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With an epidemic of air pollutants from new products ranging from cars to cleaning agents, one would hope that our regulatory agencies would do a better job of regulating products that are designed to release toxins into the air, like air fresheners.

Household and environmental pollutants, along with their resultant lung disorders, seem to worsen every year. Even the front page of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Indoor Air Quality” website lists the toll that asthma is taking on our population. The EPA’s Indoor Environments Division is responsible for addressing sources of “indoor air pollution.”

The EPA’s Web site states, “New research shows that a chemical compound found in many air fresheners, toilet bowl cleaners, mothballs, and other deodorizing products may be harmful to the lungs.” The site confirms that studies performed at the National Institute of Health’s Environmental Health Science department found that “exposure to a volatile organic compound (VOC), called 1,4-DCB, may cause modest reductions in lung function.” The lead investigating doctor on the study concluded, “even a small reduction in lung function may indicate some harm to the lungs,” and that, “the best way to protect yourself … is to reduce the use of products and materials that contain these compounds.”

The EPA states that simply “breathing contaminated air” exposes people to toxic air pollutants.

According to the EPA’s Web site, on September 20, 2007, the Sierra Club, the National Center for Healthy Housing, the Alliance for Healthy Homes, and the Natural Resources Defense Council petitioned the EPA under the ‘Toxic Substances Control Act’ to require submittal of health and safety studies related to air fresheners, including lab results of ingredients and health effects from respiratory exposures, and to adopt a rule to require that air fresheners be labeled to identify all of their ingredients. The EPA denied the requests, stating “the petition does not set forth sufficient facts to support the petitioners’ assertion.”

A report in Nature reveals that harmful formaldehyde-generating smog can form inside your home due to the use of air-fresheners. This “probable carcinogen” not only leads to cancer, but is believed “responsible for respiratory problems” as well.

Another report, “Air Fresheners Linked to Lung Damage,” posted on WebMD Health News states that 1,4-DCB, “most often used in room deodorizers,” can be found in the blood of 96 percent of Americans. Besides being especially problematic for those with asthma, the report says “1,4-DCB is also a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and death from any cause.”

Dr. Joseph Mercola states on his Web site, Mercola.com, that artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric softeners, or other synthetic fragrances are emitting 1,4-DCB and other pollutant chemicals. He recommends only using therapeutic essential oils, which have been around for thousands of years and which have natural anti-bacterial qualities.

The side effects of VOCs, like headaches, sore throat, nausea, and drowsiness, are so well known that Japanese automakers became the first to set an industry-wide goal of reducing these harmful chemicals in their cars. Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco told USA Today, “The industry in Japan as a whole has recognized the need for this and is coordinating efforts.” That “new car smell” leaches from a new car’s toxic mix of “glues, paints, vinyls, and plastics,” says USA Today. Since aerosol air fresheners called “New Car Smell,” can be purchased by those who want to “renew that showroom scent,” as one air freshener advertisement states, it seems you can now take that new car smell wherever you go.

The Toyota spokesman told USA Today, “Cutting down on the things that lead to these smells is only something that can be better for you.”

The EPA sets no guidelines for VOCs in non-industrial settings. This means that VOCs are regulated in some work settings, but not at home.

“The good news is indoor air pollution is one risk that you can do something about,” states the EPA Web site. Apparently the burden falls to the consumer in this case.

Even though the 2007 petition was declined, the Sierra Club has continued talks with the air freshener industry. They have seen success now that the industry has agreed to post ingredients, though formal regulation or an official ban of these toxic chemicals is unlikely to be seen for a long time.

The only sure way to have them removed from the market is for consumers to stop purchasing products that contain the harmful ingredients.

Tom Neltner, primary author of the EPA air freshener petition, and co-chair of the Sierra Club’s Toxic Committee, is pleasantly surprised that they have seen this much progress, saying “now the industry is moving forward.”  Educated consumers can now visit www.sierraclub.org/toxics to check for hazardous ingredients in their air fresheners.  In addition, the pressure that organizations like the Sierra Club put on the air freshener industry will ultimately encourage the use of safer ingredients in their products.

Better slow than not at all.

James and Kim are certified Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaches who assist pregnant moms and new parents to achieve optimal health. They can be contacted at FitForBirth@gmail.com or through their websites GetFitForBirth.com and YourSuperBaby.com

“I couldn’t go to sleep without posting this video.  I’m just absolutely furious… It’s very seldom that I get furious about something like this…Over the years as I’ve studied this, I’ve become really desensitized to the corporate marketing machine, and all the lies, and all the deception.  Today just really took the cake.”

