We never bought a high chair for Babyzilla, nor did we ever really need one. Once Babyzilla was ready for solid foods around 9 months of age, we started baby-led weaning by holding her in our lap and letting her try foods from our plates. She loved to taste new things, and especially loved eating off the “big” plates. Around one year old, she finally got big and wiggly enough that we knew it was time for her to have her own chair at the table as part of the family. So, we invested in a TrippTrapp chair. 

If you’ve shopped around, you may have noticed that TrippTrapp chairs (and their competitors Svan and Euro) cost between $150 and $250 dollars—far more than a plastic Costco high chair. You can often find them on CraigsList or eBay for less; they are durable, and retain their value.

Because we had saved a lot of money by breastfeeding, using cloth diapers and not having a nursery, we felt alright about spending the extra money on a TrippTrapp. After a lot of online research, as well as asking dozens of parents for their opinions, we decided that the TrippTrapp chair has some distinct features that differ from a cheap, plastic high chair which make it worth the cost:

• TrippTrapp (and Svan, but not Euro) chairs are made from sustainably-harvested wood finished with non-toxic, VOC-free, water-based stains and varnishes. They are formaldehyde free, with no emissions from their glue. There are no fire retardant chemicals in their cushions, and no PVC, BPA, phthalates or non-renewable, petroleum-based materials.
• The TrippTrapp is very well made, so you can be sure it will last a lifetime with proper care. It can be “recycled” many times and sold or donated from parents to parents, and unlike plastic highchairs, it won’t live forever in a landfill after it quickly wears out or breaks.
• The TrippTrapp is designed to adjust in size for the entire life of your child. It goes from a baby seat to a toddler-booster to an adult-sized chair (and everything in between!) with the turn of an allen key. I found it a little challenging to put together and adjust simply because the pieces attach so snugly, you really have to line everything up well.
• TrippTrapp chairs are designed to be pulled right up to the table with no tray, and to match the decor of your dining set or your child’s room. This means that your baby can start learning to eat with the family right away, and there is no ugly, plastic behemoth to tuck into the corner of your dining room or kitchen. TrippTrapp chairs are perfect for Baby-Led Weaning.
• Most kids love the TrippTrapp because it looks like a grown-up chair, but it’s made just for them. Babyzilla is no exception, and often climbs into her chair at the dining room table to color with crayons while I research and write these posts.

So, if you are expecting a baby (or know someone who is), and you need a high-chair, consider investing in an eco-friendly, adjustable wooden child seat like the TrippTrapp that will be with your child long after her baby years.

If you spend any time with babies and kids, you will quickly learn that they can make fun out of anything. Babyzilla is no exception. With the exception of staple toys like books, colorful wooden blocks, a ball, and her stuffed puppy Franklin, no toy bought for her has captured her imagination or sense of fun like mundane household objects used by grown-ups. We’ve saved perhaps hundreds of dollars and untold natural resources by making her toys out of empty boxes and food containers, or by letting her play with common household items like wooden spoons, flashlights, potato mashers, pots and pans and—her favorite—measuring cups.

Many kids have a toy chest full of plastic junk that is missing pieces and sitting idle for lack of long-term interest. Made from petroleum, most plastic toys contain toxic phthalates, BPA, fire retardants, and other chemicals that are neither safe for your child nor eco-friendly. For all their flash and advertising, these toys are actually designed to break easily and end up in landfills at the end of a rather short lifespan. And with all of the safety recalls of toys made in China, you can never be sure what your are bringing home these days.

Roughly 70 to 80 percent of all toys sold in the United States are manufactured in China.  A study by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences published April 29, 2009 in Environmental Science and Technology reports widespread use of brominated fire retardant chemicals in Chinese-made children’s toys.

Since it is virtually impossible to keep toys out of your kid’s mouth, we need strong regulations to keep these toxins out of toys. Brominated fire retardants are dangerous for children because laboratory studies have shown that they disrupt hormone systems and effect brain and behavior. The Chinese researchers purchased and tested 69 toys, including Barbie and other dolls, soft plastic teethers, swords, race cars, foam toys and action figures. They found brominated fire retardants contaminated most of them, including:

• Polybrominated diethyl ethers (PBDEs).  These were found in all hard plastic, foam and stuffed toys, and a third of soft rubber toys.  The types of PBDEs found were:
  • Deca (the type of PBDE currently manufactured in highest quantity) is a form of PBDE banned in 2 states and Canada; and
  • Penta & Octa are no longer manufactured in the U.S. due to health concerns, and have been banned in 11 U.S. states, Canada and Europe.
• Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs). The U.S. stopped manufacturing PBBs in 1976 after several thousand people in Michigan were poisoned by the chemical.
• Brominated-ethanes (DBDPE & BTBPE).  These are new flame retardant chemicals in use despite the absence of health and safety information.

Although Penta and Octa PBDEs are banned for most uses in Europe and Canada, and no longer made in the U.S. because of health and safety concerns, a loophole in federal regulations allows finished goods containing these chemicals to be imported. The only way to be sure your children are safe at this time is to avoid plastic toys, and all toys made in China.

Because children’s bodies are growing and developing, they are more vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals. Even small amounts of a chemical can impact a child’s ability to reach his or her full potential. Fortunately there are many craftsmen and women here in the U.S. that make beautiful toys from wood, cloth, metal and other natural, non-toxic, sustainable materials that will last a very long time, and may even become treasured family heirlooms. Nova Naturals is one such toy store, but brands like Natural Pod, ImagiPlay, Haba, Melissa and Doug, Imaginarium and Plan Toys can be found in more and more mainstream toy stores these days.

Babies and toddlers really don’t need a lot of toys to have fun, not as much as they need your time and attention. So consider buying fewer toys, making toys out of everyday household items, and buying natural-material toys that inspire the imagination and endure years of play.

To learn more about toxins in toys and to see how your child’s toys measure up, go to HealthyToys.org.

