Cosmetic manufacturers are not required to only use materials that have been tested for safety or to disclose all ingredients used in a product. They can use any raw material as an ingredient without approval from the FDA.

Therefore, it is up to us to become educated so that we can avoid the thousands of harmful chemicals used in personal care products. Most consumers assume that Skin & Hair Care products for sale in the market are safe, but they most often contain chemicals that are neurotoxic, carcinogenic, endocrine disruptors, plasticizers, reproductive toxins, and pesticides/fungicides/mildewicides.

For example, there are thousands of xenoestrogenic chemicals (estrogen disrupters) alone found in cosmetics and personal care products. These estrogen disrupters are carcinogenic and can severely damage and alter multiple functions of the body as well as mimic the fat-storing effects of natural estrogen in the body. Xenoestrogens trigger fat cells to generate non-stop inflammation and it is very difficult to lose weight unless you detoxify your body of xenoestrogens.

The lack of standard and labeling loopholes do not warn consumers of these and other possible dangers. In a report to a House subcommittee in May of 2008, Jane Houlihan, the director of research for the Environmental Working Group stated that personal care products are the biggest source of human exposure to dangerous chemicals. The sad thing is that our exposure is due to lack of knowledge, which is why we must become educated to protect our families and ourselves so that we can choose safe products.

It is important to realize that when you put a lotion or cream on the skin or use a shampoo the ingredients don’t just sit on top of the skin, but that the ingredients penetrate and enter the tissues and blood stream. In fact, if a woman is pregnant the fetus will be exposed to any of these chemicals that the mother applies to her skin since her blood nourishes the growing fetus.

A recent study by the University of Rochester Medical Center showed a link to the feminization of male babies with diethyl phthalates, a common fragrance component in personal care products. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, in a 326-page report, showed that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals found in personal care products and in the environment are feminizing male children and reducing sperm counts in developed countries around the world. Major studies by the University of Aberdeen in conjunction with other universities around the world reported in May, 2008 that the developing female fetus exposed to chemicals in the womb is more likely to have consequences for reproductive development, reduced fertility, increased risk of breast cancer, poorer general health, and an earlier onset of menopause.

Dr. Phillip J. Landrigan, professor of pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine stated, “If babies are exposed in the womb or shortly after birth to chemicals that interfere with brain development, the consequences last a lifetime.” We owe it not only to ourselves, but also to our unborn children to make sure that what we put on our body contributes to health rather than disease and suffering.

Even in light of the evidence, it can be difficult to make a transition from longstanding favorite products. The thought of making changes may be overwhelming and may create many unpleasant feelings. These feelings are to be expected as many long-term consumer habits are being challenged.

Study this material, determine your priorities, and then begin to make changes, as you are able. Education resulting in an understanding of the information is always the key that will unlock your motivation to change. Every effort you make will be a step towards strengthening your immune system and enhancing your family’s health.

Please see Skin Deep and educate yourself on the ingredients that are harmful. You can also search the database to see if there is information on the products you currently use.

Also see “Toxic Chemical Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary” to learn what is in the cosmetics you are using. Get rid of all products that contain any harmful ingredients and change to non-toxic body care products. Get rid of means to actually throw away. Do not store these products in the house, as they will emanate VOC’s even though the lids are closed.

Ideally, Three Branches recommends the use of body care products that contain only naturally occurring botanicals with no synthetic ingredients such as fragrances, preservatives, dyes, or additives.

Here are a few brands that generally meet our criteria for safe and healthy products in terms of ingredients (This is by no means an exhaustive list.):

Aubrey Organics

Weleda

Dr. Hauschka

Genoma Skin Care by D’Adamo

Premier Research Labs

Note: The chemically sensitive must use completely non-toxic, unscented products.

Back to Articles

It should be noted that this is by no means an exhaustive list as there are many fine products that are continually becoming available. For more detailed list of what chemicals to avoid, see book Dying to Look Good by Christine Hoza Farlow, D.C.

Basic list of harmful ingredients – Sodium lauryl sulphates, sodium laureth sulfate, DEA – diethanolamine, propylene glycol, ammonia, artificial dyes, aerosol propellants, ethanol, synthetic fragrances (all fragrances if chemically sensitive or chronically ill until health improves), chlorine (unless using the chlorine bath for fruits and vegetables which must be done with good ventilation and care), lye fluorescent brighteners, cresol, phenol, petroleum distillate, sulfur compounds, benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, naphthalene, ethylene, xylene, trichloroethylene, nitrobenzene, acrylic and polystyrene plastics, pentachlorophenol, kerosene, perchloroethylene, talc, methylene chloride, etc.

When recovering from chemical sensitivity, it is always best to use a fragrance-free, non-toxic product.

BODY CARE

Body Soap

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS) Add 3 oz. of 7:1 dilution to bath water for bubble bath or spray up to 12/1 dilution (for sensitive dry skin) on skin in shower and scrub with washcloth. Place in foaming dispenser. Neutralizes toxic chemicals on the skin.  Note: Does not lather as much as most soaps do

Organic, Unscented Soap – (NT) (CS) Face and Body Bar, Baby Bar, Organic Olive Oil Bar From the MeadowsOrder round bars; soaps made in non-PVC molds. (Many organic and hand-made soaps are made with PVC molds.)

Aveeno Moisturizing Bar – Fragrance Free with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal for Dry Skin.

Premier Moroccan Bar Soap (link to product on site) – (NT) These products are very pure, but do have a slight scent and are not recommended for the extremely chemically sensitive.

Clearly Natural Glycerine Unscented Soap –  (NT) (CS) Unscented, hypoallergenic soap. Available at health food stores and the American Environmental Health Foundation (1-800-428-2343)

Logona-Free Shampoo and Shower Gel – (NT) (CS) Fragrance free. Order online from Natural Europe.

Nanny’s Best – (NT) (CS) Goat Milk Soap and Oatmeal Soap (great for dry skin.) Nanny's Best (1-800-687-4628)

Dr. Bronner’s Mild Baby Soap – (NT) (CS) Long-lasting. Found in health food stores.

Note: Do not use antibacterial soaps or deodorant soaps because they kill the beneficial flora of the skin, creating the same effect that antibiotics cause in the GI tract. The use of these soaps spurs the creation of resistant bacteria, making the skin more vulnerable to infection and irritation.

Skin Care

Dr. Haushka (NT) (CS) Very pure, very expensive At Whole Foods. Does have some scent – some chemically sensitive people

Aubrey Skin Care (NT) (CS) Aubrey products are pure, but many of the products have too much essential oils and fragrance for those who are very sensitive. Found at Whole Foods.

Fragrance Free Facial Cleanser – Terr Essentials

Premier Skin Care Line – (NT) Skin Lipid Complex and Skin Serum are the most unscented. These products are very pure, but do have a slight scent. Recommend testing for the extremely chemically sensitive until have made some recovery.

White Oak Skin Cleanser (NT) No fragrance. Fanie. Available from Apple-A-Day Clinic at (512) 328-3996.

Royal Jelly Eye Cream by Burt Bees – Available at health food stores

Deodorant

Good Deodorants are very difficult.  Most have toxic ingredients. 

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS) Spray 5:1 dilution under arms after bath or shower.

Baking Soda – (HS) (CS) Pat under the arms after bath.

Note: Do not use any deodorant that contains propyl alcohol, propanol, isopropanol, isopropyl alcohol, rubbing alcohol, propylene glycol or any aluminum.

Lotions/Massage Lotions  

Hugo Naturals Unscented All Over Lotion – Available at Whole Foods and www.hugonaturals.com

Organic Silken Velvet Fragrance Free Body Lotion – Terr Essentials

Original Organic Formula Unscented Face and Body Cream – From the Meadows

Men’s Organic Unscented Complete Set – From the Meadows

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion Fragrance Free with Colloidal Oatmeal – Available at most health food and grocery stores.

Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion Original Unscented – Available at most health food stores and at Alba Botanica

Grapeseed Oil and Sesame Oil – (HS) (CS)

Hobacare Jojoba (HS) (CS) Pesticide free. 1-800-256-5622  Boston Jojoba

Shaving Cream    

Logona Shaving Cream – (NT) Very pure. Natural Europe. 

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS) Spray on 5:1 dilution and warm water for a smooth shave. Best in foam pump dispenser.

Note:  Instead of an electric razor, use a safety razor. Electric razors have been linked to cancer due to their very high magnetic fields. This was reported in the Wall Street Journal in an article titled “Electric Razor Use Linked to Cancer.”

Mercola Article

After Shave           

For skin bracer, strain lemon juice, mix 2 parts lemon juice to 1 part water, store in refrigerator and apply to face after shaving. Fill ice tray with equal parts lemon juice and water. Freeze. Lightly rub lemon cube over face and neck. Rinse with cool water and pat dry. Lemon restores the pH acid/alkaline balance of the skin.

HAIR CARE

Shampoo  

Blue Chamomile Hydrating Shampoo by Aubrey –  (NT) Available at Whole Foods and other health food stores

Organic Unscented Foaming Shampoo – From the Meadows

Pure Earth Hair Wash Fragrance Free – Terr Essentials

Stoneybrook Botanicals Fragrance Free Unscented Oil-Free Extra Body Shampoo – Vegan Essentials

Branch Basics (HS) (CS) – Spray a 15:1 to 5:1 dilution on hair and rub into scalp. This will not lather as much as typical shampoos. Use the foam pump for easiest application. Gets rid of dandruff and helps to detoxify.

Jason Fragrance Free Daily Shampoo – Beauty Encounter

Logona Free Shampoo and Shower Gel – (NT) Fragrance free. Must order online: www.naturaleurope.com

Premier Shampoo – These products are very pure, but do have a slight scent and are not recommended for the extremely chemically sensitive until have had some recovery.

White Oak Herbal Shampoo – (NT) (CS) This shampoo is unscented and good for dandruff. Available from Apple-A-Day Clinic at (512) 328-3996.

Organic Excellence Chemical-Free Shampoo/Conditioner – (NT).  Order online for free shipping – Organic Excellence 1-800-611-8331

Hairspray

Aloe 80 Organics by Lily of the Desert – Unscented hairspray. Available from health food stores.

Jason Fresh Botanicals Hairspray Super Style Holding Mist – Has a slight scent. Do not get the kind with UV protection, which has a strong scent. Available at health food stores. 

Naturade Non-Alcohol Styling Spray – (NT) Fragrance Free. Available at health food stores.

Free & Clear – (LT) We do not recommend their other products.

Styling Spray

Organic Excellence Chemical-Free Styling Spray – (NT) Contains a scent, so test first. Order online for free shipping – Organic Excellence

Permanents

Product no longer available. Searching.

DENTAL CARE

Toothpaste

Homemade Toothpaste – Good for gum disease, which can eventuate in loss of bone, loose teeth and eventually the loss of teeth. This formula will tighten the gums, bring back the vitality needed to re-grow bones and tighten loose teeth. This is not an over night solution, but a body rebuilding process. Use 1/3 Hydrogen Peroxide – 3.5%, 1/3 Baking Soda, and 1/3 Full Spectrum Sea Salt (salt should have a green/gray color) or Premier Pink Salt.  Brush teeth with this formula at least once a day or more if have a severe problem.

Weleda Toothpastes – (NT) Available at Whole Foods and local health food stores.

Peelu Toothpaste (NT) Available at Whole Foods and local health food stores.

Pascalite Clay Products – (HS) (CS) Tooth and gum care powder. Great for babies, bath powder for skin soothing and healing, clay packs for burn/wound healing, draws infections out, poultices. Great for sensitive teeth. (307-347-3872)

Baking Soda in Water or Hydrogen Peroxide – (HS) (CS) Dissolve pinch of baking soda in water or hydrogen peroxide and brush. Good for gum disease.

Toothbrush           

Janice’s Wood and Natural Fiber Toothbrush – Found at Whole Foods and other health food stores. Outgas in sun, if necessary.

Note: Do not use toothpaste containing sodium lauryl sulfate or fluoride.

Dental Floss

Get non-waxed dental floss.

Be Well Stay Well – Source of many products listed below. Offer sample sizes.

Mouthwash

Gargle with sea salt and warm water or with 1 t. baking soda and 1 cup water.

MAKE-UP

Eyeliner/Shadows 

Dr. Hauska – Available from Whole Foods and health food stores.

Logona Eyeliner – (LT) Very pure. Must order online at Natural Europe

Charcoal pencil from art supply store is most non-toxic. Also look for eye pencils from Whole Foods or health food stores.

Lakshmi Ayurvedic Eyeliner/Eyeshadows – (LT) Said to benefit the eye. Made from ghee, beeswax, carnuba, castor oil, almond oil, coconut oil, purified natural pigments. Must order online at Natural Europe.

 Lipstick & Blush

Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer and Gloss – Found at Whole Foods and health stores

Logona Lipstick and Blush – (NT) Very pure. Must order online at Natural Europe.

Ecco Bella – Available from Whole Foods, etc.

Hemp Colors – Available from Whole Foods, etc. and www.hempcolors.com

Almay Unscented Lipliners and Lipsticks – Unscented, but not necessarily non-toxic.

Go to the Whole Foods Market Cosmetic Counter and test products.

Mascara

Logona Mascara – (NT) Very pure. Must order online at Natural Europe.  

Gabriel Color Mascara – Available at Whole Foods

ZuZu Mascara – Not completely non-toxic, but better than conventional mascaras. It can be found at Whole Foods Markets.

Almay Fragrance-Free Mascara – Almay has no scent unlike most products. This is not a natural product, but many chemically sensitive people tolerate this brand.

Back to Articles

Most conventional cleaners are made with hazardous ingredients and are labeled with the signal words CAUTION, WARNING, or DANGER. Some are even labeled as HAZARDOUS WASTE meaning they must be disposed of at a permitted hazardous waste management facility and can cause injury if handled improperly; they pose a threat not only to people but the environment as well.

Most homes today are loaded with these toxic cleaners, which erode your family’s – as well as your pet’s – health. Every time you use a toxic cleaning product in your home, you are introducing chemicals that can linger and even accumulate. In fact, you don’t even have to open the bottle for the chemicals to enter your home’s air. Just think of the last time you walked down the grocery store aisle where the cleaning products are. They are all closed and sealed yet you can still smell them as you walk down the aisle in the store.

The chemicals you smell are VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and they escape from their containers in ppm, ppb, or ppt (parts per million, billion or trillion) into your home to create a low-level chemical soup that your body has to constantly try to detoxify. This chemical soup from household chemicals can contribute to allergies, asthma, reproductive damage, neurological issues, psychological disorders, autoimmune disease, cancer, etc. Babies, young children, the elderly, the chronically ill, and pets are especially vulnerable because of weak or undeveloped immune systems and/or because of their proximity to the floor.

As soon as these poisonous products are used, the air quality in the home plummets. The person applying the product has double the exposure - not only direct skin contact but inhalation as well. The inhabitants of the home are breathing this intensified concentration of chemicals and the body is besieged. It is imperative to remove all these products from the home and garage and replace them with non-toxic alternatives. The air quality change in your home from just that act may be enough to end congestion, allergic reactions, asthma, etc.

When it comes to non-toxic cleaners, Branch Basics goes a step further and offers a human safe all-purpose cleaner. Human safe means that if ingested accidentally, it will not harm you. There are many non-toxic products that are biodegradable and environmentally safe, but they are not human safe.

Branch Basics is a unique, proprietary blend of plant-derived ingredients that are all natural, fragrance free, non-combustible, non-hazardous, non-fuming, non-toxic, and biodegradable. The ingredients are purified water, fatty aids, coconut oil, organic alcohol, folic acid, minerals and enzymes derived from edible and seed bearing plants.

Branch Basics uses “colloidal micelle technology” or CMT. The molecules are very, very small and each particle is electro-magnetically charged. CMT allows Branch Basics to effectively break down oils, grease, grime and dirt as well or better than any other cleaner currently on the market without any toxic synthetic ingredients.

It is safe enough for even the extremely chemically sensitive and is a great product to use when there are young children in the home, as there is no danger to them even if they accidentally swallow some.

Branch Basics is a tool that can be used to aid in the prevention of illness as well as for increased support in regaining health. By replacing all toxic cleaners and body care products with Branch Basics or other non-toxic products, the immune system is relieved of the stress and energy the body would have had to use to detoxify those chemicals. The energy that was tied up with detoxification is now released for maintaining the integrity of the immune system and the healing/repair of the body. As pressure is taken off the immune system, allergies to natural pollens, grasses, etc. many times disappear.

The recommendations we give are not meant to restrict or interfere with your lifestyle. They are, in fact, steps that will improve the quality of your life by reducing and preventing symptoms due to poor indoor air quality. Creating a healthy home or workplace can save money that might later be spent on doctor visits, medication and missed workdays. Creating a healthy work and living area also enables a chronically ill person's body to use energy to heal instead of using that energy to detoxify chemicals from the environment.

The National Academy of Sciences estimates that the annual national health care cost of indoor air pollution to be between $15 billion and $100 billion. The EPA estimates that up to 50% of all illness is connected to the indoor air quality in our homes and workplaces.

It will probably take 25-50 years for the general population to fully realize, accept and make changes accordingly. The cry of the skeptic is, “There is not enough evidence. Manufacturers and the government would never allow any harmful building materials or products to be sold to the trusting consumer.”

Unfortunately, the exact opposite is true; the evidence is monumental.

Even in light of this evidence, it can be difficult to make a transition. The thought of making changes may be overwhelming and are to be expected as long as long-term consumer habits are being challenged.

Education resulting in an understanding of the information is the key, which will unlock the motivation to change. Yet nevertheless, "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, on which is proof against all arguments and which can't fail to keep a man in ignorance. The principle is “Contempt Prior to Investigation”.

Study this material, determine your priorities, and then begin to make changes, as you are able. Every effort you make will be a step towards strengthening your immune system and enhancing your family's health.

Warning: Your home may be hazardous to your health

Do you live or work in a home or office that promotes your health and well¬being? There is a good chance that you don't. Few people realize that the average American indoor environment is more polluted than the outside air. According to a four-volume report on indoor air quality submitted by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Congress, the worst air pollution in our nation is right inside our own homes and offices. Hazardous and toxic chemicals at concentrations of 2-200 times higher than levels outdoors can be found in the typical home or office, regardless of geographic location. The situation is so critical that legislation introduced into Congress (SI629HR5373) explicitly recognizes illness from indoor pollutants as a serious threat to public health and the EPA has declared indoor air quality "the most significant environmental issue we have to face in this decade."

Studies from Harvard University show that your risk of getting cancer from exposure to chemicals found in your own home or workplace is greater than your risk from exposure to the same chemicals at a hazardous-waste site (these findings don't just apply to extremely polluted houses). Instead of ignoring these dangers, we should recognize them and be aware of what the hazards are, where they are located, and how to remedy them. It is time to take action and make our homes and offices healthy, regenerative places to live.

An overview of our indoor environment

How has it happened that our homes, schools and workplaces have become so harmful to our health? Since World War II, both the volume and the number of manufactured chemicals have multiplied as a direct result of the research and development of chemical warfare. According to the U.S. National Research Council, no information on toxic effects is available for 79% of the more than 48,500 synthetic chemicals listed by the EPA. These synthetic chemicals are in the products most of us use everyday. Allowing the production and release of these toxic substances without understanding their full biological effects has placed us in a very ominous situation.

Since the energy crisis of the 1970's, the problem has been compounded by our quest for energy efficiency. Our "too-tight" energy-efficient homes, with their reduced fresh air exchange, have resulted in elevated levels of indoor pollutants. Instead of homes being made and furnished with building materials of natural origin, many are now constructed of plywood (sheets of wood sandwiched together with phenol-formaldehyde resin), particleboard (pressed wood shavings saturated with urea formaldehyde) and plastics. Paints, primers and stains may contain petroleum distillates, halogenated hydrocarbons, toluene, etc., all of which outgas into the living environment. Carpets, chairs, sofas, drapes and clothing are made of chemically treated, fire and stain resistant synthetic fibers.

Pesticides are used regularly and kitchens are stocked with processed foods filled with chemical preservatives and additives. Produce is eaten that has been grown with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Powerful disinfectants, waxes, cleansers, scented air fresheners and room deodorizers, aerosol propelled products, perfumes, deodorants, scented soaps, shampoos and other personal hygiene items that are used may contain biologically oppressive substances which all add to the chemical soup trapped in our tightened buildings.

The body's biochemistry is not designed to deal with this daily onslaught of man¬made chemicals. Many of these chemicals are not fully metabolized and slowly stockpile or bioaccumulate over a lifetime. There are also chemicals such as phthalates that are endocrine disruptors that damage hormone receptors, leading to loss of sex drive and energy, or they damage brain chemistry leading to mental illnesses, brain dysfunction disorders, learning disabilities and hyperactivity, or they accumulate in the organs and trigger cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, and thyroid.

In addition to this chemical contamination, we are now surrounded by a sea of electromagnetic frequencies never before experienced in the history of human civilization. With the introduction of cell phones, wireless technologies, radio and TV broadcasting stations, radio telephone networks, cordless phones, etc the level of radio waves and microwaves is now many millions of times higher than natural levels. This is in addition to what is called the Extreme Low Frequency (ELF) fields produced by the AC Current in homes that drives electrical appliances in households and the power lines feeding those devices.

The consequence of this exposure to electromagnetic fields is not yet fully understood. Just as it is prudent to avoid chemical exposures, so it is prudent to avoid electromagnetic exposure when possible.

In conclusion, even if you are a young adult who does not drink alcohol, smoke, or take drugs, you eat a nutritional diet, take whole food supplements, get enough sunlight and exercise daily, exposure to these toxins can prevent you from reaching your maximum mental and physical health potential. But if you are a child, a pregnant woman, elderly, or if you have a pre-existing condition (heart disease, allergies, chronic illness), then exposure to chemical toxins and EMFs can significantly alter your life.

Acute reactions to indoor pollution and EMF exposure range from behavioral modification, irritability, hyperactivity, hypo activity and lapse of memory, to drowsiness, nausea, dizziness, rashes, sneezing, irritated eyes, ear infections, lethargy, insomnia, chronic pain, bronchitis, etc. The chronic delayed reactions, which are the most dangerous result from the bioaccumulation of toxins in the body. The potential effects of prolonged exposure are cancer, respiratory diseases such as asthma and emphysema, heart problems, damage to the liver, kidneys and central nervous system. As an insidious force, the danger of indoor pollution is often not recognized until it is too late.

Health risks to children and the unborn fetus are especially profound. As children's organs and body systems (including the vitally important immune system) are still undergoing development, disruptions and disturbances during this growth period may result in irreparable damage.

With all this information in mind, the primary goal of Three Branches is to educate people so that they may remedy their own situation in order to create a healthy home and healthy body.

Back to Articles

Why create a healthy home?

Our home should be a haven, a place of refuge and regeneration that is free from contaminants and elements that harm our health. Overwhelming scientific evidence indicates that the air within our homes is polluted and illness caused by exposure to these pollutants is a serious threat to our health. Creating a healthy home by eliminating these poisons can save money that might otherwise be spent on doctor visits, medication, and missed workdays.

A chemical-free living area enables our body to use its energy for rejuvenation and healing instead of detoxifying harmful chemicals. Research has shown that many of these chemicals can disrupt the endocrine system leading to breast and prostate cancer, endometriosis, fibroid tumors, ovarian cysts, loss of sex drive and fertility and can damage brain chemistry leading to hyperactivity, learning disabilities, and even mental illness. They can also accumulate in the organs, triggering cancers of the liver, lung, colon, thyroid, etc.

Pregnant women should be especially wary of these harmful chemicals. Dr. Philip Landrigan, professor of pediatrics and chairman of the board at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, says, “If babies are exposed in the womb or shortly after birth to chemicals that interfere with brain development, the consequences last a lifetime.”

In addition to chemical contamination, a sea of electromagnetic frequencies from Wi-Fi, digital cable, cell phones, power lines, etc. now surrounds us. Although the consequences of these exposures aren’t fully understood, these electromagnetic fields add stress to the body and should be addressed. Instead of ignoring these dangers, we should become educated on the hazards and learn how to remedy them. It is up to each one of us to start making changes to transform our homes in order to live healthier lives.

How do we create a healthy home?

• Education – Keep up with current findings and discoveries
• Acceptance –Be open to information that challenges long-standing beliefs
• Motivation – A natural result of increased knowledge and awareness
• Action – Do what you can as you are able

See “Reducing Immune Stress: Where Do I Start?” to begin making easy changes now

With this information in mind, Three Branches Healthy Living hopes that you will challenge your long-standing consumer habits, and rest assured that even the smallest changes do make a difference.

Back to Articles

Branch Basics is rooted in personal experiences and stemmed out of the passion of three women. Nearly 20 years ago, Marilee Nelson was dedicated and willing to do whatever it took to help her son, then ten years old, recover from a severe chemical exposure. She refused to accept the bleak medical prognosis that he would not recover and began to explore alternative options that focused on creating healing environments and using food as medicine. Through her son's long road to recovery she gained experiential wisdom and knowledge far beyond the four walls of a classroom or the pages in a textbook. It did not take long for others to seek out Marilee for their own health concerns, and in 1992 she began consulting full-time and established The House Doctors.

In 2007 her niece, Allison, called desperately seeking relief from chronic pain that over a dozen doctors could not explain. Marilee linked Allison’s physical breakdown to several factors – the main one being chemical exposure to new building materials when she moved into a newly-constructed apartment. Allison’s best friend and roommate, Kelly, was there to soak up the priceless information Marilee had to offer. Soon, a special bond between the three women formed and only grew stronger as the two college graduates moved out to the Texas Hill Country to live with Marilee for a summer. After realizing the extent of her knowledge, Allison and Kelly were determined to find a way to share it with the rest of the world. Thus, they created Three Branches Healthy Living, a website that provided a plethora of health information as well as sold the highest quality products for creating both a healthy home and body.

Among those products was a non-toxic soap formula that Marilee, Allison and Kelly produced and branded as Branch Basics after working with a bio-chemist to get the best formula. After many hours of mixing, bottling, labeling and shipping, it became a huge hit and eventually became hard not to play favorites. We have come to believe that switching to Branch Basics is the easiest and perhaps most important step toward reducing chemical exposures. Using just this one versatile product would enable or people to get rid of dozens of potentially toxic products, reducing daily harmful chemical exposures from the elimination of conventional cleaners, personal care products, pesticides and more.

So here they are today, cleaning up the world one spray at a time.

Back to Articles

Reducing chemical exposures in the home by removing toxic cleaners and changing to non-toxic cleaning products takes a load off the body’s detoxification system. Removing this immune stress increases the body’s capacity for handling unexpected exposures to chemicals, increases the body’s ability to handle natural pollens, dust and mold, increases the body’s resistance to viruses and bacterial infection, and frees the body to use its energy to heal if there is illness. For example, if you use a conventional toxic laundry detergent plus a neurotoxic fabric softener, then you are sleeping on sheets and wearing pajamas that expose you to chemicals that your body has to process and detoxify all night long at a time it should be resting and repairing. In addition, many of these chemicals are neurological stressors and endocrine disruptors, which can have devastating and pervasive repercussions on men, women, and children.

Note to the Chemically Sensitive and Chronically Ill - When recovering from chemical sensitivity or chronic illness, it is always best to use a fragrance-free, non-toxic product.

ALL-PURPOSE CLEANERS

Simplify your life! Reduce the number of cleaning products in your home by using Branch Basics.  Some people end up using primarily just two cleaners for their household needs: Branch Basics and Bon Ami.

Branch Basics – (HS)(CS)*  Replace as many of your toxic household cleaners as possible with just one versatile non-toxic and human-safe product - Branch Basics! There are many non-toxic products that are biodegradable and environmentally safe, but they are not human safe. Human safe means that if ingested accidentally, it will not harm you. This is especially important when there are young children in the home as there is no danger to them even if they accidentally swallow some. 

Branch Basics is a tool that can be used to aid in the prevention of illness as well as to increase support in regaining health. By replacing toxic cleaners with Branch Basics, the immune system is relieved of the stress and the energy the body would have had to use to detoxify those chemicals. The energy that was tied up with detoxification is now released for maintaining the integrity of the immune system and the healing/repair of the body. As pressure is taken off the immune system, chronic symptoms, chemical sensitivities and allergies to natural pollens and grasses may be reduced and may even disappear.

Bon Ami (NT)(LT)* -  available at your grocery store, is a substitute for Comet and other abrasive cleaners.

Bon Ami - Original Formula from Living Source (1-800-662-8787)

AFM’s Safe Choice Super Clean – (NT)(LT)* available from NEEDS (Needs 800-634-1380)

LAUNDRY ROOM

Laundry Detergents   

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Use 2-4 oz. of 7:1 dilution (7 parts water to 1 part concentrate) or 2 T. of pure Branch Basics concentrate per load. Pre-spray stains and spots with 7:1 dilution and rub or agitate. Heavily soiled or old stains may be removed by soaking overnight in the 7:1 dilution, then launder the next day as usual. Branch Basics kills strep, staph, salmonella, and e-coli at a 15/1 dilution. Also kills dust mites. Use Branch Basics to detoxify clothing that has been washed in conventional laundry detergents and fabric softeners. See "Detoxifying Clothes and Bedding".

Note: For additional freshness and brightness many people like to add 1 scoop of a deodorizing oxygen stain remover to their wash load with Branch Basics such as

• OXOBRITE by Earth Friendly Products – (NT)(CS)* Like the original OxiClean. Made from sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate. Available at Whole Foods. Wonderful stain remover.
• OxiClean – (NT) (CS)* Harnesses the cleaning and deodorizing power of oxygen to attack tough dirt, stains and odors. Available in many stores. Only use the original formula that is made from sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate.
• Oxygen Power Bravo - (NT) (CS) HEB brand - Made from Sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate.

Seventh Generation – (NT) (CS)* Unscented, Free and Clear Laundry Powder, Free and Clear Laundry Liquid; available at Whole Foods. There are some extremely chemically sensitive people that are able to use this product, but it should be tested.  Free and Clear products are non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, biodegradable, use no dyes, no fragrances or masking agents, no phosphates, safe for septic and greywater system, no petroleum-based cleaners, no optical brighteners, have stain-removing enzymes, not tested on animals, and kosher certified.

White Vinegar – (HS) (CS)* ½-2 cups per load, depending on the size of the load.  Vinegar has several advantages: natural, nontoxic (although should ventilate when using because of acetic acid that is produced), biodegradable, relatively inexpensive, removes many odors, and helps fabrics retain their original color. The vinegar odor will completely disappear when dried. DO NOT SOAK your clothes overnight in vinegar if the clothing has any metal buttons or zippers as this can cause metal parts to rust. Buy gallon-sized generic brands to save money.  Extremely chemically sensitive people may not be able to use vinegar because of the acetic acid that is released. Acetic acid is what gives vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell.  Always ventilate when using vinegar until all residual odors are cleared. 

Unscented Borax – (NT) (CS)* ¼-½ cup per load. Use alone or as a laundry booster.  Borax softens the wash water so that soaps and detergents work better. Borax helps remove odors in laundry and also (take note) has a mild bleaching action.  Buy in bulk from a local chemical supply company.

Baking Soda –  (HS) (CS)* ½ cup per load. If use baking soda consider, purchasing it in bulk from a chemical-supply company to save money.

Sodium Sesquicarbonate – (NT) (CS)* ¼-½ cup per load. This is old-fashioned washing soda. (vs. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, a brand of washing soda with a synthetic scent.) Order sodium sesquicarbonate from Dr. Stig Erlander (Nature's Department Store; 626-797-7004) Dr. Erlander’s Jubilee Washing Compound or more economically order from a local chemical supply company.

Miracle Cleaner (Sodium Hexametaphosphate) – (CS) (NT)* Available from www.needs.com. (1-800 -634-1380) Can be used as a water softener, used in laundry in conjunction with other cleaners, gives whiter whites, dissolves mineral buildup, dishwashing powder, hair rinse, window cleaner   

Laundry Disinfectant and Odor Remover      

Nutribiotic Grapefruit Seed Extract – (HS) (CS)* 20 – 30 drops per load in the laundry to control mold and odors. Available at Whole Foods and Nutribiotic (1-800-225-4345)

Branch Basics (HS)(CS)* Note: Branch Basics kills strep, staph, salmonella, and e-coli at a 15/1 dilution. Also kills dust mites.

Bi-O-Kleen Bac-Out Stain and Odor Eliminator – (LT)(CS)* Works very well. Test this product and rinse well. Natural enzyme cultures, lime extract, vegetable-based surfactant. Contains no glycol ethers, alcohol, chlorine, petrochemical solvents, phosphate, MEA, EDTA, Nonyl phenol, sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate, artificial fragrance, colors or preservatives.