These are the passionate words from a video titled “Oprah: Rethink KFC,” posted by Sean Croxton of Underground Wellness (UW), a fast-growing natural-minded nutritional counseling forum including a radio show and an expanding YouTube archive.

According to Underground Wellness, this video had over 30,000 views in just 5 days, ranking 4th in ‘news and politics’ for the week, alongside President Obama.  What Diet and Lifestyle Coach Sean speaks so passionately about is the advice that Oprah Winfrey gave viewers on May 5, 2009.  According to Underground Wellness, Oprah told her audience to eat “healthy” grilled, rather than fried, chicken from KFC, and even offered it free to anyone who downloaded a coupon within 24 hours.  That’s when the “Oprah Effect” occurred, referring to the mayhem caused by sheer onslaught in demand from an Oprah promoted item.  According to a May 8 CNN report, more than 10 million people downloaded that coupon and made their way to KFC. Demand was so overwhelming that KFC’s across America ran out and had to turn customers away, prompting an official apology and a promised “rain check” by corporate KFC.

Using the “Oprah Effect” to promote a questionably healthy food is exactly what made Coach Sean so upset.  So the “Health Detective,” as he is called at UndergroundWellness.com, went to KFC’s website and looked up the ingredients for the grilled chicken Oprah was promoting and several ingredients with known health risks, including partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils.

“Obviously, Oprah did not consult with Doctor Oz before she made this deal…” referring to Doctor Mehmet Oz, who directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, and was one of Oprah’s regular guests and consultants at one time.   Coach Sean finishes his statement, “…because Doctor Oz would have told her, and actually Oprah should already even know this, that a partially hydrogenated oil is a trans fat and trans fats clearly cause heart disease.”  Coach Sean continues, “So you’ve got a neurotoxin (referring to other ingredients) and you’ve got something that causes heart disease (referring to trans fats) in this free chicken.”

UnthinkKFC.com claims that “All of your KFC chicken products contain Zero Grams Trans Fat per serving” even while their ingredients indicate otherwise.  The Food and Drug Administration’s website, fda.gov, says that trans fats are created in a process called hydrogenation and can be found in foods made with partially hydrogenated oils.  Trans fats increase the shelf life of food products, keeping them from spoiling past their natural limit.  As in so many media-sponsored-advertising circles, the conclusion falls to the probability that somebody must be making a lot of money somewhere along the line.

Greed is a way of life that can sweep so many in its path.  Then there’s hope.  In response to his YouTube broadcast, Underground Wellness experienced its own Oprah Effect.  Coach Sean told his audience, “A lot of offers have come my way…to be in documentaries, a little movie, to do some corporate work, to do some promotions for some big products.”  One particular company offered “a few hundred thousand dollars” to be a corporate spokesman.  “Wow!” Coach Sean said conflictingly, “this is going to take care of my bills, my car payment, going to help family, and take away a lot of the problems I have in my life.”

Coach Sean could instantly be debt free.  He could have a larger apartment and a new car. He could easily end his bills, take his friends to Vegas, and save for his family all in one shot.  All he had to do was post a YouTube video publicly apologizing to Oprah and sign on the dotted line.

The only catch…he would have to alter his content to fit the agenda of these companies.  They would have the right to tell him what he can and can’t say.  Coach Sean would be working alongside people he “strongly disagrees with who would have creative control” over what he does.  As he puts it, “I would have to compromise my integrity.”  In fact, in order to establish his commitment as corporate spokesman, and take his first step on the road to fame and fortune, he was first required to formally apologize to Oprah.

If you’d like to view his public apology, it is titled “My Oprah Apology” on YouTube, posted via Underground Wellness, lasting 9 minutes and 32 seconds.  Coach Sean starts off telling viewers about the success of his last video and how he has finally hit it big, literally landing the dream position for an alternative health educator.  He tells us that he sat down to write the Oprah apology, thinking of his current money circumstances and tiny apartment in San Diego, “It’s what I have to do.” So he started writing what he would say and reciting it in preparation for his retraction video. But then, he says laughing, “I couldn’t bring myself to do the video.”

With a face that makes you want to cry in disbelief and shout for joy at the unbelievable morals of an honest man refusing to give an inch to the “Corporate Greed Machine,”  Coach Sean says he couldn’t find the words, nor would he have meant them.  He says what possessed his blatant refusal of money and fame was because, “For one week, I was the voice.”  Coach Sean explains, “People were finally listening.  Look at the comments on that video!” he says proudly, discussing those who practice sustainable and humane farming as well as those who stand for truth in nutritional labeling.  A couple posts even suggest wiring Sean money as a “bonus” indicating that “we, the people, can reward an individual who tells the truth just as well as [food corporations] can reward someone who lies for them.”