Babies do a lot of pooping. In fact, the average baby goes through an average of 6-8 diapers a day. Unless you practice elimination communication, your baby will use an average of 6,500 diapers before potty training at roughly 30 months old. If you use disposables, this costs about $100 a month, or $3,000 per child!

Consider these alarming facts about disposable diapers: 

• Over 250,000 trees are destroyed and over 3.4 billion gallons of oil are used every year to manufacture disposable diapers in the United States. That equates to enough gasoline to power OVER 5,222,000 cars for an entire YEAR!
• 11 billion pounds of untreated body excrement, which may carry over 100 intestinal viruses, are brought to landfills via disposable diapers each year.
• Oil is the raw material for the polyethylene in disposables. It takes 1 cup of crude oil to make the plastic for 1 disposable diaper. Taking that a bit further, it takes 286 lbs. of plastic (including diaper packaging) per year to supply 1 baby in disposable diapers.
• 18 Billion diapers are used and thrown into landfills each year—enough to stretch to the moon and back 9 times.
• Compared to cloth diapers, disposable diapers create 2.3 times as much water waste, use 3.5 times as much energy, use 8.3 times the non-regenerable raw materials, use 90 times the renewable raw materials, and use 4 to 30 times as much land for growing raw materials.
• It takes between 200-500 years for disposable diapers to decompose when exposed to direct sunlight and air. Since the diapers are dumped into landfills, covered and not exposed to sun or air, nobody knows how many thousands of years they will be around.
• The super-absorbent qualities of disposable diapers are not the boon they seem to be. Super-absorbent disposable diapers do three things:
  • Facilitate less diaper changing from parents, which leads to rashes because of babies’ exposure to the super-absorbent chemicals, bacterial growth, and the ammonia from accumulated urine in the diaper.
  • Reduce air circulation and pull natural moisture (not just urine) from the baby’s skin—this too will encourage irritation.
  • Raise the temperature of a baby boy’s scrotum far above body temperature, to the point that it stops his testicles from developing normally, according to a study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
• Disposable diapers contain Sodium Polyacrylate – This is the chemical, added in powder form to the inner pad of a disposable, that makes it super-absorbent. When the powder becomes wet, it turns into a gel which:
  • Can absorb up to 100X its weight in water.
  • Can stick to baby’s genitals, causing allergic reactions.
  • Can cause severe skin irritations, oozing blood from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever, vomiting and staph infections in babies.
  • When injected into rats, it has caused hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure and death.
  • Was banned from tampons in 1985 because of its link to Toxic Shock Syndrome.
  • Has killed children after ingesting as little as 5 grams of it.
• Disposable diapers also contain Dioxin – This is the chemical by-product of the paper-bleaching process, using chlorine gas, in the manufacturing of diapers. Dioxin is carcinogenic—a cancer-causing chemical. In fact, the EPA lists it as the MOST TOXIC of all cancer-linked chemicals. In small quantities it causes birth defects, skin/liver disease, immune system suppression & genetic damage in lab animals. Dioxin is banned in most countries, but not the United States.
• Disposable diapers contain Tributyl Tin (TBT) – An environmental pollutant, considered highly toxic, that spreads through the skin and has a hormone-like effect in the smallest concentrations. TBT harms the immune system and impairs the hormonal system, and it is speculated that it could cause sterility in boys.

From all angles, cloth diapering is a far better alternative to disposables—even the so-called “green” ones made of unbleached paper and cotton. A good cloth diapering system consisting of 24-36 cloth diapers will usually cost you between $200-500 dollars up front, but you will not need to continue to buy them, and you can save them for use with future children. Cloth diapers in good condition also have great resale value on e-Bay and other mommy resource sites.

Today’s cloth diapers are as varied and effective as any disposable—and they often come in cute colors and prints! With modern velcro and PUL nylon covers, the old diaper pins and sweaty, plastic pants are a thing of the past. The new cloth diapers clean up easily in regular and high-efficiency washing machines, using less water than would be required to flush the toilet each time your baby went to the bathroom. You can learn more about cloth diaper systems at Nicki’s Diapers and see how mommy’s rate them at the Diaper Pin.

Diaper-Free Babies
If you want to deal with baby poop in the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner, don’t diaper at all! Almost all non-Western cultures practice some form of elimination communication (EC), where mommies learn their babies’ cues for going to the bathroom just as they would learn their cues for hunger or sleepiness, and hold them over a potty when they need to go. Many progressive parents in the U.S. are also practicing EC, avoiding the need for diapers altogether, and enjoying fully potty-savvy children by the age of one!

Learn more about Elimination Communication and Diaper-Free Babies here.

This post is part of the Green Moms Carnival hosted this month by Mindful Momma!

Once your baby is at least 6 months in age, it is time to introduce some solid foods. But, have you ever looked on the back of a jar of baby food or a box of rice cereal? Yikes! The first thing you may notice is added modified starches, sugars, corn syrup, or preservatives—even in the organic ones. Your baby certainly doesn’t need any of these things, and some could even be outright harmful. 

The second thing you may notice is that there is almost no nutrition in jars of baby food or boxes of rice cereal—again, even in the organic ones. With the exception of a little added Vitamin A or C, packaged baby foods have nothing to offer your little one except mush to fill the tummy. Lastly, what you cannot see (and what is not on the label), are the pesticide, herbicide and other toxic chemical residues that were part of growing and processing the food in the jar. These hidden ingredients have no place anywhere near your baby!

The good news is that making your own baby food is very, very easy, and is one of the best ways to ensure the quality of nutrition your child gets for healthy growth and development. It’s also very inexpensive, compared to baby food you buy in the store, and requires no resource-intensive packaging or shipping to the store. In fact, making your own baby food can save you over $600 a year!

