Spring Cleaning

SPRING - a time of renewal, regrowth, a time to CLEAN! So open your windows to refresh your home and open your mind to a body cleansing, as well!
Spring cleaning isn't just about homes. As you're cleaning, take a look at the ingredients in your products. Many are toxins to our environment and therefore, to us and the earth as a whole. Make a commitment to making a change. Clean up your homes, your bodies, and the Earth! Keep reading for tips on how.

At our recent Lunch N Learn, Dr. Taylor White shared some information on what toxins are, how we're exposed to them, and what they do to our environment - the air, soil, and water, and what they do to our bodies. It isn't pretty.

A large number of cleaning products, pesticides and herbicides contain ingredients considered Xenoestrogens. Plastic is a xenoestrogen, as well, as are some medications. A good website describing Xenoestrogens, what they are and what they do: https://womeninbalance.org/2012/10/26/xenoestrogens-what-are-they-how-to-avoid-them/

Fortunately, our bodies have organs and systems that help us clean out the bad, keep the good, and maintain our bodies in balance. For optimal body function, we must eat a very clean nutritious diet and avoid processed foods. How many of us are 100% at this? I venture to say that number is very tiny, maybe even 0. So how do we get our bodies cleansed of the bad, so they are better able to keep the good? Here are some tips:

* Your home:
* Watch the ingredients on cleaning products and washing detergents. Avoid fabric softener sheets. Toxic to us and the earth.                            

Solution - soap nuts, wool dryer balls, and reusable fabric softener "sheets" made of fabric. Ford's carries these products. *NEW* We also carry Dizolve - detergent in strips that disolve in the wash.  Reduces plastic by not having plastic detergent jugs.

Soap Nuts etc

* Use glass instead of plastic.  Ford's carries a great selection of glass water bottles.  The dollar store is a good place for glass containers for leftovers. I also recently found beeswax coverings to replace plastic wrap.  They're pricey, but washabe and reusable. It is especially important not to microwave in plastic or with plastic wrap covering your food. (Microwaves are a whole other topic).  Even freezing is better done in glass than plastic. Besides the health benefits to us, this is a very important issue with the earth.  Every piece of plastic ever made still exists. It takes 500 years to decompose and plastic hasn't been around that long. It was "invented" as a solution to replace the decreasing supply of ivory, but then it as discovered that it could be made from the petroleum industry's waste.  What started out as a solution became a problem.

Glass Water Bottles

* Clean with a solution of vinegar and water with essential oils. Check out some DIY websites for cleaning recipes. I like this site. https://www.diynatural.com/. They have natural, money-saving ideas for all kinds of products for cleaning homes, your body, baby wipes, and more. They have links to US websites for Essential Oils, but don't fret. Ford's is beginning to carry some. Look for them on our shelves starting soon. Here's a recipe to get you started:

Water
Vinegar
Tea tree essential oil
Spray bottle – I just reused the one my purchased cleaner came in. They're also available at dollar stores. For best results, though, and to further help the environment, use dark glass bottles. You can also use glass containers from the dollar store that are like cannisters.
Fill spray bottle with 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar. This is the main cleaning mixture and you can stop here if you wish. For a pleasing smell and extra cleansing power cleaning, add 10-20 drops of tea tree essential oil, shake it up, and you’ve got a great household cleaner!
Lavender and Lemon Essential Oils are also great for your household air! Use 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil and 5 each of Lemon and Lavendar for this pleaseing combination.
If using the cannisters, place small rags or cut up some old towels or t-shirts and just keep them in the container. Still shake before removing a rag. Clean, then wash the rag as usual and place the clean rag back into the solution.
You can use this in the kitchen on the counters, stove-top, microwaves and other appliances and even the floor! In the bathroom, you can use it on the toilet, sink, shower/tub and floor as well. It works great and it’s got minimal ingredients, no toxins and is 100% home-made. It’s also very, very cheap.

Your body:

* Eat more fruits and vegetables and less processed food. Avoid or reduce pesticides by buying the Dirty Dozen -  https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php)  -  in organic only, and always washing your fruits and vegetables. Soap is ok - try the Dr. Bonner's Castille Soap.  A drop or 2 in your sink of water is all you need.  We have the almond and the baby Dr. Bronner's.  

Fruits and vegetables

* Watch the ingredients in your body products, hair products, facial products and make-up.  We like http://www.ewg.org/ for checking products by brand, as well as by ingredients.  They rate the "cleanliness" of each.

* Take probiotics. Clean and dirt have different meanings for different things.  It's confusing, so here's the down and dirty (pun intended).  You need certain bacteria in your gut.  They do all kinds of great things in digestion and in helping use the nutrients we absorb to turn into nutrients the body and cells need. When we use anti bacterials, whether as an antibiotic or in products, we kill off good bacteria along with the bad.  Cleaning naturally is good enough.  As long as you have good bacteria and good nutrition, your body will take care of the bad bacteria. There are many, many versions on the market now. Please ask one of our pharmacists which one is right for you, as everyone's needs are different.

* Consider doing a spring cleaning of your body with Metagenics Clear Change or one of our other detox kits. Don't forget to schedule before and after BIAs (Bio Impedence Analysis) to see how your internal health improves.  There are instructions with the kits, as well as recipes for the foods you can eat during your detox.  It's best to speak to one of our pharmacists or our nurse first, though, for some tips on preparing for your detox, as well as what to expect.   Get started by coming in for your kit and scheduling your first BIA now!

Clear Change Metagenics Detox kit

To schedule your BIA or to schedule a more detailed, lengthier consultation than a casual chat in the pharmacy, please contact Cheryl at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 384-5236, for an appointment with Sharon Rose-Couturier, Dr. Peter Ford, or Dr. Taylor White. 

For more information about this blog and references, please contact Ellen Chapman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Click here to sign up for our newsletter to receive introductions to new blogs, as well as event reminders and other healthy lifestyle information.

logo IACP   logo NBCP   logo NBPA   IFM logo   PCCA logo