Get the rest you need.

Do you really need to watch late night TV?

Drink plenty of fluids….not soda’s…pure water is best.

Eat fruits and veggies.

Cut out the white stuff…white sugar, white flour, white rice, white bread.

You know the routine.  It’s the junk food.

Try to stay out of crowds…especially those where you are in close proximity to others. 

Cover your mouth with your elbow when you cough.  Open doors with your arm.  Wash, wash, wash your hands. 

If you are not where you can wash your hands, briskly rub them together for 30 or more seconds.

Don’t stress out.  Stress lowers your immune system response.

Stay home and keep your kids home if you or they don’t feel well.  Don’t pass around your sickness.

Our family uses immune support nutritional products.  You may want to do the same. 

Remember, the time to support the immune system was yesterday, but today is not too late to start.

Click HERE to watch a short video about interferon.

My March 23 post has more information you may want to review.

Stay as well as you can.

Shaklee Dist.

Grace General, Health Immune Support, Swine Flu

Did you read the reports of the twenty-one horses that died from a supplement prepared for them?

How very sad.  But as humans we do some of the same things.  Our bodies are very forgiving, but for how long?

We’re smart people aren’t we?  Then why do we think we can build strong healthy bodies on the foods we eat?

Think about it.  Our food has been chemically produced, processed, refined, cooked to death, frozen and canned. 

Preserved with chemicals, sprayed with pesticides and herbicides; treated with antibiotics and hormones, loaded down with fat and sugar; flavored and colored artificially, our food arrives at our tables claiming to be nutritious and delicious.

We are in such a hurry to please our pallets we forget about feeding our cells.

We fall for all the marketing hype about new “man made” foods loaded with toxic additives, synthetic vitamins, sugar and fat leaving no room for nutrition.

We are eating fake food most of the time.  Mother Nature provided really nutritious foods for all of us, but for the most part, we aren’t eating it. 

We try to correct our state of malnutrition by adding more toxic chemicals in the form of drugs, synthetic vitamins and medications that wreck havoc instead of giving our bodies the nutrients they need to grow, repair and heal.

Would you put dirty gas in your car’s fuel tank, or how about soda?  It wouldn’t run very well, if at all.

Yet everyday we humans go about our lives, dumping toxins in and wondering why we feel the way we do.

It can be argued that our modern ways of producing food helps feed the world, and rightly so.  Our bellies may be full but our health is on the decline.

The ever rising rate of obesity and chronic health problems is evidence of the path we have taken.

One man saw the problem, decided to make a difference and formed a company to provide healthy food based supplements, unlike the ones fed to the horses. 

This company has the highest quality control standards in the industry.

Too bad the company that made the horse’s supplements severely lacked in that department.

Shaklee Dist.

Grace Health, Human Body food based supplements, toxins

Wangari looked out at her beloved country and was saddened that the lush, green, fertile land of her childhood was disappearing.

Wangari Maathai was born in a rural village in Kenya, Africa, in 1940.  In her youth, Africa was a beautiful place abundant with shrubs, creepers, ferns and trees.

Now those trees, shrubs and vegetation were almost gone.

She would watch as the women in the villages would go further and further out to find sticks to burn to cook their meals.

She wondered what she could do to help the women and also restore her beloved country.

The idea came to her to plant trees.  She decided to pay the women to plant trees and care for them as they went about the countryside gathering wood.

The GREEN BELT MOVEMENT was born.

The government did not like Wangari.  They did not like the idea of empowering women with the ability to earn money.

Wangari was beaten and jailed numerous times by the brutal Moi government.  But she fought back and was instrumental in transforming Kenya’s government into a democracy.

In 2004 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the Environment.  Her Green Belt Movement had planted over 30 Million Trees.

 In 2006 she became the Global Ambassador for “A Million Trees, A Million Dreams,” a Shaklee environmental campaign that raises awareness of global climate change and initiates efforts to plant trees in North America and Africa.