On the weekend or during regular dinner cooking, simply lightly steam a bunch of organic veggies (or leave them raw, depending), blend in a food processor or blender, then freeze the puree in ice cube trays. Once the foods are frozen, pop them out of the trays and put them in a freezer-safe container to keep them from getting freezer burn. Each cube makes one serving!

If you just don’t have the time or inclination to make your baby food, many brands of organic, frozen baby food are now available. These frozen brands are made from fresh produce that’s minimally processed through quick freezing, which maintains more of the original flavor, color, and nutrient content than the jarred stuff. These companies also use eco-friendly packaging such as recycled cardboard, vegetable inks, and BPA-free plastic. Some brands include:

• Plum Organics – organic purees in three different textures, including Super Greens (peas, spinach, and green beans);
• Jack’s Harvest - organic purees in heart-shaped “cubes” packed in a single bag; first stage (smoothest) faves include peas with mint, also Papplesauce (peach, apple, and cinnamon);
• Tasty Baby – organic purees available in three consistencies (smooth to chunky); top picks include Corn in the USA and Bangos (banana, mango, and vanilla);
• Mom Made Foods – certified organic purees including broccoli, sweet potato, and apple.

Finally, the easiest, cheapest, and most low-impact way to feed your baby is a technique called “Baby-Led Weaning.” Advocated by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, Baby-Led Weaning is a way of introducing solid foods that allows the baby to feed herself—there’s no spoon-feeding and no purees. The baby sits with the rest of the family at mealtimes, and joins in when she is ready. You offer her food in sizes and shapes that she can handle and she feeds herself with her fingers, choosing what to eat, how much and how quickly.

Finger-sized “sticks” of organic, steamed carrots, skinned zucchini, apple or pear, or even bits of hormone-free, grassfed ground beef or minced chicken are perfect, highly nutritious first foods when doing baby-led weaning. This is the way we introduced solid foods to Babyzilla with great success. Her first foods were homemade garlic hummus, fresh strawberries, and liver!

All healthy babies can eat soft, solid foods, even without teeth; they just need to be given the opportunity to feed themselves. After all, would you want to be strapped into a high chair and force-fed spoon after spoon of bland vegetables? It’s surely much more exciting to be able to exercise a bit of control over your diet and share in a bit of what mom and dad are having. And it’s much easier on parents too!

Learn more about Baby-led Weaning here.

Being an eco-conscious parent often means taking a look at the footprint of all the baby gear we are told we just have to have in order to properly raise our children. Sometimes this means finding greener choices (like cloth diapers instead of disposables), sometimes this means reusing hand-me-down onesies from your older sister, and sometimes this means opting out altogether from purchasing things that will become quickly obsolete.

When reducing your family resource consumption, consider whether or not you really need a stroller. Strollers are expensive, use a lot of fossil fuel resources and generate a lot of toxic waste from manufacture, to packaging and shipment to your local store, all the way to their final resting place in the landfill after they inevitably break.

Not only do strollers have a large ecological footprint from cradle to grave, but they may not be very good for your child’s development either. Recent studies have shown that strollers in which your baby faces away from you could risk long-term development problems in your children.¹

For most of human history, there have been no strollers. Even today, most of the world’s parents use cloth wraps of various types to wear their babies on their bodies. In the last couple of years, many Americans and Europeans have taken up the practice too. Studies have shown that babywearing has many benefits for infants and young children as well as for the carrying parent. Here are five of them:

1. Babies who are carried often cry less. A 1986 randomized, controlled study by Hunziker and Barr showed that carrying an infant 2 additional hours per day reduced crying overall by 43%, or one entire hour.
2. Babywearing is good for babies physically. According to Dr. Eckhard Bonnet in a 1998 article published on Didymos, a baby wrap or sling holds a baby’s body in a comfortable, correct position, much as the womb carries a fetus before birth. Upright carrying also massages your baby’s abdomen which promotes healthy digestion, and prevents physical abnormalities associated with infants who spend large amounts of time lying on their backs or bellies (such as hip dysplasia, frog legs, or flattened skulls on the back or sides).
   Note: The exception to this are the baby carriers that dangle your baby from his crotch. These facing-out types of carriers (Baby Bjorn and others) are harmful to the development of your child’s hips.
   
3. Babywearing encourages healthy mental and emotional development. Since in-arms parenting meets your baby’s needs for warmth, comfort, and access to breastfeeding, babies cry less and spend more time in a quiet, alert state. While in this state they are better able to learn about their environment and develop mentally and socially. As long as you can carry them, toddlers also enjoy being worn, and benefit from interacting with others at eye-level instead of being looked down upon in a stroller.
4. Babywearing makes parenting easier. Carrying baby in a sling, wrap or pack frees your hands to work, or assist in the needs of older children while still being able to give your baby the closeness she needs. Many slings also allow for breastfeeding while on the go. If yours is the type of baby that needs to be held during naps, like mine, doing it with a sling allows you to get some work done, or to do almost any other activity.
5. Babywearing promotes attachment. Babywearing allows you to bond with your baby and learn to meet your child’s needs more quickly. Babywearing also helps mothers who may be suffering from depression to nurture their babies with less effort. Preemies and sick infants also grow and heal faster when worn, especially when the baby and parent are skin-to-skin.

There are many types of slings and carriers available to meet a variety of needs. Some of them are beautiful works of fashion art any new mom would love to wear! (And there are gender-neutral carriers for Dad, too.) We primarily use an Ergo structured carrier, which is most comfortable for all of us, but we keep a ring sling on hand for quick trips and errands. Between the pack and the sling, my arms never get tired carrying my 25-pound 17-month-old—even when vacuuming the house or doing the dishes!

Baby carriers can be purchased at retail stores, but you can find a much better selection online. My favorite online store is Attached to Baby, which has the biggest variety and best pricing on the Net. There are also many online groups, forums and local clubs dedicated to babywearing.