As a fellow nutrition and lifestyle coach, with more bills than my family knows what to do with, I wonder if I would have made the same choice.  The most powerful method of changing the way food politics are manipulated in this country is for strong ethical people to make the same choice that Sean made.  With people like Coach Sean Croxton at Underground Wellness, I am inspired that change can be made.

More babies in Miami-Dade are now born by cesarean section than by natural childbirth, state records reveal. Experts won’t predict how much higher the rate will go.

Read the article in the Miami Herald

It seems like it is almost impossible to find a doctor or hospital that can give you a vaginal birth.  Can you believe in Kendall the c-section rate is 70%?  Do you care about this?  Do you care to have choices in your birth?  Did you know c-sections for a low risk pregnancy are riskier than vaginal births?  Learn how and why c-sections increase your chance of maternal death and infants with breathing problems at secrets of painless childbirth.  Make your choice a smart and informed choice and know the right questions to ask your doctor and hospital to ensure your birth, not theirs.

Interview on Today Show!

I just finished reading their book “Your Best Birth”.  I really enjoyed it.  I truly believe there is a problem with the maternity health care model and for the AMA to say it is not safe for a home birth is absurd.

If you want to know more on how you can have your choices back when it comes to your birth, read their book as they state your birth is your business!  You can also go to Secrets of Painless Childbirth to get weekly tips to ensure you know your choices and how to have your wants satisified when it comes to planning your birth.

My friend Michelle from Nurturing Moves sent me this great add for a bed!  It shows a natural childbirth!  Do you think this would ever happen in the United States?

So we have a few clients who are trying to get pregnant and when we asked them about their lifestyle we got a lot of great feedback.  We decided to create a list of the top 10 ways to change your lifestyle before using hormone replacement therapy and in vitro fertilization.  Enjoy!

In Vitro

Have you been trying to get pregnant, but worry why it’s taking so long?  Perhaps you’ve already talked to your doctor about reproductive therapies like in vitro fertilization and hormone therapy?  Before you seek medical assistance, you should know there are many natural methods that can help you conceive.

Getting pregnant in today’s modern world can be tougher than ever.  Stressful lifestyle factors are making it more difficult to conceive than at any point in history.  A 2007 Newsweek article calls infertility a “common problem, besetting an estimated 6 million American couples.”  The author, Doctor Jorge Willet, quotes a huge study of more than 18,000 women which found “one in six women had trouble getting pregnant.”  Should this “common problem” be considered normal?

It may be surprising to find out that a few of your daily habits may work against a healthy quick conception.  If you are a man or a woman who wants to speed conception and increase your chance of a healthy baby, there are a few lifestyle factors you should consider before taking a trip to the fertility doctor.

It seems that conception is less likely to occur when you are stressed.  Stress from several realms can combine to cause reproduction problems.  Some of today’s “modern” stressful combinations are lack of movement, lack of nutrients, food toxins, disturbed sleep, household toxins, and negative mental/emotional thought patterns.  These stressors cause the stress hormone “cortisol” to become elevated in your body, which wreaks havoc on your reproductive hormones.  According to health researcher and lifestyle counselor Paul Chek, if your body is busy building stress hormones and dealing with stress, it will not have the resources to also build healthy and effective hormones for reproduction.  He suggests the key to a healthy conception is to remove as many stressors and toxins as possible and create an environment that is optimal for conception to occur.

In many ways, this is Mother Nature’s way of saying, “We have a few more things to take care of before having a baby.”    It’s probable that Mother Nature’s wisdom has been honed by evolution’s advisement that a woman who is in extreme shock or stress will not have the nutritional reserves to grow a healthy baby.  So here are ten facts that you can use to reduce the effect of stressful modernization, build a healthier you, and conceive quickly and naturally.

Fact # 1:  Stop Worrying
Relaxing and remaining stress-free can be the most powerful aid in a successful conception.  Not only will having a positive mental outlook help you to eat, move, and sleep better, but studies show it will help you conceive.  A study published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine found that “Women who worried about the conception process…were less likely to conceive.”  This study on in vitro fertilization found that women who were “concerned” had 19% fewer eggs fertilized and women who were “very concerned” had 30% fewer eggs fertilized and had a “very high risk of not delivering a live infant.”  One Mercola.com article discussing natural methods to overcome fertility worry and stress suggested using the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which involves stimulating meridian points on your body.  EFT can be learned and performed in just a few minutes.

