Could the products you are using to clean your home – the products that you think are sanitizing and keeping you and your family safe actually be causing more health problems than the threat of the Covid-19 virus?

There are been numerous clinical resource studies that have proven that National brand products manufactured by those big corporations and pharmaceutical companies are harming our health.

So why are people still using them and supporting the companies that are doing so much harm to us? The only logical reason is….they just don’t know.

A University of Alberta study has found a link between common household disinfectants – particularly multi-surface cleaners – and a change in infant gut bacteria that contributes to child overweight issues. The study, published in 2018, in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analyzed the gut flora of 757 infants at age three to four months and their body mass index, or BMI, at one and three years old, looking at exposure to disinfectants, detergents and eco-friendly products used in the home.

“We found that infants living in households with disinfectants being used at least weekly were twice as likely to have higher levels of the gut microbes Lachnospiraceae at age three to four months,” said principal investigator Anita Kozyrskyj, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta.

Lachnospiraceae is one of many non-pathogenic bacteria that naturally inhabit the human gut.

“When they were three years old, their body mass index was higher than children not exposed to heavy home use of disinfectants as an infant,” she added. (CBC News article)

The problem is not so much more than simply having more overweight children, because the majority of health problems are related to obesity and being overweight. Also, children who are overweight or obese have a much harder time achieving and maintaining a healthy weight than adults.

In another study, starting in the 1990s, the Community Respiratory Health Survey began tracking a large population of 6,235 women and men with a beginning average age of 34 at 22 health centers in multiple countries. Over the next 20 years, participants were quizzed about their use of both spray and liquid home cleaning products and had their lung capacity tested regularly. Lung capacity was measured by breathing into a spirometer, an instrument that measures how much air you can exhale. Those with compromised lung function are not able to exhale as much volume as someone who is healthy.

Fifty-three percent of the participants were women and 44% were lifelong non-smokers. The analysis was adjusted for smokers and those with doctor-diagnosed asthma. Participant data was extensive, ensuring that each subject was well characterized, significantly reducing the likelihood of misrepresentation.

Once twenty years of data had been collected, the results were compiled and analyzed by a top team of 28 international researchers from nine countries, led by scientists at The University of Bergen in Norway. The study, titled Cleaning at Home and at Work in Relation to Lung Function Decline and Airway Obstruction, was published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The key findings of the study were:

• Using national brand cleaners as little as once per week is as damaging to lung health as smoking 20 cigarettes per day.
• Women are affected far more than men.
• Cleaning at home is just as, if not more harmful, than being an occupational cleaner.
• Liquid cleaners are just as dangerous as sprays.
• Dangerous chemical ingredients including ammonia, chlorine bleach, and quaternary disinfecting compounds appear to be primary culprits.
• Women who regularly use cleaning products have increased rates of asthma.
• Damage is cumulative over time.

And this not only affects women but children and the rest of our family, including our pets. In a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2020, research indicated that infants who are exposed to cleaning products are more likely to develop asthma and wheeze later in life.

Previous studies have looked at exposure to these chemicals among people who clean for a living, but this is the first to look at exposure among infants. The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Allergy, Genes and Environment Network of Centres of Excellence.

“We can’t tell which brands are worse than others based on the data that we have, but we think that the findings are enough to tell the public that maybe they should limit their exposure or find ways to minimize the hazard that comes with these exposures,” Jaclyn Parks, the study’s lead author and a graduate student in Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences (CTV News article)

The researchers believe chemicals in these products can trigger the inflammatory pathways of the immune system and in turn damage the respiratory lining, which can lead to asthma and wheeze.

They suggest reading the labels of cleaning products and choosing those with fewer ingredients. They also recommend avoiding spray bottles, which carry a higher risk. However, from the previous lung study conducted at Bergen University, since liquid and spray cleaners had the same damaging effects, the best solution is to remove them from your household altogether.

The American Lung Association recommends against the use of cleaning products with volatile organic compounds, scents and other irritants; however, neither the U.S. nor Canada requires companies to list all the ingredients in their products.

So what do the studies mean to you? For people who try to keep a clean, safe home, the results of the studies are an imperative call to action.

If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to rid your home of the dangerous national cleaning products that contain so many harmful chemicals! What kinds of cleaners are to blame? Most all home cleaning products including disinfectants, kitchen cleaners, bathroom cleaners, toilet cleaners, shower and tub cleaners, scrubs, stain removers, floor cleaners, degreasers, window and glass cleaners, and surface cleaners.