So, unless you have multiple babies, are a runner who plans to go running with your baby, or are unable to carry your child on your body for medical reasons, why not enjoy all the ecological and developmental benefits of wearing your baby? You could save between $200-$700, and avoid the plastic, fossil fuels and packaging waste of a stroller!

^1. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/21/baby.buggies/index.html

This video from the Environmental Working Group speaks for itself.

Shocked? Angry? Afraid for the children in your life?

SIGN THE PETITION

Ever wonder why some people seldom brush their teeth and have few, if any, cavities, whereas others brush and floss religiously and still have constant dental problems? Or why isolated peoples who eat traditional, whole food diets may have never used a toothbrush, and yet have perfect, straight teeth with no decay throughout their lives?

A lot of people believe that the central cause of tooth decay is the fermentation of foods on your teeth. This theory is like blaming the rain because your roof is leaking. When the roof of your home is sealed and well cared for, it will not leak. Similarly, when your tooth enamel is strong and healthy, your teeth will not be affected by the conditions in the mouth, or by the products of food being left on the teeth, no matter how much you brush (or don’t). So this theory is only partially true. Trying to eliminate bacteria from our mouth to prevent tooth decay is similar to trying to stop the rain from falling in order to prevent leaky roofs. The theory that bacteria in our mouth produce acids, which then cause tooth decay is also false. Saliva has a basic pH and will neutralize acids in the mouth rapidly. So if not food and bacteria, what then, does cause tooth decay?

The Real Cause of Tooth Decay
Teeth, like bones, are living organs. While they renew themselves much slower than softer organs like your skin or your liver, teeth are constantly breaking down and replacing their cells. In a healthy person, new dentin and enamel is constantly being generated from vitamins, minerals and enzymes in your bloodstream which are pushed out through microscopic tubules to the outer layers of your teeth. With enough vitamins and minerals in the right ratios, teeth will constantly remineralize and regenerate themselves, and do not need treatments such as fluoride to remain healthy.

Tooth decay is not therefore bacteria or acids eating away at your teeth, but rather it is part of the natural cycle of the life of your teeth. In a healthy individual, the cycle of decay is checked by the renewal of cells, as healthy cells replace dead cells in our teeth. However, due to factors including diet, toxic accumulations from the environment, and stress, the functioning of our bodies can fall out of balance, leaving us susceptible to disease. Our teeth are no different. Most of us in the Western world—where processed, prepackaged, and denatured foods are prevalent—have this cycle of decay and regrowth deeply out of balance and our bodies simply cannot replace the cells in our teeth properly before disease takes over. Deposits on teeth therefore are not caused by bacterial action, but, as evidence has shown, are due to imbalances in our body chemistry.

So it is not sugar, smoking, coffee, candy, soda, etc. in and of themselves that cause tooth decay. It is the malnutrition and blood sugar swings that eating such foods creates in your body that disrupts the balance in your mouth and allows decay to prevail. In essence, tooth decay—like all disease—is caused at its root by malnutrition which causes biochemical imbalances that leave the body weak and open to degeneration.

According to Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition, Dr. Melvin Page, DDS and anthropologist Leon Abrams believe that it takes just a 25% imbalance of body chemistry to cause teeth to decay. After 30 years of research and 40,000 blood tests, Dr. Page discovered that a disturbance in the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the blood causes tooth decay and gum disease. Most importantly, they found that a ratio of 8.75mg of calcium to 3.5mg of phosphorus per 100cc of blood, with normal blood sugar levels of 85mg per 100cc of blood creates immunity to tooth decay. When this ratio deviated or when blood sugar levels grew too high or low, they found that minerals were withdrawn from the dentin and bone to compensate, resulting in tooth decay.

However, even if you have perfect blood sugar and an abundance of calcium and phosphorus in your diet in just the right ratio, the presence or absence of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K determines whether or not your body will be able to utilize those minerals in the proper way. Unfortunately these vitamins are largely missing from the Western/American diet, and without them, all the minerals in the world will not help your bones or teeth.

On average, Americans don’t get enough minerals or vitamins to be healthy because we seldom eat high-quality, fresh, organic whole foods like pasture-raised animal products and leafy green vegetables. Additionally, the Standard Western/American Diet is extremely high in sugar (including natural sugar from fruits and juices), white flour, processed, refined and denatured foods, caffeine, preservatives, and other food-borne toxins that cause rampant blood sugar swings and deficiencies, which are at the root of the epidemic of diabetes in this country. This combination of low nutrition and high processed food leads to radical biochemical imbalances that ultimately lead to all sorts of chronic and degenerative diseases, including tooth decay and gum disease.

Comparatively, Dr. Weston A. Price, DDS, performed nutrient analysis for the many isolated and modernized groups he studied when looking around the globe for causes of tooth decay. In the case of the Swiss, he found that the isolated Swiss diet contained 10 times more fat-soluble vitamins, 4 times more calcium and 4 times more phosphorus than the modern Swiss diet. The Aborigines of Australia have a native diet that contains 5 times the calcium, 6 times the phophorus and 10 times the amount of fat-soluble vitamins as the modern Australian diet. Aborigines who maintain their native diet have healthy, straight teeth, and are virtually immune to tooth decay. But those who adopt the modern Australian diet quickly succumb to tooth decay, gum disease and, in children, orthodontic misalignments and malocclusions. Dr. Price found this to be true of all peoples who have deviated from their traditional diets in favor of modern, Western food choices.

The Trouble with Dental Work
Fillings, crowns, root canals, etc. do not cure tooth decay; they only treat the symptoms of a greater imbalance in the body. Getting a filling today will not guarantee that you don’t need a root canal in the same tooth or fillings in other teeth later on. Additionally, dental work, while occasionally necessary, often uses toxic materials like fluoride, mercury and Bisphenol-A that can lead to other health problems down the road. As in all health issues, prevention through optimal nutrition is the best medicine.