Washing Machine Deodorizer

Affresh ** – Odor remover (mold, mildew, fragrance) made especially for HE Washers (front loaders) but also can be used in top loading washers. Affresh will even remove fabric softener and detergent odors, BUT this will possibly require many repeated treatments; be patient and keep after it. Affresh has enabled previously-contaminated machines to become useable when used in conjunction with other decontamination procedures (See "Detoxifying Your Washer and Dryer"). Contains sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate. Available from Lowe’s, Home Depot, Krogers, Sears, Best Buy. Has an odor itself, but will help remove fragrances very well. If you are chemically sensitive, have someone else treat the washer when you are away from the home.

Fabric Softeners         

Baking Soda – (HS)(CS)*  Add 1 cup or more to each wash to soften fabrics and reduce static cling.

White Vinegar – (HS) (CS)** ½ cup; not as effective as typical fabric softeners, but can help make clothes less stiff. Some people who are mold sensitive react to vinegar.  Always ventilate when using vinegar to clear the acetic acid that is released. Acetic acid is what gives vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell.

Bleaches, Disinfectants and Stain Removers

OXOBRITE by Earth Friendly Products – (NT)(CS)* Like the original OxiClean. Made from sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate. Available at Whole Foods. Wonderful stain remover.

OxiClean – (NT) (CS)* Harnesses the cleaning and deodorizing power of oxygen to attack tough dirt, stains and odors.  Available in many stores. ONLY USE THE ORIGINAL FORMULA as they are in process of MAKING CHANGES IN the formula.

Oxygen Power Bravo - (NT) (CS) HEB brand - Made from Sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate.

Common Liquid Hydrogen Peroxide – (HS) (CS)* The 3% dilution sold in drugstores. Fill washer first and then pour in 1/3-1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide. Add clothes.

Baking Soda –  (HS)(CS)* ¼ cup

Nutribiotic Grapefruit Seed Extract – (HS) (CS) *Can be used in place of bleach or ammonia as a surface disinfectant. Available at Whole Foods and Nutribiotic.

Note: To remove the “new” clothes scents and detergent odors, soak bedding or clothing in hot water (overnight) with one or more of the following: 1 small box of baking soda, or ½ cup Borax, or ¼ cup Sodium Sesquicarbonate, or 4 oz. Branch Basics solution (7:1 dilution.) In the a.m., wash and double rinse. Repeat, if necessary.  Also see "Detoxifying Clothes and Bedding"

KITCHEN

Automatic Dishwasher Cleaner        

Branch Basics –  (HS) (CS)* Pre-spray heavily soiled or greasy dishes with the 7:1 dilution of Branch Basics first. Rinse excess food off.    Use 1-2 oz. of the Branch Basics 7:1 solution in the dishwasher.. Note: Branch Basics kills strep, staph, salmonella, and e-coli at a 15:1 dilution      

Allen's Naturally Automatic Dishwashing Cleaner - (LT)   Less toxic cleaner, but will not be suitable if you are extremely chemically sensitive.                      

Handwashing Dish Soaps   

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Spray pots and pans after use with a 7:1 dilution and let sit during meal. If food is burned into the bottom of pan, pour in some of the solution. Let sit and use 3M pad sprayed with the solution to scrub. Note: This does not lather up like most soaps.

Seventh Generation Free and Clear Dishwashing Liquid – (LT) (CS)*  Available from Whole Foods. There are some extremely chemically sensitive people that are able to use this product, but it should be tested. 

Oven Cleaners           

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Mist liberatlly the inside of the slightly-warm oven (not over 100 degrees) with 7:1 dilution. Let sit for 15 minutes.  Scrub the racks with a stiff brush. After the racks are clean, wipe the inside of the oven. Wipe with a wet cloth. Apply a second time if needed. Does not require the use of rubber gloves.  Always ventilate when cleaning.

Baking Soda – (HS) (CS)* Sprinkle water and a couple of squirts of liquid soap generously over the bottom of the oven and then cover grime with baking soda and then water again. Let sit overnight and wipe up the next morning.

Scouring Powders

Bon Ami – (LT) (CS)* Used instead of toxic scouring powders such as Comet. Bon Ami is unscented. At grocery stores.

Bon Ami (LT) (CS)*- Original formula - available from The Living Source (1-800-662-8787)

Borax – (NT) (CS)*

Baking Soda – (HS) (CS)*

Sponges          

Pure Cellulose Sponges – Hardware stores sell pure cellulose sponges. Look for sponges that have no fungicide or biocide added.  Most sponges in the U.S. are impregnated with a synthetic disinfectant, usually Tricolasan, a harmful pesticide registered with the EPA.

BATHROOM

Tub/Tile Cleaners       

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Spray 7/1 dilution on all surfaces. Let sit 30-60 seconds. Scrub with a brush or terry cloth. Rinse. Wipe faucets with dry cloth for a sparkle.

Bon Ami – (LT) (CS)* Available at grocery stores. 

Bon Ami  - Original formula – (LT) (CS)*  From Living Source (1-800-662-8787)

Borax and Hot Water – (NT) (CS)* Available at grocery stores.  Borax scrub - use ratio of 1 cup Borax to a gallon of warm water (warm water helps the Borax to dissolve fully). This solution has been found to kill mold through laboratory testing.

White Vinegar - (HS) (CS)*  Vinegar removes mildew, cuts oily residues and is a favorite inexpensive non toxic cleaner. Always ventilate well when using vinegar because of the acetic acid which is released.  Acetic acid is responsible for the sour taste and pungent smell of vinegar.  Note:  Mold sensitive individuals many times can't tolerate vinegar.

Toilet Bowl/Sink Cleaners

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Add 2 oz. concentrated solution to toilet bowl. Spray seat, bowl and sides, including the floor around the toilet area with the 7:1 dilution. Let sit for 30-60 seconds. Scrub with a brush. Wipe seat, sides and floor with damp cloth.

Bon Ami – (NT) (CS)* Available at grocery stores. Original formula from Living Source (1-800-662-8787)

Baking Soda – (HS) (CS)*

Bathroom Stone – (NT) (CS)  Earth Stone Technology (1-888-994-6327) 100% non-toxic wonderful product that save time and energy. This is for heavy duty cleaning and scrubbing. Not a powder, but most powerful scouring product available. It’s a stone that easily cleans even the toughest hard water, soap scum and mildew on porcelain, tile or grout. It will not absorb odor-causing bacteria. Not for use on marble, fiberglass, Formica, Corian, or other plastic materials

AROUND THE HOUSE

Window/Glass Cleaners         

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Dilute ¼ - ½ oz. concentrate into ½-1 gallon water. (100 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics) Rub on window. Buff with dry soft cloth. If there is streaking, then conventional window cleaners in the past such as Windex have been used.  Add a drop or two of liquid soap

Miracle Cleaner (Sodium Hexametaphosphate) – (CS) (NT)*  Available from NEEDS (1-800 -634-1380) Can be used as a water softener, used in laundry in conjunction with other cleaners, gives whiter whites, dissolves mineral buildup, dishwashing powder, hair rinse, window cleaner.     

Vinegar and water – (HS) (CS)* Mix ¼ cup white vinegar with 1 pint of water and pour into a spray bottle.  If you have used conventional window cleaners in the past such as Windex, then add a drop or two of dishwashing soap to help dissolve the residue left from toxic cleaners and to prevent streaking.  After the residue is removed, then vinegar and water will work without streaking. Note: Many chemically sensitive people that react to molds cannot tolerate vinegar.

Borax – (LT) (NT) (CS)* 2 Tbsp Borax dissolved in 3 cups warm water. Dip sponge/rag and wipe windows.

Baking Soda – (HS) (CS)* Wet a cloth and sprinkle baking soda on it. Rub the window. Follow by wiping the window with another wet cloth (this time hot).

Miracle Cloth – Available at Miracle Cloth, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Wal-Mart, etc. Use with only water - works great!

Carpet/Upholstery Cleaners

Baking Soda – (HS) (CS)* Sprinkle on, vacuum. For grease spots, cover spot with baking soda, let sit and vacuum. Only do this if have a very good HEPA vacuum otherwise the particulate (powder) will spread through the air.

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Lightly mist upholstery with the 7:1 dilution. Scrub with a dampened brush or terry cloth. Wipe with a damp cloth. On carpet spray 7:1 dilution on spot and use a terry cloth or brush to work into spot. Let sit for 60 seconds, then wipe. More than one application may be needed for harder stains. On light colored carpets, use a lighter dilution (20/1 to 40/1) and remove with plenty of water. When using a carpet cleaning machine use 1-4 ounces concentrate per gallon of water.

Karpet Klean – (NT)* by Granny’s. Unscented. At health food stores or NEEDS (800) 634-1380.

AFM Carpet Cleaner – (NT) (CS)*  Unscented. Order through NEEDS (800) 634-1380.  See "Carpet Cleaning, Encapsulation, and Sealing".

Furniture Polish         

Howard Naturals Wood Cleaner and Polish Fragrance Free - (LT)*  1-800-266-9545 Available at Whole Foods and TJ Maxx

Howard Naturals Kitchen Cabinet Cleaner and Polish Fragrance Free - (LT)* 1-800-266-9545 Available at Whole Foods and TJ Maxx

Daddy Van's All Natural Beeswax Furniture Polish - Unscented - (LT)* 1-303-679-0096

Virgin Olive Oil and Pure Lemon Oil – (HS) (CS)* Use food grade lemon oil found in grocery store. Solution containing equal parts of lemon juice and virgin olive oil. Dab a soft cloth into the mixture and rub the wood’s surface in the direction of the grain.

Scratches can be concealed on medium or dark furniture by rubbing the nicked area with a piece of walnut or pecan. Then, buff the area lightly with a soft flannel cloth. On lighter wood, dip a cotton swab in virgin olive oil and apply the oil just to scratches and lightly buff area with soft cotton flannel cloth.

Natural Beeswax – (NT) (CS)* Building for Health Materials Center (1-800-292-4838) Get the pure beeswax. Call for instructions.

Mold Inhibitors/Disinfectants 

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Spray 7:1 dilution on mold, let sit for 30-60 seconds. Scrub with a brush. Rinse. May take repeated effort if old stains.

Grapefruit Seed Extract – (HS) (CS)* Odorless, safe way to get rid of mold. Twenty drops grapefruit seed extract in 2 cups water. Combine in spray bottle, shake to blend. Spray on problem area and do not rinse.  Nutribiotic

Borax – (NT) (CS)* Dissolve 1 cup in 1 gallon HOT water to create a natural bleach and anti-mold agent. This solution has been shown to kill mold by laboratory testing. Apply and scrub.

Mold Mix – (HS) (CS)* In 22 oz. spray bottle, add one or all of the following for a cleaner killer of mold: 1/8 cup Epsom salts, ¼ cup white vinegar, ½ cup peroxide, 20 drops Grapefruit Seed Extract plus hot water to fill – shake well.

AFM X158 Mildew Control – (LT)** NEEDS  (1-800-634-1380)

Straight Vodka – (HS) (CS)* The only safe alcohol is vodka. As a disinfectant, before and after using toothbrush, massage vodka into toothbrush. Can also clean countertops, etc.

Clean, Polish and Lubricate & Floor Wax                            

All Natural Beeswax Polish and Feeder – Finisher’s Formula – Finishers (1-866-296-1017)

Basic Polishing Cream Waxing Formula – 4 ounces oil (2 ½ ounces olive oil or jojoba oil plus 1 1/2 ounce coconut oil), 1 ounce beeswax, 1 ounce Carnuba wax, 4 ounces distilled water. Mix oil and waxes in a double boiler over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the water, and mix with a hand mixer until thick and creamy. Dab some cream onto a soft cloth and rub into furniture. Buff and polish until the oils are well worked into the wood. Shelf life 6 months.  Thanks to Anne B. Bond                                                  

Hobacare Jojoba – (HS) (CS)* Boston Jojoba (1-800-256-5622) Jojoba seeds were a source of food to Native Americans – but this is not intended as a food. Pesticide free. (Never goes rancid)

Homemade Floor Wax

Ingredients:

1 ½ ounces coconut oil

1 ounce beeswax

1 ounce carnauba wax

4 ounces distilled water

5-10 drops essential oil of lemon (optional)

(Waxes available from Building for Health 1-800-292-4838)

Directions:

Melt the oils and waxes in a double boiler over medium heat. Remove from the heat, pour in the water, and mix with a hand mixer until thick and creamy. (If you are using a blender, first add the water, then drizzle in the oils and melted waxes while the blender is on so that they emulsify.) Add essential oil if desired, then blend. Dab some cream onto a soft cotton rag and rub into the floor. Buff and polish the floor until the oils have been well worked in. Makes 1 1/8 cups.  

Preparation Time: About 25 minutes

Shelf Life: 6 months or more

Storage: Glass jar with a screw top

Basic Waterless Wax Floor Salve

Ingredients:

4 ounces olive oil and jojoba

½ ounce beeswax

½ ounce carnauba wax

(Waxes available from Building for Health 1-800-292-4838)

Directions:

Melt the oil and waxes in a double boiler over low heat about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and blend with hand mixer until creamy. Makes 1/8 cup.

Preparation Time: About 25 minutes

Shelf life: indefinitely with jojoba – 1 year with olive oil

Store in glass jar with screw on top

Wax Stripper                          

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)* Spray 5:1 dilution (may need more concentrate). Let sit for 15 minutes. Scrub with a brush. Rinse.

Sponges          

Pure Cellulose Sponges – Hardware stores sell pure cellulose sponges. Most sponges in the U.S> are impregnated with a synthetic disinfectant, usually Tricolasan, a harmful pesticide registered with the EPA.

Lubricating Gel

Coconut Oil

Organic Olive Oil

Lubricating Gel – Made from methylcellulose and water. 2 ounces at $20.39. Available from Abram’s Royal Pharmacy (214-349-8000) but need a doctor’s prescription. Fax prescription to Abram’s at 214-341-7966.

INSECTS                          

Roach Bait – Mix equal parts of powdered sugar, yellow corn meal and Boric Acid (available at pharmacies). Place in caps around the house: under refrigerator, in cabinets, etc. If have pets, place where they do not have access. This will rid the house of roaches in about two weeks. Works up to a year – much more effective than pesticides.

Branch Basics – (HS) (CS)*  Spray 7:1 dilution directly on insects. This product kills by a mechanical (not a chemical action) as it breaks down (emulsifies) the exoskeleton of the insect. Set up a monthly schedule of exterior and interior baseboard treatment of the home to prevent entry of insects. Mix 30:1, place in garden sprayer and spray perimeter of home and eaves and baseboards once a month. The first month spray weekly or weekly until you are no longer seeing pests.

Uncle Albert’s AntBait – Uncle Alber'ts Antbait and Kmant Pro for fire ants and white-footed ants. Use Uncle Albert’s Super Smart Ant Bait with KN Ant Pro liquid bait gravity feed dispenser. Wonderful products; gets to the queen.

An indoor natural spider spray formula - Dr. Bronners Peppermint or Lavender Soap and 1 ounce of Neem Oil. You can also add 1 to 5 drops of any of Lavender Oil or Peppermint Oil (depending on your preference) to 1 quart of water. Add 5 T. of the soap per quart water. Add one ounce of the Neem oil to the water which you have added the soap and label it. Shake well and spray inside house where spiders are seen. Test for strength. May be done as often as needed. This is not a long-term solution but will provide you immediate help. Oils may stain some fabrics or light colored furnishings, so test first.

To spray outside the house: Use the same formula  to spray the foundation, eaves and soffits, areas around doors, windows and crawls space, attic vents, or any area where you see spiders congregating.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The links below will give you more information on endocrine disruptors and other toxic chemicals:

Women To Women
Mindfully
Science Daily 
Mercola
Natural News - Teen Cosmetics
Natural News - Popular Shampoos
Six Wise
Tiny Choices

Back to Articles

Back to Articles

So we eat our fruits and vegetables, drink eight glasses of water a day, and take our vitamins. Unfortunately, in today’s world this is not enough! Even if we feel like we’re healthy with no complaints, our exposure to toxins and electromagnetic stress in the home and/or workplace along with eating a sub-optimal diet can prevent us from reaching our maximum mental and physical health potential. In addition, they can be a contributing cause of potential serious illness in the future because our body’s biochemistry is not designed to deal with this daily onslaught of manmade chemicals.

Our bodies are amazing and try to tell us when something isn’t right. But do we listen or just cover up the warning signs? We should ask ourselves: Do I take prescription or over the counter drugs? Do I constantly wake up tired and sluggish in the mornings? Do I have trouble falling asleep and/or wake up throughout the night? Are there days that I can’t get by without a nap or rest? Do I ever experience brain fog? Am I too tired to exercise? Do I drink more than one cup of coffee to wake up and stay alert? Do I have sinus headaches, allergies or migraines? Do I have regular stomachaches, acid indigestion or acid reflux? Do I catch every cold and flu that comes around? Do I have nagging back, neck or knee pain?

If we answer yes to any of these questions, chances are we’re not as healthy as we think. Our body is telling us something isn’t right and a change is needed.

According to the October 2006 issue of The National Geographic in an article called “The Pollution Within” we are all walking around with toxic chemicals in our body fat even if we think we are healthy. Where does this bioaccumulation of chemicals come from? The Environmental Protection Agency approves about 90% of new chemical compounds without restrictions of any kind and only a quarter of the 82,000 chemicals in use in the U.S. have ever been tested for toxicity. USA Today has revealed that the average city water contains over 500 chemicals, which means millions of Americans are drinking contaminated water. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

And not only do we have to consider what we put in but also what we put on our bodies. Our skin is like a sponge, soaking up the cleansers and lotions we apply daily. In fact, after rubbing a piece of garlic into the bottom of your foot, you can taste it within minutes. This demonstrates how easily the harmful ingredients found in most commonly used body care products are assimilated into our bloodstream. We are loaded and this is reflected by the fact that today in 2010 one out of every two people are projected to get cancer in their lifetime and it is estimated that 60-80%of all cancers are a direct result of chemicals in our air, water, and food. Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, schizophrenia, and mental/behavioral disorders have all been linked to neurotoxins found in the food we eat and products we use everyday.

It is not just a question of whether we have healthy bodies, but also will our babies have healthy bodies? If you are planning on starting a family, the decisions that you make can have an effect on the health of your baby. For more information, read “Body Burden – The Pollution in Newborns.” 

How do we create a healthy body?

Education – Know what to avoid in your food, supplements, water, body care products, and building materials. See "From Spiders to Sinks: Safe Alternatives for Every Cleaning Need."

Removal – Prudent avoidance or elimination of these contaminants provides a proactive preventative healthcare strategy for the well being of our families. See “Reducing Immune Stress: Where Do I Start?”   

Detoxification and Exercise – Implement detox strategies to rid the body of its stored chemical burden. See "Exercise & Detox 101."

Eat right – See "Nutrition 101."

Think right – See “Detoxifying the Mind.”

Three Branches wants you to become a conscious consumer so you can make the best choices available for you and your family. We hope you find comfort in knowing that we consider everything from the raw ingredients to the manufacturing and bottling processes before bringing you products safe and effective enough to create a healthy body. Don’t wait another day before integrating our recommendations into your daily regime!

Back to Articles

Today, it is not hard to pickup a magazine or newspaper and find some article that refers to the possible consequences of our modern day exposure to electromagnetic fields. Martin Halper, a director of the EPA stated in the December 1990 Fortune Magazine article on electromagnetic radiation: “In all my years of looking at chemicals, I have never seen a set of epidemiological studies that remotely approached the weight of evidence that we are seeing with ELF (extremely low frequency) electromagnetic fields.” Whether it is microwave ovens, cell phones, blackberries, computers, iphones, or Wi-Fi, there is enough research that points to the fact that we are being affected. Searches on the internet will bring up more than you could ever want to know and the frightening rise of electromagnetic sensitivity should put us all in a proactive mode.

The dangers of electro pollution are real, but this fact is being largely ignored despite the following worldwide evidence:

• In our own country, the telecommunications industry was mandated by Congress to do a six-year wireless technology research (WTR) study that was completed in 1999. The study coordinated by Dr. George Carlo, an epidemiologist and public health expert, resulted in alarming findings that linked cell phone radiation to serious health implications including cancer. When Dr. Carlo submitted the data and results, the cell phone industry discredited the research. From the study, Dr. Carlo concluded that exposure to radiation from wireless technology is “potentially the biggest health insult” that this nation has ever seen – even greater than cigarette smoking and asbestos.

• In 2002, a number of German doctors belonging to the Interdisciplinary Society of Environmental Medicine created the Freiburger Appeal (with close to 40,000 signatures). It was issued after they noted a cause-and-effect relationship between the increase in wireless technology (cell phones, Wi-Fi DECT, etc.) and a “dramatic rise in severe and chronic diseases” like behavioral disorders, ADD/ADHD, blood pressure disorders, heart attacks, strokes, brain-degenerative disorders, and cancers like leukemia and brain tumors.

• By 2004, twelve research groups from seven European countries cooperating in the REFLEX study project confirmed that microwaves from wireless communications devices cause significant single- and double-strand DNA breaks in both human and animal cells under laboratory conditions.

• In August 2007, a report issued by an international group of renowned scientists, researchers, doctors, and public health experts – entitled the Bioinitiative warns “Wireless technologies that rely on microwave radiation to send emails and voice communication are thousands of times stronger than levels reported to cause some health impacts. Prolonged exposure to radio frequency and microwave radiation from cell phones, cordless phones, cell towers, Wi-Fi, and other wireless technologies have been linked to physical symptoms including headache, fatigue, sleeplessness, dizziness, changes in brainwave activity, and impairment of concentration and memory.”

• In September 2007, the German government warned its citizenry not to use Wi-Fi and mobile phones (except in emergencies). In Italy, children are not allowed to bring cell phones to school.

• In November 2007, the city of Paris voted to ban Wi-Fi in public libraries after a prominent staff member that was getting ill from the Wi-Fi threatened to leave their post if Wi-Fi were not removed. In May 2009, the mayor of Broward County, Florida declared the month of May as “Electromagnetic Sensitivity (EMS) Awareness Month” in Broward County, Florida.

Unfortunately, ignoring the overwhelming evidence is not going to prevent consequences – ignorance is not bliss. Learning about the electromagnetic spectrum puts you in a position of strength so that you can start making decisions that will help protect you from the potentially harmful effects from exposures to electromagnetic fields.

Identifying where your family might be exposed to electromagnetic fields in the home and educating them about avoiding those fields is no different than making sure that your child understands that he is not to touch the stove. It is for their protection. Education is the key to the wise safe use of the many technologies that make our lives more fun, more current, and more convenient. This leads to motivation and, finally, action.

Common sense tells us that if we touch a hot wire, we will be electrocuted. If we don’t heed this, then we experience immediate injury or even death. Exposure to other aspects of electricity/electromagnetic fields may not give us such strong immediate feedback and we may be lulled into thinking “Oh, this doesn’t bother me!” But research from around the globe is warning otherwise. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (LARC) findings now classify electromagnetic fields in the same category as DDT, Carbon Tetrachloride, and Chloroform as a Category 2B possible carcinogens. The U.S. EPA warns that “There is reason for concern” and advises prudent avoidance. The alarm is worldwide and the warning to people is to minimize exposures to the electromagnetic field spectrum to the extent “technically and economically reasonable,” especially in locations where extended periods of time are spent such as in the home at night when sleeping.

So, how do we put this in motion so that we are not at risk and we can enjoy our lives without fear? Prudent avoidance means that we must know what electromagnetic fields we need to steer clear of and how to reduce our exposure. Every home has “hot spots” where electromagnetic fields are high and should be avoided. Our homes should be our haven and our bedroom – where we spend a third of our lives – a place of refuge where the body is refreshed, repaired, and rejuvenated. Electromagnetic fields are present everywhere, but they are invisible. So, if these unseen fields are bombarding us without our knowledge (example – most people do not feel anything when they are x-rayed), then we are still vulnerable to the consequences of that exposure. Education about the electromagnetic spectrum and the help of electromagnetic field meters give us a heads up on how to solve the problem. Take this one step at a time, one field at a time – do what you can as you are able.

Three Branches wants to make it very clear that only removal of the source of exposure (ridding of cordless phones, not using a cell phone, or removing wireless devices from the home, etc.) or shielding (that results in a measurable reduction on an EMF meter) assures complete protection from harmful EMFs. In no way does Three Branches want to imply that the use of any device completely protects from the electromagnetic fields unless there can be a measured difference with an electromagnetic field meter.

Therefore, Three Branches does not claim that the following products shield the body from EMF exposure even though their names and explanations imply that they do. We include them because some people who are electromagnetically sensitive, our canaries, have reported tangible and repeatable results when using these products. Some have even had marked improvements in their health. Some have been made more comfortable, others report that they are sleeping better than they ever have in their life and some have minimal improvements. No product can protect us 100% from the hazards of EMFs and the wireless revolution at this time.

After two years of testing many products that claim to alter field influence with electromagnetically sensitive people, those made by EarthCalm and Premier Research Labs are the only ones that have given tangible relief and help. Therefore, if these products have given those with electromagnetic sensitivity tangible relief or less severe symptoms then it follows that a person that chooses to use a cell phone, laptop, computer, etc. may be wise to consider the use of them as well.

For outgassed and shielded desktop and laptop computers, call George Lecter of Technology Alternatives Corporation at 1-800-222-3003 (hours between 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. EST)

The Bed

A healthy bedroom starts with a healthy bed, which is the most important piece of furniture in the home. Where we sleep is where the body does its repair work and rejuvenation. The bed should be free of chemicals and metal so that the immune and nervous systems are not stressed. After all, we spend nearly a third of our lives atop our mattresses!

Conventional mattresses are treated with chemicals, many of which have been banned in Europe because of their negative impact on health. Over time, the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from the chemical treatments outgas and diminish, but the flame-retardants found in bedding & mattresses are SVOCs (semi-volatile organic compounds) that are odorless and ride on dust. These seemingly non-existent SVOCs continue to emanate from the mattress for the life of the bed and continue to contaminate the dust in the bedroom. The body must detoxify these chemicals during the night when the immune system should be resting and repairing. If the person has chronic illness or genetic damage from prior chemical exposure, the body simply does not have the physical equipment (detoxification system) or energy to neutralize and metabolize these chemicals. The person is literally poisoned when they are exposed and this can result in anything from minor temporary discomfort to complete disability from degenerative conditions. The majority of people do not understand this because their immune systems are able to more efficiently metabolize and excrete hazardous chemicals. They have no frame of reference for this phenomenon. Yet, we now know that even healthy people do not have a detoxification system that is efficient enough to clear the formidable chemical load we are faced with each day. See the article "The Pollution Within" from the October 2006 issue of National Geographic.

Conventional mattresses contain metal both in the mattress as well as in the box spring. The metals in the springs and coils attract and radiate electromagnetic frequencies that can stress the immune and nervous system. In addition, the metal coils in the mattress are often magnetized and these distortions also cause the body stress. This is a subtle type of direct current (DC) electromagnetic field. A metal free bed is recommended.

The Bedding

Even if you are not quite ready to invest in a new mattress, purchasing pillows, sheets, blankets, and comforters made with certified organic materials will make a big difference in your sleeping environment and as a result will improve your quality of sleep. Sheets and blankets made from certified organic cotton eliminate the need for dyes and the many chemicals used in commercially grown cotton. In the meantime, any 100% cotton sheets that you already have can be cleaned with a washing procedure described in “Detoxifying Clothes and Bedding & Mattresses.” The untreated, organic sheets also need to be washed and decontaminated as some contain sizing.

Choosing a non-toxic cleaning product for your bedding is an important step in creating a safe night’s sleep. Unfortunately, the typical laundry detergent contains petroleum distillates, phenols, artificial fragrances and phosphates, all toxic ingredients that our body is forced to break down, neutralize and detoxify throughout the night. And, although they soften our sheets and give off sweet, familiar scents, dryer sheets and fabric softeners are some of the most toxic products available, containing ingredients such as benzyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, ethanol, limonene, a-terpineol, ethyl acetate and chloroform. These chemicals have been linked to damage of the brain and central nervous system and could even cause cancer. We highly recommend switching to a non-toxic cleaning product such as KD-Gold. See Learn: Laundry Care and “Detoxifying Clothes and Bedding & Mattresses.”

There are several options to investigate for safe Bedding & Mattresses. Organic Bedding & Mattresses can include cotton futons, natural organic cotton mattresses, natural organic latex beds and more. See “Safe Bedding Options.”

OMI

Organic mattress companies are beginning to proliferate the market, yet OMI stands above the rest because unlike most organic mattress manufacturers, it is committed to maintaining a completely chemical-free, smoke-free, fragrance-free and cruelty-free environment. OMI is one of the only Bedding & Mattresses companies that has what is termed “a dedicated factory” which means that there are no other products made in the facility that might have chemicals that could possibly contaminate the Bedding & Mattresses. Their employees don’t smoke, wear fragrances or use fabric softeners on their clothing. While some may question the necessity of such high regulations, it should be noted that the chemicals contained in many fragrances can become engrained in the product’s fibers, taking away from the integrity of a pure sleeping environment.

See “Safe Bedding Options” for a list of pillow, sheets and bedspread vendors.

Branch Basics

This is a great, non-toxic product for washing your sheets. It can be used in HD washers that require low-sudsing soaps. Because it’s not a strong detergent, Branch Basics extends the longevity of the fabric. It’s also very effective for stains.

Branch Basics is a unique, proprietary blend of plant-derived ingredients that are all natural, fragrance free, non-combustible, non-hazardous, non-fuming, non-toxic, and biodegradable.

Today we are all exposed to hundreds of chemicals during the course of a day and they affect our life. Our highly polluted environment has been created as a result of intensive and continued chemical use since World War II. Scientists estimate that everyone alive today carries within his or her body at least 700 contaminants, most of which have not been well studied.*

This is true no matter where we live since many chemicals attach to dust particles and/or catch air and water currents, traveling far from where they are produced or used. When exposed, our bodies have no alternative but to absorb these chemicals and, if unable to excrete them, store them for long periods of time.

Before we are even born, synthetic chemicals and heavy metals of all kinds begin building up in our bodies. After birth we are exposed to these chemicals through the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink and bathe in. As these toxins accumulate they make us more prone to chronic disease, more prone to mental decline, and they age the body prematurely as they prevent cells from regenerating efficiently. This chemical "body burden" is the focus of why a sauna is a necessity.

Benefits of a Sauna

A sauna is a solid investment in a healthier lifestyle. A sauna induces sweating which removes chemicals and heavy metals that are stored in the fat cells, and trapped in the connective tissue and the brain. Some of the chemicals residing in our bodies are petroleum-based products, some are pesticides and herbicides, some are byproducts of the manufacture and incineration of plastics or of industrial production, and many are found in the wide variety of consumer products used.

Scientific studies show that small exposures to chemicals - once considered harmless - are indeed capable of causing subtle cellular changes. New evidence shows that these subtle changes can raise the risk for birth defects, cancer, Alzheimer’s, dementia, mental illness, and other health problems. In addition, the cumulative effect of the full burden of chemicals we carry increases our risks. This toxic burden puts a great deal of stress on the body as it tries to reduce this load.

It has been estimated that 15 minutes of sweating in a sauna eliminates as much toxic waste as 24 hours of normal kidney function. In addition the liver, kidneys, and lungs can be damaged by chronic exposure to environmental toxins so that the body's ability to eliminate toxins becomes impaired. As the toxins are eliminated by regular use of a sauna these organs can be strengthened and regenerated. Thus, they can more efficiently eliminate future toxic exposures that we all face everyday. Regular sauna treatments combined with a healthy diet, the use of non-toxic body care and cleaning products, and moderate exercise will help create better health for you and your family.

One of the most important times in your life to use a sauna for detoxification is when you start preparing for having a child. Both the future father and future mother should do a detoxification program before getting pregnant as the mother downloads toxic waste into the baby while pregnant and the father’s sperm health is affected by toxicity. Detoxification through sauna use gives you the opportunity to have the healthiest baby possible and your preventative efforts will give lifelong benefits.

Heavenly Heat

The Heavenly Heat sauna that we recommend stands alone as the safest sauna available today. Heavenly Heat offers a unique combination of Finnish stone heat and far infrared heat or just far infrared heat alone. To determine if you want a combination of the two heat elements or the far infrared alone in order to create the most comfortable and most effective sauna for detoxification, see below.*

Unlike other saunas, Heavenly Heat saunas are built using absolutely no plywood, glues, plexiglass, adhesives, putty, stains, or high terpine containing woods. Bob Morgan owner of Heavenly Heat builds saunas for the chemically and electromagnetically sensitive, which means they provide an ideal environment for eliminating toxic substances from the body. Many saunas are constructed with materials that outgas chemicals such as plywood, adhesives, and glues that contain biocides while claiming to be built with non-toxic materials. While detoxifying, the last thing you want to do is sweat out one toxin and inhale the fumes of another! Heavenly Heat’s use of non-corrosive steel screws and thicker paneling assures that each sauna has both the clean air that is essential for effective detox, as well as the strength needed to last for decades.

Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, M.D. (autism and detoxification specialist) has written: “Peer reviewed literature shows that sweating during sauna therapy eliminates high levels of toxic metals, organic compounds, dioxin, and other toxins.” Dr. Klinghardt recommends Heavenly Heat saunas exclusively.

Dr. William Rea, founder of The Environmental Health Center – Dallas, is considered an expert on chemical sensitivity. He has put thousands of severely chemically injured patients through sauna detoxification. He has used a Heavenly Heat sauna since 1994.

*VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION

If you have heart trouble, have high blood pressure, are battling life-threatening illness, are extremely chemically sensitive, or are very weak then the heat from a typical sauna can be devastating. Therefore, heart patients and very chemically sensitive people should only use the far infrared heat. Far infrared rays are at the end of the infrared spectrum and are the longest and most healing rays. The far infrared sauna is safer, allows a much more tolerable operating temperature, lowers lactic acid (the acid that accumulates and causes pain in muscles when overdoing it during exercising), stimulates endorphins (the happy hormones of the brain), kills organisms like bacteria and parasites, penetrates tissues, detoxifies cells by vibrating ionic bonds, stops swelling, improves lymphatic flow and blood circulation, and attracts calcium to cell membranes where it is needed for healing. Doctors at Mayo Clinic did a study using far infrared saunas with their most critical end stage congestive heart failure patients and in three weeks the patients had improved heart health and those results came with no side effects. The far infrared rays penetrate the tissues about 1.5 inches deep and pull the chemicals out of the subcutaneous (right under the skin) fat storage directly into the sweat. Therefore the toxins go directly to the sweat, which is in contrast to the high heat traditional saunas that force chemicals out of deeper fat storage into the bloodstream. This then can cause detox reactions and symptoms if a persons kidneys, liver, colon, and lungs are too weak to handle the load.

If other family members will be using the sauna then the combination of Finnish stone heat and far infrared heat may be desirable. Many people turn on the Finnish stone heat and the far infrared heat before entering the sauna to get the temperature to the desired level and then they turn the Finnish stone heat off. Other people leave both on and desire the higher temperatures. What must be understood is if you have a heart condition, are critically ill, or are extremely chemically sensitive only use the far infrared portion of the sauna. When you recover you can opt to use both heaters.

For more information on using the sauna and how heart patients and others with no medical alternatives have used the sauna as a major vehicle to help them recover, please read Detoxify or Die by Dr. Sherry Rogers, M.D. pp. 191- 318. If you have heart trouble also read The High Blood Pressure Hoax and The Cholesterol Hoax by Dr. Sherry Rogers, M.D. (You can call 1-800-846-6687 or go to Prestige Publishing to order.)

Important note: Please do not let the titles deter you from reading these books if you are interested in the information. Although Three Branches believes the titles are extreme, we find the information inside eye opening and invaluable. Yet, there are a couple of caveats to the information in the reading list above:

1. We do not recommend the sauna that is recommended in these books because the Heavenly Heat sauna is made of better quality materials.
2. We do not recommend synthetic supplements as a rule, but for intensive sauna detox programs some may be necessary. Overall it is better to try to concentrate on as many whole food sources of supplements as possible.

NOTE: Sometimes the body is in such an alarmed and loaded state that it is unable to tolerate scents (VOC’s) from even a natural source. If you are diligent in your avoidance, then the body has a chance to repair and heal. The following is a list of products that have been used during the strict recovery phase of healing by the very chemically sensitive. All members in your household must also use these safe products. After you have improved you can move to the human safe products that will help you detoxify more aggressively – these are described in the following pages.

Please investigate the program developed by Karen Slimak to help understanding of why even natural scents inhibit healing in a chemically sensitive person. Her comprehensive program is described on Special Foods. If you have no access to a computer obtain a copy of printouts from the website or call 703-644-0991 to order an information packet. One of the sections entitled “Comprehensive Intervention Program for the Autistic Child – Special Environment Program” scientifically documents what a difference following certain guidelines can make in regard to recovery from illness. This website is also very helpful as a way to educate friends and family about how our environment and food affects the health.

The following unscented products are acceptable for use for the extremely sensitive, but note – please test each product carefully (start with very small amounts) because everyone has a unique biochemistry and what works for one person does not necessarily work for another – also it is a good idea to rotate products so that you do not have a lot of exposure to one product – you can overdo anything. Moderation is always best.

When recovering from chemical sensitivity, it is always best to use a fragrance-free, non-toxic product.

KEY

(CS) – Chemically-sensitive approved*
(HS) – Human-safe
(NT) – Non-toxic
(LT) – Less-toxic
*Always test if you are chemically sensitive

BODY CLEANSING

Baking Soda – (HS)

As shampoo: Wet hair thoroughly. Take a handful of baking soda and rub into scalp. Rinse thoroughly. This will help to detoxify the head and scalp. If hair is dry, this will initially be drying, but as the scalp is cleansed, the natural oils from the scalp will be released and dry condition corrected.

As deodorant: Pat under arms after bathing.

Organic Facial Cleanser, Scrub and Mask from Dakota Free – A fragrance-free, clarifying cleanser, scrub and mask for use on the face, chest and back. Helps to exfoliate areas of dry or flaking skin, absorbs excess oils, decreases redness, inflammation and acne. Use daily as a cleanser and scrub, or weekly as a mask for the face, chest, or upper back. This is a soap free facial cleanser. Can be used overnight as an overnight spot treatment for blemishes. Dab paste on insect bites and stings to decrease inflammation and draw out toxins. Use paste to soothe and diminish diaper rash. Ingredients: Pure Kaolin Clay and organic Whole Oat Powder.

Fragrance Free Massage and Body Oil from Dakota Free – Use for adult, child or baby massage. An unscented massage and body oil with numerous uses. Absorbs quickly and is gentle enough for everyone - even on a baby’s tender skin. Use to soothe and moisturize the skin. Makes a great fragrance-free baby oil. Add to warm bath water as a fragrance-free bath oil. Ingredients: Expeller-Pressed Safflower Oil Natural Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols)

SunGold Soap – Unscented soap specialists. No possibility of cross contamination in factory because no scents used on any of the product line. Soap can be used for shampoo, body and face wash. Must order online from: Sun Gold Soap

Pure Prairie Soap from Dakota Free – All natural, gluten-free, fragrance-free, hand-made vegetarian soap.  Can be used for shampoo, shaving, face and body soap.  Ingredients: Palm oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, expeller pressed safflower oil and Shea butter that has been saponified. Saponification is the process of turning fats into soap, as it has been done for centuries, using distilled water and a strong alkali; in this case, sodium hydroxide, commonly called lye. Once the soap has cured, there is no free lye left. The fat and lye have reacted together, changed their structures, so they are no longer fat and lye. Instead, the separate ingredients have become a gentle, luxurious soap.

Soaps from Special Foods – This soap is especially useful for those people that suffer from chronic itching and tingling.  This soap is a multipurpose soap. It can be used for shampoo and personal care.  If you are on a rotation diet, the soaps can be matched to the days of your diet, eliminating extra exposures. Simply select the oil you desire and match the days on your diet. Ingredients for all: listed oil, calcium hydroxide, and distilled water. This soap is available in liquid (8 oz). To order, go to Special Foods or call 703-644-0991 for a special foods catalog.

Clearly Natural Unscented Soap – Available from Health Food Stores

Dr. Bronner’s Baby Unscented Soap – Available from Health Food Stores

BODY/LIP MOISTURIZING

Fragrance Free Moisturizer from Dakota Free – A moisturizer that absorbs quickly to soothe, soften and protect your skin without feeling sticky or greasy. Use for the face as well as the hands and body. Will not clog pores. This premium quality moisturizer contains more emollients and less water than most others on the market, so that only a small amount is needed to give you excellent results. Use Dakota Free Moisturizer to remove eye makeup. It is a great leave in hair conditioner for dry, coarse or over processed hair. Can order trial/travel size. Ingredients: Organic aloe vera gel, organic emulsified expeller-expressed soybean oil, expeller-expressed safflower oil, distilled water, grapefruit seed extract, natural lemon oil, natural vitamin E oil, vegetable glycerin.

Baby Your Skin Balm from Dakota Free – This versatile skin salve is welcome relief for any area of skin that needs extra protection or moisturizing. Originally designed for baby skin, it is popular with people of all ages and occupations. This excellent balm is used to moisturize, soothe and protect skin, while it promotes healing. Ingredients:  Expeller pressed safflower oil, North Dakota beeswax, jojoba oil, mixed tocopherols (vitamin E oil), organic grapefruit seed extract, natural lavender oil (optional; Order without the Lavender Oil.)

Directions for use: Apply after bathing and as often as desired to any area of skin.
Perfect for use on rough or cracking feet, hands, knees & elbows.
Makes a great facial night cream, especially around the eyes.
Use to soothe areas of dry, scaling or itching skin. Can order trial/travel size.

Lipbalms and Lotions from Special Foods – These lip balms and lotions are made from beeswax and listed oil only. There are no added scents or flavors. Choose a lip balm made from plant sources you tolerate. The lip balms are available in small 5-gram glass containers. To order, go to Special Foods or call 703-644-0991 for a special foods catalog.

Honey Lipz Lip Balm from Dakota Free – An all-natural and fragrance-free lip balm that moisturizes with just the right feel on your lips. Ingredients:  Expeller-expressed safflower oil, North Dakota beeswax, jojoba oil, natural vitamin E oil, organic grapefruit seed extract, vegetable glycerin. Call 701-539-2256.

DEODORANT

Baking Soda – Can apply this directly with a cotton pad. To make it smoother, mix 3 Tbsp baking soda with 2 Tbsp cornstarch and apply directly. Or 3 Tbsp baking soda with 3 Tbsp melted Shea butter with 2 Tbsp cocoa butter. (Recipe from Angry Chicken) Do not shave immediately prior to usage.

Fragrance Free Deodorant from Dakota Free – An all-natural, solid-stick deodorant with all-natural essential oils combined in a gentle base to stop odor and soothe sensitive skin. This fragrance-free deodorant is also ideal for bird watchers, bowhunters, sportsman and outdoor enthusiasts of all types. Any situation where you want to blend in with the natural surroundings because it is made of plant oils with nothing to attract attention from insects or animals. This fragrance-free deodorant comes packaged in a convenient wind-up tube, it is not an antiperspirant and some individuals may need to reapply during the day. Ingredients: Beeswax, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, vegetable glycerin, zinc oxide (a natural mineral), tocopherol (natural vitamin E oil), grapefruit seed extract, natural tea tree oil, natural lemon oil, natural cypress oil and natural blue cypress oil.

HAIR CARE

Nature’s Bounty Milk Shampoo and Conditioner - Developed for the allergic and those sensitive to dyes and perfumes. Goat Milk's unique blend of proteins, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins formulated into natural body care products. No dyes, perfumes, detergents, or deodorants. This frequent use conditioning Milk Shampoo is great for normal to dry, very fine, or damaged, heat-styled, bleached, tinted, and processed hair. Leaves hair static and tangle free, full of body, with a healthy shine. The goat’s milk provides a naturally rich source of conditioning proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Available from The Living Source (1-800-662-8787)

Druide's Pur & Pure Shampoo – Fragrance Free. Specifically designed for the hypersensitive person. Absolute mildness for very sensitive scalp. Simple formula. Balanced pH 5.5. No sulfates. Well received by attendees of the 2003 CIIN Conference.

Ingredients: Purified Water (Aqua), Red Clover (Trifolium Pratense) Extract**, Lauryl Gucoside*, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate*, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Coco-Glucoside*, Sorbitol (vegetal), Glyceryl Oleate, Glycerin (vegetal), Panthenol, Rice Amino Acids, Olive (Olea Europea) Oil**, Anise (Pimpinella Anisum) Extract, Citric Acid, Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) Extract, Grapefruit (Citrus Grandis)Extract,Tocopherol.
*Biodegradable
**Certified Organically Grown (ECOCERT) or wild-crafted plants.
Available from Needs (Needs 1-800-6341380).

Magick Botanicals Fragrance Free Shampoo for Thinning Hair – Fragrance Free Shampoo for Thinning Hair - keeps the scalp clean and free of follicle clogging dead skin and sebum. It strengthens the hair shaft and helps hair achieve its maximum growth potential. This gentle formula is safe for colored or treated hair. Plant extracts have been removed due to sensitivities.
Ingredients: Purified Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Alpha Olefin Sulfonate, Cocomide MEA, Panthenol, Biotin, Cysteine, Ascorbic Acid, Niacin, Retinyl Palmitate, Nucleic Acids, Keratin Amino Acids, Germaben, Annatto.
Note: This product is not as safe as the other products, but other people in the family may want to use this.  If extremely sensitive try the other products first. Available from Needs (Needs 1-800-6341380).

TOOTH CARE

Pascalite Clay Products – Tooth and gum care, powder. Great for babies, bath powder for skin soothing and healing, clay packs for burn/wound healing, draws infections out, poultices. Call 307-347-3872.

SUNSCREEN

UV Natural Sunscreen – 1-888-586-9719  All Natural Cosmetics  

SPF 30, no fragrance, non-greasy, grape seed oil, safflower, macadamia, sesame, plus green tea, zinc oxide, PLEASE TEST THIS PRODUCT.

Back to Articles

Preparing the Sauna

• Place at least four layers of towels (two towels folded over) where you sit so that your sweat will not penetrate the wood in the sauna.
• Place a towel on the wood where the feet rest.
• To protect your wood from sweat, place a towel on the bottom of the sauna where you step in.
• Turn on the sauna. If you want to heat it up fast and you have both the Finnish heating element as well as the far infrared, then turn both on. If you only have the far infrared sauna turn it on to be heating up while you prepare your supplements, exercise, or skin brush.
• To make your sauna experience more successful, incorporate one or all of the following suggestions.

Vasodilatation: Increase Circulation, Dilate Blood Vessels and Open up the Skin

• Increasing circulation through 10 to 30 minutes of exercise right before you sauna will improve the mobilization of the chemicals from the fat cells. If you can, jump on the rebounder, walk briskly, jog, ride a bicycle, do aerobics or whatever you choose.
• If you can’t exercise, or in addition to exercising for optimum results, give yourself a skin brushing treatment. See “Skin Brushing”. This will open up the pores and facilitate sweating.
• Although optional, consider taking niacin to accelerate circulation and toxic discharge. Take niacin, which is vitamin B3, to a tolerated dose. Start with 50 to 100 mg. every day before the getting in the sauna. Pure Encapsulations is a good brand. Some people flush with redness, burning or tingling from niacin use. This is not harmful, but can be alarming if you don’t know where it is coming from. Take the same dose until the flushing symptom stops. Then add 50 to 100 mg. every day as long as you are not burning and tingling. Some people get up to 1000 mg. Niacin has the ability to purge radiation and helps to break up and purge drugs from the body. For more information on radiation and niacin, read the book All About Radiation by L. Ron Hubbard. For more information about niacin and drugs read Clear Body, Clear Mind by L. Ron Hubbard. Take niacin with the nutrients below. Note: If you have heart disease or are extremely sensitive hold off on using niacin until you have recovered somewhat.

Nutritional Protocols for Sauna Use

The more time you spend in the sauna, the more you need to make sure you replenish your vitamins and minerals. The following offers a general guideline if you plan to sauna frequently. Depending on the condition of your health, you may need more or less. If you are strong and healthy, Greens Mix and/or pH Perfect may be all you need. Option one is the optimal choice. Option two is for those who just want to take supplements and no green drinks.

Option One

Drink and Take the following:
• 1 - 2 quarts of water before sitting in the sauna
• 100-300 mg. of Magnesium (If you have kidney trouble take 3 T. of Greens Mix instead)
• 2 T Greens Mix (Again, if have kidney trouble and can’t take magnesium take 3 T)
• 1 T Lecithin (Very important as it is an agent capable of breaking fat into tiny particles.)
• 1 T Tocotrienes
• 2 - 4 T Nutritional Flakes (Provides Vitamin B complex)
• 2 - 4 XenoStat capsules (Provide trace minerals and iodine)
• 800 IU Vitamin E – Use E Complete
• 1 Vitamin C Complex capsule

Note: You can mix Greens Mix, Lecithin, Tocotrienes and Nutritional Flakes together with water or individually with water.

Option Two

Drink and Take the following:
• 1 - 2 quarts of water before taking sauna
• 1 t pH Perfect in water
• 100-300 mg. of Magnesium
• 3 Daily Multi capsules
• 3 XenoStat capsules
• 800 IU Vitamin E – Use E Complete
• 1 Vitamin C Complex capsule

Please make sure to take in good fats throughout the day during meals. Take 1-2 T EFA Oil and/or 1-2 T Coconut Oil.

Things to Take into the Sauna

• Water (in glass) to drink
• A washrag or small towel to continually wipe the sweat from the body to keep it from being reabsorbed. This towel will be saturated with sweat. You can weigh your towel before the sauna and after the sauna to see how much water was lost. You will need a real sensitive scale. This can help you know how much water to drink – at least an equal amount of water that was lost. Sometimes the smell of chemicals from the sweat towel is so strong that you need to soak it in water with about 1/2 cup of 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics overnight before washing.

Using the Sauna

• Start using the sauna at 100 degrees F. in short 10 to 15 minute increments at first, to determine your body’s tolerance. If you are fairly healthy you will most likely be able to start at a higher temperature and stay longer.
• If the heat seems too strong, open the door and reduce the heat.
• If you are ill, take your blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rate, weight, and pulse rate before and after the first few sauna sessions. If you are very fragile check this every 15 minutes.
• If your blood pressure, pulse or respiratory rate increases ten points, get out of the sauna for the day.
• If your oral temperature goes over 100 degrees F, get out for the day.
• Start at a lower temperature for the next session.
• If you weigh less after a sauna, you did not drink enough water to compensate for the loss. If your towel gained three pounds of water, then drink three pounds of water.
• Slowly advance the time of your session over the weeks eventually working your way up to an hour-long session.
• After you tolerate this, you may wish to advance to 130 degrees F.
• Some people after adapting to the sauna, heat the sauna up to 140 to 160 degrees F, get in, start sweating, and reduce the heat. You can reduce the heat by opening the door or turning off the Finnish sauna if it is on.
• If you have difficulty tolerating the sauna but really want to make headway with detoxification, then you can do short 15 minute sessions two to four times a day.
• Get out of the sauna immediately if you get a headache and you didn’t have one when you got in, get a fast heart rate, weakness, irregular heart rate, shortness of breath, muscle spasms, twitching or any adverse symptom.

Taken from Detoxify or Die by Sherry Rogers, M.D. p. 244 – 255.

After the Sauna - Options

• If you are healthy, start with a cold shower to rinse off. This causes a contraction of the skin that squeezes the lymph system. Then take a warm shower and wash off with non-toxic soap and water.
• If you are recovering from illness and feel like a cold shower would be too much of a shock, then first rinse with tepid water, then wash off with warm water and non-toxic soap and water.
• Get a magnesium boost by taking an Epsom Salt Bath right after you sauna. See “Epsom Salt Bath” for details.
• Highly recommended - Have a “Detox Cocktail” ready to go before you sauna so you can start sipping on it as soon as you get out. This is to help the body rev up its detoxification pathways so that any released toxins that have been mobilized can be safely taken care of.
• To make a “Detox Cocktail” mix the following in a 12 – 24 ounce bottle filled with water and sip throughout the day.
  1 t. DHLA
  1-2 t. Max Stress B
  1-2 t. CoQ-quinol
  1-2 t. Super Nano Green Tea

If You’re Having Trouble Sweating

• If you are having trouble sweating, then you really need the sauna. If you are in relatively good shape the following will help your skin immensely.
• Start out with a light skin brushing. See “Skin Brushing”.
• Get into the sauna for about 5 to 10 minutes.
• As soon as you start to sweat, for a few seconds, get out and take a very cold shower for 10 – 20 seconds. The cold shower causes a contraction of the skin, which in turn stimulates the lymph system.
• Get back in the sauna and repeat the procedure. When you start to break a sweat get back in the cold shower. Do several sessions.
• As you do this daily, the skin will open up and become more breathable and flexible, and you will start sweating faster.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are several safer brands that are commonly available.  

Shampoo

Hugo Naturals (all except Lemon Verbena Shampoo)

Giovanni Magnetic Energizing Shampoo

John Masters

Aubrey Organics: GPB Shampoo Lavender Ylang Ylang, Island Naturals, Men’s Stock Ginseng/Biotin

TheraNeem Organix

Conditioner

Hugo Naturals: Tea Tree & Lavender, Geranium, Red Tea & Ylang Ylang, Vanilla & Sweet Orange, Coconut

Giovanni Magnetic Conditioner

Aubrey Organics: GPB Lavender Ylang Ylang, Island Naturals, Blue Camomile, Primrose Tangle-Go detangler

TheraNeem Organix (all except Gentle Therape)

Soap

Dr. Bronner’s

TheraNeem Organix

365 Bar Soap

Branch Basics

Hugo Naturals: Shea Butter & Oatmeal bar, Wild African Rose Bar, Patchouli & Sandalwood Bar, Sage & Rosemary Bar, Grapefruit

Baby Shampoo & Bath Soap

Branch Basics

Lafes Organic Baby

Burt’s Bees Baby

California Baby

TheraNeem Organix for Kids and Babies

Moisturizer

Dr. Bronner’s  

Hugo Naturals: Unscented, Shea Butter & Oatmeal, Red Tea & Ylang Ylang, Cucumber & Geranium Body Butter

Aura Cacia Skin Care Oils

 Deodorant

Hugo Naturals

Alba Botanica

Earth Science Unscented 

Burt’s Bees

Toothpaste

Spry

Jason Power Smile

Peelu

Shaving

Dr. Bronner’s Shaving Gel

Hair Spray

Magick Botanical

Aubrey Organics

Makeup

Jane Iredale

W3ll People

Juice Beauty

Mineral Fusion

Sunscreen

Badger (except Anti-Bug Sunscreen)

Alba Botanic Sun: Mineral Sunscreen Fragrance Free SPF 30 (kid’s version too)

Aubrey Organics: Natural Sun Sport Stick Unscented SPF 30, Unscented Sensitive Skin/Children SPF 30, Sun Saving Face SPF 15

Mychelle Sun Shield SPF 28

Bug Repellant

California Baby Bug Repellant Spray

Badger Anti-Bug Shake & Spray Insect Repellent

Buzz Away Repellant Towelletes

All Terrain (Kid’s) Herbal Armor Insect Repellant Spray (not lotion)

**Please see www.cosmeticdatabase.org to rate your current products and for additional safe products.**

Back to Articles

If you are extremely chemically sensitive, then it is very important that you realize how essential it is for you to thoroughly pay attention to your diet and the environment that you live in. For the fastest and most complete recovery you should eat only organic whole foods (eliminate all processed/chemicalized food) AND you should do everything possible to eliminate your exposures to plastics, VOC’s, SVOC’s, certain molds, and their metabolic byproducts – mycotoxins. All body-care and cleaning products used should be replaced with safe unscented products or human safe products.

NOTE: Sometimes the body is in such an alarmed and loaded state that it is unable to tolerate scents (VOC’s) from even a natural source. If you are diligent in your avoidance, then the body has a chance to repair and heal. The following is a list of products that have been used during the strict recovery phase of healing by the very chemically sensitive. All members in your household must also use these safe products. After you have improved you can move to the human safe products that will help you detoxify more aggressively – these are described in the following pages.

Please investigate the program developed by Karen Slimak to help understanding of why even natural scents inhibit healing in a chemically sensitive person. Her comprehensive program is described on Special Foods. If you have no access to a computer obtain a copy of printouts from the website or call 703-644-0991 to order an information packet. One of the sections entitled “Comprehensive Intervention Program for the Autistic Child – Special Environment Program” scientifically documents what a difference following certain guidelines can make in regard to recovery from illness. This website is also very helpful as a way to educate friends and family about how our environment and food affects the health.

The following unscented products are acceptable for use for the extremely sensitive, but note – please test each product carefully (start with very small amounts) because everyone has a unique biochemistry and what works for one person does not necessarily work for another – also it is a good idea to rotate products so that you do not have a lot of exposure to one product – you can overdo anything. Moderation is always best.

When recovering from chemical sensitivity, it is always best to use a fragrance-free, non-toxic product.

LAUNDRY CARE

Unscented Borax – (NT) ¼-½ cup per load. Use alone or as a laundry booster. Borax softens the wash water so that soaps and detergents work better.  Borax helps remove odors in laundry and also has a mild bleaching action.  Buy in bulk from a local chemical supply company.

Sodium Sesquicarbonate –  (NT) ¼-½ cup per load of wash. This is old-fashioned washing soda. (Arm & Hammer Washing Soda is a brand of washing soda with a synthetic scent that you do not want.) Order sodium sesquicarbonate from Dr. Stig Erlander (Dr. Erlander’s Jubilee Washing Compound 626-797-7004) or for a more economical source like a local chemical supply company

Baking Soda – (HS) ½ cup per load. Can also be used as an abrasive with a little water.  If use baking soda consider, purchasing it in bulk from a chemical-supply company to save money.

Miracle Cleaner (Sodium Hexametaphosphate) Can be used as a water softener, used in laundry in conjunction with other cleaners, gives whiter whites, dissolves mineral buildup, dishwashing powder, hair rinse, window cleaner. Available from Needs (1-800 -634-1380) or Special Foods (703-644-0991)

Seventh Generation – Unscented Free and Clear Laundry Powder, Free and Clear Laundry Liquid, Free and Clear Dishwashing Liquid  - Seventh Generation Free and Clear All Purpose Cleaner – Available from Whole Foods and other health food stores. There are some extremely chemically sensitive people that are able to use this product, but it should be tested. Free and Clear products are:

Non-toxic
Hypo-allergenic
Biodegradable
No dyes
No fragrances or masking agents
No phosphates
Safe for septic and greywater systems
No petroleum based cleaners
No optical brighteners
Stain-removing enzymes
Not tested on animals
Kosher certified

ALL-PURPOSE CLEANING

Hydrogen Peroxide – Regular 3% hydrogen peroxide can be mixed with equal parts water and used for decontamination – wipe down of walls (test), baseboards, all non-porous surfaces. To order in glass, go to Special Foods or call 703-644-0991.

Bon Ami - Generally safe and is unscented. At grocery stores.

Back to Articles

Why is water filtration/purification a necessity?

Water is essential to life and optimum health. Without it, the human body will survive only a few days. No other nutrient deficiency has such a dramatic effect. Water makes up two-thirds of the body's weight and every cell requires water to function. It lubricates, flushes waste and toxins, hydrates the skin, regulates body temperature, acts as a shock absorber for joints, bones, and muscles, and transports nutrients, minerals and vitamins.

But, unfortunately, our U.S. drinking water is contaminated and city tap water has been found to contain as many as 500 different disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites along with more than 2100 toxic chemicals. Heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, MTBE (gasoline additive), chlorine and chlorine by-products, chloramines, ammonia, low-levels of pharmaceuticals (prescription and over-the-counter therapeutic drugs and veterinary drugs) and chemicals from personal care products (PPCP’s) have been found in our nation's municipal and well water supplies.

Part of creating a healthy body involves getting the best quality water you can. Water purification/filtration is imperative not only for the water you drink, but also the water you use to bathe and shower in. After a 10-minute shower, you have ten times more trihalomethanes and chemicals in your body than if you had 8 glasses of the same unpurified water. At 100 degrees, the steam cloud is full of chlorine byproducts that you are breathing in. And, at the same time, the skin pores are taking it in through the gas as well as through the water. The chlorine and chloramines rob the skin of oils. While dry skin can be attributed to the soap used, it may also be the chlorine or chloramines that contribute to the problem.

Three Branches recommends finding out what is in your water and purifying it accordingly.

With water purification/filtration, it is not only the materials in the water purification /filtration unit itself that are important, but it is also choosing the right system for your particular water supply. And in addition to that, it needs to be the system that works the best for your family.

Three Branches has chosen Mary Cordaro of H-3 Environmental to help you evaluate your water tests and determine which purification/filtration systems will best meet your needs. Mary is a water quality expert that has over 20 years of experience in dealing with water, environmental issues, and the chemically sensitive. Mary will look at your municipal water report or ask you to test your water as described in “Testing Your Water” if your water report is not extensive enough or if you are on a well.

Mary Cordaro, H-3 Environmental 1.818.766.1787

Three Branches recommends Rainshower filters for point of use filtration in the shower and the bath if whole house purification is not an option. This company provides filtration systems that are free of materials that will leech into the water as it passes through the purifier such as caulks, adhesives, and plasticizers (many systems have plastic components that can leech into the water.)

Today the Game Has Changed

The key to healthy eating is to eat a wide variety of real foods (organic meats, poultry, dairy, fats, grains, nuts, seeds) with emphasis on plenty of vegetables and fruits. That should provide all the protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and cofactors that we need, but with one big caveat – today the game has changed. Our food is grown in nutrient-deficient soils that lack the essential minerals and elements to keep us healthy. Studies reveal that the nutritional values in food have declined significantly over the past 70 years. In fact, the average potato today has lost almost 100% of its vitamin A, 57% of its vitamin C and iron, 28% of its calcium, 50% of its riboflavin, and 18% of its thiamine compared to a potato 50 years ago. Of the seven key nutrients measured, only niacin levels have increased. The decline in foods’ nutritional values can be attributed to the soil’s loss of minerals and microorganisms, and degradation due to poor farming methods.

For more information, see nutritional research of Donald Davis, senior researcher at the University of Texas.

More Minerals and Hold the Pesticides, Please!

More studies continue to link many of our chronic diseases to nutritional deficiencies. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), most Americans lack a sufficient amount of trace minerals, the minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and the vitamins A, C, D, and E. For example, mild calcium deficiency can cause heart palpitations, insomnia, irritability, nerve sensitivity, muscle twitching, mental confusion and a feeling of depression. Serious calcium deficiencies can lead to bone loss. Our food supply’s decreasing concentrations of antioxidants, phytonutrients or phytochemicals – all of which protect us from cancer and other degenerative disease – go hand in hand with the alarming increased rates of asthma, autism, Alzheimer’s, cancer, etc. Eating foods with pesticides increases the body's chemical burden and can play a part in many physical and mental illnesses.

What’s on My Food provides data on the degree of pesticide burden on various foods (which varies greatly) and reports on each pesticide's possible toxic effect on the body - whether it be carcinogenic, a hormone disruptor, neurotoxic, and/or a developmental/reproductive toxicant.

Supplements: A Necessity Today

Ideally, getting vitamins and minerals from food, not from supplements is preferable because foods provide synergistic unidentified food elements that many nutrients require to be efficiently used in the body. But without adequate nutrition from our food supply, we are faced with a very serious situation. Nutrient depletion coupled with today’s toxicity issues leave us critically vulnerable to developing degenerative diseases.

See “Pollution in People” for an informative study on toxic chemicals in Washingtonians.

So, in a perfect world, Three Branches would recommend that no supplementation is necessary if you eat a wide variety of real foods. But because of the current condition of our food supply and our unprecedented exposure to toxins, we feel that supplementation with only high-quality, whole food supplements and superfoods is essential for optimum health. For example, to get the same amount of vitamin C from one peach half a century ago, you would have to eat 50 peaches today! “The alarming fact is that our food supply is now being raised on land that no longer contains enough vitamins and minerals to support health no matter how much we eat of them,” says U.S. Senate Document 264. In addition, our food supply has been gradually infiltrated by more and more processed, manufactured and chemical laden foods that facilitate our fast-paced lifestyles. Most of the “healthy" and "non-processed” foods are sprayed with pesticides, irradiated, and many are genetically modified. Even if you eat your daily servings of fruits and vegetables, chances are your body is still lacking the nutrients it needs to function at its maximum potential or heal from injury or disease. We have no choice but to compensate for this deficiency with high-quality, food-based supplements from the purest sources available.

With the decline of our nutrient-dense food, there’s a plethora of companies touting the benefits of their supplements, making claims that don’t match the quality of their ingredients. Unfortunately, most supplements found on the market are synthetically produced, void of real ingredients (plants, herbs, etc.) that inherently contain vitamins and minerals in their natural form. Three Branches only recommends supplements and superfoods made from live, whole-food sources because the body can most easily absorb their nutrients, therefore reaping maximum benefits. Our products are pure and organic, free of pesticides, heavy metals, fillers (magnesium stearate) and binders.

The following vendors meet our highest quality standards:

Premier Research Labs

A landmark research study showed the odds of purchasing an effective, non-toxic herbal product was only 2.5% (cited in JANA, Winter 2000.) In contrast, Premier Research Labs (PRL) was founded to deliver uncompromising quality and effectiveness. PRL is committed to developing and providing 100% non-toxic and effective products. Their mission is based on 5 areas:

1. Broad-Spectrum Nutrients: Every nutrient critical to great health is readily available and in sufficient amounts in each product
2. Living Nutrients: Products contain only “once living” sources to provide ideal cellular DNA repair and protection
3. Free of Toxic Tagalongs: Products are guaranteed to not have any herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, heavy metals, fumigants, irradiation, etc.
4. 100 % Pure Vegetable Capsules: No toxic tablets with glues and binders or gelatin capsules with the risk of animal-source prions and toxic preservatives
5. No Excipients: Products don't contain hard-to-digest, non-nutritive substances such as magnesium stearate (a common toxic, hydrogenated oil), silicon dioxide (common sand), methylcellulose, carnuba wax, etc.