Fact #2:  Avoid Artificial Sweeteners
Avoiding low calorie substitutes may encourage a healthy pregnancy.  According to Doctor Joseph Mercola, who runs perhaps the largest “holistic” website in the world, Mercola.com lists “aborted pregnancy” as one of the toxic side effects of Splenda.  Doctor Louis Elsas, Director of Genetics at Emory University School of Medicine, also recommends that “pregnant women avoid aspartame sweeteners,” like Equal and Nutrasweet.  Apparently, these sweeteners can “interfere with the growth of the fetus brain” and cause “decreased growth rate in newborns” as reported on Mercola’s site.  Instead, choose zero-calorie pure stevia, without additional chemicals.

Fact # 3:  Avoid Caffeine
Avoiding caffeine can help your chances of conceiving a healthy child.  The American Pregnancy Association suggests, “It is important to wean yourself off of caffeine” because it can “reduce fertility by 27 percent.”  It’s possible that this suggestion applies for both men and women.  Reuters London agreed in a 2001 report, that consuming caffeine can increase your risk of miscarriage.  In November, 1999, the New England Journal of Medicine not only reported an association of spontaneous abortions but proved “profound cardiovascular and neurobehavioral effects on fetuses and infants” who were conceived from caffeinated parents.  For healthy conception, choose caffeine-free.
Fact #4:  Avoid Pesticides
Avoiding pesticides may increase your chances of a quick and healthy conception.  Nutritionist Carol Simontacchi says, “The purpose of a pesticide is, after all, to either kill insect pests or make them sterile so they can’t reproduce.”  She also suggests that, if you do get pregnant, pesticides may disrupt the hormonal and nervous system of your growing baby.  Avoid pesticides as much as possible while choosing organic fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and meats.

Fact #5:  Avoid Soy
Avoiding soy foods may help your chances of quick and healthy reproduction.  Nutrition researcher Sally Fallon says that soy’s phytoestrogens are potent hormonal disruptors while a 2006 Medical News Today article says “There is a growing body of literature demonstrating the potentially adverse consequences [of soy] on the reproductive system.”  The reason why is because phytoestrogens act as estrogen in your body, and Endocrine Biologist Raymond Peat, PhD, whose career has studied the negative effect of excess estrogens in a woman’s body, writes how human fertility “has declined so steeply during the last 20 years as the result of…harmful estrogen-like effects.”  When in doubt, leave soy out.

Fact #6:  Remove Household Toxins
Changing some common household products may help your body conceive.  Many household products contain “endocrine disruptors” which can cause “reproductive risks to humans,” according to a risk assessment from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and reported by Environmental Working Group in 2003.  The EPA assessment spoke directly about PFOA, a chemical found in Teflon cookware, stain repellents, food packaging, and cosmetics.  However, endocrine disruptors are also present in plastic containers, plastic bottles, and plastic wrap as Bisphenol A, and as phthalates in shampoo, deodorants, fragrances, hair spray, and nail polish.  If you put these products on your skin, eat foods that come in contact with these products, or simply breathe any of these products, they enter your body.  As an alternative, purchase your household cleaners and toiletries at health food stores, use glass containers, and cook with Teflon-free cookware.

Fact #7:  Unprocessed Foods for Her
You are what you eat.  In The Fertility Diet, Harvard Researchers suggest eating unprocessed foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds, as well as avoiding trans fats and skim milk to increase a woman’s chances of conception.  It seems that processed foods like sugar and flour can reduce your chances of becoming pregnant.  We know that choosing unprocessed “true-foods” provides quality building blocks for everything your body manufactures, including reproductive hormones.  Unprocessed foods include fresh vegetables and fruits, hormone-free meats, fresh fish, eggs, brown rice, quinoa, barley, potatoes, unpasteurized dairy, olive oil, and coconut oil.