Nutrition and Preventing Tooth Decay
Ensuring you have ample Vitamins A, D, E and K in your diet, as well as plenty of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and other minerals is key to a healthy body and healthy teeth. Dr. Weston Price found that indigenous groups that had the highest immunity to tooth decay ate daily from at least two of the following four concentrated sources for these vitamins:

1. raw, pasture-fed dairy (NOT homogenized or pasteurized), or eggs from wild or pasture-fed fowl,
2. wild sea foods including organs, and
3. organs of pastured or wild land animals.
4. Although considered yucky to Westerners, insects are also an outstanding source of these vitamins, and are enjoyed by many cultures that eat traditional diets, as well as by our nearest animal relatives, the Great Apes.

Because we Westerners almost never eat raw dairy, pastured eggs, organ meats or fresh, wild seafood—much less fresh, organic leafy greens and vegetables grown on healthy soils, it is common for modern omnivores to have deficiencies in Vitamins A, D, E and K, as well as most minerals, and to therefore have dental and other health problems.

Many people are not physically able to get enough Vitamin D from the sun because of where they live, the time of year, or because of the amount of pigment in their skin. And about a third of the population cannot effectively convert beta-carotene from plants into Vitamin A. For these reasons, the majority of humanity can only get optimal amounts of the vitamins A, D, E and K from high-quality animal products. It is also for these same reasons that many vegetarians have a difficult time acquiring enough of these vital fat-soluble vitamins, and therefore have a higher susceptibility to tooth decay. Furthermore, our grains and vegetables—even from organic farms—are grown in depleted soils, so it is also difficult for modern vegetarians to get enough minerals from plant sources alone. Vegetarians would be wise to supplement their diets with plenty of organic eggs from pasture-raised hens and high-vitamin, yellow butter and dairy products from grassfed, raw milk.

Vegans notoriously have dental issues. I was a vegan myself for many, many years—the later part of which were also the worst years for me in terms of dental health. It is precisely due to the lack of fat-soluble vitamins in the vegan diet that makes it very difficult for vegans to remain immune to cavities—and, in children, orthodontic issues. Vegans will have to be extra careful to make sure they get enough sun, since Vitamin D is not found in any plant sources, and should have their Vitamin D levels checked regularly. Without enough Vitamin D, minerals cannot be properly absorbed and utilized in the body, which over time will create deficiencies that will deeply affect your immunity to diseases, including tooth decay and gum disease. Supplementation with Vitamin D as well as Vitamin B-12 is often recommended for vegans.

Vegans must also take care to eat an abundance of raw nuts, seeds, seaweeds, and leafy greens to get enough of Vitamins A, E, and K, and minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. Lastly, vegans (and everyone else too) should especially avoid radical spikes in their blood sugar from eating a lot of sweet fruit and fruit juices.

Nutrition for Healing Tooth Decay
It is very simple really: if your oral health is suffering, your body chemistry is out of balance due to nutritional deficiencies. Resetting this balance can be accomplished with dietary changes, but a few pitfalls must be avoided:

Poor food quality. Precision in food selection is key to remineralizing cavities and reaching optimal health. Optimal health is dependent on optimal nutrition which comes from optimal foods.

First, avoid all packaged foods. They are of low quality and have very little nutrition. While some packaged and processed foods might be fortified, these vitamins are synthetic and are barely absorbed by the body.

One would think that buying organic foods would be enough to restore proper nutrition, but consider the example of organic yogurt: It is stored in plastic containers and may not be fresh; the milk may be of average quality and lacking in nutrients because the cows were grain-fed and their milk was pasteurized. In order for dairy products to contain optimal nutrition, they must be not only be organic, but also raw, and the animals that produce them must be grass-fed and allowed to graze in the sun.

Organic, free-range eggs bought at the grocery store are, at best, mediocre. For eggs to be truly nutritious, they must come from chickens allowed to roam in the sunshine eating their native diet of worms, bugs, grasses, seeds and plants. Eggs from such hens have dark orange yolks, not yellow, and are, frankly, out-of-this-world delicious.

Organic vegetables are only as nutritious as they are fresh, in season, and grown on healthy, mineral-rich soils. An organic fruit or vegetable that has been grown on depleted soils and then shipped hundreds or thousands of miles to your table will only have a fraction of the nutrition of one that was harvested that day and sold at the local farm market.

Not eating fat-soluble vitamins often enough. To achieve regular tooth remineralization and optimal health, you need to get a substantial amount of Vitamins A, D, E and K—much, much more than the current U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances, which were designed as bare minimums for survival. Ideally, this means you need to eat once or twice a day from at least two of the three special food groups that Dr. Price identified:

1. raw grass-fed dairy and eggs from pasture-raised or wild fowl,
2. fish and shellfish (including fish eggs, organs and head) (Fermented cod liver oil is a good alternative),
3. organs and bone marrow of pasture-raised or wild land animals

Too many natural sweets. Eating sweet fruits and natural sweeteners like maple syrup and honey can still contribute to tooth decay by causing calcium to be pulled from the bones and teeth. For many people, especially those at high risk for blood sugar imbalance and tooth decay, eating sweet foods even once a day may be unhealthy.

Lack of phosphorus. Phosphorus is easily depleted from our soils, so its deficiency is common in the modern diet, even if you think you eat well. Eating foods high in phosphorus, like raw nuts and seeds, grassfed meats and dairy, wild fish, and pasture-raised eggs is key to bone and tooth health.

Lack of other minerals. Bones and teeth also need other minerals like strontium, magnesium, and silica to be healthy. The most nutrient dense sources of these minerals are bone broths, seafood, and seaweeds. Most vegetables are grown on depleted soils—even organic ones—so you may not get enough from eating a lot of leafy greens and other vegetables alone, especially if you cook them.