Ingredients to Avoid:

• Chlorine – used in surface cleaners, bathroom cleaners, and toilet bowl cleaners are harmful or fatal if swallowed, can permanently damage skin, attacks membranes in your respiratory system, and doesn’t get rid of dirt—it just bleaches the colour out of it.
• Ammonia – used in glass cleaners and surface cleaners ammonia is irritating and corrosive. Exposure can cause immediate burning of the nose, throat, and respiratory tract.
• Formaldehyde – used in disinfectants or other products as a preservative and can cause an allergic reaction in the skin. When present in the air it can cause watery eyes, burning sensation of the eyes, nose, and throat, coughing, wheezing, and nausea.
• Phthalates – used in detergents and common fragrances, and in the past few years, researchers have linked phthalates to asthma and breast cancer.
• Abrasives – used in bathroom and kitchen cleaners, abrasives contain hard particles that can damage your sink and shower and scuff their surfaces giving dangerous bacteria a safe place to grow, breed, and multiply.
• Phosphates – used historically used in detergents too much phosphorus in our waterways leads to excessive algae growth, often resulting in the death of fish and water plant life.
• Parabens – used in multi-surface cleaners and other products as preservatives. Parabens are known to disrupt hormone function.
• Quaternary Disinfectants – used in home-use disinfectants, quaternary disinfectants are poisonous if ingested. They aren’t as effective on viruses and their effectiveness can be reduced by common circumstances like hard water. They have been linked to lung damage.

Though the research results have gained some immediate public interest online and in the general news media, it is up to you to not only take care of your own home but to warn friends, family, and neighbours of the very real consequences of using these conventional home cleaning products.

Want more information on the dangers of toxic household products and recommendations? Join the Facebook group, Discover the Hidden Toxins in your Home Jeopardizing your Health, created for a FREE 5-Day Health Symposium with a wealth of information and resources.

We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping, yet the average mattress contains a cocktail of toxic chemicals and flame retardants, and a whole host of chemicals we can’t pronounce, that the EPA has flagged as potentially dangerous.

People who live next to the factories that produce polyurethane foam, the stuff most mattresses are made of, have higher rates of asthma to show for it. So support cleaner living and health for everyone with your purchasing power.

So what are the best criteria when looking at your options?

• ORGANIC & NATURAL | brands that use a range of healthy and non-toxic materials, including natural latex, organic cotton, organic wool, and organic bamboo. You don’t want a bed that contains harsh flame retardants or toxic chemicals.
• ECO-FRIENDLY & GIVE BACK | brands that employ eco-friendly production practices. Look for brands that are made in the USA and Canada, significantly reducing their environmental footprint by keeping production local and better quality control. Also brands that give back to their communities by donating high-quality natural mattresses to families in need or participating in other charity initiatives, are a plus.
• DIRECT TO CONSUMER | The direct to consumer model allows companies to offset costs by cutting out the middle person, keeping production in house, and selling directly to the consumer online. These companies have innovative ways to offer greener mattresses so you can have a healthy night’s sleep regardless of your budget.
• COMFORT | Of course, comfort is essential! Look for brands that receive top reviews for quality comfort and better sleep.

Some Options with High Reviews Worth Your Consideration:

• Avocado Mattress
• Swiss Dream Beds
• Plush Beds Botanical Bliss
• My Green Mattress
• Soaring Heart Natural Beds
• Naturpedic
• OMI Mattress
• Obasan
• Silk and Snow Organic Mattress
• Birch Mattress

You’ll also want to consider whether you are a side sleeper, back sleeper, prefer a soft, firm or extra-firm mattress, but this list should give you a good selection of safe, eco-friendly options. Good luck with your search!

And should we be supporting P&G with our purchasing Power?

The International Bird Rescue Research Center has been using Dawn dish soap to clean the oil of bird rescued from oil spills for 32 years. Supposedly when the dish soap is diluted to up to 10% Dawn with water it cuts the oil and gentle enough to not harm the sensitive areas around animals’ eyes and feathers.

Tens of thousands of animals have been cleaned using Dawn in oil spills around the world, and Paul Kelway, a spokesman for the International Bird Rescue Research Center, stated that in the gulf, 557 birds had been taken to cleaning stations as of June 13, and Procter & Gamble, the manufacturer of Dawn, had sent 7,000 bottles of Dawn to the Gulf of Mexico to help clean up birds covered in BP’s oil.

Dawn has capitalized on this PR goldmine and runs commercials and social media campaigns highlighting the cleanup. Dawn’s role as the official de-oiler has been a marketing boon for Procter & Gamble. A commercial for its “Dawn Saves Wildlife” campaign shows oil-covered ducks and otters being cleaned with the product. The company donates $1 to saving wildlife for every bottle bought and registered online.

But are we really helping wildlife with our purchase of Dawn and Procter & Gamble products? The sad irony of the whole thing is that Dawn is petroleum-based. Every bottle of Dawn used to clean a bird actually adds to our nation’s demand for oil. Not only are we using an oil-based product to clean oiled birds, but we’re increasing the incentives for companies to drill for more oil, making it more likely that there will be another spill. Which, incidentally, will be great for Dawn’s marketing.