Through the sale of Gold Ambassador Memberships and environmentally safe products, Shaklee facilitated the planting of trees.

On Earth Day 2009, Dr. Wangari Maathai joined Roger Barnett, CEO of Shaklee Corporation and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in planting the ceremonial ONE MILLIONTH TREE in the Million Dreams campaign.

Learn more about Dr. Wangari Maathai in her book, Unbowed…A Memoir.  

Make a Difference…Plant a tree or two or three or more.

Update:  Click HERE to view the video of the Tree Planting Ceremony

Shaklee Dist.

Grace General green belt movement, Wangari Maathai

For two years, a 52 year-old women complained to her doctor about hair loss, fatigue and memory loss. 

Her doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with her and told her the symptoms she was experiencing were probably related to menopause. 

This woman was taking a kelp supplement and since conventional medicine did not give her a diagnosis or a treatment, she increased her intake of the supplement hoping to get relief from her symptoms.

Instead of relief, over the next few months the woman’s short and long-term memory became so bad she could no longer remember her home address. 

Soon she reported having a rash, nausea and vomiting.  This made it very difficult to work and forced her to leave her job.

At this point her doctors became suspicious of arsenic poisoning.  Tests were taken and arsenic was found in very high levels in her blood and urine. 

She was told to discontinue her kelp supplements and within a few weeks her symptoms disappeared.

The doctors decided to go out and purchase 9 different kelp supplements from local health food stores and sent them out to be analyzed.

The results came back that 8 of the 9 were contaminated with arsenic and 7 had exceeded the tolerance levels for arsenic in food products set by the FDA.

A report in Environmental Health Perspectives reported that most kelp supplements on the market are contaminated with arsenic.

The FDA is asleep-at-the-wheel.  They do not currently test food supplements for safety and efficacy and there is no requirement that manufacturers test their products either.

When choosing a food supplement, do you know what the quality controls are for the company manufacturing them? 

We take for granted that our supplements are safe, but you can see from the above story, we need to pay attention.

That is why I use supplements manufactured by a COMPANY that runs over 300 quality control tests on a single product and over 80,000 quality control tests a year.

I put my trust in this company because I know the supplements they produce have been proven to be both safe and effective. 

Shaklee Dist.

Grace Health arsenic, Kelp Supplements

Get your popcorn and sit back and watch elite athletes perform in their sport.

Four short videos:

Troy Flannagan,  U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Teams

Craig Blanchette, Wheel Chair Racer

Kent Bostick, Cyclist,

Eli Bremer, Pentathlete.

Power the Elite Athlete in you with sports nutrition products these elite athlete’s use.

Shaklee Dist.

Grace Health Sports Nutrition

Saving money using Green Household Products has been part of our family for 37 years.  After posting the April 9, 2009 blog, I started thinking of how much we saved through the years.

So I did some simple calculations.  Let’s say I used only one 16 oz. bottle of my favorite concentrated green cleaner a year as an all purpose cleaner.

To get the same amount of clean in one bottle, I would spend nearly $482 for the equivalent amount of another brand of all-purpose cleaner.

Thirty-seven years = 37 bottles of my green cleaner times $482 = $17,834.00!!!

Now if I only used one bottle a year of my green cleaner for windows/mirrors/glass, it would be $12,250 a year of an equivalent amount of another window cleaner.

Calculation:  37 years times $12,250.00 = $453,250.00!  That’s a lot of money!

How about degreasers?  Using the same formula of one bottle of my green cleaner is the equivalent of $144 of another degreaser, I’ve saved $5,328.00!

I use this product as an all-purpose cleaner, a window cleaner, and a degreaser.  I use it for fine washables, washing the car, pre-spotter for clothes, and on and on.

Chemically sensitive people use it for all their cleaning needs including washing their clothes.

For over 50 years the company that makes this product has been a leader in protecting the environment.  Click HERE to learn more.