Poor food absorption. Many Westerners cannot properly absorb the nutrients they eat because their guts have been damaged from years of poor-quality, processed, cooked foods. It is important to include daily consumption of fermented vegetables or meats, and lots of raw foods to provide your digestive system with the probiotic bacteria and enzymes necessary to properly utilize the nutrients you eat. Eating 60% or more of your daily diet in raw vegetables and fermented, living foods is optimal. Fermented, living foods include unpasteurized sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and yogurt from raw milk, etc. Raw foods include all raw vegetables and fruits as well as raw eggs, steak tartar, sashimi, ceviche, etc. Nourishing Traditions and The Recipe for Living Without Disease have excellent recipes for safely preparing nourishing foods that are easy to absorb, particularly raw veggies and animal products.

A Complete Tooth Healing Protocol
Diseases like tooth decay arise when your body is out of balance. Ramiel Nagel, the author of Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition, has included a complete nutritional protocol in his book for reestablishing nutritional balance, remineralizing teeth and preventing tooth decay.

In the book, Nagel lays out the foods that can restore oral health, the foods that should be avoided at all costs because they cause mineral deficiencies (like soy, table salt, and pasteurized dairy products, among others), and the healing herbs and oils that can alleviate tooth pain and infection in a hurry. Cure Tooth Decay is a Small Footprint Must-Read.

Because my husband and I have long suffered with tooth decay and misaligned teeth, we are following this proven protocol in the hopes that we can prevent further dental problems in ourselves, and completely avoid them altogether with our daughter and any future children we might have. I can say that in the last 8 years since I’ve added grass-fed meat and wild-caught fish back into to my diet (after a lifetime of vegetarian and veganism) my health has improved greatly. And while I’ve had issues with teeth that received dental work in the past, I haven’t had a single new cavity in that time either. I’m expecting that by eating mostly raw and fermented vegetables, meats, fish and eggs as outlined in Cure Tooth Decay, we’ll all improve our dental and physical health even further. (If you want to know where to find grass-fed meats, clean organ meats and wild-caught fish, please check my Resources page.)

While everyone’s road to balance is unique, the protocol in Cure Tooth Decay has been used successfully by thousands of people over the past 60 years to minimize, prevent and even reverse and remineralize tooth decay and gum disease. However, if you have dental problems that need immediate attention, please get it from a good dentist—preferably a holistic dentist if you can find one in your area.

Eat well!

Free Delivery and 15% off with code AFF15 through this link!

My husband and I have a history of lots of painful dental work and orthodonture, and both of us have mouthfuls of toxic mercury fillings we wish we had had an alternative for when we were young. (Dating ourselves here, I guess!). Now that Babyzilla has 8 teeth, we are particularly concerned that they remain healthy, straight and strong.

To that end, we give her no sugar or processed foods. We don’t eat them ourselves, so this is pretty easy to do. We also give her bone broths and high-vitamin fermented cod liver oil, which have lots of Vitamins A, D and K, and minerals, as well as Omega-3s—all crucial for healthy brain, teeth and bones. Lastly, we brush her few teeth daily (though she prefers to do it herself) with either our homemade toothpaste (see below) or Earth’s Best tooth gel, which like many kid’s toothpastes, has no fluoride.

Why do most kids’ toothpastes have no fluoride? Because kids inevitably will swallow some paste, and fluoride is extremely TOXIC. In fact, eating a tube of toothpaste will kill a child (and seriously harm an adult), so keep any fluoride paste or mouthwash out of reach, like you do bathroom cleaners and medicines.

For me, this begs the question: Why are we putting a toxic chemical that should never be swallowed into our mouth, food and water supply in the first place?

The type of fluoride added to water supplies, most toothpastes, and many beverages and foods are waste products of the nuclear, aluminum, and phosphate (fertilizer) industries. The EPA has classified sodium fluoride as a toxin. In addition to being the primary ingredient in rat and cockroach poisons, sodium fluoride is also a main ingredient in anesthetic, hypnotic, and psychiatric drugs as well as nerve gas used by the military. Do we really want this in our mouths?

Under the Pure Water Drinking Act, it is illegal to dump fluoride in lakes, streams and oceans. But, for some strange reason, it’s ok to dump fluoride into our municipal water supply and rub it into our teeth and gums twice a day.

How Did We Get Here? – A Brief History of Fluoride
According to journalist Christopher Bryson, author of The Fluoride Deception (a Small Footprint Must-Read), getting large quantities of sodium fluoride into the water and food system was the result of the massive public relations campaigns sponsored by industries who were saddled with getting rid of toxic waste.

Fluoride is necessary for the processing or enriching of uranium. Much of the original proof that fluoride is “safe” for humans in low doses was fabricated in the 1940s by Manhattan Project A-bomb program scientists, who had been secretly ordered to provide “evidence useful in litigation” against defense contractors for fluoride injury to citizens. The first lawsuits against the U.S. A-bomb program were not over radiation, but over fluoride damage. Their pro-fluoride propaganda was successful in convincing juries and the public that not only was fluoride safe, but that it was beneficial for kids’ dental health!

Sodium fluoride was used by both Hitler during WWII and also by the Russians to make the populus docile. Fluoride is also a principal ingredient in many antidepression drugs, such as Prozac because of its ability to numb the mind. And it was key in the worst air pollution disaster in U.S. history in Donora, Pennsylvania that killed 20 people and hospitalized over 7,000 between October 26 and 31, 1948.

Because of the mind altering affects of fluoride, in the early 1950′s, the notorious spin master and father of advertising, Edward Bernays, continued the campaign for adding fluoride to water supplies as an experiment in engineering human consent! Then the ADA picked up on the dental issue and endorsed sodium fluoride’s addition to water supplies.

For the last several decades, any dissenting health studies and reports were usually dismissed as quacks regardless of their credentials. Despite this, in 1999, over 1500 professionals at the US EPA, including toxicologists and risk assessment experts voted unanimously to oppose the fluoridation initiative in California because of the health risks involved. But fluoridation was approved in most California municipalities anyway.