Fact #8:  Unprocessed Foods for Him
Your partner is what he eats too!  In her article, Eat to Get Pregnant, Nutritionist Victoria Greaves says conception may also depend upon what your spouse eats as well.  She mentions zinc for “good-quality sperm,” B12 to “increase sperm count,” selenium “has been shown to increase male fertility,” “Vitamin E increases sperm mobility and ability to penetrate the egg,” and Essential Fatty Acids can “prevent poor sperm mobility, low count or abnormal sperm.”  Similar to The Fertility Diet, the foods she suggests for dad are unprocessed and organic, including shellfish, egg yolks, nuts, seeds, whole grains, cheese, as well as organic fruits, vegetables, and meats.  She also says to drink plenty of water and don’t be afraid of healthy fats.  In terms of a healthy conception, Doctor Westin Price’s famous world travels in search of the healthiest cultures found “the general architecture of the body is apparently determined primarily by the health of the two germ cells at the time of their union.”  Referring to a range of possible facial deformities like cleft palate, he found “the male may provide the defect quite as well as the female.”  Dads share a good portion of the responsibility in creating a healthy baby.

Fact #9:  Get Regular Sleep and Sunshine
Good circadian rhythms can help your chances of conception.  Mary Kittel and Doctor Deborah Metzger, authors of Stay Fertile Longer, write that lack of sleep can lead to hormone imbalance and menstrual irregularity, factors that can “delay the time it takes to conceive.”  In an article called Guidelines for Sleep, Sunlight, and Fertility, they discuss world-famous circadian rhythm expert Doctor Daniel Kripke who says hormones that trigger ovulation, and even the sperm maturation process, are somehow tied into the body’s biological clock.  The article reports that because scientists have found our sleep-wake hormones are somehow tied to reproductive hormones for both men and women, these systems can affect each other.  Some of their recommended circadian-healing tips include keeping sleep and wake times consistent all seven days of the week, dimming lights as the evening arrives, and getting an hour of sunshine every day.

Fact #10:  Daily Movement
Daily movement can help conception.  Moderate exercise has been shown to improve just about every bodily function, including “beneficial changes to your…reproductive hormones” says Doctor Jeffrey Keenan of the Southeastern Center for Fertility and Reproductive Surgery.  In addition, a 2007 article in Human Reproduction reported that the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam has shown that obese women have a lower chance of becoming pregnant naturally.  It seems that exercise tells Mother Nature you are “fit” to give birth.

James and Kim are certified Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaches who assist pregnant moms and new parents to achieve optimal health.  They can be contacted at FitForBirth@gmail.com or through their websites GetFitForBirth.com and SecretsofPainlessChildbirth.com

James and I presented for the La Leche League this past weekend on nutrition for the pregnant and breastfeeding mom. It was a great conference but I was so sad to hear yet another tragic hospital birth story. When I asked how her birth experience was she was like overall not that bad, but once I started to ask specific questions the truth came out. She was due around Christmas and because of this she felt she was forced to induce because of the doctor’s holiday schedule. She went into the hospital on Dec 22 and was given pitocin. She had wanted a birth without pain relief but once she felt these contractions with no rest, she could not stand it and asked for an epidural. She felt trapped and when it came time to push, hours later the doctor was rushing her, telling her that she must get the baby out now. The mom was pleading, “Just give me a few more pushes please, I know I can do it, please.” With a few more pushes she delivered a healthy baby boy. She pleaded with the nurses to bring him to her and they did for 20 minutes and then took him away. She asked how long will it be and they said they would try to rush, maybe an hour, but they were extremely busy because of all the inductions and c-sections due to the holidays. Every hour for 5 hours she begged to have her baby back.

I do not know how women can be OKAY with this type of treatment. How can they say in the end my birth was alright because I had a healthy baby. It is absolutely absurd.

Of course she is not the only birthing woman who experiences such treatment. About 80% of women in large hospitals are given pitocin to speed up their labor, and then given epidurals as the pain is too extreme to handle. Their labor then slows down and more pitocin is given until either, A it is time to push or B the labor is not progressing after 12 hours and a c-section must be performed.

If the mom is lucky enough to push, she may be there for a couple of hours, waiting for the nurse to tell her when to push as she reads the monitor, showing when a contraction comes. The mom is then given an episiotomy and sometimes a vacume is used. The baby is then taken away with only a short visit 10 or20 minutes, with its mom.

Please tell me why you would accept this as your birth. Why do you put all of your trust in a surgeon, not in your own body. According to research in the book Pushed, 90% of women are considered a low risk birth yet the c-section rate is as high as 47% or more in hospitals through out the nation and interventions are as high as 90%. There is no reason for this.

If you have a birth story, either good or bad, please share it! Women need to know what birth can be like when they are informed and confident with their bodies as well as what can happen if they do not know their choices, which health care provider to choose, which hospital to choose, and other questions that will drastically effect their birth outcome.

please email your birth to painlesschildbirth@gmail.com

you can visit other birth stories at www.secretsofpainlesschildbirth.com

Kim