Not only that, but Dawn and many other dish detergents are not safe for people either.

• Formaldehyde…definitely a neurotoxin
• Methylisothiazolinone is a highly corrosive chemical that has been found to be toxic when ingested, inhaled, or applied to the skin or eyes in animal studies.
• silicate salts- dangerous if ingested and a skin irritant. (You’re using your hands with this and putting it on your plates/glasses )
• 1,4 dioxane (a CARCINOGEN – that means it can cause cancer)– it is also linked to organ toxicity, developmental/reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, and irritation of the skin and eyes.
• ammonium sulfate- skin irritant/risks for asthma/respiratory issues and cancer 💀
• artificial dyes and fragrance – carcinogenic, allergen like reactions, and contributors to ‘ADD/ADHD’ type symptoms

And when you are purchasing Proctor & Gamble products, you are supporting a company which has done a lot of harm to our environment and to people.

Earth Island Institute sued ten food, beverage and consumer goods companies in a bid to hold them accountable for plastic waste. The lawsuit, filed on February 26 in California, argues they should be held responsible for pollution waterways in California.

The lawsuit is against companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Proctor & Gamble, and Nestle and asks for unspecified damages and an order to clean up. Proctor & Gamble has paid out more than $2 million dollars in violations according to the Good Jobs First Violations Tracker, and that doesn’t even include all the money paid out in lawsuits against them.

So what can we do? We can purchase products from N. American manufacturers that make products that do not contain toxic ingredients and are environmentally-friendly. There are safer, environmentally-friendly that actually work better and can save money!

What to look for?

• Plant-based surfactants that are bio-degradeable
• 1,4 Dioxane-free
• Phlathate (synthetic fragrance)-free
• toxic Dye-free
• Petrochemical-free
• Glycol-free
• Phosphate-free
• Caustic-free

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the future of the Cannard Family Farm was looking bleak. Their organic vegetables supplied a single Berkeley restaurant.

Ross Cannard is the son of an iconic leader in the local organic movement in California. Bob Cannard built his 30-year career by rejecting organic certification in favour of his own “better than organic” breed of “natural process agriculture,” enriching the soil on his Green String Farm with crushed rock and compost.

He and his son have long sold the fruits of their labour to the famous restaurant Chez Panisse, where, since 1971, chef Alice Waters has pioneered an elegant cuisine based entirely on fresh, local foods straight from the farm.

But in March, the stay-at-home order hit, and the restaurant closed.

“You’re a farmer. Plants are already in the ground,” says Evan Wiig, director of membership and communications for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. “You make plans months and months in advance. You can’t just turn on a dime.”

Waters was worried about the vulnerable situation her workers and producers were finding themselves in. She rushed to establish a subscription CSA, which stands for community-supported agriculture, offering weekly food boxes that could be picked up at the closed restaurant, filled with goodies from her regular producers like Cannard.

She was trying to connect her network with the people who would like to have that food in their home, skipping the restaurant for now, and helping people do the cooking in their own kitchen.

Cannard augments that market with his own local CSA, setting up a farm stand in the parking lot of Baker & Cook, a café in nearby Boyes Hot Springs, now serving only takeout. Along with produce, Cannard has his olive oil available, as well as wine from a friend’s vineyard, and flowers from another local farm. Friends and neighbours are among his 100 or so customers.

Similar situations are sprouting up across North America. In Edmonton, every year, farmer Graham Sparrow welcomes spring. But this year, he’s plain crazy about it.

That’s because of his certified organic farm, Sparrow’s Nest, is part of a business model that stands to benefit from COVID-19. Known as community-supported agriculture (CSA), the model sees customers pay farmers upfront to guarantee their supply of vegetables throughout the season.

Sparrow is celebrating 20 years of farming 20 acres of certified organic soil near Opal, and with this crisis, he is almost sold out.”

Last year, Sparrow sold 35 shares for his farm to customers who care about fresh, local, and organic. This year so far, he’s already at 40 shares and is still taking more orders. Customers tell him they’re worried about disruptions to the supply chain caused by COVID-19.

“People are talking about food security, local food, the supply chain — the COVID-19 words of panic,” says Sparrow, who also has a booth at the Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market starting May 2. “It’s about time. I’ve been working so hard and people need to wake up.”

The pandemic may be a boon for Sparrow, whose shares are competitively priced at $825 a family for 18 weeks of fresh produce starting in late June with spinach, baby lettuce, and scallions. But other market garden farmers are less enthusiastic about the current situation.