Fluoride’s Affects on Your Health
The fluoride used for water fluoridation does not have FDA approval and is considered by the FDA as an “unapproved drug.” The proper use of any drug requires an understanding of how much is too much. Since fluoride is already in many foods and beverages, it is estimated that we’re already receiving 300% or more of the American Dental Association’s recommended daily amount.

Generally, most fluoride entering the body is not easily eliminated. It tends to accumulate in the body’s bones and teeth. Recently, it has been discovered to accumulate even more in the pineal gland, located in the middle of the brain. The consequence of fluoride accumulation is dental fluorosis, which permanently stains and pits teeth, and leaves them brittle. The incidence of dental fluorosis among U.S. children has increased from 10 percent to 22 percent in the past 25 years, says the ADA. Yet, the American Dental Association continues to promote fluoride, refusing to admit that instead of preventing tooth decay, fluoride causes even more dental harm.

The flood of sodium fluoride in water and food also creates other more serious health problems that are not widely publicized—even suppressed. Nevertheless, in addition to fluorosis, independent labs and reputable researchers have linked the following health issues with daily long term intake of sodium fluoride:

• Cancer
• Genetic DNA Damage
• Thyroid Disruption – affecting the complete endocrine system and leading to obesity. (People with thyroid disease are advised to avoid fluoridated water.)
• Neurological Impairment – The toxic effects of fluoride on the central nervous system is confirmed by previously-classified government research. Two new epidemiological studies confirm fluoride’s neurotoxic effects on the brain and have shown that children exposed to high levels of fluoride had lower IQs.
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Birth Defects
• Melatonin Disruption - lowers immunity to cancer, accelerates aging, sleep disorders.
• Pineal Gland Disorder - calcification, which clogs this gland located in the middle of the brain.
• Osteoarthritis
  

Fluoride Proven Ineffective
You might be worried about how removing fluoride from our drinking water or toothpaste might affect our teeth. But you do not need to be.

All of the recent large-scale studies of water fluoridation have shown that there are no positive effects from the practice. According to statistics from the World Health Organization, the tooth decay rates of countries which do not fluoridate their water supplies are just as low, or even lower, than those countries which do. Further, several studies published since 2000 have reported that there has been no increase in tooth decay rates noted in communities which ended water fluoridation.

Fluoridation is illegal, banned or not used in an overwhelming number of countries, including many industrialized countries. Despite pressure from the dental industry, 99% of western Europe has rejected, banned, or stopped fluoridation due to environmental, health, legal, or ethical concerns. And yet, their children’s teeth are just as healthy as children’s teeth in the U.S. In fact, in many parts of Europe, they are healthier.

The good news is that the voice of concerned, unbiased science is beginning to overwhelm the voice of pro-fluoride industry propaganda. For example, in November 2006, the American Dental Association actually advised parents to avoid giving fluoridated water to babies.

Take the advice, and protect yourself and your children by avoiding fluoride.

Reducing Fluoride Exposure
Fluoride can be found in tap and bottled tap water, soft drinks, juices and foods made with tap water, vitamins, non-organic produce, and of course toothpaste and mouthwash.

One way to avoid fluoridated water is by buying spring water from a water service. But this is not always economical or environmental. Buying a filter that can remove fluoride from your tap water is the more cost-effective choice over the long term. You can even buy a whole-house filter and have fluoride-free water for cooking, drinking, bathing and toothbrushing!

• Reverse Osmosis Filtration. This is used to purify several types of bottled water (not all), so some bottled waters are unfluoridated. Reverse osmosis filtration systems are a bit pricey, but they remove fluoride, chlorine and most environmental toxins found in municipal tap water. However they also leave water flat, without any beneficial mineral ions, and are not the best choice if you want water that is nourishing, and tastes crisp and refreshing.
• Aluminum Oxide Defluoridation Filter. These filters often require frequent cartridge changes, but can be quite reasonably priced. Here is one of the better brands. >>
• Distillation Filtration. There are commercially available distillation filters that can be purchased to remove fluoride from water. On a related note: When looking at bottled water, keep in mind that “distilled water” does not imply that a product is suitable for drinking, and other undesirable impurities may be present.

These Do NOT Remove Fluoride

• Brita, Pur, and most other filters. Some websites about fluoride removal state otherwise, but I checked the product descriptions on the companies’ websites to confirm that fluoride is left in the water.
• Boiling Water. This will concentrate the fluoride rather than reduce it.
• Freezing Water. Freezing water does not affect the concentration of fluoride.

Steps to Reduce Fluoride Exposure

• Don’t take fluoride supplements. Read the labels on your and your children’s vitamins carefully.
• Read labels on bottled beverages. Unless they are made using spring or reverse-osmosis water, they are probably made with fluoridated public tap water.
• Consider using unfluoridated toothpaste. There are many great brands like Tom’s of Maine, Weleda and more. Tom’s of Maine can even be found at better drug stores. You will also find a recipe for homemade toothpaste below.
• Be wary of tinned fish and canned food items. Fluoride may be used as a preservative.
• Avoid black or red rock salt or items containing black or red rock salt.
• Avoid using chewing tobacco. Ew. There are many, many reasons to avoid this, not just the fluoride.
• Avoid long term use of medication that contains fluorine. Certain antidepressants and medications for osteoporosis contain fluoride.

This movie from the Environmental Working Group sums up how and why to avoid fluoride wherever you can.

This is the Small Footprint Family recipe for fluoride-free toothpaste. It helps remove stains, leaves a fresh feeling in the mouth, helps cure sensitive teeth, and it saves money.