PRL only uses vegetable capsules because tablets require excipients to bind nutrients together. (Examples are magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, and silicon dioxide.) These binders are usually non-nutritive agents, or “toxic tag-alongs,” and we believe these non-food agents shouldn't be added to products meant for consumption. In addition, nutrients can greatly enhance cell access, thereby allowing even minute amounts of these chemical tag-alongs to have adverse effects.

PRL’s body products do not contain toxic cream agents such as propylene glycol, parabens, Peg-8 stearate, which can be absorbed and gain cellular access, and also create unsuspected adverse systemic effects. PRL is the industry leader in the use of non-toxic, beneficial, “living source” preservatives and each product they make is 100% free of chemo-toxins.

PRL packages their products in Violite™ containers (patent-pending by PRL) that block the range of light known to rancidify fats. In addition, they use nitrogen-flushing for the ultimate in freshness and preserving high-frequency cellular resonance. They use an advanced photoluminescence device that is able to quickly screen every single container of incoming raw material, not just a few random samples (as is typically done), so they can quickly identify and eliminate inferior materials. Other companies without such advanced technologies may unknowingly accept poorly grown, old or toxic raw materials.

Sweet Wheat

Beginning on a small country farm, Sweet Wheat, Inc. became one of the earliest companies to produce certified organic food supplements. In growing wheatgrass, Sweet Wheat, Inc. follows the principles and practices of the late Dr. Ann Wigmore, famed nutritionist and Hippocrates Institute founder who helped thousands regain their health. Utilizing the low temperature freeze-drying methodology developed by NASA, Sweet Wheat, Inc. creates a convenient powdered product that retains and protects the life-giving nutrients and fragile enzymes found in Sweet Wheat grown wheat grass juice. They do not add any fillers, binders, or sweeteners.

No home should be without a good quality HEPA vacuum cleaner! Unfortunately, most people don’t consider their vacuum cleaners as a source of air pollution so they aren’t that concerned about purchasing a quality vacuum. Yet, after vacuuming, the air is more contaminated than before vacuuming if the one used is not a high quality HEPA vacuum. With an abatement-rated HEPA vacuum, there is no escape of fine dust into the air from the vacuum filter or any hose or nozzle juncture and the air is cleaner after you vacuum instead of more contaminated.

Particles in the air can be the major cause of many allergic and respiratory reactions as they present exposure to toxic chemicals that ride on dust such as phthalates, flame-retardants, pesticides, and biocides, and can be a vehicle for the spread of airborne disease. Using a HEPA vacuum cleaner does not spread/broadcast and increase particulate levels in the air as occurs with most vacuum cleaners. Why would you want to take the time to vacuum your home if it is dirtier after you finish cleaning? A good HEPA vacuum can reduce allergic reactions and improve the health of those in the home by taking a load off the immune system. A HEPA vacuum cleaner is a must in your arsenal of tools to keep your “healthy” house in tip-top shape.

Most vacuum cleaners exhaust the very dust that was just collected back into the air, making the area more contaminated than before! Even true HEPA vacuum cleaners do this if they are not specifically designed to contain all particulates at all junctures and seals where hoses and nozzles connect. Your vacuum should be abatement-level and made of materials that won’t continually outgas. Abatement level means that it could be used to clean up mold, asbestos or lead without any particulate escape back into the environment. The vacuum should also have been tested and proven to contain cat and animal danders.

We recommend Nilfisk HEPA vacuums. They are lightweight but built to last several generations with commercial level durability. They are used to clean the NASA cleanrooms, spaceships and shuttle, and are used in mold, lead, and asbestos abatements. Nilfisk participated in a study on the ability of vacuums to remove cat dander and the Nilfisk successfully removed the dander, outperforming the other vacuum cleaner. Using the Nilfisk on a regular basis in the home provides an effective environmental control to relieve allergy, asthma, and other respiratory ailments as well as reduce exposures from chemicals that ride on dust. Nilfisk vacuums have proven to be invaluable to our clients with allergies, asthma, reactive airway disease, and chemical sensitivities.

Cleaning with a Nilfisk is a pleasure! You may find yourself pulling out the vacuum cleaner a lot more than you ever have. It will not only take care of your day to day cleaning needs, but can be put to use as a major facilitator in the cleanup of your air quality. For systematic cleaning there is no better support system than your Nilfisk.

Back to Articles

A chemical-free living area enables our body to use its energy for rejuvenation and healing instead of detoxifying harmful chemicals. Research has shown that many of these chemicals can disrupt the endocrine system leading to breast and prostate cancer, endometriosis, fibroid tumors, ovarian cysts, loss of sex drive and fertility and can damage brain chemistry leading to hyperactivity, learning disabilities, and even mental illness. They can also accumulate in the organs, triggering cancers of the liver, lung, colon, thyroid, etc.

Reduce chemical exposure in the home by removing the following items from sinks, drawers, cabinets, closets, and garage:

All pesticides and herbicides (Click here for more information.)

All toxic cleaning products*

These present a hazard even if kept under sinks or in closets because the VOC's (volatile organic compounds) escape through the lids, creating a low-level chemical soup in the home’s air. These VOC's escape even if the lid is sealed and closed.  To illustrate this problem, consider how strong the smells of chemicals are when you go down the grocery store aisle containing cleaning products. These containers are sealed and have never been opened!!! In your home these chemicals diffuse throughout the house and the detoxification system of the body has to continually fight, through the day and especially at night when you sleep, to process and clear them. As long as these toxic cleaning products remain in the home, the immune system will continue to be under siege.

For more information on toxic household cleaners:

• "What's Under Your Sink? The case for non-toxic cleaning products"
• "If you can't pronounce it, should you use it?"
  

Replace toxic products with non-toxic alternatives:

• See “Reducing Immune Stress: Non-Toxic Cleaning Products”
• See “Reducing Immune Stress: Non-Toxic Body Products”
• See “Unscented Products for the Extremely Chemically Sensitive”

There are many non-toxic products that are biodegradable and environmentally safe, but are not human safe. Human safe means that if ingested accidentally, it will not harm you. Replace as many household products as possible with those that are human safe. This is especially important when there are young children in the home as there is no danger to them even if some is accidentally swallowed.

All personal hygiene and beauty products that contain toxic ingredients

This includes nail polish, nail polish remover, shaving creams, shoe polish, deodorants, makeup, scented soaps, lotions, perfumes, etc.

Please refer to the every-growing Cosmetic Safety Database sponsored by the Environmental Working Group for a list of personal care products (hair, skin, make-up, sunscreen, baby products, etc.). You can also search the toxicity of the products you currently use. 

All scented products that contain synthetic fragrances

This includes scented candles, stationery, potpourri, air fresheners including aerosols and plug-ins, potpourri, etc.

A single synthetic fragrance can contain up to 200-600 individual chemical ingredients.  The Natural Academy of Science in a report to Congress in 1986 reported that 95% of the chemicals used in fragrances are petroleum based and are capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders, and allergic reactions.  In addition, many of these synthetic  fragrances contain chemicals that are endocrine disruptors that disturb the hormone regulation of the body. Note: People that are chemically sensitive, emf sensitive, or have serious chronic illness should also remove products with natural scents from the home until they recover as these will trigger very weakened immune systems.

Dr. R. Anderson, toxicologist and president of Anderson Labs has studied the acute biological effects of polluted air on laboratory animals for 30 years. The lab tested air fresheners by placing each sample in a closed box. Mice were exposed to air that was blown over the samples. The following adverse effects were observed with the smallest quantity of freshener tested: Note: The EPA states if neuro-toxic effects are seen in animals, then neuro-toxic effects are expected in humans.

• Severe pulmonary irritation comparable to asthma in humans
• Sensory irritation increasing over twenty minutes, becoming severe and remaining until the freshener was removed
• Neurological impairments severe enough to bring some mice close to death
• Neurological effects which displayed as aberrant behaviors.

Plastic containers for food storage 

Plastics leech chemicals that are endocrine disruptors into the foods stored in them. Removal of these items is of paramount importance if a person is suffering from any hormonal issues (heavy bleeding, severe cramps, inability to conceive, etc.), has cancer, or is chronically ill.

Replace plastic containers with glass jars or cellophane bags. Let foods cool to room temperature before placing them in cellophane bags or they will tear easily. They can be washed and reused several times if care is taken. Bags available from Needs (1-800-634-1830) and Natural Lifestyle (1-800-752-2775).

For more information:

• Hormone and endocrine disruptors in women, click here.
• Hormone and endocrine disruptors in men, click here.
• Endocrine disruptor's effects on male reproduction, click here.
• Endocrine disruptors, pesticides and children, click here.

Soft plastic items

This includes vinyl shower curtains, soft plastic toys, containers, etc. 

These products outgas phthalates from plastics that cannot be fully metabolized and slowly stockpile or bioaccumulate over a lifetime. Phthalates damage hormone receptors, leading to loss of sex drive and energy, ability to conceive, and/or they damage brain chemistry leading to mental illnesses, brain dysfunction disorders, learning disabilities and hyperactivity, and/or or they accumulate in the organs and trigger cancers of the prostate, breast, lung and thyroid.

The links in the above section are applicable here as well.

Chemicals in an attached garage

If you have an attached garage, do not keep paints, finishes, caulks,  solvents, cleaners, etc. there as the VOC's will find their way into the home unless special building precautions have been taken.

If you keep a car in the garage, open the garage door when starting the car because when the door is closed, the exhaust fumes build up. Keep garage door open for ventilation to air out any fumes from the car when you drive in. Consider installing an exhaust fan so that the fumes from the garage are drawn out through the fan. Ideally, there should be no car parked in an attached garage because of the potential infiltration into the home of petroleum-based chemicals.

Reduce Electromagnetic Field Exposure

This is an often-overlooked, yet extremely important, area of immune stress that affects the ability of the body to heal. EMFs are a part of the body’s total load and a reduction of exposure to this stress takes pressure off the body and will help the chronically ill, the chemically sensitive and the EMF sensitive.

In Germany, many insurance companies will not pay for a patient’s medical expenses if the patient has not had their home checked for electromagnetic fields (as well as chemical/microbial contamination) by a certified Bau-Biologist (building biologist). The Germans have found that many chronic illnesses and conditions that do not respond to treatment will turn around after the electro-climate of the home is fixed and chemical/microbial exposure is eliminated. See EMF section for further information on implementing their reduction.

Make dietary changes

1. Eliminate processed foods
2. Eat organic, grass-fed meats and produce when possible
3. Do not eat sugar, which suppresses the immune system
4. Avoid poor-quality fats and increase quality fats and oils
5. Refer to "Getting Your Feet Wet" in the Food section

Replace toxic thoughts with positive thinking

1. Fear, anxiety, anger, bitterness, envy, jealousy, despair, hopelessness, etc. (negative emotions) should be considered as toxic thoughts and should be resolved in a constructive manner.
2. These feelings should be dealt with and not buried as they can literally act as poison to the body. In other words negative thought processes should be dealt with/removed/changed - just as chemical exposures and processed foods are removed to take a load off the body.  See the section "Detoxifying the Mind".
3. “A heart at peace gives life to the body…” Proverbs 15:30

Read the following articles for more information:

• “It’s Time To Learn From Frogs” New York Times  
• “Endocrine Disruptors: Today’s Canaries in the Coal Mine?” PBS News  
• “Endocrine Disruptors and Prostate Cancer Risk” Society for Endocrinology
• Click here for a list of endocrine disruptors.

Back to Articles

YOU WILL FIND THAT WHEN YOU PUT YOUR HEART AND SOUL INTO HELPING SOMEONE
ELSE THAT YOU YOURSELF REAP INCREDIBLE GAIN.
Some people say, “Ignorance is bliss”. My answer to that is, “My family’s life illustrates
the opposite. That “blissful ignorance” has cost my family in a way that all the money in
the world would not give us back what was missed out on or make up for the losses we
have experienced. If my parents had known and if I had known what we know now from
very painful experience, then a very different life story would have unfolded.
Unfortunately, the laws of nature stand and in our ignorance we paid dearly with the
consequences.” Thankfully, my heart now explodes with gratitude to God that my family
is blessed with good health, vibrant energy, and incredible stamina. The story below
depicts our journey. I pray that lessons learned on our long road shorten your own path
to a more vital and healthy life.

What a difference living unaware (in ignorance) and/or living with misinformation can
make. I think back on my life and a palpable agony rises up whenever I face the
realization that the suffering that my son, my husband, and I have been through was so
unnecessary. The many years of trying to survive, years of trying to undo years of
choices made in ignorance, the years it took to finally recover – it could have been
avoided. All of this harrowing experience has much value if even one person can take this
information and change the course of their life. I offer our story as a gift to you so that
you can think about it and apply it to your own life. Living in ignorance will not shield
you from consequences; education, understanding, and taking action will. I call living in
ignorance living in darkness and for my family emergence from this “kingdom of
darkness” into the arena of light (increasing knowledge and awareness) has meant
freedom from enslavement to health destroying habits that are rooted in accepted
conventional practice and thought.

PART 1 – The Food Supply – The Standard American Diet – (S.A.D.)
At age 25, I entered this journey of awakening. Before this time I was eating what
everyone else was eating (the Standard American Diet – SAD), using products everyone
was using, and just following the commonly accepted way of life in which I had been
brought up. I had no idea that this blind adherence/allegiance to conventionality or
commonly held practices was the reason for the following:

• I was being told “my surgery was unsuccessful” and that my future involved
dialysis and a kidney transplant
• that I had been administered antibiotics over and over for the majority of my life
up to that time
• that I was so weakened that I could only function through sheer mental
determination
• childhood bronchitis/asthma/allergies to pollens, foods, environments, etc.
• infections, one after another – sinus, bronchial, flu-like
• a constant search for wellness/feeling normal - whatever that was!
• tenacious, intractable constipation/digestive issues
• cystic acne
• raging insomnia
• chronic pain
• endometriosis – excruciating monthly cramps
• staggering, incessant fatigue
• living in “survival mode” state
• chronic sinus congestion
• going from doctor to doctor to find – the miracle cure
• and many more

For me the surgeon’s verdict of “unsuccessful surgery and the future prospect of dialysis
and a kidney transplant” translated into the best news he could have given me. In fact,
this prognosis catapulted me into a shift from unawareness, ignorance, hopelessness, and
despair into a welcoming realm of liberating knowledge and hope. I had run into the
medical wall of no answers and I decided not to accept that diagnosis, but to search for
alternative answers. I asked God this question – Am I subject and limited to what the
medical world has discovered at this time in history for my condition when 10 years from
now they may have the answers? I refused to believe I was stuck in the medical world’s
real time information gap.

In the meantime, during this search for answers, I continued to take several medications
for my condition. I became pregnant (supposedly a medical impossibility as exploratory
surgery had revealed extensive endometriosis) and I was already so sick that my doctor
proposed termination of the pregnancy. That was not an option for my husband and me.
Motivation to protect our baby rose up and we were committed to not do anything to
harm him or her. For some unknown reason, in my vast ignorance of cause and effect
between what I did and how it affected my health, innately I knew that I should stop all
prescription medication, all over the counter medication, and that I should stop eating
sugar. I went cold turkey and somehow lived through the sugar and drug withdrawal. My
son, Douglas, was born three weeks premature and distinguished himself in the hospital
nursery. The nurses told me that he could find no solace unless he was being held and
comforted. What I didn’t know at the time was that we were about to undergo 18 months
of an unimagined nightmare. My precious baby was unable to relax unless being held and
was generally continually miserable especially at night. I refused to “just let him cry” as
many advised, because I knew that something was wrong. I did not want him for one
minute to be left without consolation. My husband and I traded off 24/7 caring for him.

My pediatrician just thought I was a hysterical mother and thought that I was
exaggerating – he said that there was no way a baby could stay awake as I described.
After spending the night in the hospital when Douglas was having what seemed to be a
serious reaction “to something” the doctor came in and apologized to me for doubting
what I had reported, saying that the nurses had written on his chart that Douglas was up
the entire night. The doctor had no answers, but to give him something to calm him. The
medications made him worse.

As I would hold Douglas, I would read everything I could get my hands on to try to
figure out what was happening and how to get help. I would read the articles to him as if
telling him a story. When Douglas was about six months old a friend gave me a book
about “The Feingold Diet” that was supposed to affect behavior and hyperactivity by
avoiding artificial coloring, flavoring, artificial sweeteners, sugar, aspirin, foods
containing salicylates (which plants make as a natural pesticide to protect themselves),
and artificial preservatives BHA, BHT, TBHQ. I was breast-feeding so I immediately
threw out all the foods that contained these items. The transformation was radical and
within three days Douglas became calm and was content enough to be put down during
the day. He was behind developmentally, but made rapid strides and caught up to the
norm. We were in ecstatics with this change. Unfortunately the nights did not improve
and this misery at night continued until he was 18 months old.

My own condition had continued to deteriorate with little sleep and constant vigilance – I
was barely functional, just putting every ounce of energy into taking care of Douglas. I
was in big trouble. Douglas was now about 18 months old. I stopped breast-feeding, put
Douglas on a formula, and began taking medication for my kidney condition. I felt so
determined to find help and thought that perhaps Douglas would do better on a formula.
Thankfully, the process of enlightenment intervened and reappeared one night with a
phone call at 1:00 a.m. from my sister. She just had to read me an article from “The
Saturday Evening Post” that was about a medical doctor who had used “food as
medicine” to cure a medically incurable disease. The next morning I was on the phone to
a Boston hospital asking for information. Within one month of incorporation of a dietary
prescription for my condition, I was able to stop all medications and have been
prescription free for over 25 years. This was revolutionary – the pressure was off my
kidneys - the dietary changes I made were dramatic. I literally overhauled my pantry and
dumped its contents overnight. I had always been a hearty eater; in fact, my mother called
me her “human garbage disposal”. It was a family joke that I could out eat anyone. If my
mother baked the family a cake, she would bake me my own cake because I would not
stop until I had devoured the entire cake. If it was on the table – whether animal or
vegetable, there would be no leftovers. I just could not fill up. I was addicted to sugar and
food. If my mother gave me money to go shopping for clothes as a teenager – I would go
buy food. I was obsessed with food and thought about it constantly. With the diet change,
suddenly I was satisfied after a normal sized meal. I couldn’t believe it. My body was
finally being nourished with what it needed – real unadulterated, non-processed, organic
food. Liberation was rapid for me and voila Douglas began sleeping through the night. I
had started breastfeeding again, once off the medication, and the real Douglas emerged
with the most beautiful disposition, no signs of agitation – he was a happy, normal child
that “slept like a baby”.

Now what was I to do with this? Of course, my husband and I were overjoyed, but at the
same time I was stunned. It appeared that my life up until age 28 had virtually been
governed by what I ate and my son’s life to 18 months was governed by what I ate. As
realization set in and a dazed stupefaction came over me my lament was - Where had
this information been all my life? Why hadn’t the doctors informed me or why hadn’t I
been given instruction on how to make choices that would have given me the opportunity
to avoid all the misery, cost, and anguish. My kidney problems, severe cramps,
endometriosis, pollen allergies, and constipation had all resolved with just a change in
diet (Note: my sensitivities to different environments remained). I had been poisoning
myself as well as my child. How was it that in this civilized country we were actually
putting chemicals in our food supply that poison us, as if they belonged there and how
was this fact not front page news? How is it that intelligent people who actually have
heard and do know choose to continue to poison themselves as well as their children?
What are we doing? What are we thinking? Better yet – why aren’t we thinking?

PART 2 – The Environment – Waking Up, Leaving More Darkness, Coming into More
Light
As mentioned above, perspective on any topic is based on an understanding of the
available information that pertains to the subject and this next section describes a second
wake up call. I ended up studying “Using Food as Medicine” extensively and was given
the opportunity to be in charge of a health resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. My entire
family benefited greatly from this move. Most stunning was the intellectual leap that my
son made when we left the environment of Houston, Texas and landed on the pristine
Caribbean beach of Montego Bay. His mathematical abilities were off the charts for his
age – he was spontaneously adding, multiplying, dividing, and subtracting at age 4. It was
as if his mind had been released to function at a new potential. His coordination and
athletic ability also improved. We would in the future see very clearly how exposure to
chemicals affects the mind and body through my and especially our son’s experiences.
After spending a year in Jamaica, we moved back to the states and my condition started
to deteriorate. My kidney function was still good, but I was reacting to environmental
exposures. I didn’t have full clarity about this phenomenon, but I knew that I felt better in
some places than in others. At this time, I was associating my problems mostly with
outdoor air. We moved from Houston, Texas to the country to a small town called Hunt,
Texas and Douglas started third grade in the public school. In the fifth grade, at age 10,
he was exposed to 1,000 times the allowable level of 3 banned pesticides – chlordane,
heptachlor, and dieldrin. He was also exposed to pyrethroids and other currently used
pesticides. This exposure resulted in a cataclysmic breakdown of his immune system.
The medical doctors told us that he would never recover from such an exposure and on
top of that he would have cancer within 10 years. We were told that he would be like a
bubble boy – unable to function around everyday chemicals and that he would need to

live in isolation. Douglas left that clinic with a regimen that included 23 shots a day plus
shots for exposures, shots for controlling anaphylactic shock, antihistamine shots, etc. We
were again at a medical crossroad where there was no answer – my husband and I refused
to accept this verdict – we were intent on finding a way to recover our son. At this point
we were so naïve and unsuspecting - we had no idea that we were at the beginning of a
long harrowing journey.

The exposure affected Douglas both mentally and physically. Douglas lost his mental
capacity. He went from being a crack speller to not being able to spell even three letter
words. He became listless, sometimes almost catatonic as if in a stupor. His sensitivity to
noise was extreme. He would put his hands over his ears and beg us to whisper because
normal conversation volume felt like screaming to him. Tears would continuously stream
from his eyes, not because he was crying, but because of the exposure. His head would
hurt and feel as if it would explode, as he would describe it. His limbs would twitch
uncontrollably and would sometimes feel so heavy that he had trouble lifting them. The
slightest whiff of a scented product could trigger wheezing, difficulty breathing, and
choking. He would continually try to clear his throat as if something were blocking it. He
could not concentrate and was very easily frustrated. He would become unresponsive –
sitting and staring or sleeping - if even something so minor as a common #2 pencil were
“outgassing” in his periphery. He was light sensitive especially when he had headaches.
He would become so hyperactive that it was literally like he was climbing the walls. He
had been a very athletic child, but his coordination was shot.

This was a time of discovery – learning just exactly what he was reacting to. We all
became detectives and made it a game. The extent was unfathomable. He was reacting to
everything – from polyester to nylon – all fabrics, natural scents, synthetic scents, plants,
beds, furniture, drapes, pencils, paper, clothes, all cleaning products, all body care
products, shampoos, soaps, books, plastics, toys, etc. We stripped our home down to 2
organic beds, wire containers for clothes (instead of furniture with drawers, etc.), and a
wood table and four chairs - no drapes, no upholstered furniture, no carpet, etc. We threw
out all our cleaning products, body care products, etc. and started using unscented nontoxic
ones. For an item (such as books, etc.) to stay in the house we would “outgas” it in
the sun for days. I began cooking more medicinally using the “Food as Medicine”
training that I had. Douglas made some progress, but would go back to ground zero with
even minute exposures. To illustrate the degree of his sensitivity - One day some items
from a friend’s house were placed on our front porch. The windows were open. Douglas
was in the back of the house and within seconds he was down with BB sized lymph
nodes popping out all over his neck. He started having difficulty breathing. Whatever was
in the items on our porch had come into our house through the window in probably parts
per million or trillion and Douglas was cratering. At that time we didn’t know what was
wrong. We took him outside into the fresh air. He started to recover. We ended up having
to sleep outside for three weeks because he was unable to enter the house without the
extreme reaction starting all over again. We made this a family adventure – sleeping out
in the open (no tent – open to the stars). To make the house livable again for him we had
to take everything outside, sun all contents, vacuum, and wipe down all surfaces in the
house. Finally he could come back in without reaction. (NOTE: Thankfully, finally after
trying to put every scenario together to make sense, we realized that his reaction was due
to the items placed on the porch – what had stumped us was - we never brought them into
our house. The wind carried the chemicals from those belongings through the window
and throughout our house. It was later discovered that that friend’s house where the items
on the porch came from had chlordane - a chemical he was originally exposed to – a story
in itself). Through this experience it was discovered that sleeping outside in the open was
a very helpful tool for recovery.

Constant reading, investigating, trying to uncover what could be done to help Douglas
became an obsession. This was my single focus every minute of the day every chance I
got. I experienced déjà vu - as I had searched for answers and they were found when he
was a baby – so I knew that as I searched for answers now that answers would also be
found. I studied the Phase 1, 2, and 3 Liver Detoxification Pathways and how to support
them. I studied enhanced intestinal permeability (leaky gut), mold toxicity, expanded my
study of Food as Medicine and synthesized the information for application to
detoxification. In addition I read everything I could get my hands on about environmental
controls and the clean room concept, how building materials can impact the body, and
much more. I wanted to discover the keys that were necessary for real recovery since the
generally accepted thought was and is that people that are chemically injured just don’t
ever recover fully – they just live with whatever level of functionality they can get. I was
chemically sensitive myself, and I realized through the revelation of the extent of
Douglas’s sensitivity how actually complacent I had been. You think you are trying, but
you are just not digging deep enough. Boy, did I wake up! Seeing your child reduced to a
“pile of inability to function” will enable you to lift a 2-ton truck and continue on like a
Navy SEAL - (there is no give up – ever – if you are shot down you get up and continue
fighting). Chlordane’s devastation of my son had mobilized a non-stop drive to overcome
and I ended up benefiting from the overflow.

Unfortunately, when a person has been chemically injured exposure to a very small
amount of a toxin can severely plunge the body and/or mind into a drugged-like
complacency. It’s not that you do not know that you need to do something (get out of the
area to fresh air for one) it is just all of a sudden you are operating in a thick slog where
every movement whether mental or physical is met with great resistance. This would be
similar to being drugged and being unable to function. Finding Douglas slumped in a
chair, starring blankly, gripped with a raging headache or some other extreme symptom
was not unusual. Discovering the trigger was my concern so that we could avoid “it” the
next time. At first these incidences were what felt like constant. We were forever trying
to clear the area and put out the fire. One exposure blurred into the next. It felt like we
were at a standstill – not making the progress I wanted. I thought about this and started to
liken healing from chemical sensitivity to healing from a wound inflicted by a knife on
the skin. If you take that knife every day and re irritate the wound with the knife, the cut
just will not heal. But, if you do not abrade the skin again, it will naturally continue to
repair as the body is marvelously designed to mend and restore given the right tools and
circumstances. I reasoned (of course as an observer, not a scientist), that since a
chemically sensitive person does not have the physical equipment (detoxification system
is damaged) to neutralize and metabolize the chemicals found in everyday life, that to
heal they must avoid these exposures as much as possible because they are literally repoisoned
every time they are exposed. So, I figured that these mini poisoning incidences
were inhibiting my son’s ability to heal and in order to heal and give the immune system
a rest and chance to repair they had to be stopped. Now that may sound like it is obvious,
but I must say that to carry this out in reality is quite difficult. I think that those that are
sensitive easily lose track of this point, are not in a position to implement isolation from
exposures, or have maybe never pondered it to the degree necessary to achieve the goal.
With a one-track mind to gain momentum and discover everything we could that was
affecting our son’s recovery, my husband and I started the study of Bau-Biology, which
originated in Germany. The German term Bau-biologie, which translates into English as
“Building Biology”, is the study of how buildings affect health with emphasis on the
bedroom. The bedroom is considered the most important room in the house and the bed
itself the most important piece of furniture. This is because at night when we sleep the
body focuses on healing and rejuvenation and is at the same time much more sensitive to
environmental influences than when awake. If the body is surrounded by a chemical soup
and is stressed from electromagnetic pollution then the immune system is on red alert and
is unable to utilize the night for deep rest, regeneration, and the shedding of metabolic
waste. So the body becomes more toxic and is less able to handle the pollutants faced
during the day. If this cycle of disturbed sleep continues, the toxic body burden increases,
various symptoms may appear, and finally degenerative disease can ensue. The Germans
consider this information so important that some insurance companies will not pay for a
doctor visit unless the patient has had a Bau-Biologist test the sleeping place to make sure
that there is nothing in the house that could be inhibiting them from healing.

So, a real clue that there is a problem in the environment and/or diet is that the body is
not recovering from illness as would be expected, chronic illness has developed, and/or
there is sleeping difficulty. The body is designed to heal and rejuvenate (like a cut will
mend if it is not repeatedly irritated)and when it doesn’t heal there is something inhibiting
that process. According to the Germans, electro stress from electric fields on the body at
night during sleep is one of the main reasons for inhibited healing. Electric fields are a
measure of voltage and are present whether there is current flow or not. The human body
acts as an antenna in the presence of these fields. High voltages in the sleeping place have
been linked to muscle pain, insomnia, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, bedwetting,
nervousness, short-term memory impairment, increased allergies, adverse effects on the
nervous system, cardiovascular system, and inhibition of the healing process. Electric
fields are measured in milliVolts (mV). It takes only 1 mV to operate a pacemaker. We
measured Douglas in his bed and his body showed an electric field of over 25,000 (mV).
We reduced this level to about 20 mV through proper grounding and shielding. The
Baubiology standard of 20 milliVolts and below are recommended for a healthy
bedroom.

This discovery that the electro climate in the home has an effect on the health and the
reduction of these electromagnetic fields (EMF’s) was a definitive turning point in his
recovery. We removed synthetic materials to reduce the DC Electric Fields (synthetic
materials increase static electricity), we removed steel items that could induce DC
Magnetic Fields, and made sure that Douglas limited his exposure to batteries (DC
Magnetic Fields) and other AC field exposures. Thankfully, at least the magnetic field
where he slept was perfect – under .2 milligaus (you want .2 milligaus or below for
healing). To really avoid the EMF’s we tried to sleep outside whenever we could – out
on cots in the open air under the stars. This was in the days before extensive cell phone
use and Wi Fi and the resulting explosive increase of high frequency fields in our
environment.

Douglas was a laboratory for observation on how the body and mind react to
environmental triggers when challenged with bioaerosols (fungi/mold, bacteria,
mycotoxins, and viruses), chemicals, particulates and/or electromagnetic stress as well as
how the body and mind respond to a healthy diet and environment. I began to realize that
I was an eyewitness to a picture of the dissolution of a body and a mind due to chemical
exposure and how the recovery from this exposure depicted various stages of mental and
physical impairment as the gradual regeneration of the mind and body took place. As the
toxic load was lifted, so also shifts in his mental and physical function were clearly
exhibited.

Before the exposure Douglas had supreme concentration and focus. After the exposure he
could not complete even very simple tasks without diversion of attention. It was as if he
had Age Related Memory Decline or extreme ADD/ADHD. Even if something were
right in front of him, he would forget what he was doing. Before the exposure Douglas
was a crack speller and brilliant in mathematics – all was lost after the exposure. I
thought of the children that are labeled slow or retarded and recalled my son’s response
to my withdrawing the additives from food when he was a baby and his increase in
seeming intelligence when we moved to the pristine beach of Jamaica. This made me
start to aggressively question how much of intelligence level, ADD/ADHD,
hyperactivity, Age Related Memory Decline, etc. is actually related to food and
environmental factors.

The learning curve was very steep in fact we would make a little progress - see tangible
change in Douglas, have a setback and seemingly plunge right to the bottom – where we
had started. For example, one day Douglas was playing outside – we had made some
headway in our home environment so that his reactions were down and he had some
energy. Our house sat back on a hill above a country road about 300 feet away. A big
diesel truck went by and unfortunately the wind was just right so that it carried up the
diesel fume payload right to Douglas. To an outsider and for me, as his mother, this event
was probably one of our most frightening episodes. It was like watching the Incredible
Hulk mobilize with his expanding neck only instead of being strengthened Douglas was
being strangled by swelling lymph nodes all up and down his neck while his throat was
closing up as he gasped for breath. The family was in survival mode – every waking
minute devoted to trying to keep afloat mentally and physically – forget living life - it
was SOS – rescue us – all the way. Now this is what you could call depressing, but to a
child, then a teenager it was a crushing blow every time we felt like we had fallen again
into the pit and were starting over. We battled mold, a spilled pesticide (malathion) stored
for years in a storage room next door that a workman knocked over, noxious fumes from
burning trash (we live in the country and this is how some people deal with their trash),
road nearby being resurfaced with asphalt, dust storms, pesticide drift from neighbors
spraying their property, forest fires from Mexico, well contamination, diesel and car
exhaust, and many other assaults too numerous to mention.