My favorite GREEN CLEANER is an official Earth Day product. Is yours?

What’s under your sink?  Take the quiz by clicking HERE.

Shaklee Dist.

Grace Green Living Earth Day, Green Cleaners

I recently had a conversation with a woman who really wants to do the right thing and care for the environment.  Her solution is to make her own “green” cleaners.

Great idea, but doesn’t that take a lot of time and effort?  She agreed it did and she didn’t always have the time to do it.

Have you ever used vinegar to clean?  It leaves a really nice “pickle” smell.

Spokane County, Washington, has banned the use of dishwasher detergents that contain phosphates.  Phosphates get into the waterways and cause the algae to grow out of control which then sucks the oxygen out of the water and the fish die.

Some phosphate free products do not clean as well as homemakers have come to expect. 

Women have started crossing the border, the Idaho border, and buying trunk loads of cleaners, especially dishwasher detergent, and are bringing them back home to their friends and neighbors.

Gives a whole new meaning to “thunder road,” only this time who would expect it is dishwasher detergents instead of booze.

Years ago, long before the now popular trend of using “green” products, I was introduced to a “green” cleaner by a friend who pestered me endlessly until I tried it.  When I did, I liked it and it became a family favorite. 

Caring for the environment wasn’t a big issue then.  The term “green” wasn’t in our vocabulary.  I used the product because it worked, was economical and I liked it.

Fast forward thirty-seven years.  Our family is still using this “GREEN CLEANER” plus other “green” cleaners in the line.  We have effortlessly helped protect the environment and saved tons of money.

How much?  It is estimated I would spend nearly $482 for the equivalent amount of all-purpose cleaner, or $12,000 for the equivalent amount of window cleaner or $144 for the equivalent amount of degreaser this one 16 oz. super concentrated cleaner would replace.

Besides the money saved, the sales of these “green, safe, powerful” cleaners in the year 2008 kept 10,230,732 pounds of packaging waste out of landfills and 23,492,792 pounds of greenhouse gas was eliminated from the environment.

Already this year, 2009, 38 million pounds of packaging waste has been kept out of landfills and 88 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions have been eliminated.

Add this interesting detail…the purchase of the “green” cleaner I love has alone eliminated the equivalent of 2.7 BILLION bottles of conventional 26 ounce window cleaner!!  If placed end to end, those bottles would wrap around the earth 18 TIMES!

Some of the benefits we have experienced:  A septic tank that never has to be pumped even after 25 years of us living in our home.  Our clothes last longer and we have very few if any plumbing problems.  There are no toxic fumes from household cleaners to inhale.

To learn more about these products read this edition of Making a Difference!, click here

Shaklee Dist. 

Grace Green Living green, phosphates, safe household cleaners

Scientists have struggled for years trying to figure out why rates of some cancers and childhood brain disorders are increasing.

You’ve probably seen the ads that one out of 150 children will be diagnosed with autism.  Besides autism, learning disabilities, breast and prostate cancer are increasing.

 Possible reasons are emerging.

There are certain industrial chemicals at really low levels causing laboratory rodents to have altered brain behavior, gene and hormone changes and birth defects.

These same chemicals are causing problems in humans.  These include genital abnormalities in infants, pre-term birth, early puberty in girls, and thyroid effects in adults.

These chemicals include bisphenol A, used in plastic baby bottles and in the lining inside food cans.

Plastic water bottles with the # 2, 4 or 5 recycling symbol are fine.  Bottles of water are usually sold in #1 plastic bottles.  These are for a one time use only.  Do not leave these full of water in the sun or a hot car.

Plastic bottles with the # 7 symbol may leach BPA…bisphenol A.

Phthalates are used in toys, building materials, drug capsules, cosmetics, perfumes and nail polish.

Perchlorate, used in munitions, is now found in drinking water, fruits, veggies and breast milk.