Homemade No-Fluoride Toothpaste

• 3 Tbsp. baking soda
• 1 Tbsp. finely ground sea salt
• A few drops peppermint, wintergreen, anise, clove or cinnamon bark essential oil, according to the taste you want (be sparing, they are very strong)
• 1 tsp. xylitol or a few drops of liquid stevia (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. crushed sage (optional antimicrobial)
• Extra Virgin coconut oil

1. Mix all ingredients but coconut oil to taste.
2. Mix in a teaspoon of coconut oil at a time until you find the right consistency for you.
3. Put into a sealable jar or squeezable container.
4. Brush!

If you don’t want to make your own toothpaste, Toothsoap is an excellent, all-natural tooth cleaning alternative. Because it has no glycerine, it leaves your teeth “dental-visit” clean and ready to be remineralized by your body.

In Part 2, we’ll discuss what really causes tooth decay and how to prevent it naturally, non-toxically and cost-effectively.

When I was pregnant with Babyzilla, I began researching safe sunscreens to protect her delicate baby skin. Most sunscreens have ingredients that are unpronounceable, and having sensitive skin, I’ve never been one to blindly trust the chemicals in most cosmetics and skin care products. However, even after reading the back of every sunscreen bottle in Whole Foods, I found myself frustrated and disappointed. It turned out that all of the so-called “green” and “organic” brands had at least one highly questionable ingredient in them! Why should I have to trade short-term protection for long-term harm?

After a long online search, we eventually purchased Kabana Skin Care’s Green Screen. Kabana is a small company located in Boulder, Colorado, where outdoor enthusiast enjoy 300 days of sunshine a year. Their products are very effective and their website is very informative. The only ingredients in their sunscreen are:

1. 25% Zinc Oxide
2. Eldorado Springs Artesian Water
3. Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4. Organic Jojoba Oil
5. Vegetable Glycerin
6. Organic Shea Butter
7. Vegetable Emulsifying Wax
8. Iron Oxide
9. Vegetable Vitamin E

Now, this makes sense to a concerned mother. So what exactly is wrong with all the other sunscreens?

Petrochemical Ingredients
FDA-approved petrochemical sunscreens include: Avobenzone, also known as Parsol 1789, Octylmethoxycinnamate, oxybenzone, p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), Cinoxate, Dioxybenzone, Ensulizole, Homosalate, Menthyl anthranilate, Octocrylene, Octyl dimethyl PABA, Octyl salicylate, Sulisobenzone, trolamine salicylate and recently approved terephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid, which is also known as Mexoryl SX.

All of the petrochemical sunscreens can be absorbed through your skin and into your bloodstream in amounts higher than any other petrochemical contaminant found in our environment, air or food! Petrochemical sunscreens have significant side effects because many mimic estrogen’s effects in our bodies. They often don’t biodegrade, and they accumulate in the watershed and can damage coral reefs and aquatic ecosystems. All of these petrochemicals are toxic, and by using them, UV damage is traded for chemical damage instead.

Parents need to know that NONE of the petrochemical sunscreen ingredients listed above are FDA approved for use on children and babies. In fact, none of these compounds are tested for SPF on children’s skin, so products that use these ingredients and are marketed as “baby” formulas are misleading you.

Unfortunately, these petrochemicals are found in virtually all reputable brand names, and even in many of the “eco” brands found at the health food store. Shame, shame! No one should have to choose between skin cancer and breast cancer!

1. Zinc oxide has a broader UVA and UVB absorbance spectrum than Titanium dioxide, so it provides better UVA protection.
2. Zinc oxide is safer because it creates fewer free radicals than Titanium dioxide.
3. Zinc oxide is the only active ingredient approved for use on babies under 6 months of age; Titanium dioxide is not.
4. Zinc oxide is made from a critical mineral nutrient that’s also found in many multivitamins; Titanium dioxide is made from a toxic heavy metal.

Micronized vs. Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles are defined as having a diameter of less than 100 nanometers, (0.1 millionth of a meter) which is about the size of a virus. Micronized particles, on the other hand, are defined as having a diameter of less than 100 microns, (0.1 thousandth of a meter) which is about the width of a human hair.

Micronized mineral sunscreens have been on the market for decades, and have a lot of supportive data on their safety. Nanoparticle mineral sunscreens, however, are very new and have been marketed by chemical manufacturers as an innovative way to make their formulas less whitening.

The problem with nano sunscreens is that safety of these particles is unknown, and some recent scientific studies, including one published in Scientific American, have demonstrated these particles can damage the ecosystem. Other potential issues include elevated skin penetration and free radical creation.

Manufacturers often market their nanoparticle sunscreens under the ‘micronized’ umbrella, since technically nanoparticles have been micronized very finely. This is dishonest marketing. Unfortunately, the only way you can tell if a manufacturer is not using nano, is if they say it’s non-nano. Look for that on the label.

Even if you don’t buy Kabana Green Screen, whatever sunscreen you do use this summer, there is a great database available for checking its safety and impact on the environment. In fact, the Skin Deep cosmetics database is a great resource for researching the safety of all your skin care and beauty products. We hope you will be a wise consumer, and choose sunscreens and skin care products that will protect your family in every way.

Babyzilla has many food allergies, and she likes to play with kids who, often, also have food allergies. This homemade play-dough recipe can be made with your kids, and it is allergen free and chemical free for the safety and enjoyment of all children.

As an added bonus, it costs a lot less than the name-brand, chemical-filled, toxic stuff—with no packaging and manufacturing pollution!  

Allergen-Free Play-Dough (adapted from Kathryn at Foodlab)

• 1 cup of rice flour
• 1/4 cup of salt (makes the dough unpalatable)
• 1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
• 1 Tbs. sunflower oil
• 1 cup water
• A few drops of food coloring (optional).

1. Mix the flour, salt and Cream of Tartar in a saucepan.
2. Add the oil and gradually blend in the water and food coloring, if using.
3. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until mixture is stiff and leaves the sides of the pan clean.
4. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then knead gently on a work surface until smooth.
5. Store in an airtight container.
6. Play!