Obviously, mental attitude was a critical player in the recovery picture. Douglas was now
isolated from his friends, he could not go to school, to church, to friend’s houses, to
movies, to restaurants, to family reunions, and no one could visit our home because they
would contaminate it with their laundry detergents, deodorant, shampoos, and other
personal body care products. (NOTE: We did have some family members and friends
that would “detoxify themselves as much as possible that would come and stay at a
nearby cottage during this period. This was very infrequent because Douglas would often
suffer during the time and after people left because of subtle exposures.) Depression
became as big an issue as chemical exposure – some exposures themselves eliciting
depression as a reaction. My husband and I never entertained the idea that he might not
recover and that was the constant message that he got – encouragement, God will guide
us, and there is a way out of this. But, at age 14, four years into the battle, he hit bottom
and to climb out he had to take on his own positive mental/spiritual dynamics and make
them his. It was a defining moment when he latched on to that confidence that he would
recover!

Slowly, very sporadically at first, and then more steadily Douglas increased in mental as
well as physical strength. Home schooling gave him the latitude to progress as fast or
take as much time as needed to master a subject. As his brain function returned so also
his coordination and athletic ability began to flourish. Fresh outdoor air and exercise
played a very big part in his recovery. He played tennis, took Marshall Arts privately
outdoors at home, and improved to the point where he could play on a local soccer team
and became a star player. Setbacks continued, but didn’t take him down to square one. He
still was not going into buildings and no one could come in our home’s safe haven. We
were very carefully controlling what he was exposed to as much as we could. I became
aware of the link between chronic infection and heavy metal toxicity as part of the body’s
total load. More and more clues and pieces to the puzzle were filling in - providing
missing links to his recovery. We were seeing definitive gain. The hard work was paying
off. My health had improved remarkably as all the precautions we took for Douglas
benefited me as well. I was developing incredible physical stamina in contrast to the time
when folding a dishtowel took every mental and physical effort I could muster. After
seven years Douglas was ready to very carefully start expanding his horizons. This
process was done very deliberately and cautiously. Ten years after his exposure he
received a full scholarship to Schreiner College in Kerrville, Texas and started as a
freshman, living at home.

A tremendous blow occurred right before he started college. Douglas had melanoma.
This is a very serious skin cancer. The doctor had predicted in 1989 that Douglas would
have cancer in ten years and here we were facing this monumental adversary.
Chemotherapy was out of the question with his history, so we took an alternate path. Our
mental determination and resolve were as critical as ever. Because of potential controversy we did not inform even close friends as we did not want to introduce or have
time to focus on well meaning points of views that might discourage. There was no time
for hesitation or possible self-recrimination. Douglas emerged from this episode stronger
than ever and after two years at Schreiner College he decided to apply to the United
States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He was ready to leave home and fly.
We checked out many facets of the Naval Academy including pesticide spraying (which
they did not do in the rooms or halls), dietary options, and immunization requirements.
He was accepted into the Academy and with much effort, the immunization requirements
were waived, and Douglas started preparing for the rigorous boot camp physical training
he would be subject to where they attempt to weed out those that are not tough enough to
take academy life.

The day that Douglas left for Annapolis, Maryland to go to the Naval Academy was
monumental. The courage it took for him to leave home and face the boot camp that is
called “Plebe Summer” took his father and me to our knees. Tears of pride, happiness,
and joy mixed with trepidation and apprehension streamed down our faces as we watched
him walk down the narrow pathway to the plane (It was June, 2001, just a few months
before 9/11). We knew that the grueling physical and mental ordeal that he had been
forced to endure the past 13 years had given Douglas a very unique and incredible
preparation. The depth of character and resolve it took to come through this, mind and
body intact, was nothing short of miraculous. But, how would he perform with no props,
no immediate backup, and the intense pressures of Naval Academy life?
His first semester at the Academy he made a 4.0 and maxed out his PRT’s (physical
readiness tests)– which are periodic physical fitness tests. He was definitely making the
cut. Through the four years at the Academy he was exposed to the constant mental and
physical pressure that the Academy places on the Midshipmen so that they will be fit as
leaders in our military. To think that a whiff of a #2 pencil had wiped him into oblivion
just a few years before was a sobering thought. He had come so far and he was thriving.
He graduated in 2005 and went on to Naval Aviation. As a Naval Aviation officer he
underwent what is considered to be the most grueling training that the military branches
offer – SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) Training (also called POW –
Prisoner of War School) in the mountains of Southern California. He was sent out into
the wilderness with no provisions, was tortured, and basically trained on how to be a
prisoner of war in case of capture. I mention these details because the stamina and
perseverance demanded by this type of training is a real tribute to Douglas and his
determination to totally overcome his difficult past. He is now in the Naval Aviation
Intelligence Community. His life for the past 9 years since starting the Naval Academy
has been most rigorous and he has continued to excel both physically and mentally.

PART 3 – Life after Douglas Left Home
During the time that Douglas was recovering I started receiving calls from people asking
me questions. I had not advertised or asked anyone to give out my name nor did I or seek
to find people that were interested in my advice. At first most of the people were mothers
from Texas whose children had been injured at school from pesticide spraying. One boy
from an East Texas school had gone blind from exposure to a routine pesticide spraying
at school. The school building was sprayed on a Friday afternoon and the child had
forgotten something and came back into the room after school while it was being
sprayed. I heard tragic story after story. Lives being changed and ruined by decisions
made in ignorance. Soon I was getting calls from all over the country, not only about
pesticide exposures, but from the chemically injured at work, mold injured, fiberglass
injured, glade plug in injured, formaldehyde injured, air freshener injured - and in general
– the chemically sensitive. Most of these people were too sick to even go to a doctor’s
office or travel to an environmental specialist. The bottom line answer for these victims
was – in order for them to heal, they must create the healthiest environment possible -
starting with the bedroom, they must get some form of exercise, and they must eat a very
healthy diet. Then, with their environment, diet, and condition stabilized, they would be
ready to start careful detoxification and perhaps be able to tolerate a doctor’s office. I
began helping people become their own detective to discover what could be causing them
immune stress and what to do about it. Many times the mother that was trying to help her
child ended up being able to get off her own prescription drugs because as the chemical
load in the home was reduced and the diet was changed - she and/or other family
members also benefited.

After certification as a Bau-Biologist and Bau-Biology Inspector my studies expanded to
construction and Building Science which addresses how a building works as a system,
how building strategies for particular climates are used to ensure that the building is not
subject to mold growth and indoor air quality issues, and how ventilation, moisture, and
humidity play a part in indoor air quality problems in the home. I saw how the
combination of Building Science integrated with safe materials and Bau-Biology
principles (which includes electromagnetic guidelines) would be the ultimate approach to
healthy building practices. For a healthy home Building Science principles would
determine how the materials would be put together and Bau-Biology standards would
ensure that the materials used in the building would be safe and ideally even beneficial to
the occupants.

I started working with medical doctors and alternative doctors helping their patients clean
up their environments, remodel safely, learn about avoidance of exposures, and build
non-toxic homes. There are so many desperate, very sick people that need guidance to
help them unravel and discover the processes needed to liberate them from their prisons.
The steps are concrete and solid, but can be very complex especially if the illness has
been longstanding and chronic. It is my job to take the situation, evaluate it, and develop
a process that is workable and feasible for the client that will create the fastest results
with the least amount of effort. Sometimes it is as simple as changing laundry detergents
and eliminating fabric softener. One woman with contact dermatitis called and said that
she had been itching for over a year and that it had gotten so bad that she was clawing her
skin to shreds at night. She was frantic and very upset because she didn’t know what to
do. She had been to dermatologists and been on medications. Still she was itching. One
dermatologist had suggested changing her laundry detergent, which she did – numerous
times. It just turned out that none of the laundry detergents she had tried was truly non
toxic. I had her buy a new set of organic sheets and cotton pajamas, change to a human
safe detergent (which means if you drank it, it would not harm you) and also had her
change her body soap, shampoo, and lotions. After a few days no more itching! She was
so grateful and it was relatively very simple. This string of events opened her mind to
thinking maybe some of her other symptoms had a solution. So further investigation
revealed electromagnetic issues in the bedroom that were influencing her heart rhythm.
Resolution of the field issue and nutritional adjustments to the diet enabled her to get off
a prescription drug, a Beta-blocker.

It is so hard for people to grasp how the body will respond when they are not being
exposed to their daily dose of poison. We have become so adapted to our environments
that we don’t realize how much it affects us. We may be taking pills for headaches,
stomachaches, depression, insomnia, but what is the source of the problem? There is
always a reason – a headache is not a Darvon deficiency. The body is just worn down
trying to detoxify and eliminate what is constantly being applied, breathed, and eaten.
When it gets a break from this immune stress, the body can relax and do its job of
restoration and healing, basically it can stop “fighting”. If a relatively healthy person rids
their home and diet of common everyday toxic elements, the body has much more
reserve; more ability to fight viruses and bacteria, more rejuvenative and restorative
energy, and therefore an even greater level of health is enjoyed.

FURTHER ENLIGHTENMENT
After the introduction of cell phones I started to receive calls from people with
electromagnetic sensitivity, but after the introduction of Wi Fi and wireless technologies
sometimes more than 1/2 of my calls in a day pertain to this subject. We are now
surrounded by a sea of electromagnetic frequencies never before experienced in the
history of human civilization. The level of radio waves and microwaves is many millions
of times higher than natural levels. This is in addition to what is called the Extreme Low
Frequency (ELF) fields produced by the AC Current in homes that drives electrical
appliances in households and the power lines feeding those devices. The problem with
EMF contamination today is that it cannot be avoided as wireless technology and cell
phone frequencies pervade the entire earth’s surface. The consequence of this
unprecedented EMF exposure has paralleled the consequence of the unprecedented
exposure to chemicals after World War II that resulted in the sensitization of many
people to chemicals. Today the rising number of people with electrical sensitivity is a
warning to everyone to reduce their exposure to harmful electromagnetic fields.
Researchers have shown that the presence of electromagnetic fields especially high
frequency fields from cell phones, Wi Fi, etc. influence the behavior of molds, bacteria,
lymes, viruses, etc. to become more virulent, produce more toxic byproducts, and
reproduce more quickly. What is most important is that we educate ourselves, which will
make us proactive and positive, limit, reduce, and shield ourselves from exposures when
possible. For example, using a cell phone in a car amplifies the exposure to
electromagnetic fields because of the car’s metal frame. One woman called and said that
she had been on her cell phone for four hours in the car while driving home for a holiday.
She did not use her speakerphone, or an air tube earpiece or any protection on the phone.

She held the phone to her ear the entire four hours. When she got home she laid her cell
phone on the counter and went to bed because she wasn’t feeling well. Later when she
went to pick it up, it just fell from her hand. She could not even hold it. Now she is
unable to be around any cell phone that is on. If someone comes in her vicinity with a cell
phone (not using it but on) she gets a blinding headache and her limbs go weak. The
problem is quite serious because everyone carries a cell phone. She is unable to go into
public places. We are working to recover her, but simple precautions, such as using the
speakerphone or using an air tube earpiece, and shielding would have helped her avoid
such a serious repercussion. Knowledge and understanding give us power to deal with
today’s world.

The experience of my personal illness and recovery as well as my son’s recovery from
extreme environmental illness was the impetus for the creation of “The House Doctors”
as an educational vehicle for others. The discovery that toxic chemicals in building
materials, our food supply, common household products, body care products, and
electromagnetic fields impact the health of all of us has been verified through my
family’s personal experience, through the experience of my client base of about 2,000,
through the experience of children with ADD/ADHD and autism, and through the
chemically and electromagnetically injured throughout the country. The majority of
people have a hard time relating to this because their immune systems are able to more
efficiently metabolize and excrete hazardous chemicals – therefore they have no frame of
reference for this phenomenon of injury to the immune system. But, due to the
astronomical increase of these chemicals and electromagnetic fields in the environment
our bodies are not able to handle this overload. It has been proven that we are all
bioaccumulating these chemicals to some degree (depends on the strength of our
detoxification system) and they are like ticking time bombs. If you doubt that you are
affected by this toxic overload please read “Pollution in People: Toxins in Our
Bloodstream” http://www.thecancerblog.com/2006/05/24/pollution-in-people-toxins-inour-
bloodstream/, read “The Pollution Within” from the October 2006 issue of National
Geographic – http://nngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/10/toxic-people/duncantext.
html, and read about a recent study that detected chemicals found in cosmetics and
body care products in the blood and urine of American teenage girls -
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/research.

It is time we all apply the key element of “The Precautionary Principle” - it should stir us
to take anticipatory action in the absence of scientific certainty. The Wingspread
Consensus Statement on the Precautionary Principle is this - “The release and use of toxic
substances, the exploitation of resources, and physical alterations of the environment
have had substantial unintended consequences affecting human health and the
environment. Some of these concerns are high rates of learning deficiencies, asthma,
cancer, birth defects, and species extinctions…” In other words instead of a breakdown of
the immune system as happens with the chemically sensitive, other systems in the body
reflect this bioaccumulation - This may be manifested as chronic pain, digestive
difficulties, hyperactivity, ADD/ADHD, depression, insomnia, headaches, asthma,
cancer, Parkinson’s, ALS, heart disease, MS, sinusitis, etc. I have seen so many
conditions disappear by taking measures to eliminate toxin contact and EMF exposure.

The body has a remarkable capacity to rebound and repair. Douglas provides a good
example. He experienced chronic pain, headaches, asthma, cancer, ADD/ADHD,
hyperactivity, digestive difficulties, depression, chronic fatigue, etc. all of which resolved
with a program of elimination and detoxification.

I propose that as you read this to think of Douglas and others that have been chemically
and EMF injured as canaries like the ones they used to take down into the coalmines.
When the canaries started dying, the coal miners knew that they should not enter the area
because it was dangerous. Learn from our present day canaries. The chemically and EMF
sensitive are the benchmarks for safe products and building materials. Their experience is
giving us the chance to be warned to not use something that is harmful or to make sure
that we take precautions for safety. This information is especially important for the
developing fetus, young children, and elderly. People are getting sick from these
chemical and electromagnetic exposures and the rest of the population should take note
and take action. The chemically and EMF injured can teach us much. Increase your
awareness and change your perspective - remove these insults to the immune system,
become product savvy, start taking steps to clean up your home environment, and give
your body and mind a break. If you make the choice to remove them, your body will
thank you and you will change the course of your life for the better. Your body will be
free to be healthier and your entire family will benefit.

The increase in awareness and change in perspective that resulted in life changing
choices for my son and for me is illustrated by the following lines in the poem “The
Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by,
AND THAT HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.”

Make good healthy choices for your life and it will make all the difference in the world.

Back to Articles

There is a direct correlation between your health and the air you breathe. If you are wearing clothes, sleeping on sheets, and wearing pajamas washed and dried with laundry products that contain toxic ingredients, then you are surrounded by air clouded with VOCs (volatile organic chemicals) that can cause asthma, contribute to chronic illness, irritate the lungs and sinuses and even be a contributing cause of cancer and other degenerative diseases.

The Facts

Conventional laundry detergents, fabric softeners and dryer sheets contain highly toxic chemicals that manufacturers are not required to list in the ingredients. In a study of the top six selling laundry products published by The University of Washington in July of 2008, laboratory testing revealed that nearly 100 VOCs not listed on labels were emitted. Five of the six products emitted one or more carcinogenic (cancer-causing) pollutants that are considered by the EPA to have no safe exposure level. Ninety-five percent of the chemicals found in synthetic fragrances used in laundry care products are derived from petroleum and are neurotoxic, or damaging to the body’s nervous system.

Dryer sheets and fabric softeners contain some of the most harmful ingredients such as benzyl alcohol (an upper respiratory tract irritant), benzyl acetate (carcinogenic - linked to pancreatic cancer), chloroform (neurotoxic and carcinogenic), alpha-terpineol (causes Central Nervous System, or CNS, disorders and is highly irritating to mucus membranes), pentane (may cause headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, irritation of respiratory tract), and many others.

Continual exposure to these chemicals can result in a toxic buildup in the system that can contribute to acute and chronic illness. The issue is compounded by the fact that the skin can absorb residues of the chemicals that are left in the clothes after laundering, giving another path of entry to the body.

Second-Hand Scents

Unfortunately, the potential for involuntary or second-hand exposure is also an issue for those who desire to use safe products. The emission from clothes can be so strong that other people in the vicinity are affected. Endless amounts of clients have reported that after being free from using these products themselves, they then noticed the harsh fragrances on other’s clothes. Also, the scent from toxic laundry products vented from the dryer to the outdoors can ruin the air quality for neighbors that are outside wanting to enjoy the fresh air. We should avoid contributing not only to our own exposure to these harmful chemicals, but also others.

See “Toxic Dangers of Typical Laundry Detergent.”

Note: Many commercial laundry products that say they are fragrance free use a chemical to mask fragrances and are, therefore, still toxic.

The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) has the following factors that increase the risk of degenerative diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, intestinal disorders, etc.:

• S.A.D. is high in unhealthy fats, is low in fiber, low in complex carbohydrates, high in sugar, low in fresh vegetable and fruits, and is based on aesthetics and technology.

• S.A.D. consists of hormone and antibiotic filled meats, poultry and dairy products, refined grain products, preservatives, flavorings, artificial dyes, synthetic nutrients, chemical additives, processed foods, artificial or imitation foods, diet foods, etc.

• Food is considered appropriate when it is based on ease of preparation, availability, appearance, aroma and taste. Nutritional aspects are not a concern.

• S.A.D. rejects the premise that food affects health greatly and in a multitude of ways.

• S.A.D. gives quick but short-term energy. It makes the blood more acidic and robs the body of valuable nutrients.

• S.A.D. contributes to the very diseases we are spending money to prevent. The U.S. has spent more money on cancer research than any country in the world.

• Cultures that eat the reverse of the S.A.D. – good healthy fats, grass fed meats, wild caught fish,  high in complex carbohydrates, fresh fruits and vegetables, and high in fiber – have a lower incidence of cancer and coronary artery disease.

• When you sit down to a meal consisting of the S.A.D., you might as well put a warning sign on your plate because you virtually are many times expecting your body to assimilate and metabolize ingredients that cause damage to the body.

• We smile and hand our children this poison S.A.D. When they cry we quiet them with more. Something is wrong here. We are paying a price with hypersensitivity, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, mood swings, depression, chronic illness, allergies, etc. Expediency rather than health is not worth it!

• A quote from a well-documented book, The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD. states, “Then there is the question of our excessive dependence on drugs and surgery to control our health. In its simplest form, eating the right way would largely obviate the enormous costs of using drugs, as well as their side effects. Fewer people would need to wage lengthy, expensive battles with chronic disease in hospitals over their last years of life. Health care costs would drop and medical mistakes would wane as premature death plummeted. In essence, our health care system would finally protect and promote our health as it is meant to do.”

THIS IS S. A. D.! Start eating real food by replacing SAD food with organic, unprocessed whole foods.

BY MARILEE NELSON

Healthy eating is not about depriving yourself. It’s about feeling great, having more energy and staying healthy. Just take it one step at a time and begin with simple additions that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. Think about it: food and water are the body’s fuel and source of energy. Like a car that is designed to run on premium gas, giving your body anything less than what it’s made to live on will cause it to burn out faster. It will perform its best and last longer on quality food. So let’s explore how you can upgrade your diet and choose the right supplementation in order to gain improved energy and health right away.

1. Upgrade your diet by adding healthy foods

Focus on what you can add to your diet, not what you should take away. If overwhelmed, just try one at a time!

Add more water – Drinking quality water cleanses and hydrates the body. Without good, quality water and adequate hydration, toxins circulate around the body and are deposited instead of eliminated.

Add more veggies and fruits – Work toward the recommended 5-9 servings a day (ideally, 3-5 vegetables and 2-4 fruits.) If you don’t normally eat vegetables, determine to add a green one or two, preferably ones that you don’t typically eat. Eat colorful vegetables so that your plate looks like a rainbow

Add more salad – This counts towards your 5-9 vegetables. If you live near a major Whole Foods, take advantage of the organic salad bar!

Add variety – We all tend to eat what we are used to. Expand your horizons, giving your body a variety of nutrients.

Add fruit snack – Have an (organic) apple a day. Bring in variety (berries are especially good and are high in antioxidants.)

Add good fats – Olive oil, avocados, coconut oil, sesame oil, flax oil, organic butter, and organic ghee (clarified butter also called French gourmet cooking butter). Cook only with olive oil, ghee, butter, or coconut oil. 

Add nuts and seeds – Love Street Living Foods has fresh, mold-free nuts and seeds. Soak your nuts and seeds overnight for better digestion. 

Add beans – Eat Eden canned organic garbanzo (chickpeas), cannelloni beans and lentils either plain or in salads, soups, etc. Beans are fiber-rich and full of nutrition.

Add a quick, easy breakfast – Add a superfoods breakfast that you mix quickly or blend in blender

Add whole grain bread – Sprouted breads that are easier to digest than breads made with flour. Great choices are Alvarado Street Bakery Sourdough Bread, Ezekiel 4:9 and Essene (aka Manna) Bread, all available at health food stores and some conventional grocery stores. Manna also found at Gold Mine Natural Foods.

Add quality salt – Adding the right kind of salt to your diet is an easy change that can reap unbelievable benefits.

For cooking:

Use in moderation
Add to beans and grains for better digestion
Pink Salt (can use raw, too!)
“Masu” Sea Salt from Natural Import Company comes in a glass jar
“Si” Salt from Gold Mine Natural Foods or Whole Foods
Celtic sea salt and Lima sea salt available at health food stores
We do not recommend Hain Sea Salt

As a condiment:

Pink Salt (can use raw, too!)
Gomashio is made from sesame seeds and salt; great sprinkled on grains. Available from Gold Mine Natural Foods or Whole Foods or make your own.

Add honey, maple syrup, or stevia as a sweetener – Say no to sugar and artificial sweeteners.

Add fermented foods – Sauerkraut and Kim Chi made by Rejuvanative Foods are found at Whole Foods and other health food stores.

Add organic, cultured dairy products – Yogurt, kefir, quark, and cottage cheese

2. Upgrade your nutrient intake through supplementation

The addition of just the two supplements below will be an enhancement to your diet. Note that they are derived from whole foods and contain no synthetic ingredients so consider them a food.

Greens Mix Capules or Greens Mix Powder:   High in easy-to-assimilate minerals (high in calcium and magnesium). Take 6 caps or 1 Tbsp powder with breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If mineral deficient, add up to 18 a day (6 at breakfast, lunch, and dinner) or 2 T. breakfast, lunch, and dinner if mineral deficient.
Cod Liver Oil: Rich in Vitamin D which helps in the assimilation of calcium. Especially important in the winter when sun exposure is down. Take 4 capsules with a protein meal.

3. Add a green superfood

This one addition can dramatically improve your health. Green Superfoods give the body a break because they require no energy for digestion. If you are new to Green Superfoods, we recommend capsule rather than powder form at first.Some people like to rotate between the following to add variety to the diet:

Sweet Wheat: The king of the chlorophyll grasses, live wheatgrass energizes and cleanses the body. It helps detoxify by binding with carcinogenic toxins, removing heavy metals and rejuvenating the liver. Sprouted wheatgrass is not a problem for those that are gluten intolerant. Sweet Wheat is full of live enzymes which are highly effective free radical removers and assist with cellular renewal. See “How to Take Sweetwheat”. Take 1-2 capsules 30 minutes before breakfast or with breakfast.

Greens Mix Capsules or Greens Mix Powder: Economical! Made from air-dried, beyond-organic cereal grasses, without pesticides or chemicals. Contains a broad array of fully bio-available, naturally-occurring minerals, especially calcium and magnesium that helps keep the body alkaline. Cereal grasses are a rich source of chlorophyll, which helps purify and build blood. Contains phytonutrients and antioxidants with more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach and more beta-carotene than carrots. This is an excellent intracellular DNA repair agent, restoring and rejuvenating damaged DNA. If you are new to green superfoods, Three Branches suggests starting with Greens Mix Pills. Take 3 – 6 capsules, 30 minutes before or with breakfast.

Chlorella: Chlorella contains twice the chlorophyll and nucleic acids as spirulina, but contains a little less protein and a fraction of the beta-carotene. It has the Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), which is not found in other green foods. This makes chlorella useful for improving growth patterns in children, maintaining health in old age, healing injuries, and initiating growth where it has been stunted from disease or degeneration. It is helpful with blood sugar disorders, immune deficiencies, reducing cholesterol, binding heavy metals, pesticides, and PCB’S, and many other problems. Start with 2 at breakfast.

Blue-Green Algae: Supports the brain, memory, and nervous system and is helpful for ADD/ADHD. It stimulates the opening of neural pathways and is used in treating neurostimulant addictions (cocaine, amphetamines, etc.) Start with 1-3 with breakfast.

4. Exercise to enhance nutrient uptake

Back to Articles

Making changes that will change your health
BY MARILEE NELSON

Making changes to a healthier diet is a guaranteed avenue to better health and vitality. It begins with making smart choices that may be easier than you think. Just take one step at a time and begin with simple changes that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. Think about it: food and water are the body’s fuel and source of energy. Like a car that is designed to run on premium gas, giving your body anything less than what it’s made to live on will cause it to burn out faster. So let’s explore how you can upgrade your diet and choose the right supplementation in order to improve your energy and health right away. Choose a suggestion and work it into your diet. When it is no longer a challenge or unnatural, go to the next suggestion that you’re drawn to.

1. Upgrade your diet by switching to healthier options

Change your drinking habits – Drink quality water that cleanses and hydrates the body. See “Easy Solutions for Drinking and Bathing Water.” Without good, quality water and adequate hydration, toxins circulate around the body and are deposited instead of eliminated. See “Are You Dehydrated?”

Change from processed foods to whole, natural foods – If you can’t read the ingredients on a label, don’t eat it. In other words, exchange foods that don’t spoil (have preservatives) with foods that do (no preservatives) and eat them before they spoil!

Change from bad fats to good fats – Bad fats are killers and increase risk of heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative diseases. Good fats nourish the brain, heart, nerves, hormones, skin, hair, nails, and all the cells. Examples are olive oil, avocados, coconut oil, sesame oil, flax oil (never heat, See “Flax Oil”), organic butter, and organic ghee (clarified butter also called French gourmet cooking butter.) Cook only with olive oil, ghee, butter, or coconut oil.

Change your oils and fats - This includes all trans-fatty acids (or (partially) hydrogenated fats), sunflower, oil safflower oil, soybean oil, and corn oil. Items such as vegetable shortenings, margarines, fried foods, cookies, snack foods, baked goods, and processed foods many times contain these ingredients.

Change your dairy choices – Switch from conventional pasteurized dairy products to cultured dairy products such as yogurt, kefir, quark, and cottage cheese.

Change your flour – Switch from refined white flour, white sugar, and processed flour products to whole grains that have been soaked, sprouted, or sour-leavened to neutralize phytic acid and other anti nutrients. Ex: Alvarado Street Bakery Sourdough Bread, Ezekiel 4:9 and Essene (aka Manna) Bread are available at health food stores and some conventional grocery stores. Manna also found at Gold Mine Natural Foods.

Change from commercial to organic – Replace your meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs that contain growth promoting hormones and antibiotics with organically grown meats, poultry, dairy, and eggs

Change from conventionally to organic – Replace conventional fruits and vegetables with organic ones. Try eating 5-9 servings of vegetables a day. (One serving vegetables = ½ cup cooked OR 1 cup raw vegetable.) This adds more fiber and many disease-fighting compounds. Try eating 4 servings of fruit a day. (One serving fruit = 1 whole fruit OR ½ cup cooked fruit OR 1 cup raw fruit.)

Change from conventional to quality salt – Replace conventional Morton’s salt (contains sugar and chemicals to help it flow) with good quality salt (essential to the diet)

For cooking:

Use in moderation; add to beans and grains for better digestibility.
Pink Salt (can use raw, too!)
"Masu" Sea Salt from Natural Import Company (Item #99009) comes in glass jar
"Si" salt from Gold Mine (www.goldminenaturalfoods.com) or Whole Foods
Celtic sea salt and Lima sea salt available at health food stores
We do not recommend Hain Sea Salt

As a condiment:

Pink Salt (can use raw, too!)
Gomashio is made from sesame seeds and salt; great sprinkled on grains. Available from Gold Mine or Whole Foods or make your own

Change sweeteners – Switch from refined sugar and artificial sweeteners to quality honey, maple syrup or stevia. Change from carbonated drinks to freshly juiced fruits and vegetables, organic teas, organic beverages without sugar, high fructose syrups, artificial flavorings, cane juice, or any sweetener other than honey, maple syrup and stevia. 

2. Upgrade your nutrient intake through supplementation

The addition of just the two supplements below will be an enhancement to your diet. Note that they are derived from whole foods and contain no synthetic ingredients so consider them a food.

Greens Mix Capsules or Greens Mix Powder: High in easy-to-assimilate minerals (high in calcium and magnesium). Take 6 caps or 1 Tbsp powder with breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If mineral deficient, add up to 18 a day (6 at breakfast, lunch, and dinner) or 2 T. breakfast, lunch, and dinner if mineral deficient.

Cod Liver Oil: Rich in Vitamin D which helps in the assimilation of calcium. Especially important in the winter when sun exposure is down. Take 4 capsules with a protein meal.

3. Add a green superfood

This one addition can dramatically improve your health. Green superfoods give the body a break because they require no energy for digestion. If you are new to green superfoods, we recommend capsule rather than powder form at first.

Some people like to rotate between the following to add variety to the diet:

Sweet Wheat: The king of the chlorophyll grasses, live wheatgrass energizes and cleanses the body. It helps detoxify by binding with carcinogenic toxins, removing heavy metals and rejuvenating the liver. Sprouted wheatgrass is not a problem for those that are gluten intolerant. Sweet Wheat is full of live enzymes which are highly effective free radical removers and assist with cellular renewal. Take 1-2 capsules 30 minutes before breakfast or with breakfast.

Greens Mix Capsules or Greens Mix Powder: Economical! Made from air-dried, beyond-organic cereal grasses, without pesticides or chemicals. Contains a broad array of fully bio-available, naturally-occurring minerals, especially calcium and magnesium that helps keep the body alkaline. Cereal grasses are a rich source of chlorophyll, which helps purify and build blood. Contains phytonutrients and antioxidants with more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach and more beta-carotene than carrots. This is an excellent intracellular DNA repair agent, restoring and rejuvenating damaged DNA. If you are new to green superfoods, Three Branches suggests starting with Greens Mix Pills. Take 3 – 6 capsules, 30 minutes before or with breakfast.

Chlorella: Chlorella contains twice the chlorophyll and nucleic acids as spirulina, but contains a little less protein and a fraction of the beta-carotene. It has the Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), which is not found in other green foods. This makes chlorella useful for improving growth patterns in children, maintaining health in old age, healing injuries, and initiating growth where it has been stunted from disease or degeneration. It is helpful with blood sugar disorders, immune deficiencies, reducing cholesterol, binding heavy metals, pesticides, and PCB’S, and many other problems. Start with 2 at breakfast.

Blue-Green Algae: Supports the brain, memory, and nervous system and is helpful for ADD/ADHD. It stimulates the opening of neural pathways and is used in treating neurostimulant addictions (cocaine, amphetamines, etc.) Start with 1-3 with breakfast.

4. Exercise to enhance nutrient uptake

Back to Articles

Revolutionize Your Diet
BY MARILEE NELSON

Just as plants and flowers that are deprived water and nutrient-rich soil will droop, becoming dry, unhealthy, and brittle, so also will people that do not get the nourishment they need. But, when watered and fed, plants that are almost dead can be restored, producing beautiful leaves and flowers.

Provided with the nutrition they need, people that have serious disease, are nutrient deprived or malnourished can become vibrant, positive, and energized, restoring beautiful skin, hair and eyes.

Radical diet change is in order when there is serious disease or you are determined to “just do it!” If in critical condition, rapid dietary shifts can save your life. Otherwise, it is sometimes better to gradually make changes since extreme diet change can lead to uncomfortable detoxification symptoms as the body starts ridding itself of long-held chemicals. But some people immediately have a greater sense of well-being, more energy, and deeper sleep.

1. Upgrade your diet: replace unhealthy foods with quality choices.

The following recommendations are based on a broad, sweeping dietary scope that includes animal foods, fish, dairy, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. (There are specific medicinal diets such as raw food diets, Macrobiotic diet, Maker’s diet, Hallelujah diet, Blood Type diet, Zone Diet, etc. which all have a place for temporary medicinal use for specific conditions.) If this feels overwhelming, choose to take on one recommendation at a time.

Replace unpurified water with clean, quality water – If you are drinking tap or unpurified water, stop. Good, quality water cleanses and hydrates the body. Without it, toxins circulate around the body and are deposited instead of eliminated.