Tam Andersen, owner of Prairie Gardens and Adventure Farm near Bon Accord, says the business is a mixture of community-supported agriculture, restaurant supply and tourism. Two of those three anchors have disappeared.

Tam Andersen (right) and her daughter Laurel Andersen (left) in the tomato greenhouse at Prairie Garden farm, northwest of Bon Accord, Alberta, where they are running a community-supported agriculture program. Larry Wong / Postmedia

With mandated restrictions on gathering, the 25,000 seasonal visitors who usually come to the farm for activities (including a petting zoo, plus strawberry and pumpkin festivals) will trickle to unprecedented lows. RGE RD is Andersen’s only restaurant client still operating and although she hopes to sell more CSA shares to make up the difference, it’s uncertain that will be enough.

Janelle Herbert of Riverbend Gardens, which has both a farmers market business and a CSA program, says her CSA sales are up 100 percent over sales last April. One factor is that people have dropped their plans to travel this summer, and now will be home to enjoy week-after-week of fresh produce delivery.

Still, only about one-third of Riverbend’s business is CSA clients and Herbert worries about the overall viability of Alberta’s farmers’ markets this season. Usually, summer markets are bustling with customers, who enjoy the fresh offerings and the opportunity to socialize. Though markets are allowed to be open, customer numbers have been dramatically reduced by health officials. Also, people are worried about gathering, even at smaller markets.

“I’m hoping people will still see the farmers market as a safe place to shop and continue to go there,” says Herbert.

She feels optimistic that citizens value fresh and local enough to visit the markets, perhaps buying for more than one family to help limit crowds while still supporting farmers.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if people could turn these challenging circumstances of COVID-19 into something positive? One of the benefits of COVID-19 has been that our waterways and air are getting cleaner. It’s interesting how quickly it started making an impact and gives hope that it is not too late if we don’t just go “back to normal” when all this is over.

In February, The Earth Island Institute filed a lawsuit in San Mateo County Superior Court, which is believed to be the first of its kind. The Earth Island Institute asked for unspecified damages and an order for Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle USA, Procter & Gamble and six other companies to clean up the plastic waste that the group says has created a global pollution crisis. It follows a rising public outcry about plastics pollution — particularly in the world’s oceans — and initiatives by state and federal lawmakers to force companies to take ownership of the material they use to package their products.

On the face of it, I would say that it is a great start, but you have to ask yourself this. If these big corporations actually cared about our environment and their customers why have they not done something about this before? Why do they have to wait until lawsuits are filed all the while people, animals and our environment have been harmed for decades? Do you think they actually care? And why have they been buying up any of the small natural or eco-friendly companies like:

• Burt’s Bees bought out by Clorox
• Seeds of Change bought out by Mars
• Native and This is L. bought out by Procter & Gamble
• Garden of Eatin’ bought out by Hain Celestial
• Cascadian Farm and Food Should Taste Good bought out by General Mills
• Ben & Jerry’s bought out by Unilever
• Kashi bought out by Kellogg
• Bocca Foods bought out by Kraft
• Lightlife Foods bought out by ConAgra
• Tom’s of Maine bought out by Colgate-Palmolive
• Body Shop bought out by L’Oreal
• Naked Juice, Stacy’s Pita Chips and Izze Beverage bought out by Pepsi
• Energy Brands, the maker of Vitaminwater, etc. bought out by Coca-cola
• and many others!

So why are they buying out these companies? Because they now suddenly care about their customers and the environment? I don’t think so. They could have changed their products and packaging decades ago if that was the case. As people have become more aware of some of the dangers of ingredients, the benefits of healthier versions, and the impact their buying decisions can have, big corporations have taken note, and are trying to eliminate the competition.

And if you still think they are changing, and the products will stay the same as when owned by the original small businesses, think again!

After Kellogg Co. acquired the Battle Creek, Michigan-based Kashi, customers worried that Kashi would begin using genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, which were known to be used in Kellogg’s cereals. Controversy erupted in 2012 after a Rhode Island grocer posted a note saying he wouldn’t sell Kashi cereal because he discovered the brand used genetically engineered ingredients. Kashi said it had done nothing wrong and noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the term “natural.”

Cascadian Farm used to be famous for its cereals with “no added sugar.” A few years ago, this label disappeared from its boxes. A Cascadian Farm customer said her children noticed a funny new taste in their Purely O’s. It turned out the cereal had tripled its sugar count to 3 grams from 1 gram in 2009.

Now here’s an idea…instead of relying on the legal system to force big corporations to stop polluting our environment, and have them “green-wash” us into thinking that they just didn’t know, but now they care. Why not use our buying power to no longer support these big corporations? Why not switch our shopping and use our spending dollars on better products while supporting our friends, family and neighbours businesses, and organic farmers that have safer, healthier products and are better for the environment?