These and many other chemicals are called “endocrine disrupters” that may in tiny doses interfere with hormonal signals that regulate human organ development, metabolism and other bodily functions.

Governments are banning some of these substances.  Once these chemicals are used in products and released into the environment, it sometimes takes years, if ever, to get them cleaned up.

Consumers must be vigilant in protecting themselves and their families.

Shaklee Dist.

Grace Health Chemicals, toxins

Cancer….the big C.   Here are 10 tips to help you reduce your risk.

Starting with # 10

# 10. Choose your dietary supplements wisely.

Studies show the greater the total amount of calcium in the diet from both food and supplementation up to about 1300 mg. lowers the risk of developing cancer in postmenopausal women.

For men and women, the risk of cancers of the digestive system such as colon cancer, were lowered by having a diet rich in calcium

Researchers published a study of men with prostate cancer and found that long term supplementation of zinc was associated with reduced risk of clinically relevant advanced disease.

# 9. Know your family history.

There are some cancers, between 5-10 percent, that are caused from a genetic predisposition.  These include, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer.

If these cancers are in your family history, see your doctor and get screened for them.

# 8. Reduce your exposure to potential carcinogens.

Clean you home and office regularly to remove the toxins attracted to dust.

Reduce indoor pollution by opening the windows to let in the fresh air to minimize indoor pollution.  Of course, if outside air is worse, use an AIR PURIFIER.

Use a WATER PURIFIER and filter your own drinking water.

Change your household cleaners to GREEN powerful and safe alternatives.

# 7.  Watch out for the sun.  Check your skin regularly for changes.

Your skin can be damaged by ultraviolet radiation from the sun which could lead to skin cancer.  Stay out of the sun during peak hours of the day when the sun is highest in the sky and the hottest.  Use a sun screen of SPF 15 or more.

Check your skin regularly and know what it looks like so you will be able to notice changes in moles and skin spots.

# 6.  Limit your alcohol intake.

Increased cancers of the oral cavity, throat, voice box, esophagus, liver, breast, and possibly the colon and the rectum have been associated with excess alcohol consumption.

The recommendation is no more than one drink a day for women and 2 drinks for men. 

# 5.  Eat your foods fresh.

Eat your foods as fresh as you can.  The less processed the food, in general, the healthier it will be for you.

# 4.  You’ve heard this before….eat more fruits, veggies and whole grains.

This is sometimes easier said than done, but at least try.

# 3.  Get up and get moving.

This means exercise.  Do something you enjoy doing.  Change the routine so you don’t get bored.  Move…..!!

# 2.  Try to ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN a healthy weight.

Being overweight increases your chance of developing some types of cancers.  Being overweight causes many health problems besides cancer. 

DRUM ROLL……..AND THE # 1 CAUSE OF PREVENTABLE CANCER….

SMOKING, using tobacco products and second-hand smoke.  You knew that, didn’t you?

There is a reason cigarettes are called cancer sticks.  If you smoke, stop.  I know it is easy to say but very difficult to do.  Get help. 

Your health depends on it and so does the health of those you love.  Second hand smoke kills about 3,000 people a year.

Women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant should definitely not smoke. 

Smoking also causes pre-mature aging of the skin.  Yuck! Who wants old looking skin?

Shaklee Dist.

Grace Health Cancer, Risk Factors for Cancer

I was talking to a friend the other day and she mentioned she had been plagued with kidney stones, but found a solution that worked.

She shared it with others and it worked for them.

What is it?  Drink a gallon of lemonade each day for five days.

That’s it.  You will be sloshing around a bit and you may spend some time in the bathroom, but if it works, why not try it.

This remedy came from an old alternative medicine book.

The acid from the lemon takes the burs or hard rough edges off the stones and they pass without pain.

If you have kidney stones you may think you are dying or having a heart attack when one is trying to pass.

I do not know if this will work, but if it does, for those with this problem it might be worth a try.

Shaklee Dist.

Grace Health kidney stones