Replace animal/dairy products with organic, grass-fed meat, poultry and dairy - This is imperative for hormone regulation as the estrogenic properties of the hormones, pesticides and chemicals damage the hormonal balance of men and women. Animals are given hormones as well as medications that affect human reproductive function and hormone balance. They are also treated with antibiotics that are passed along to us when we eat them. Pesticides used on the animal’s food and in their environment are absorbed, stored in their tissues, and passed on to the human consumers. This one step can help a great deal with PMS, hormone related difficulties, and menopause.

Replace bad fats with good fats – First of all, avoid fried foods.

(Partially) Hydrogenated oils, fade fats (like Olestra), canola oil, margarine, and shortening and the trans-fatty acids that they create disrupt the metabolism and wreck havoc on the body, especially liver.

Eat organic, unrefined plant- and animal-based fats and oils. Good fats contain essential fatty acids (EFAs) that have many benefits. They can boost immune function, fight inflammatory conditions, improve hormone function (alleviate PMS and fibrocystic breast disease), speed up metabolism and regulate nerve impulses as well as improve brain function. (Low fat/no fat diets are not healthy except for some conditions where a temporary medicinal diet is in order.)

For cooking, use coconut oil, olive oil, butter and ghee (organic clarified butter).

For dressings, use olive oil, flax oil (never heat), rice bran oil and sesame oil.

Eat avocados and fresh, organic nuts and seeds to obtain oils from whole foods. For enhanced digestibility, see "Soaking Nuts and Seeds" and for more detailed information, see Sally Fallon's book, "Nourishing Traditions".

EPA and DHA, found in cold water fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, and sardines, help counter inflammatory conditions, improve thyroid function and boost metabolism. Eat these fish several times a week.

Replace processed flours with unprocessed whole grain and sprouted flours - Use organic whole grains such as rice, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, kamut, spelt, wheat, oats, quinoa, and pastas made from these products. Grains and flour should be prepared properly to enhance their digestibility.

Sprouted breads are wonderful and the easiest to digest. Alvarado Street Sourdough, Ezekiel 4:9 and Essene (aka, Manna) Breads are available at health food stores and some conventional grocery stores. Manna is also found at www.goldminenaturalfoods.com.

When trying to heal excess mucus or phlegm, lung and throat congestion, intestinal difficulties, stomach upset, and especially constipation, flour products of any kind are not recommended. The gluten in whole wheat and other grains can aggravate inflammatory response in some people. It can be worth a trial of avoiding gluten-containing grains if you suffer from intestinal disorders or inflammatory conditions.

Also, some blood types are more sensitive to certain grains. Look into the work of Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo, The Geno Type Diet, and his book, "Live Right for Your Type", especially if you have any health issues.

Replace non-organic vegetables and fruits with organic produce – Plants that have been sprayed with pesticides take the chemicals up through the roots and the pesticide is incorporated in the food. They are toxic to the liver and are endocrine disruptors that make us all more susceptible to reproductive disorders and hormone-based cancers.

Always clean fresh produce to remove any viruses, bacteria, and parasites that might be present. You can use Branch Basics to clean your fruits and vegetables.

When conventional produce is your only option, you should “detoxify” your produce by cleaing it with Branch Basics.

Replace conventional salt with quality salt – The body needs good quality salt; in fact, unrefined salt is vital to health. Today's "low salt/no salt" dietary recommendations to reduce high blood pressure and decrease the chance of heart disease and stroke are based on our liberal use of conventional salt. Conventional salt is not a healthy choice. Morton's salt is a refined food that contains sodium chloride, sugar (dextrose), iodide and an anti-caking agent. Unrefined sea salt, on the other hand, has a wide range of vital minerals including potassium and magnesium that actually help balance blood pressure and protect the body from storke and heart disease. Adding the right kind of salt t your diet is an easy change that can reap many benefits.

For cooking:

Use in moderation
Add to beans and grans for better digestion
Pink Salt (can use raw, too!)
“Masu” Sea Salt from Natural Import Company comes in a glass jar
“Si” salt from www.goldminenaturalfoods.com  or Whole Foods
Celtic sea salt and Lima sea salt available at health food stores
We do not recommend Hain Sea Salt

As a condiment:

Pink Salt - Raw salt is hard on the kidneys, except Pink Salt (can use raw, too!)
Gomashio - Made from sesame seeds and salt; great sprinkled on grains. Available from Gold Mine or Whole Foods.

Replace refined/artificial sweeteners with natural ones – Refined white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, artificial sweeteners, etc. are devastating to the immune system and make you more vulnerable to viruses, bacteria and infection.

The body needs the sweet taste, so satisfy it with sweet fruits and vegetables like yams, carrots, parsnips, cooked onions and orange squashes like butternut, acorn and kabocha.

Use healthy sweeteners like honey, maple syrup birch sugar and concentrated stevia with moderation. Three Branches is no longer recommending agave nectar as a sweetener.

Replace artificial drinks with real beverages – Drinks sweetened with sugar, high fructose corn syrups, cane juice, artificial sweeteners, etc. deplete the body of minerals, may contain excitotoxins that damage the brain and can be addictive.

Choose freshly juiced fruits and vegetables, organic teas, and organic beverages sweetened with honey, maple syrup or stevia.

Eat dried fruits that do not have any sulfur dioxide

Eat beans – Try lentils (especially red!), aduki beans, pinto beans, navy beans, black-eyed peas, anasazi beans, black-eyed peas, etc.

Eat fresh, organic nuts and seeds

2. Upgrade your nutrient intake through supplementation

The addition of just the two supplements below will be an enhancement to your diet. Note that they are derived from whole foods and contain no synthetic ingredients so consider them a food.

Greens Mix Capsules or Greens Mix Powder: High in easy-to-assimilate minerals (high in calcium and magnesium). Take 6 caps or 1 Tbsp powder with breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If mineral deficient, add up to 18 a day (6 at breakfast, lunch, and dinner) or 2 T. breakfast, lunch, and dinner if mineral deficient.

Cod Liver Oil: Rich in Vitamin D which helps in the assimilation of calcium. Especially important in the winter when sun exposure is down. Take 4 capsules with a protein meal.

3. Add a green superfood

This one addition can dramatically improve your health. Green Superfoods give the body a break because they require no energy for digestion. If you are new to Green Superfoods, we recommend capsule rather than powder form at first.

Some people like to rotate between the following to add variety to the diet:

Sweet Wheat: The king of the chlorophyll grasses, live wheatgrass energizes and cleanses the body. It helps detoxify by binding with carcinogenic toxins, removing heavy metals and rejuvenating the liver. Sprouted wheatgrass is not a problem for those that are gluten intolerant. Sweet Wheat is full of live enzymes which are highly effective free radical removers and assist with cellular renewal. Take 1-2 capsules 30 minutes before breakfast or with breakfast.

Greens Mix Capsules or Greens Mix Powder: Economical! Made from air-dried, beyond-organic cereal grasses, without pesticides or chemicals. Contains a broad array of fully bio-available, naturally-occurring minerals, especially calcium and magnesium that helps keep the body alkaline. Cereal grasses are a rich source of chlorophyll, which helps purify and build blood. Contains phytonutrients and antioxidants with more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach and more beta-carotene than carrots. This is an excellent intracellular DNA repair agent, restoring and rejuvenating damaged DNA. If you are new to green superfoods, Three Branches suggests starting with Greens Mix Pills. Take 3 – 6 capsules, 30 minutes before or with breakfast.

Chlorella: Chlorella contains twice the chlorophyll and nucleic acids as spirulina, but contains a little less protein and a fraction of the beta-carotene. It has the Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), which is not found in other green foods. This makes chlorella useful for improving growth patterns in children, maintaining health in old age, healing injuries, and initiating growth where it has been stunted from disease or degeneration. It is helpful with blood sugar disorders, immune deficiencies, reducing cholesterol, binding heavy metals, pesticides, and PCB’S, and many other problems. Start with 2 at breakfast.

Blue-Green Algae: Supports the brain, memory, and nervous system and is helpful for ADD/ADHD. It stimulates the opening of neural pathways and is used in treating neurostimulant addictions (cocaine, amphetamines, etc.) Start with 1-3 with breakfast.

4. Exercise to enhance nutrient uptake.

Back to Articles

Today, in 2010, it is not hard to pick up a magazine or newspaper and find some article that refers to the possible consequences of our modern day exposure to electromagnetic fields. Whether it is cell phones or Wi-Fi, there is enough research that points to the fact that we are being affected. Internet searches will bring up more than you could ever want to know about electromagnetic radiation and the frightening rise of sensitivities to electro pollution should put us all in a proactive mode. The best way to eliminate or reduce exposure to these electromagnetic fields is to first become educated about the different fields you may be being exposed to in your home.

Three Branches recommends taking Steps 2-4 to reduce the body’s exposure, which can be verified with instruments that measure electromagnetic field reduction. A measureable reduction is always preferred. Steps 5-6 should ideally be taken after Steps 2-4, but if you are in a situation where you are unable to have someone come in and do an electromagnetic assessment and mitigation of your home, or you need protection when traveling, Steps 5-6 should be considered.

1. Identify the fields in your home environment – Your home should be your sanctuary where you come to relax, rest, recharge, and repair. Electro stress interferes with that process. See “EMF Identification.”

MEASUREABLE REDUCTION – the following three steps result in a measureable reduction in the electric field using a device/meter available in Shop: EMF Detection.
2. Remove the field exposure, if possible – This is always the first priority if it is possible. For example, take Wi-Fi, wireless connections, cordless phones, etc. out of the house and replace with hard-wired connections and landlines; remove or refrain from using the microwave oven.
3. Avoid the field  - To do this you need to have knowledge about the types of fields and where they are coming from in your home. For example, if an air purifier is on, it has a high magnetic field that extends approximately 1-3 feet from the unit.  You would make sure to not sit or stand right next to the purifier in order to avoid exposure to that magnetic field. Unfortunately, not all electromagnetic fields are that easy to avoid.
4. Shield or mitigate the field – This is for EMF exposures that cannot be avoided, but can be blocked or reduced by a device, material, or procedure that can cause a measurable reduction in the electromagnetic field. For example, unplug all electric appliances, lamps, etc. that are not being used in order to reduce the electric field. At night, unplug everything in the bedroom while sleeping.  Another example would be using low-e coatings on windows to reduce levels of incoming high frequency fields.

ALTERATION OF THE FIELD EFFECTS – The following two steps are not validated with scientific measuring devices, but with reports from electrically sensitive individuals who themselves are the most sensitive instruments.
5. Strengthen the connection between the body and the earth - Earthcalm technology enhances a person’s connection to the earth’s beneficial electromagnetic field, which helps the body to rid itself of stored electromagnetic fields. Just as the body can be detoxified from chemicals, the Earthcalm system helps the body to discharge EMF’s.
6. Alter the field to make it less harmful biologically – Premier Research Labs and Earthcalm have devices that are designed to alter the fields to make them less harmful.

Note: Ideally, every effort to remove electromagnetic field exposure should be made. If possible have an EMF expert come to do an assessment and recommend mitigation. For instance, you would not use the EarthCalm system or Premier Research products and think, “Well, I can now have Wi-Fi or a cordless phone in my house. No, ideally you should remove Wi-Fi and cordless phones from your home and shield your windows to block Wi-Fi and high frequency field external sources. Your home should be as clean and free of electromagnetic frequencies as possible. EarthCalm and Premier products can help deal with what is left or until measures can be taken.  

Three Branches wants to make it very clear that only removal of the source of exposure (such as removing all cordless phones, not using a cell phone, or removing wireless devices from the home, etc.) or shielding that results in the elimination of or a reduction in the reading of an electromagnetic field meter is the best recommendation and totally assures safety. In no way does Three Branches want to imply that the use of any device completely protects from the electromagnetic fields unless there can be a measured difference with an electromagnetic field meter.

Therefore, Three Branches does not claim that this product shield the body from EMF exposure even if its name and explanation implies that it does. We include it because some people who are electromagnetically sensitive, our canaries, have reported tangible and repeatable results when using this product. Some have been made more comfortable and some have even had marked improvements in their health. Others report that they are sleeping better than they ever have in their life and some have minimal improvements. No product can protect us 100% from the hazards of EMFs and the wireless revolution at this time. But after two years of testing many products that claim to alter field influence with electromagnetically sensitive people, the EarthCalm and Premier Research products are the ones that have given tangible relief and help. We offer a 90-day money back guarantee if for any reason you are not satisfied with the product.

Why should you own a gauss meter? Having a gauss meter will show you and your family the safe places for beds, safe distances away from electronic devices, where to and where not to spend a lot of time, etc. Owning your own meter can help you eliminate exposures that could have otherwise gone undetected. The gauss meter will detect electromagnetic fields from high voltage power lines, transformers, wiring in the home or office, appliances, electronic devices, TV, radios, computers, etc.

The following meters require no skill to use:

Bell Model 4180 ELF Gaussmeter

This unit insures that measurements remain accurate regardless of orientation of the instrument and measures magnetic fields with a digital read-out. It accurately measures Extremely Low Frequency magnetic fields, detecting emissions from a wide variety of sources, including video display terminals, AC power lines, office equipment, household appliances and all types of electronic equipment.

Trifield Meter EX100 Version

This is the only meter that combines magnetic, electric and high frequency (radio/microwave) detection in one package AND the only meter that is sensitive enough to track ground currents. The Tri-Field gives an analog needle scale reading, is affordable and lightweight. You can detect “hot spots” in the following areas:

• Poorly grounded wiring
• Microwave oven doors
• Dimmer switches
• Strong analog RF transmitters
• Automobiles
• TV's & computers
• Other electronic equipment

Note: The Tri-Field is less accurate than the FW Bell for magnetic fields (but is a good meter for easy magnetic field assessment.) If you are measuring electric fields and high frequency fields, we highly recommend you choose the FW Bell.

The following meter requires practice but is economical and very accurate:

ExTech Electromagnetic Field Meter Model 480823

This is a very economical meter and is just as accurate as the much more expensive FW Bell 4181 above. It displays EMF in Gauss and Tesla units with a frequency bandwidth of 30 – 300 Hz. Measures from 0 – 19.99 microtesla. Measures from .1m – 199.9mGaus.  This meter is a single axis meter which means that it requires a directional orientation to obtain the correct reading. In other words, you must rotate the instrument around in space to find the highest reading. It is slower and more cumbersome to use on a fast-paced survey. The advantage to this meter over the ones below is that if you become skilled at using it, you can pinpoint exactly where a field is coming from – it reveals the path of the current conductor.  

Available from Amazon or from Lab Safety (800-356-0783; Part Number 148315) or go to EX Tech (781-890-7440; don’t sell to public) Note prices vary widely.

Note: If you are not able to get a gauss meter, some local electric companies provide free magnetic field checks. Call your local electric company and ask if they do magnetic field surveys. They will not interpret the results. Make sure that every room is checked, (in bedroom, have them check reading where the head of the bed is located), the four corners of the home on the outside and the outer four corners of the property. You want to get a reading of the outside ambient field.

Higher magnetic field environments in homes are generally created by electrical and grounding system problems rather than by power lines. The most common source of elevated magnetic fields in a home apart from wiring errors can be due to a magnetic field current traveling on the metallic plumbing and grounding systems. This is also described more accurately as a neutral current diversion into a metallic plumbing and grounding system. In homes where this exists, AC magnetic field levels can be dramatically higher. This situation can affect not only the home involved, but may also affect the public water main and neighboring houses. This flow of current can be blocked in a manner that is code compliant by installing an insulating coupling in the water supply line to the building. See Wiring Problems.

If your home has higher than expected magnetic fields (over .2 milligauss), you should check to see if there is current on your plumbing lines. For an overall screen, go out to the water meter near the street, open it up and see if you get a magnetic field reading. If you do, that means that you have unwanted current on your water pipes. The next steps require someone knowledgeable to guide you. Please call Stephen Scott* for a consultation with you and your electrician to determine steps to take (fee will be charged). A simple and brief summary of the solution is found below, but it is important that you get expert advice so that the correct procedure for your situation is followed.

Dielectric Unions
A dielectric union is a plastic joint that acts as an insulator, preventing the passage of electricity between conductive materials. In a typical home, conductive gas and water lines come into contact with appliances in several places. For example, water lines feed into refrigerators with icemakers and gas lines feed into motorized furnaces. Should a fault occur in the appliance, wayward electricity will be distributed through the piping unless a dielectric union is used to isolate the appliances from the utility pipes. “Electrified” piping is undesirable for the following reasons.

• Magnetic fields will radiate out from the pipes. (pex piping not applicable)
• Net current in gas lines is an explosion hazard.
• Pipes carrying net current can become an electrocution hazard.
• Electric current flowing through pipes causes electrolysis, which results in decomposition of the pipes.

Related Articles:
“Buying a Magnetic Field Meter”
“EMF Identification”

*Stephen Scott, EMF Remediation Specialist. 1-415-328-8650  www.emfservices.com

Testing Your Municipal Water Supply

• Call the public water utility for water quality test information for your area, available free of charge upon request. VERY IMPORTANT: Find out if your city is using chloramines/ammonia for water purification. Chloramines/ammonia demand a specialized filter for removal.
• Obtain the latest local municipal water test (in some cities the testing is fairly extensive) and discuss it with Mary Cordaro of H-3 Environmental at 818.766.1787.
• After discussion with Mary, the local test is not sufficient then another option would be to test water through Watercheck by National Testing Laboratories ($166.95). The National Testing lab does not provide interpretation, but does provides a finished report that gives the current safe levels, amount detected, and the detection level of tested components. The Watercheck tests water for chemicals which includes 20 pesticides, herbicides and PCB's, 44 volatile organic compounds (VOC's), 10 physical factors such as nitrates, nitrites, fluoride, hardness, pH, alkalinity, etc., 17 metals and minerals, arsenic, barium, manganese, lead, bacteria, etc. (Accepts prepayment over the phone with credit card or pre-mailed check.)
• Obtain Watercheck report then call Mary Cordaro at 818.766.1787.

Testing Your Well Water
Have your water tested by the following:

• Watercheck by National Testing Laboratories ($166.95).
• Obtain that report then call Mary with the results of the test. She will analyze the test and make recommendations for purification and filtration.

Tip From Three Branches for Copper Pipes
If you currently have copper pipes (or for future reference) you should know that there is an issue with chloramines. Cities around the country are starting to include chloramines in municipal water supplies and they pit copper pipes. A solution is to coat the interior of copper pipes with a glass-like coating (epoxy-based), which prevents leaks, scaling, and pitting. This method is used in Europe. Dr. Thomas Haumann of Germany tested this product in his lab and Dr. Dennis Higgins, M.D. of Los Angeles, California approved it. The pipes are almost indestructible and won't leak. Instead of replacing leaking pipes, use glass-like coating.

• Pipe Coating companies use a process called pipelining that creates a corrosion resistant, wear barrier on the inside of the existing pipes, resulting in improved water quality.
• Pipelining is the most advanced alternative to the traditional approaches for repairing corrosive or leaking pipes.
• Pipelining is a cost effective method that coats the inside of the pipe with a durable and safe glass-like epoxy coating.
• The product is applied with minimal disruption to the property and is often less costly than the traditional re-piping alternatives.
• Usually used in a building that is more than 10 years old and is experiencing symptoms of pipe corrosion or leaks (discolored water, stains on sinks and tubs, odors or leaks due to pipe corrosion, or poor water flow).
• Suitable for all types of pipe including galvanized steel, cast/black iron, copper and lead pipes from ½ inch to 6 inches in diameter.
• Again, since copper pipes have a huge scale issue and chloramines induce pitting of the pipes, these coatings are especially good and will stop the scaling issue.
• ACE DuraFlo (888.775.0220)
• CuraFlo Technologies  (800.714.9259)

Back to Articles

When you travel there are some steps you can take to make sure that your exposure to the chemicals in the mattress, bedding, and carpet is reduced. This is essential for the chemically sensitive and the steps below can make it possible for travel. The following options give you a range of protection.

Possible Materials Used

• Barrier Cloth Sleepsack from Janices (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237). When traveling you can use this to avoid synthetic sheets washed in harsh detergents. Large wrap around pillow flap holds any size pillow securely. The sleepsack opens on both sides so it can be used on either side of the bed. It has an extra large top flap that folds down over blanket for additional protection. Folds up small to fit in its own barrier cloth drawstring bag. 88" long and 56" wide.

• Large Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap. 1 ml thick. Purchase at any grocery store.

• Less Toxic Aluminum Foil Tape. The following options are available from E.L. Foust (www.foustco.com: 1-800-225-9549) and are low odor adhesives:
  • Shurtape Aluminum Foil Tape AF 973  - Usually the first-choice adhesive of the chemically sensitive. (2 or 3 inch wide rolls - 46 meters long (approx. 150 ft.). 2.0 ml thick.)
  • Acrylic Adhesive  (2 inch reel tape)
  • Synthetic Rubber Adhesive (2 inch reel tape)

• Activated Carbon Blankets from Nirvana Safe Haven (www.nontoxic.com: 1-888-267-4600, 1-800-968-9355). Call for sample piece of blankets if you are chemically sensitive. These carbon blankets can be put over carpets and or beds in hotels when traveling. Toxic fragrances, formaldehyde, and carpet chemicals cause additional symptoms to people with chemical sensitivity and environmental illness. The blankets have an inert cover made of polyester to contain the dust from the activated carbon blankets. These can be ordered at no extra charge, but they reduce the effectiveness of the carbon blanket by about 30%.  Most people have ordered these covers for toxic new cars and traveling.  The covers make it more convenient when you want to travel and not deal with the dusting effect from the carbon blankets.  Use your own discretion whether you can use the encasing or need to make an organic cotton envelope out of a flat twin sheet or twin duvet to avoid the possibility of fine carbon dust.  If not using a protective bag, then old sheets must be put down before the carbon blankets are placed on the bed or carpet.  Reactivate the activated carbon by placing it in very hot sun for a few hours. If you don’t have hot sun, then place them outside in the UV light for several hours for a couple of days and then place in a dryer for 10 minutes.  If you have kept the blanket encased in the covers that are an odor free synthetic fabric – polyester - they must be removed if placed in the dryer. Activated Carbon Blankets will absorb the chemical fumes from carpet emissions when put on the carpet and from mattresses when put on the mattress. (This will not protect fully from foam mattresses)
• Char Media from Dr. Jim Summers at Living Source (254-776-4878 or 254-776-0777). Order black char media (they carry a white char media as well).  Call for a sample piece. Note: The char media was tested on a non-toxic latex bed (that chemically sensitive person was sensitive to) and person was able to tolerate the latex bed with the char media wrapped around it.

Maximum Bed Protection

Aluminum Foil Wrap – You can wrap your bed when you travel by wrapping mattress and box springs in aluminum foil.

• Remove the mattress from the box springs.
• Cover and wrap the box spring with foil as well as you can, taping all the seams with Aluminum Foil Tape.
• Wrap the mattress in the aluminum foil like a package. Tape all seams with Aluminum Foil Tape.  If you are chemically sensitive, then ideally you should not expose yourself to the adhesive on the tape.  Let someone else tape the bed.
• When you tape the seams, make sure that the entire seam is taped so that there is no gap in the taping and nothing can come up from the mattress.
• Note: When traveling take roll of aluminum foil and cover the hotel bedding. If you travel alone and are not able to pick up the mattress and contain the box springs and wrap the entire mattress, then just cover the top of the mattress and tuck in the foil on the sides. Tape the seams completely.
• This will greatly reduce your exposure.  

Activated Carbon Blankets – Activated carbon blankets will absorb the chemical fumes from mattresses or carpet.

• If you were able to cover the bed and box springs completely with foil then the carbon blankets may not be needed. However, if you were only able to cover the top of the mattress, then some people use Carbon Blankets in addition to the foil. 
• To cover a king mattress, will need 2 – 3 carbon blankets – maybe more if you encase the entire mattress. Dalia of Nirvana Safe Haven can help determine how many will be needed.
• Place a couple of old cotton sheets on the bed (to protect the bed from any carbon dust that may dust off). Remove the polyester encasing from the carbon blankets for more effective reduction of chemicals. Place the carbon blankets on top of these sheets. Cover the bed and tuck in. You can encase the entire bed if desired. Slightly overlap the blankets at the seams. Place a couple of old cotton sheets on top of the carbon blanket to protect mattress pad, then place a cotton mattress pad over the sheets (or any mattress topper, etc) to provide a cushion over the carbon blankets.
• After travel, place in the sun a few hours to remove the chemicals it absorbed. It will then be ready for your next trip. (The carbon will last about 6 months. After 6 months, place in the sun a few hours and it is ready for another 6 months.)

Char Media – Some people prefer char media to the activated carbon blankets. Call for samples of both. Follow the procedure for the activated carbon blankets above.

Travel Size Air Purifier

If you are traveling by car, taking an air purifier with you for your hotel room can be very helpful. The Aireox Air Purifiers are small and very easy to carry along.

• Aireox Room Air Purifier 45 B Unit
• Aireox Car Purifier 22B Unit
• Recommended filter if very chemically sensitive.
• Has 100 % bituminous or coconut carbon filter.
• Adaptor from Radio Shack may be used with the Aireox Car Purifier for use in hotel rooms. Take your purifier into Radio Shack to pick up the correct adaptor for the unit.

Your bed is the most important piece of furniture in your home and what you put on your bed is just as important. Making sure that your bed and bedding are made of the safest possible materials will be one of the most significant changes you can make that results in reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals. A safe bed is made of all natural materials with no synthetics, is free of harmful chemicals and is metal free – no metal springs in the box springs or mattress and no metal in the bed frame. (Metal in the bed can become magnetized and can induce high frequency fields.)

If you are healthy, then all the bedding and bed selections below are options for you. If you are chemically sensitive then it is recommended that you have samples sent of each material you are considering. Much of the information below is geared towards those who have been chemically injured.

Steps To Take Before Buying A Bed or Bedding if you are Chemically Sensitive

• Order a sample of all materials that the bed and bedding will be made with. If possible order a pillow made of the materials used in the particular bed you are interested in.
• Ask them to send the sample or pillow wrapped in foil.
• When you receive the sample or pillow, open the box outside and let it air out before you expose yourself to it. (Many times people forget this step, but it is important.)
• After it has aired out a couple of days, bring in the house and keep it in a room with you during the day.
• If no reaction, try taking a nap during the day with the sample or sample pillow.
• If no reaction, try sleeping at night with the sample or sample pillow.

Organic Bedding

100% Cotton Barrier Cloths for Mattresses and Pillows

Dust mites thrive by the million in typical mattresses. Dust mites can cause serious allergic reaction to those who are sensitive to them. Asthma, allergies, rhinitis, sneezing, can all be due to dust mites. Finely woven cotton fabric called a barrier cloth provides enough density to keep dust mites, dust, germs, and synthetic residues from coming through the material into the mattress. They are fully washable and dryable. Natural color. Cover mattress, box springs, and pillows in barrier cloths.

• OMI Pillow Barrier Cover
• Furnature (www.furnature.com: 617-926-0111)
• Heart of Vermont (www.heartofvermont.com: 1-800-639-4123)
• Janices (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237) - Available in yards. Width is 58/60"

100% Organic Cotton Mattress Pads

• OMI Organic Cotton Flannel Mattress Pad - Soft absorbent pat that protects the mattress – machine washable.
• Janices (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237) - Quilted mattress pad that comes with anchor straps.

Wool Mattress Pads

• OMI Premium Eco-Wool Moisture Pad - Soft absorbent pad that protects the mattress.
• Organic Wool Washable Mattress Protector – by Shepherd’s Dream (www.shepherdsdream.com: 1-800-966-5540) Carries discounted protectors that are slightly flawed.
• Janices (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237) - Quilted

Wool Topper Mattress Pads

The use of a mattress pad protects the mattress from being soiled and can increase the comfort of the mattress even more. The following companies make wonderful wool mattress pads that are quite thick and make the bed very comfortable (Especially recommended on top of mattress if you have chronic pain or fibromyalgia). These mattress pads resist mold and wick moisture away from the body.

• OMI Organic Pillow Tops Uses the purest of wools and regularly tests products for chemical residues, etc. 1 ½ or 3 inch Mattress Toppers are filled with Eco-Wool and are hand-tufted to an organic cotton sateen fabric. These toppers add extra comfort, temperature regulation and moisture wicking properties to any mattress.
• Shepherd’s Dream (www.shepherdsdream.com: 1-800-966-5540)

Latex Topper – Eggcrate Like

• OMI Sonoma 4” Topper –Four inches of 100% natural latex that is quilted over just like the mattress. It is very helpful for people with chronic pain and sensitive pressure points. The bottom is covered in organic fabric. A topper adds extra comfort, temperature regulation and moisture wicking properties to any mattress.

Sheets

Look for untreated certified organic cotton sheets. The following are some sources:

• Furnature (www.furnature.com: 617-926-0111)
• Heart of Vermont (www.heartofvermont.com: 1-800-639-4123)
• Coyuchi (www.coyuchi.com: 1-888-418-8847) – Very high quality. No dyes.
• Janices (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237)
• EcoBaby Organics (www.ecobabyorganicsusa.com: 1-888-ECOBABY)
• Building for Health Materials Center (www.buildingforhealth.com: 1-800-292-4838)
• Bed Bath and Beyond
• Target

Note: Three Branches recommends 100% Certified Organic Cotton for bedding if you have tested a sample of it. Sometimes chemically sensitive people have trouble with decontaminating organic cotton as much as conventional cotton. Each individual product must be decontaminated until there is no hint of fragrance or scent. Whether you buy 100% Certified Organic Cotton or conventional cotton sheets, wash them with the washing/decontamination procedure found in “Detoxifying Clothes and Bedding”. Make sure that if you buy quilts, sheets, or sleepwear from a catalog or store that they do not fumigate their warehouse or carry the new clothesline that is treated with permithrins (one brand for example is BUZZ OFF Apparel).

Pillows

Pillows can be organic cotton, wool, natural rubber or latex, made of kapok, or hypodown (which is down with goose down allergens that are trapped). Place in dryer on high heat for 20 – 30 minutes to help eliminate the new smell and hang outside in the sun in an uncontaminated area. Cover all pillows with organic barrier pillowcase. If you are chemically sensitive, please make sure that you test by requesting sample materials.

• OMI pillows
  • 100% Certified Organic Cotton Pillows – for those who want a firmer, flatter pillow.  Available in 2 weights – medium and full.  Cotton pillows compress about one-half over time.
  • 100% Eco Wool Pillow – soft and springy, doesn’t compact like cotton and resists dust mites. Available in 2 weights – medium and full. Wool pillows compress approximately 1/3 over time.
  • 100% Wool-Wrapped Buckwheat-Hull Pillow – dual chambered pillow – outer chamber filled with Eco Wool, the inner chamber is filled with organic buckwheat hulls.
  • 100% Wool-Wrapped 100% Natural Shredded Rubber Pillow – dual-chambered pillow with a center chamber of shredded pure latex surrounded by outer chamber of Eco-wool.
  • 100% Natural Rubber Latex Pillow – double covered (cotton mesh and removable cotton fabric cover)
  • Molded Pillow – for back and side sleepers
  • Contour Pillow – for back or stomach sleepers
• Ogallala Down Company (www.ogallalacomfortcompany.com:1-800-658-4370) – Hypodown pillows.  Many people love these pillows because they do not breakdown and become hard like the cotton pillows.  Must request no formaldehyde in materials
• Erlander’s Natural Products (626-797-7004). Kapok pillows

Bedspreads

Buy 100% cotton quilts and bedspreads. Polyester and synthetic bedspreads emit toxic chemicals (some even emit formaldehyde as they break down).

• OMI Eco-Wool Comforter – Consider using as your bedspread
• Janices (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237)
• JC Penny’s Catalog (1-800-222-6161)
• Department Stores

Barrier Cloth Sleepsack for Traveling

• Janices (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237) – When traveling you can use this to avoid synthetic sheets washed in harsh detergents. Large wrap around pillow flap holds any size pillow securely. The sleepsack opens on both sides so it can be used on either side of the bed. It has an extra large top flap that folds down over blanket for additional protection. Folds up small to fit in its own barrier cloth drawstring bag. 88" long and 56" wide. See “Travel Protection: Bedding, Carpet, and Air”

Summary of Metal Free Bed Options
See below for more detailed descriptions 

• Option 1: Natural Latex Beds. This is the recommended bed option for the general public. (If chemically sensitive see below.) If you feel like you need a latex bed because you have chronic pain and cotton mattresses have been too hard, then you should test carefully. If you have chronic pain, but are extremely sensitive then covering or containing the non-toxic latex bed is a possibility. See “Non-Toxic Mattresses: Containment of Natural Odors (for the Chemically Sensitive)” and do all the containment steps described with a pillow sample to see if you still detect the latex odor.
• Option 2:  Special Order Organic Cotton Mattress From OMI. If you have chemical sensitivity, we recommend that you special order an organic cotton mattress from OMI. 
• Option 3: Cotton, Wool, or Latex Futon Placed on a Platform or Bed Frame. This option can be made more comfortable with the addition of toppers listed below.
• Option 4: Inflatable Bed with a Futon. This is a temporary (or permanent) less expensive option that consists of an inflatable mattress that can be placed directly on the floor, on a bed frame, or on a platform to replace a box spring. A cotton or natural latex futon can be placed on top and then covered with a cotton or wool mattress pad. For added comfort, a wool mattress topper or latex mattress topper may be used depending on sensitivities. This option provides a softer, more comfortable chemical free alternative to a futon placed on a platform.
• Option 5: Emergency Bed. If your current bed is making you sick and you are waiting to get suitable bedding, implement this option. It consists of folding up layers of blankets and/or towels to make a mattress.

Note: Even when a safe bed is purchased, there is a period of time that the new materials may need to be outgassed. Placing the bed, etc. in the sun, if possible, is the best option and will help to release the “new smell” odor. If that is not an option then you can shield the bed from the new smell if necessary until bed clears of shipping and manufacturing odors. See “Non-Toxic Mattresses:Containment of Natural Odors (for the Chemically Sensitive)”

Detailed Metal Free Bed Options

Option 1: 100% Natural Latex Bed
Three Branches only recommends natural latex beds from Organicpedic by OMI.  OMI uses the finest Talalay latex, wool, and cotton and is in a dedicated facility. 

Latex conforms to the body as it supports you. It is breathable, comfortable and provides reduced pressure on the body. It has natural anti-bacterial qualities and inhibits dust mites, mold, and moisture.

Latex provides a sumptuous feel: the body receives gentle but firm support, even for those with back problems. This is the preferred bed for those with chronic illness, pain, or fibromyalgia. Beds can be custom made for specific conditions.

Natural latex is processed in two ways: the Talalay process and the Dunlop process. The major difference between the two processes is what happens in the mold just prior to the initial latex curing stage. In the Talalay process only a small amount of latex compound is poured into the mold. Air is extracted to perfectly distribute the foamed liquid inside the mold and to create a consistent round, open cell structure. The mattress core is flash frozen to lock the cell structure in place and to prevent the particles from settling. This allows the core to breathe. In the Dunlop process, the molds are filled to the rim, air is not extracted, and there is no freeze stage. Therefore, the latex cell structure is less “airy". Gravity takes over and particles settle creating a denser product than Talalay latex.

Note: Many companies claim to sell pure latex mattresses, but most latex is processed with chemicals and is not suitable. Three Branches is proud to offer beds by OMI.

Option 2: Special Order Organic Cotton Mattress From OMI
If you are trying to recover from chemical sensitivity, then an organic cotton mattress is the way to go. It is important that you eliminate even natural fragrances as much as possible while healing. This is because when a person is extremely sensitive even natural fragrances such as a rose, etc. can trigger an immune response. As the immune system heals sensitivity to natural fragrances becomes less and less of an issue.

Option 3: Cotton, Wool, or Latex Futon Placed on a Platform or Bed Frame
The following platforms or mock box springs can be used with a futon (see sources below) instead of the traditional box spring that contains metal. (This option can be made more comfortable with the addition of toppers - see wool toppers or natural latex topper above.)

Platforms/Mock Box Springs

• OMI Upholstered Wood Slat Foundation - Can be used with futons, organic cotton mattress and latex mattresses. Wood slat foundations are constructed with 2" thick boards of cabinet-grade, kiln dried untreated wood. The wood is covered with a layer of durable organic canvas, then padded with certified organic cotton batting, then finally covered with a custom-woven certified organic cotton fabric. This is an ideal foundation for natural rubber mattresses or futons. It lets the mattress breathe. Air circulates under the mattress and dissipates body heat and moisture. The foundation also provides fabric-to-fabric contact between the mattress and foundation, which significantly lengthens the life of the mattress by preventing premature wear and tear of the mattress cover fabric.
• Bunkie Board Foundation – Available at The Organic Mattress Store. This can be used with futons, organic cotton mattress and latex mattresses. Make sure that solid wood foundations or platforms are metal free before purchasing. (Check with all manufacturers referenced in this report.) These are made for bunk beds, but can be used on the floor with the futon on top.
• The Organic Mattress Store carries a variety of all wood platforms.
• Home made platform – See “How to Make a Bed Frame or Platform”

Bed Frames

Use an existing tolerated wooden bed frame, purchase a wooden bed frame, or see “How to Make a Bed Frame or Platform” to make a less expensive option. The companies below and throughout this report offer a variety of the materials presented. 

• Charles Bailey (1-877-453-5433) –Non-toxic furniture and cabinetmaker. He will design or make to your design.
• Furnature (www.furnature.com ; 617-926-0111) – Carries unfinished maple beds with or without headboards. Maple is the most inert wood and many chemically sensitive people do not need a vapor barrier seal over it.
• Heart of Vermont (www.heartofvermont.com: 1-800-639-4123) - Makes oak or maple bed frames.

Option 4: Inflatable Bed with a Futon
This is an option for the chemically sensitive that can’t tolerate a conventional bed or a non-toxic latex bed.

Futons are often used without a box spring and are placed directly on a slatted bed frame, which is not comfortable for many people especially if they have chronic pain or fibromyalgia. An inflatable mattress offers a relatively inexpensive metal-free box spring substitute to help remedy this. It provides a comfortable bed and resembles a conventional mattress when the bed is made

Note: Inflatable beds are made of PVC vinyl (a synthetic) which contains both VOC’s and SVOC’s so the bed must first be outgassed in the sun to remove the majority of VOC’s and then should be covered with a vapor barrier to block any remaining VOC’s and the SVOC’s (plasticizers) from the vinyl that continue to outgas the life of the product.

Inflatable Beds

• AeroBed (www.thinkaero.com:1-888-462-4468 ) - Available at Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, Costco, Sears, and more. This is an inflatable (inflates in 60 seconds) mattress, which offers adjustable firmness, which can be used instead of traditional box springs, on futon frames, on platform beds and on the floor. Get the AeroBed with the material cover on all three sides.
• EZ Basic Portable Bed by EZ Bed – Available at Bed Bath and Beyond. Google EZ Bed for more sources. This bed doesn’t seem to take as long to outgas as the AeroBed above.
• Any inflatable bed that is outgassed.

NOTE: The inflatable bed for the temporary option can be placed on the floor if cost is an issue, but it is better to be sleeping at least 20 inches above a concrete slab, if possible. Energy is drained from the body when on a concrete slab with rebar – body should ideally be at least 20 inches above concrete slab. There are inflatable beds that are doubled and offer the height of a bed with a platform or box springs. This would be preferred if not using a platform.

Outgassing Inflatable Beds
The inflatable bed is a temporary option that is affordable for people until they can get a safe bed. The bed must be totally contained as described below to block the plasticizers.The AeroBed, EZ Bed or any other inflatable bed must be outgassed in the sun until it no longer smells. This could take some time depending upon the time of year and temperature.

• Inflate bed.
• Find a sunny place outside to sun bed.  Put down large cardboard boxes to put bed on so that bed will not be damaged or punctured by stickers in the grass, etc.
• Place out in direct sun.  Turn periodically.
• Leave out all day – bring in every night and when it rains.
• Continue this process every day until bed outgasses.  (Could be weeks or months)

Containment of the Inflatable Bed

• Buy Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil – 1 ml thick from a local grocery store. Wrap blown up bed like a package in double wrap aluminum foil. Leave a little give in the foil so that it won’t rip when futon is placed on top. Overlap seams at least 5 inches and then tape all seams completely with Aluminum Foil Tape. Use Shurtape Aluminum Foil Tape AF 973 (comes in 2 or 3 inch wide rolls - 46 meters long (approx. 150 ft.). 2.0 ml thick.) available from E.L. Foust (www.foustco.com: 1-800-225-9549) to create a vapor barrier around the bed. The chemically sensitive should not be involved in the process of covering bed with tape so there is no exposure to the adhesive side of the aluminum foil tape. 
• Then encase bed in a barrier cloth. See sources above. Give height, width, and length of bed so barrier cloth can be custom made.
• When cover the Aerobed (already wrapped in foil) with barrier cloth, zip it up and cover zipper with 3 inch Shurtape Aluminum Foil Tape. Note: Will need to leave a hole so that air can be added to bed when needed.
• Placing a cotton mattress pad on top of the foil contained Aerobed with a barrier cloth makes it less likely that the foil will rip.
• Place a futon on top of the inflatable bed. See futons below

Cotton, Wool, and Latex Futons

A futon over the inflatable bed provides a very comfortable bed, which is comparable to conventional mattresses. A futon on a platform or a bed frame is not as comfortable, but toppers can be added to aid in comfort. If you are very sensitive - an organic cotton futon wrapped with organic wool and cotton cover is recommended – or a cotton futon with a wool topper mattress pad – see below. Organic cotton futons are not treated with a fire-retardant and will require a doctor’s prescription before purchase. Natural untreated wool wrapped around a cotton futon provides dust mite protection, wicks moisture away from the body making body warmer in winter and cooler in summer, and is a natural flame retardant (this futon does not require a doctor’s prescription). If allergic to wool, it is covered with cotton plus a cotton barrier cloth so that the wool usually does not present a problem. Call the following companies to compare prices and to get samples of materials used. All futons will need to be aired out and sunned if possible. If a futon is not an affordable option, several cotton blankets layered on top of the inflatable bed can provide a comfortable bed. The following companies carry futons:

• OMI - special order organic cotton futon
• OMI - special order latex futon
• Heart of Vermont(www.heartofvermont.com:1-800-639-4123) - Organic Cotton futons
• Shepherd’s Dream(www.shepherdsdream.com: 1-800-966-5540) Wool futons

NOTE: If you are chemically sensitive, request that futon be shipped wrapped in foil or in a foil-lined box with seams taped with aluminum foil tape on the inside and outside to keep bed from being contaminated when shipped.

Option 5: Emergency Bed Option for the Very Chemically Sensitive
If your current bed is making you sick and you are waiting to get suitable bedding, fold up layers of blankets, and/or towels to make a mattress.

• If possible sleep in a room that has ceramic tile or wood floors.
• Fold up cotton mattress pads and place on the floor
• Use as many layers of cotton mattresses as you can
• Use cotton towels also for layers to create a cushion for sleeping.
• Top with sheets and blankets.

Identifying where your family might be exposed to electromagnetic fields in the home and educating them about avoiding those fields is no different than making sure that your child understands that he or she is not to touch the stove. It is for their protection. Education is the key to wisely and safely using the many technologies that make our lives more fun, more current, and more convenient.

It is obvious to us all that if we touch a hot wire, then we are electrocuted. Common sense tells us not to do that. If we do not heed this, then we experience immediate injury or we could even lose our life. Exposure to other aspects of electricity/electromagnetic fields may not give us such strong immediate feedback and we may be lulled into thinking “Oh, this doesn’t bother me!”  However, research from around the globe is warning otherwise. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) findings now classify electromagnetic fields in the same category as DDT, Carbon Tetrachloride, and Chloroform as a Category 2B possible carcinogens. The U.S. EPA warns that “There is reason for concern” and advises prudent avoidance. The alarm is worldwide and the warning to people is to minimize EMF exposures to the extent “technically and economically reasonable,” especially in locations where extended periods of time are spent, such as in the home at night when sleeping.

So, how do we put this in motion so that we are not at risk and we can enjoy our lives armed with information and without fear? Prudent avoidance means that we must know what electromagnetic fields we need to steer clear of and how to reduce our exposure. Every home has “hot spots” where electromagnetic fields are high and should be avoided.  Our homes should be our haven and our bedroom, where we spend at least 1/3 of our lives, a place of refuge where the body is refreshed, repaired, and rejuvenated.  

Electromagnetic fields are present everywhere, but they are invisible. So, if these unseen fields are bombarding us without our knowledge (example – most people do not feel anything when they are x-rayed), then we are still vulnerable to the consequences of that exposure. Education about the electromagnetic spectrum and the help of electromagnetic field meters give us a heads up on how to solve the problem.

Take this one step at a time, one field at a time, and do what you can as you are able.  Some of the steps below are simple, do not cost any money, and can be done immediately. 

IMPORTANT PROVISO

Three Branches wants to make it very clear that only removal of the source of exposure (such as removing all cordless phones, not using a cell phone, or removing wireless devices from the home, etc.) or shielding that results in the elimination of or a reduction in the reading of an electromagnetic field meter, is the best recommendation and totally assures safety. In no way does Three Branches want to imply that the use of any device completely protects from the electromagnetic fields unless there can be a measured difference with an electromagnetic field meter.

Identifying and Reducing Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Exposures in the Home

• AC Magnetic Fields
• AC Electric Fields
• DC Magnetic Fields
• DC Electric Fields

In the electromagnetic spectrum there are electromagnetic fields that occur naturally and there are those fields generated by human-made sources. We are concerned here with the human made sources. Exposure to electromagnetic fields affects the body and the ability of the body to repair, rejuvenate, and heal. EMF exposure is part of the “body’s total stressor load” and reduction of that exposure takes pressure (stress) off the body. This is critical for optimum health and for the recovery of the chronically ill, the chemically sensitive, as well as the EMF sensitive.     

The first types of electromagnetic fields to consider are those that are generated by the electrical wiring in the home and electronic or motorized devices. There are two types of Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) 60 Hz fields that are created by the electrical wiring in a home – AC magnetic and AC electric fields. They are both alternating current (AC) fields. The manmade alternating current (AC) grid weakens our connection to the earth resulting in a state of subliminal stress and a decreased ability to heal. 

AC Magnetic Fields

• Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) 60 Hz (AC)
• Magnetic fields in a home can be a combination of fields from the electrical wiring, electronic equipment used in the home, outside power lines, and ground/plumbing currents. 
• Magnetic Fields are produced whenever there is current flow.
• The strength of the field decreases with distance from the source. For example, a magnetic field is generated as soon as the device (such as a blender) is switched on and the current flows. The closer you are to the motor, the higher the magnetic field will be. Typically field strength diminishes rapidly as distance from the motor is increased.
• The gauss (abbreviated as G) is the unit of measurement of a magnetic field (also measured in nanoTeslas nT).
• A properly wired home should measure fields of .2 - .4 milliGauss (mG) or 200 - 400 nT. Elevated fields within a home connected to wiring (current flowing in the walls) are usually the result of code violations - improper wiring.
• Studies have shown that elevated magnetic fields have an adverse effect on the immune system.
• A magnetic field of .2 milliGaus (that is point 2 milliGaus, not 2 milliGaus) or below is recommended for the sleeping place. This is especially important for a person that is trying to recover from chronic illness as the body uses the nighttime for regeneration and healing.

Measuring Magnetic Fields in Your Home

Some local electric companies provide free magnetic field checks. Call local electric company and ask them if they do magnetic field surveys. (Note: If they will do the survey, they will not interpret the results.)  Make sure that every room is checked, (in bedroom, have them check reading where the head is located on the bed), the four corners of the home on the outside, and the outer four corners of the property. You want to get a reading of the outside ambient field.  

Ideally, you should have your own gauss meter. The gauss meter will detect electromagnetic fields from high voltage power lines, transformers, wiring in the home or office, appliances, electronic devices, TV, radios, computers, etc.  Having a gauss meter will show you and your family the safe places for beds, safe distances away from electronic devices, as well as where to and where not to sit and spend a lot of time. Owning your own meter can help you eliminate exposures by screening for magnetic fields. See “Buying a Magnetic Field Meter”.

General Magnetic Field Screen of Your Home and Property

• Check property (outside of home) for ambient magnetic fields. Ambient magnetic fields are the magnetic fields on the property outside the home. If the magnetic fields outside of the home are high this means that an outside source of magnetic fields exists or there is current on the plumbing. Take readings on all four corners of the property and several readings close to the home on all four sides. For instance, if at the street there is a power line and the reading is 5 milliGaus, walk toward the house noticing if the magnetic field level decreases. Continue walking to the back of the house and beyond noting the magnetic field readings. Ideally, you are looking for .2 milliGaus and below in the area around the home.  In some cases there may be high readings outside, but then they attenuate inside the home.
• Take meter into home and measure each room. Measure in the center of each room, away from any power source such as the refrigerator. 
• Measure in places where family members normally spend time, such as the family room couch, the dinner table, at desks, etc.
• Measure computers to determine the distance you should sit back. If it has a high magnetic field consider sending your computer to George Lecter at 1-800-222-3003 Safe Level for shielding. Or consider buying one of his outgassed and shielded computers.
• If your home has higher than expected magnetic fields, dimmer switches may be one cause. Replace dimmer switches throughout the house. See “Replacing Dimmer Switches”
• If you have three and four way switches, they must be correctly wired or they may create high magnetic fields. Measure with your gaussmeter. If high, please call Stephen Scott 1-415-328-8650 to get instructions for your electrician to insure correct wiring. A consultation fee will be charged. 
• If you have an older home and the magnetic fields are high, then you may have the old-fashioned knob and tube wiring which was used in homes from 1880 to the 1930’s. It is possible that houses built up until 1950 could also have knob and tube wiring. The knob and tube wiring must be replaced with modern wiring.
• If your home has higher than expected magnetic fields (over .2 milligauss) you should check to see if there is current on your plumbing lines. For an overall screen, go out to the water meter near the street, open it up and see if you get a magnetic field reading. If you do, that means that you have unwanted current on your water pipes. The next steps require someone knowledgeable to guide you. Please call Stephen Scott at 1-415-328-8650 for a consultation with you and your electrician to determine steps to take (fee will be charged). A simple and brief summary of the solution is found in “Correcting Net Current on Plumbing Lines” but it is important that you get expert advice so that the correct procedure for your situation is followed.

Reducing Magnetic Fields in Your Home

The Bedroom:

• The bedroom is the most important room in the house because this is where the body repairs, detoxifies, and rejuvenates. The bedroom should be the place where you sleep and should not be an entertainment center or a home office with computers.
• Remove all electronic equipment from the bedroom that plugs in with the exception of an air purifier. Use the bedroom for sleeping only. Disruption of sleep from having computers and a TV in the bedroom is common.
• Sleep with the head at least 6 feet and body 3 feet away from electrical sources such as the air purifier. Measure fields with a gauss meter. 
• Make sure that the breaker box/power supply to the house is not on the other side of the wall from the bed. Measure the fields for safest placement.
• Check the magnetic field of your bed at the head position, body position, and feet.  Again you are looking for .2 milliGaus as the optimum reading.  If the reading is high, make sure that the bed is not on the other side of the wall from a computer, refrigerator, or other electronic equipment that is emitting high magnetic fields.  Move the bed if necessary so that it is in the lowest magnetic field area.
• Replace all dimmer switches with standard switches. See “Replacing Dimmer Switches”. (In addition to magnetic fields, dimmer switches produce high frequency fields that are not read by the magnetic field meter.)
• Make sure that three way and four way switches are properly wired so that there are no high magnetic fields.
• Remove electric alarm clocks from the bedroom. The magnetic fields from these devices can be as high or even higher than a High Power Line. Replace with battery operated or wind up alarm clocks. 
• Absolutely do not have a cordless phone in the bedroom by the bed. Cordless phone bases emit a magnetic field as well as high frequency fields. Use a landline in the bedroom. Reroute cell phone calls to the landline at night. 
• Do not use an electric blanket or heating pad as they have high magnetic fields.
• Do not run extension cords under the bed.

The Rest of the Home:

• Magnetic fields are not easily shielded. (Mu metal can be used for shielding, but this is, in most cases, impractical, expensive and difficult.) Since Magnetic fields usually drop off very rapidly especially from running motors they can many times be avoided by creating a distance between you and the motor. Do not sit or stand right next to any running motors – keep distance at least three feet if possible. Use a gauss meter to be sure. 
• Replace all dimmer switches with standard switches. See “Replacing Dimmer Switches”. (In addition to magnetic fields, dimmer switches produce high frequency fields that are not read by the magnetic field meter.)
• Stand away from the stove when cooking on an electric stove. Use a gauss meter to see how far the field extends from stove.  Note:  Sometimes the electric clock on the stove has a very high field itself so that even if the stove is not being used for cooking the clock is still generating a high field.  Use your meter.  Some people disengage the clock if the magnetic field extends so far that a safe working space is unavailable.
• Note your position in the kitchen. If you spend a long time in the kitchen make sure that you are aware of how far the refrigerator field extends as well as the stove or any other device that continually emits a field.  Make sure that you chop your vegetables and prepare your food in a magnetic field free zone, ideally .2 milliGauss or less.
• Stand back as far as possible when using appliances such as blender, juicer, etc. Measure with gaussmeter for exact distance required.
• Do not run extension cords under couches and chairs where people sit.
• Avoid the use of electric motors when you can. Use a hand operated can opener instead of an electric one. Avoid electric razors and toothbrushes that plug in as they have high magnetic fields. 
• Sewing machines have high magnetic fields. Sit as far back as possible when sewing machine is running. Avoid using sewing machine if pregnant.
• Measure the magnetic field on all desktop computer monitors. Sit in a position out of the magnetic field. Position the keyboard as far away from the monitor as possible. (Do not use a wireless keyboard or a wireless mouse.)
• Hold hair dryer as far away from head as possible. Hair dryers have extremely high magnetic fields. If possible, use a hair dryer that has a stand so that it does not have to be hand held and the distance away from the dryer can be controlled.
• Ground Fault Interrupters can be a constant electromagnetic field emitter, both magnetic and high frequency fields. Check with your gaussmeter for magnetic fields. Cooper Wiring Devices VGF15 White ShockSentry Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter -  brand GFI units are EMF free available from Partsmaster – 1-888-476-3580.  AZ Parts Master

Note:  When building it is critical for recovery from chronic illness to make sure that the house is wired so that there are no magnetic fields greater than .2 milligaus and that shielded cable is used for the wiring to block the electric fields.  Contact Stephen Scott, EMF Remediation Specialist, for electrical specifications. 1-415-328-8650 www.emfservices.com

AC Electric Fields

• Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) – 60 Hz (AC)
• Electric fields are a measure of voltage and are present whether there is current flow or not. The human body acts as an antenna in the presence of these fields. Electric fields have been shown to have adverse effects on the nervous system. High voltages in the sleeping place have been linked to insomnia and inhibition of the healing process. Electric fields are diminished by proper grounding and shielding of wiring and devices throughout the home. Electric fields of 20 millivolts and below are recommended for the bedroom Note: It takes only 1 millivolt to operate a pacemaker.
• If a device is plugged-in, an electric field is present whether the device is turned on or off.
• Electric fields can be shielded.

Reducing Electric Fields in Your Home

• As a first precaution unplug all lamps, clocks, etc. in bedroom before sleeping. This will help to reduce the electric fields that inhibit the body’s healing processes during the night. Body voltage testing can dramatically show how just unplugging devices in the bedroom reduce the electric fields. This is a test, which shows how much voltage is going through the body. First, the person is tested in the typical electrical scenario in which he usually sleeps. All appliances are plugged in and placed as the person normally has them. Again, it takes only 1 millivolt to operate a pacemaker. It is not uncommon to measure up to 100,000 millivolts in a body sleeping on a switched off but plugged-in electric blanket or heated waterbed. A single lamp or electric clock plugged in can cause levels 10 – 100 times over the recommended limit of 10 to 20 millivolts in the body.
• Unplug appliances when not in use, especially in the kitchen. The level of electric fields usually drop dramatically as appliances are unplugged and circuits throughout home are switched off and on.
• If you use an air purifier, make sure that it is as least six feet away from the head and three feet from the body. Ideally, the air purifier should have a three-prong plug and a shielded cable to reduce electric fields.
• Turning off certain circuit breakers at night can reduce the electric fields in the bedroom. Since turning off one circuit can sometimes exacerbate rather than reduce field strength, it is important to have professional help to make sure you are improving your sleeping place, not making it worse. Contact Stephen Scott, EMF Remediation Specialist, for a consultation (1-415-328-8650 EMF Services).
• Make sure all outlets are grounded. You can purchase a tester from Radio Shack that is very inexpensive and easy to use. (Electric fields are higher if home is not grounded properly). Offending circuits can be switched off at night manually or through a remote switch if need be. 
• Replace ungrounded cords with a shielded power cord to eliminate the electric fields from electrical and electronic devices. Start in the bedroom with lamps that do not have grounded cords. The Shielded AC Power Cord 120 VAC is available from Safe Living Technologies Inc. 1-519-240-8735. It can be used for computers, lamps, and other devices.  All modifications to the power cord or appliances should be completed by a certified electrician and comply with the local electrical codes.
• If building or remodeling - wiring in home should be shielded cable. Shielded wiring eliminates electric fields.  (Most homes have unshielded romex wiring).  . 
• For more information on mitigating AC fields, call EMF Consultants Stephen Scott (415-389-9696) on the West Coast (San Francisco area) and Charles Keene (941-870-5432) on the East Coast (Florida).

DC Electromagnetic Fields

There are other electromagnetic fields that have an effect on health that are not affected by the homes wiring – DC fields, high frequency fields, etc.

DC Magnetic Fields

• DC Magnetic fields are found in batteries and magnetized steel.
• The earth has a magnetic DC field, which is very healthful to human life, but distortions of this field cause geopathic zones that can be harmful to health. 

Reducing DC Magnetic Fields

• Sleep in a metal free bed frame as the metal becomes magnetized and acts as an antenna for high frequency fields.
• Sleep in a bed with no metal box springs.  These springs become magnetized and the more deviation or magnetization the more the biological effect. See information about non-toxic metal free beds. Many people with back pain report cessation of pain when they switch to a metal free bed. 
• Do not store any steel equipment such as weights, etc. under the bed.
• Do not park your car in the garage if the garage is under the bedroom. Cars have a very powerful DC field.
• Do not sleep with a watch. If sensitive, do not wear a watch during the day either. If you must wear watch, wear a wind-up watch with no battery. Or use a DC protector on the watch (coming soon).

DC Electric Fields

• The phenomenon of static electricity is due to DC Electric fields. These fields are induced by the use of synthetic fibers in the home. Synthetic Fibers carry electrostatic charges that deplete the air of negative ions. This loading and depolarization of air causes an increase in dust.

Reducing DC Electric Fields

• Reduce the use of synthetic fibers in the home.
• Wear natural fibers such as cotton and silk. Do not wear mixed fibers.
• All bedding should be of natural fibers.
• All pajamas should be of one natural fiber such as 100% cotton or silk.
• In the bedroom especially, all materials such as window coverings, flooring, etc. should be of natural fibers. Do the best that you can. Covering synthetic materials with a natural fiber is also helpful.

Making sure that your bed and bedding are made of the safest possible materials will be one of the most significant changes you can make that results in reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals. A safe bed is made of all natural materials with no synthetics, is free of harmful chemicals and is metal free – no metal springs in the box springs or mattress and no metal in the bed frame. Metal in the bed enhances electromagnetic field issues.

Therefore, the following offers guidelines and instructions for making an inexpensive bed frame or platform that is metal free.

• Clear Natural Vapor Barrier Finish
  • Seal all six sides of all pieces of wood before assembly with one coat of Shellac – apply away from the home.  NOTE:  Please do a test sample to see if the gloss finish is desired. This is a natural vapor barrier finish and will seal in wood terpines. Do not bring into home until totally outgassed.
  • Bull’s Eye Shellac Sealer and Finish by Zinsser (www.zinsser.com: 732-469-8100). This product is very volatile when applied - the applicator should wear a respirator. Apply and cure away from the home. May take up to three weeks for this product to cure, especially if it is cold and damp.  Provide ventilation and airflow to hasten curing. After curing there is no low level outgassing and it is a very safe finish.  It has the advantage also of being a natural material and not synthetic.
• Clear Finish – Varnish
  • Varnish from Charles Bailey (1-877-453-5433 or 1-870-453-543) –Comes in flat, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss. This varnish provides some coverage of terpines and is easier to work with than the Shellac – but it is not a total vapor barrier. This will take 3 weeks or more to outgas.
• To paint wood, choose from the following:
  • Painted Finish  
    • No need to seal in wood terpines (if using wood like maple or poplar)
    • Prime with desired non-toxic primer and paint. Three Branches recommends:
      • EnviroSafePaint – (www.envirosafepaint.com: 1-888-281-6467 or 830-232-6167 – Jim Lee, family owned and operated) Premium quality paint and other coatings specifically formulated to improve air quality. Uses filtered well water to make the paint. Has virtually no odor, no VOCs  - below 5 grams per liter - and no toxic fumes or preservatives; free of formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, crystalline silica and petroleum. Uses no VOC tinting. Available in any color, including custom color matching, formulated for both indoor and exterior applications. Has no biocide – even the semi gloss.  Uses a variation in the amount of clay – most clay in flat paint, least clay in semi gloss.
      • EnviroSafe Primer – use flat white as the primer. If using the Satin or Semi Gloss this will save you money as the primer will be the flat white and not two coats of Satin or Semi Gloss. If trying to cover a color, tint the flat white to the color of the finish coat. Envirosafe is totally self-priming.
  • Painted Sealed Finish
    • Use if need to seal in wood terpines such as in pine
    • Seal all six sides of all pieces of wood before assembly with one coat of Bin Primer Sealer (1-732-469-8100), which will seal in all odor from wood terpines.  Let cure at least six weeks (not in home) before assembling bed. Assemble bed and then paint with chosen safe paint.
  • For adhesives and glues use only solvent free water-based carpenter’s glue:
    • Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Glue (1-888-435-6377). Low odor, nontoxic, water based glue for porous materials. Most brands of white carpenter’s glue are acceptable. These white glues are made from low toxic polyvinyl acetate (PVA). On back of label look for circle with AP in the center. (ACMI certified AP). Needs to have AP in the circle.  On all glues near bar code look for AP. If has CL in the circle – do not use - this has a hazardous material.
    • Elmer’s Stainable and Waterproof Carpenter’s Glue – available from home depot  has wood fibers. This is an AP (safe) glue.
    • Weldbond by Frank T. Ross and Sons (www.franktross.com : 416-282-1107) Paul Ross. Latex free adhesive well tolerated by the chemically sensitive. Bond wood to wood, etc.

The bed you sleep on is the most important piece of furniture in your home. It should enhance your health and be free of chemicals as well as be comfortable. If you have a conventional mattress that is treated with flame-retardants and contains toxic chemicals, your body is not able to repair and rejuvenate during the night when sleeping. The following paragraph, taken from Chem-Tox.com, further explains the importance of avoiding the toxicity in conventional mattresses today.

“While bed mattresses were previously made of untreated natural materials, the majority of mattresses today are made using a variety of petroleum based chemicals, foams, plastics and controversial flame retardants. Research and personal accounts suggest people can in fact become ill by repeated and continuous exposure to the low level of chemicals continuously emitted during the sleep process. The situation is dramatically compounded by the fact that sleeping on a bed (or chemically manufactured pillow) places the individual in extremely close proximity to the chemical source (inches compared to feet for most other chemical exposures). This direct contact means that concentrations of chemicals are many, many times higher than they would be if the source was at a greater distance, and thereby becoming less harmful because of dilution. Research is now available showing that chemicals used in bed manufacturing are in fact evaporating and entering into the air. Some of these are documented carcinogenic and mutagenic compounds. Common petroleum based chemicals have been clearly shown to have the ability to weaken or damage the immune and nervous system. Autoimmune disorders have also been linked with exposure to petroleum-based chemicals and have been found to be the underlying etiology of many common health problems today (soft tissue damage, arthritis, etc).”

Click here to read consumers’ reports of health problems linked to specific types of new mattresses.

What Can You Do?

There are steps you can take now to make your current conventional mattress a safer place to sleep until you are able to get a non-toxic bed or if you do not desire to buy a new bed and just want to make yours less toxic.

This is a method that involves covering the bed with materials that block the chemicals from escaping. Variations of the steps may be applicable to a particular bed. For example a very old mattress with no chemical treatment may only need to be aired out, HEPA vacuumed, and covered with a barrier cloth to protect from dust mites and a mattress pad. A conventional bed with flame-retardants and other chemicals would need to be covered with the aluminum foil and would possibly need all the materials listed below.

Note: It is NOT recommended to try to cover memory foam beds, as they are so highly toxic. These types of beds should be removed from the home.

The following procedure may seem extreme, but it has been found to work very well for the chemically sensitive if all the steps are followed. It is important for the chemically sensitive to NOT prepare the bed themselves.

Possible Materials Used

• Large Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap. 1 ml thick. Purchase at any grocery store.
• Less Toxic Aluminum Foil Tape. The following options are available from E.L. Foust (www.foustco.com: 1-800-225-9549) and are low odor adhesives:
  • Shurtape Aluminum Foil Tape AF 973  - Usually the first-choice adhesive of the chemically sensitive. (2 or 3 inch wide rolls - 46 meters long (approx. 150 ft.). 2.0 ml thick.)
  • Acrylic Adhesive  (2 inch reel tape)
  • Synthetic Rubber Adhesive (2 inch reel tape)
• Zippered Barrier Cloth. Organic cotton barrier cloths are custom-made by the following companies.
  • Janices – highly recommended (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237)
  • Furnature  (www.furnature.com; 617-926-0111)
  • Heart of Vermont (www.heartofvermont.com: 1-800-639-4123) 
• Allersoft Zippered Cover. Available from Allergy Store (www.allergystore.com: 1-800-771-2246). Order all Cotton. This cover is tightly woven to 5.34 microns, thereby making it a great option for a dust mite cover. In order to stop dust mites you need at least a 10 micron weave.
• Organic Cotton Mattress Pads
  • Furnature  (www.furnature.com; 617-926-0111)
  • Heart of Vermont (www.heartofvermont.com: 1-800-639-4123) 
  • Janices (www.janices.com: 1-800-526-4237)
• Old Sheets
• Activated Carbon Blankets from Nirvana Safe Haven (www.nontoxic.com: 1-888-267-4600, 1-800-968-9355). Call for sample piece of blankets. Activated Carbon Blankets will absorb the chemical fumes from mattresses. (This will not protect fully from foam mattresses.) To cover a king mattress, will need 2 – 3 carbon blankets – maybe more if you encase the entire mattress. Dalia of Nirvana Safe Haven can help determine how many will be needed. The carbon will last about 6 months. After 6 months, remove from bed, place in the sun a few hours and it is ready for another 6 months
• Char Media from Dr. Jim Summers at Living Source (254-776-4878 or 254-776-0777) Order black char media (they carry a white char media as well).  Call for a sample piece. Note: The char media was tested on a non-toxic latex bed (that chemically sensitive person was sensitive to) and person was able to tolerate the latex bed with the char media wrapped around it.

Procedure for Wrapping the Bed

Step 1: Wrap box springs and mattress in aluminum foil.

• Remove the mattress from the box springs.
• Cover and wrap the box spring with foil  as well as you can, taping all the seams with Aluminum Foil Tape.
• Wrap the mattress in the aluminum foil like a package. Tape all seams with Aluminum Foil Tape.  If you are chemically sensitive, then ideally you should not expose yourself to the adhesive on the tape.  Let someone else tape the bed.
• When you tape the seams, make sure that the entire seam is taped so that there is no gap in the taping and nothing can come up from the mattress.
• Note: When traveling take roll of aluminum foil and cover the hotel bedding. If you travel alone and are not able to pick up the mattress and contain the box springs and wrap the entire mattress, then just cover the top of the mattress and tuck in the foil on the sides. Tape the seams completely. See “Travel Protection: Bedding, Carpet, Air” for more information.

Step 2: Encase mattress and box springs in a zippered barrier cloth cover.

• Barrier cloth is an extremely tight-woven 100% cotton fabric originally designed for medical use. Encasing the box springs, mattress, mattress pad, and pillow in a barrier cloth helps to protect the bedding, helps to contain odors, and prevents dust mites from getting on mattress and pillow.

Step 3: Apply organic cotton mattress pad if desired.

• A cotton mattress pad on top of the mattress provides protection for the mattress and provides another layer of protection from the aluminum foil and mattress. Some people stop at this step. For further protection go on to step 4.

Step 4: Place old sheets on bed.  

• Provides a barrier to protect the bed from any carbon dust from the carbon blankets (Step 5: Option 1) or Char Media (Step5: Option 2)
• The tighter the weave (higher thread count) the better.

Step 5:

• Option 1 – Remove carbon blankets from polyester encasing and place on bed. Cover the bed and tuck in or wrap around entire mattress. If doing all the above steps just tuck the carbon blankets in.  If not taking steps 1-3, then wrap activated carbon blankets around entire bed. You can stitch the blankets together or slightly overlap them at the seams.
• Option 2 – Instead of carbon blankets, wrap in char media. Call for sample material and compare to carbon blankets. Note: This will not protect against a toxic foam mattress.

Step 6: Cover carbon blankets or char media with old sheets.

• The tighter the weave (higher thread count) the better.

Step 7: Apply another organic cotton mattress pad if desired.

• A cotton mattress pad on top provides more protection from the materials.

Step 8: Make bed with sheets and blankets.

Step 9: Consider purchasing a metal free non-toxic bed when you are able.
As you can see, this is a lot of work, but your bed is the most important piece of furniture in the house. Remember, that is where your immune system and body are rejuvenated, repaired and detoxified.The tighter the weave (higher thread count) the better.

The Precautionary Principle is a moral and political principle, which states that IF an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the action. The principle implies that there is a responsibility to intervene and protect the public from exposure to harm where scientific investigation discovers a plausible risk in the course of having screened for other suspected causes. The protections that mitigate suspected risks can be relaxed only if further scientific findings emerge that more robustly support an alternative explanation.

The key element of the Precautionary Principle is that it should stir us to take anticipatory action in the absence of scientific certainty.

The Wingspread Consensus Statement on the Precautionary Principle is this: “The release and use of toxic substances, the exploitation of resources, and physical alterations of the environment have had substantial unintended consequences affecting human health and the environment. Some of these concerns are high rates of learning deficiencies, asthma, cancer, birth defects, and species extinctions…”

Important Progress

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 15, 2010 opened up access to its public inventory of its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory at no cost. In the past this information has only been available by purchase from various databases. This is a first step to make crucial information available about the risks of many industrial chemicals.

http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/2010/03/epa-offers-free-access-to-chemicals-iniventory

Click here for access to the TSCA Inventory visit.

Since there are many chemicals that are kept completely from the public eye that come under the claim of Confidential Business Information (CBI) there is much more that needs to be opened up as a large number of these closely guarded “secrets” are in our everyday consumer products such as children’s toys, furniture, fabrics, artist supplies, plastic products, etc. Information about all chemical’s identity and related health and safety information must be made available so we can make educated decisions in all of our purchases. See “Off the Books: Industry’s Secret Chemicals”

What You Need to Know

MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets), documents that companies make available that delineate a product’s hazardous materials, do not give the complete story. Unfortunately, some of the most damaging materials are exempt. For example, the companies are not required to report plasticizers, pesticides, biocides, and flame retardants.

The baby body burden is a very serious issue. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that this is the first generation that may have a shorter projected life span than their parents. http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php

You can go to a database that delineates the connection/link between specific diseases and disorders and the environment. http://www.healthandenvironment.org/diseases

You can go to a data base that lists conditions/diseases with direct links to environmental factors. http://www.healthandenvironment.org/science/peer reviewed

There is a website that gives information about transparency in disclosure concerning Healthy Building Materials www.healthybuilding.net/news/100218transparency_app.html

There is a report that looks at the risk of electromagnetic field exposure on cancer risk and children’s health. http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/executivesummary

There is a database covering over 1,000 phones on the market and lists the 10 best cell phones in 2010. www.ewg.org/cellphone-radiation

The bottom line is to take responsibility for yourself and your family. Don't wait for someone else to protect them. Make good choices, pay attention, and investigate what comes into your home – your safe haven. We must take anticipatory action in the absence of scientific certainty.

It is very easy to remove dimmer switches and replace with a standard toggle light switch. Dimmer switches elevate the magnetic field and also emit high frequency fields. Removal will reduce the magnetic field and will eliminate the high frequency fields. Instructions for replacing switches are as follows:

1. Buy replacements (standard toggle light switches) for your dimmer switches at any local hardware store, such as Home Depot or Lowe’s.
2. Locate the switch in the breaker box that controls the dimmer switch you are replacing.
3. Turn the breaker switch to the off position
4. Check to make sure that the electricity is off at the wall switch and that the light will not come on.
5. After making sure that there is no electricity coming into the dimmer, remove the light switch panel with a screwdriver.
6. Loosen the dimmer switch from the electrical wall box housing by removing the anchor screws.
7. Grab the switch and slowly pull it out while straightening the connecting wires.
8. Disconnect the electrical wires from the dimmer switch body.
9. Discard the dimmer switch.
10. Appropriately connect the wires to the replacement light switch.
11. Position the new switch in the box and anchor the switch with the mounting screws provided.
12. Remount the switch panel.
13. Return breaker box to the on position.
14. Test light switch.

BY MARILEE NELSON

The Importance of Predigestion
What you eat is important, but if you don’t digest it you don’t get the necessary nutrients from your foods. The most complicated foods for the body to digest are carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are any food that is not a fat or a protein and includes grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits, nuts, seeds, sugar, starches, herbs, spices, etc.

Carbohydrate digestion starts in the mouth when we chew our food. The salivary glands secrete mucus into the mouth, which lubricates the food prior to swallowing. Saliva contains the following enzymes:

Amylase is secreted from the parotid glands and breaks down carbohydrates
Protease is secreted from the submandibular glands and begins protein digestion Lipase is secreted from the sublingual (under the tongue) glands to initiate fat digestion.

The importance of chewing in the digestive process is often overlooked. Chewing is necessary to expose as much surface area as possible on the food particles so that enzymes can begin digestion. If the food is not chewed thoroughly, this puts a stress on the digestive system especially if the meal has a lot of carbohydrates and if there is any digestive difficulty.

People with chronic illness or digestive difficulties should chew their food until it is a liquid. This takes stress off the body and can do much to help repair the digestive tract.
In addition the enzymes found in the food also begin working in the mouth. Raw food is full of enzymes while cooked food is devoid of inherent enzymes. Vegetables that contain cellulase are covered with a thin coating of cellulose. Human enzymes cannot penetrate cellulose and if the cellulose is not removed either by cooking or fermentation, then it must be chewed thoroughly. If the cellulose is not broken down, then people may develop gas when eating raw food.

After swallowing, the food moves through the pharynx and esophagus, which make up the pathway to the stomach. When food enters the upper part of the stomach it begins to stretch the stomach. The lower part of the stomach remains flat and closed while the upper part opens up to accommodate the food. During the time that the food sits in the upper section, acid secretion in the stomach is minimal for at least 30 – 45 minutes.
Digestive enzymes from the saliva and in the food itself are still at work. The more digestion that takes place here, the less work the body has to do later. If the food is cooked and the food gulped down (not chewed properly) minimal digestion is taking place.

Taking digestive enzymes can help to digest the cooked food and should be taken toward the beginning or in the middle of the meal (especially if eating cooked food or a high carbohydrate meal) to assist in the digestion process. This all takes place before the stomach begins its own digestive process.

Why Take Digestive Enzymes?
We are born with a set amount of enzymes and this limited supply must last us a lifetime. Cooked, enzyme-free food depletes the body’s limited enzyme capacity. Taking digestive enzymes help to spare the body’s enzyme supply.

“Enzymes are the construction workers of the body. They use the vitamins and minerals as building materials to maintain the body. At times there is an ample supply of building material but not enough workers to complete the job. The building materials will remain unused until enough workers show up at the site.”1

Digestive enzymes are essential for processing the nutrients in food – vitamins, proteins, minerals, etc. to make them available for the body. Therefore, using a digestive enzyme supplement is one way to improve general health and well-being. For best utilization, the capsules can be opened and sprinkled on the food or swallowed towards the beginning or mid meal. This way, the enzymes can go to work immediately. Also, taking extra enzymes is a way to neutralize any enzyme inhibitors that are in unsprouted seeds, nuts, and grains.

Plant enzymes can work in the acidity of the stomach, whereas pancreatic enzymes can only work best in the alkalinity of the small intestine. Therefore, concentrates of plant enzymes are better for predigestion of food than tablets of pancreatic enzymes.

If the enzyme tablet has an enteric coating, then it's not suitable, since it will only release after it has passed the stomach. By this time, it's too late for food predigestion. The body itself has already used its own enzymes to digest the food.

Premier Research’s Digestive Enzymes are highly purified plant enzymes that work in both an acid and alkaline media. They are best taken at the start of a meal or mid meal. Take 1 – 3 capsules with meals that contain cooked food.

Note: If you have a peptic ulcer, do not supplement with a digestive enzyme with pepsin or protease. You need to heal the ulcer first by rebuilding the mucosal barrier of the stomach.

Note: In a meal made up primarily of carbohydrates, supplemental support of digestive enzymes may be even more important than HCL.

1 Loomis, Howard F. Enzymes – The Key to Health, 2005, American Printing Company

Back to Articles

1. In the morning before breakfast, on an empty stomach, take 1 tablespoon Sesame Oil (good quality organic sesame oil is important) in the mouth, but do not swallow. Swish the oil around the mouth, “chew it” and mix it with your saliva for 10-30 minutes.  (If chemically or EMF sensitive, start out slow – take 1 tsp. oil for 1 - 5 minutes. Usually, this process lightens the chemical load without a problem, but it is always wise to be on the cautious side.)
2. Chewing activates the enzymes, which draws toxins out of the blood. And in 10-30 minutes, the blood from the entire body has had the opportunity to circulate through and around the mouth. After 10-30 minutes the oil should be thinner and white. If it is still yellow, you have not held it in your mouth long enough. (10 minutes the first week is usually sufficient, then increase to 15-30 minutes as you get clearer)
3. Spit out the oil into the sink. After expelling the oil, immediately brush your gums, teeth and tongue with warm salt or salt/soda water – 1-cup water to ½ teaspoon Premier Pink Salt and ½ teaspoon Baking Soda (optional) diluted in water.  Then gargle and spit with the remaining salt or salt/soda water.  It is also helpful to tip the cup under the nose and gently sniff up the water to clean the nasal passages. Then gently blow the nose.
4. The sink should be cleaned afterward because the saliva contains toxic bodily waste.
5. If desired, for faster results, repeat this procedure two to three times a day, before meals, on an empty stomach. Continue this procedure until you are healthy!

Dr. Karach developed this procedure and it has been helpful in almost every disease or dysfunctional immune state that Dr. Karach has encountered.

He found amazing results, especially in patients who are detoxifying petroleum solvents. Petroleum solvents are lipophilic (fat-loving) and will be readily be absorbed into the oil. Also, toxic metals/minerals from soap complexes with the oil, and can be easily eliminated through spitting.

This is an easy way to help the body detox and reduce its chemical load.

Healthy people with strong digestive function do not need more HCL (stomach acid).  Unfortunately, in today’s world of high stress, fast and processed foods, antibiotic use, prescription, and over the counter drug side effects, many people have a deficient supply of HCL. 

Strong, healthy digestive function plays a foundational role in determining a person’s state of wellbeing and health. Digestive function includes normal digestion with adequate levels of HCL and digestive enzymes, assimilation, and elimination. When these are faulty, we may not be aware that these dysfunctions are contributing to many other problems.

Many digestive problems are caused by too little stomach acid. It may seem like there is too much acid because of heartburn, sour stomach, or overall stomach upset, nausea, and pain, but having too little acid can cause exactly the same symptoms as too much acid.

A hydrocloric acid deficiency (lack of adequate HCL) can have many consequences and has been associated with the following:

• Malnutrition – reduction of absorption of nutrients from foods
• Iron deficiency anemia, owing to poor iron absorption
• Osteoporosis, resulting in part from decreased calcium absorption
• Periodontal disease – receding gums
• General allergies and food allergies
• Leaky gut syndrome
• B12 deficiency
• Gallstone risk – more than half the people with gallstones show decreased HCL secretion compared with gallstone-free patients
• Diabetes – elevated blood sugar
• Impaired tissue repair
• Skin problems - eczema, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, vitiligo
• Increased number of bacteria, yeasts, and parasites growing in the intestines
• Lowered pancreatic secretion  - which contains the majority of enzymes that actively break down foods, which then further contributes to poor assimilation and nutritional problems
• Heartburn and acid reflux  (commonly thought to be due to too much stomach acid and if there isn't enough stomach acid the valve that closes the end of the esophagus at the stomach won't close properly)
• Ulcer formation – lack of protection from infectious agents such as H. Pylori
• Rapid aging – HCL is necessary for restoring cellular methylation reserves  
• Fermentation and putrifaction 
• Reduced liver function 
• Reduced oxidation of lactic acid
• Reduced white blood cell activity
• Retention of carbon dioxide
• Bloating, belching, and flatulence immediately after meals
• Indigestion – heavy feeling in the stomach
• Candida
• Upset stomach
• Nausea

Simple Home Tests

There are home tests you can do to determine if you have sufficient HCL. Read the entire section before starting a test. If you already know that you have an ulcer stop here. Do not do any of the following tests.

If you have a stomachache, try the lemon juice test first. If you do not have a stomachache, or if your pain does not increase after the lemon juice test, then try the Betaine HCL test.

Lemon Juice Test

• When you have stomach pain, take a tbsp. of lemon juice. If this makes the pain leave, you may have too little stomach acid, instead of not enough.   If it makes your symptoms worse, then you may have too much stomach acid.
• Do you crave sour foods, such as citrus and sauerkraut? Do you like grapefruit juice? If you do, and they set well on your stomach, then you may have too little HCL. If you do not like acid foods, then you may have too much HCL. 

If your pain increased after the lemon juice test above, do not do the HCL test below. You could have an ulcer or too much stomach acid. Again, do not take the following test if you have an ulcer.

Betaine HCL Test

• Take one capsule of Betaine HCL before the last mouthful of a main meal (a complex meal that contains protein and fat, not with a simple meal of mostly carbohydrates, such as salad, soup, or fruit).
• Burning or indigestion after taking one capsule means you have plenty of hydrochloric acid or you have a stomach ulcer – see note below. Don't take any more. 
• If no burning occurs, proceed to next step to determine how much HCL you need.

Note: If you have a peptic ulcer, do not supplement with Betaine HCL or a digestive enzyme with pepsin or protease. You need to heal the ulcer first by finding the cause and rebuilding the mucosal barrier of the stomach. See Stomach Complex. After the ulcer is cleared up, then consider using the Betaine HCL to enhance digestion.

Determine Your Needed HCL Amount

Betaine hydrochloric acid is one of the most important supplements for improving digestion. However, if you are taking prescription medications consult with your physician, as Betaine hydrochloride supplements can cause adverse reactions in tandem with certain medications.

• The strategy is to gradually increase the amount of Betaine HCL until you have too much acid in your stomach (burning sensation in the stomach), then back down slightly to the correct maintenance dose.
• If no burning or indigestion was experienced with one HCL, then the next day take 2 capsules in the same way.
• If still no burning or indigestion, take 3 tablets in the same way the next day. If still no burning or indigestion, then you need more HCL. Keep adding an additional capsule with each meal until you get heartburn or irritation.
• On your next meal after irritation was achieved, take one capsule less than the amount that caused the irritation—this will be your maintenance dose.
• Whenever you have a meal of mostly carbohydrates – no animal or dairy protein –take only one-third to half of your full dose.

Initially the goal is to supply the body with enough HCL to improve digestive function.  If digestive function is improved then nutrient uptake is better. If nutrient uptake is improved, then the body is more likely to increase its own production of HCL. The goal is to get your body to start producing more HCL so that you can reduce or stop taking HCL supplementation. (See “Ways to Increase Stomach Acid Production”) As your body’s normal acid production resumes, you will again experience the irritation that helped you identify the proper dose. When this irritation recurs, reduce your dose by one capsule with each meal until the irritation is no longer recurring.

Back to Articles

Rebounding is one of the most efficient and all round beneficial exercises. It provides a means of incorporating a low impact stress aerobic exercise program along with extraordinary lymphatic and cellular detoxification. If done properly, every major muscle in the body is worked with extremely low impact to the knees and spine and every cell of the body is stimulated.

The body experiences three forces when rebounding – gravity, acceleration, and deceleration. At the top of the bounce the body becomes weightless and then at the bottom of the bounce you experience 1.5 times the force of gravity that exercises every cell in the body and stimulates the drainage of the lymphatic system. There is not a pump like the heart to circulate the lymph so if we don’t move enough, toxins build up and poison the cells. The action of bouncing on a rebounder provides one of the best ways to move the lymphatic fluid and therefore increase the effectiveness of the immune system.

Rebounding as exercise has been studied by NASA and was found to be 68% more oxygen efficient than other forms of exercise. Therefore, you can exercise quite vigorously on a rebounder without feeling as out of breath as you would with another exercise but still gain the same benefits you would from jogging or running. This is good news for people who are limited in the types of exercise they can do because of health reasons.

Jumping for Health by Dr. Morton Walker and The Miracles of Rebound Exercise by Albert Carter provide the following advantages of regular rebounding:

1. It provides an increased G-force (gravitational load), which strengthens the musculoskeletal systems.
2. It protects the joints from the chronic stress that is created by exercising on hard surfaces.
3. Rebounding is 68% more efficient than jogging (as noted by NASA in a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.)
4. It increases capacity for respiration.
5. It circulates more oxygen to the tissues.
6. It establishes a better equilibrium between the oxygen required by the tissues and the oxygen made available.
7. It aids lymphatic circulation by stimulating the millions of one-way valves in the lymphatic system.
8. It tends to reduce the height to which the arterial pressures rise during exertion.
9. It lessens the time during which blood pressure remains abnormal after severe activity.
10. It assists in the rehabilitation of a heart problem.
11. It increases the functional activity of the red bone marrow in the production of red blood cells.
12. It improves resting metabolic rate so that more calories are burned for hours after exercise.
13. It causes muscles to perform work in moving fluids through the body to lighten the heart's load.
14. It decreases the volume of blood pooling in the veins of the cardiovascular system preventing chronic edema.
15. It encourages collateral circulation by increasing the capillary count in the muscles and decreasing the distance between the capillaries and the target cells.
16. It strengthens the heart and other muscles in the body so that they work more efficiently.
17. It allows the resting heart to beat less often.
18. It lowers circulating cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
19. It lowers low-density lipoprotein (bad) and increases high-density lipoprotein (good) within the blood holding off the incidence of coronary artery disease.
20. It promotes tissue repair and it helps manage body composition and improves muscle-to-fat ratio.
21. It increases the mitochondria count within the muscle cells, essential for endurance.
22. It adds to the alkaline reserve of the body, which may be of significance in an emergency requiring prolonged effort.
23. Rebounding helps to reduce body fat; firms arms, legs, thighs, abdomen, and hips; increases agility; strengthens muscles overall; provides an aerobic effect for the heart.
24. Rebounding stimulates healing and cleansing and is perfect for those that are immune compromised. Rebound author and lecturer Linda Brooks states that rebounding two minutes every hour "is an ideal protocol for defense against cancer. In just two minutes the entire lymphatic system is flushed," and the white blood cell count nearly triples, providing a greater defense system to destroy cancer cells.
25. Rebounding can be performed year round indoors or outdoors rain or shine. The rebounder can be stored as a fold up rebounder for easy access and convenience.
26. The rebounder can provide years of daily exercise. It is convenient for those that are homebound, unable to jog, or access a gym. It is readily portable (folds and fits into its own travel case) and stores neatly out of the way. Great for apartment, home, trailer dwellers or travelers.
27. You can run several miles in place while rehearsing a speech, singing, talking on the phone, watching T.V., listening to music, or while jumping outdoors in the sun.

You may want to give your Nilfisk vacuum cleaner a name because it will become your good friend! It is built to last and will live a long time. You may even be able to pass it down to your children!

Routine vacuuming of your house will continually improve your air quality. Studies have shown that some of the most dangerous pollutants ride on dust and your Nilfisk will gobble it right up never to be seen again. Ideally, some time soon after you get your Nilfisk HEPA vacuum you will be able to dive in and do a very deep clean – see “A Heavy Duty Clean-Up Job” and maybe every six months do the mini version – see “A Basic Deep Clean." At the very least, think about taking the challenge below.

Take the challenge

A deep clean of the bedroom can make a world of difference in the air quality. Since it is so important to reduce the chemical load on the body at night when sleeping so that rejuvenation and repair can take place instead of detoxification, consider at least doing a heavy duty deep clean of the bedrooms. See “A Heavy Duty Clean-Up Job.” If there is anyone that is not well in the home, make his or her bedroom the first priority. 

Why is dust such a big deal?

SVOC’s (Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds) ride on dust and do not have an odor.  SVOC’s from plasticizers, biocides, pesticides, flame-retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are very dangerous and are an insidious under miner of health. Many people live in homes with high levels of these SVOC’s unaware of their presence since there is no odor. An indication that SVOC’s may be a problem is the inability to heal from chronic illness, chemical and EMF injury even after extensive therapies and measures. Dust testing that can reveal the SVOC’s present in the home is available and can therefore alert the owner so that appropriate action and/or remediation measures may be taken. Thankfully, thorough HEPA vacuuming will reduce your exposure to SVOC’s immediately. If you have a contamination issue, very frequent vacuuming is recommended.  Ideally, discovery of the sources of the SVOC’s through dust testing is important so that they can be removed or encapsulated. 

Basic HEPA vacuuming of the entire house

HEPA vacuuming is actually the first step in a deep clean and it will absolutely make a big difference in your air quality. Vacuum as much as you can. If you can’t do the ceilings and walls, then just do the floor and all the items in the room. If you can’t do your entire house, please do the bedrooms as your first priority.

Thorough HEPA vacuuming procedure

• In each room, starting with the ceiling and moving down to walls and floors, HEPA vacuum all horizontal and vertical surfaces using careful, overlapping strokes by 30%.
• HEPA vacuum all personal items and furnishings, including all soft goods, draperies, etc.  Go slowly and thoroughly, and do not skip over any areas or items, no matter how small.
• HEPA vacuum all books – all sides.
• Upholstered furniture, like the couch, is a magnet for dust and dirt. Vacuum the surfaces of your upholstery. Pull the cushions off and clean under the cushions. It is also good to take the cushions and pillows outside and beat the dust out of them. 

Note: If you have carpet, then a thorough vacuuming of the carpet is recommended several times a week since the carpet acts as a sink for pollutants in the home.

Back to Articles

BY MARILEE NELSON

Importance of HCL

Having enough HCL (hydrochloric acid or stomach acid) is critical for good digestion and immune health. Without adequate HCL food is incompletely digested and failure of assimilation occurs so that we become vitamin and especially mineral deficient. When a person starts to eat the stomach is stimulated to start producing HCL. The HCL activates the chief cells in the middle portion of the stomach to start secreting a protein-digesting enzyme known as pepsinogen. Pepsinogen requires the presence of hydrochloric acid in order to begin digesting protein. The major role of HCL is to activate pepsinogen (not digest food), which now becomes known as pepsin. Stomach acid gradually increases during a meal. When the stomach acid gets high enough, which normally takes about 20-30 minutes after eating, it neutralizes enzymes from the mouth, helps to kill bacteria, parasites, viruses that enter with the food, carbohydrate digestion is reduced, and protein digestion starts. There are many consequences when HCL production is not adequate. See “Do You Have Enough Stomach Acid?”

Causes of Low Hydrochloric Acid

• Eating when upset. Hydrochloric acid secretion may be completely inhibited by stress, emotion, or worry. It is the low-grade, long-term, emotionally oriented life stress that is more the culprit here. NOTE: Intense stress caused by high stress situations or desire for high achievement is associated more with HCL over (hyper) secretion and peptic ulcer disease (at least initially). As the stress continues, the body is exhausted and HCL production is no longer adequate.
• Eating a nutrient deficient diet of processed and fast foods
• Lack of sufficient minerals in the daily diet
• Excess carbohydrate consumption and poor food combining
• Zinc deficiency
• B vitamin deficiency especially thiamine deficiency
• Refined sugar. Refined sugar depletes minerals. Replace mineral-depleting refined sugar and sweeteners with maple syrup, honey, or stevia.
• Chronic illness
• Drinking ice water with meals
• Age. As you get older, stomach acid production tends to decrease especially if there is any chronic illness.
• Anti-acid use
• Taking prescription and over the counter drugs that suppress HCL production either directly or indirectly.
• Candida

Increasing Stomach Acid Production

Make sure that when you eat you are relaxed and at peace. Avoid eating when upset as emotional upset can stop the production of HCL.

Do The Relaxation Response twice a day, if possible before breakfast and dinner. The Relaxation Response counters stress.

Eat unpasteurized unheated salt-free sauerkraut. Sauerkraut helps to raise stomach acid "if" it is too low, and it lowers stomach acid "if" it is too high. Eating 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sauerkraut with meals is very helpful to the digestive system. I recommend making your own or buying Rejuvenative Foods.

Eat wholesome real foods – See link to Dietary Priorities

Use good quality sea salt- stimulates stomach acid production. See Premier Pink Salt.

Zinc is critical for the production of HCL. Increase zinc intake through whole foods. Pumpkin seeds are the most concentrated non-meat food source of zinc. Most foods that are high in zinc are animal foods such as beef, lamb, crabmeat, turkey, chicken, lobster, clams and salmon. Zinc food sources aside from meats are dairy products such as yogurt, kefir. and cheese, yeast, peanuts, beans, wholegrain cereals, brown rice, whole wheat bread, and potatoes. Vitamin C, E, B6, and minerals such as magnesium can increase zinc absorption in the body. So adding wholefood supplements will help assimilation.

Take a wholefood superfood multi vitamins to help restore the vitamins and minerals that are needed for HCL production – especially B vitamins – niacin, thiamine, pyridoxal-5-phosphate (the active form of vitamin B6) - See Max Stress B

Eliminate processed foods, genetically modified foods, fast foods, additives, dyes, artificial flavorings, etc. that are devoid of nutrition.

Eliminate white flour, refined sugars, and artificial sweeteners.

Use food combining to take pressure off digestive system. Do not eat proteins and carbohydrates/starches together. Carbohydrates reduce the production of HCL – protein requires HCL to be digested. Eat proteins with low starchy vegetables. Eat starches/carbohydrates with vegetables. Eat fruit alone – not with meals.

Avoid overeating.

Chew foods thoroughly to stimulate digestive enzymes in the mouth, and to break up foods into the smallest particles possible for better digestion.

Try to eat three to four hours before bedtime. If you eat too late the body struggles to complete the digestive process during the time it is naturally trying to rest.

Don't lie down immediately after eating. If you must lie down, prop yourself up with pillows so that head and upper torso are raised to aid the digestion.

Do not drink ice water with meals as it inhibits production of stomach acid.

Drink ginger tea to increase production of HCL.

Drink dandelion root tea (Eden Yansen Dandelion Root Concentrate available from Gold Mine – 1-800-475-3663 tea to increase production of HCL.)

Eat dandelion greens with meals in soups or as greens to increase production of HCL.
Take juice of half a lemon, diluted with warm water (or totally undiluted) at the beginning of each meal.

Drink 4 ounces freshly juiced cabbage juice.

To aid the body in digesting animal protein soak meats in acidic mediums such as lemon or lime juice, tomato juice, apple cider vinegar, etc. Marinating meats is a good way to pre-digest or pre-cook them.

Always eat good fats when you eat proteins. Protein stimulates stomach acid production, and protein and fats stimulate the gall bladder to dump bile into the small intestines. Good fats also are needed by the liver in order to produce bile.

Use spices in cooking to stimulate stomach acid production and appetite.

Avoid snacking in between meals in order to allow time for your body to digest foods properly.

Take live-source hydrochloric acid supplement. We want to restore the body’s ability to produce its own HCL, but until this occurs take Betaine HCL. See “Do You Have Enough Stomach Acid?” NOTE: If you are taking medications consult with your physician to make sure that Betaine hydrochloride supplements will not cause adverse reactions in tandem with certain medications.

Back to Articles

The body uses the kidneys, lungs, bowel and skin to help detoxify what is ingested or breathed. If the kidneys, lungs and/or bowel are stressed, and/or if a person is ill, the skin can be used to help take a load off of these organs and can help immensely in the healing process.

The skin is the largest eliminative organ of the body, in fact, it is sometimes called the third kidney. Optimizing the skin as an organ of elimination is an inexpensive way to enhance health and restore vitality and well-being.

Good elimination is ESSENTIAL to good health.

Your skin eliminates a couple of pounds of material daily. In fact, perspiration has basically the same composition as diluted urine.

Your skin is so important as an organ of elimination that if your skin is not carrying out normal elimination, your lungs, bowel, and kidneys will function poorly. Conversely, anything you can do to improve skin function will improve the activity of your lungs, colon, and kidneys.

In addition, greater elimination through your skin will literally improve the function of every other organ in your body. The skin even exerts an influence over the acid-alkaline balance of your system.

Your skin is the barrier separating the internal environment with which you come in contact. Your skin functions as a protective organ, yet you must take some care in protecting your skin since it absorbs material very readily. In an experiment, a man’s feet were placed in baking soda and within one minute, baking soda could be detected in his urine.

Treating your skin is one of the finest, fastest, simplest, most effective, and least expensive means available to improve your health and vitality. The greatest expense incurred in skin treatment is simply purchasing a washcloth and/or a natural, vegetable fiber brush with a handle.

Make sure the bristles are reasonably soft. (Ask at your health food or body care/herb store to help you find an appropriate brush. Whole Foods sometimes carries a Yerba Prima or Bernard Jensen skin brush, which works well.) You are now ready to begin.

The following are two techniques of skin brushing. If you are ambitious or have a serious illness you can do both methods or alternate methods.

Dry Skin Brushing

If skin brushing is new to you, it literally means to scrub down your skin each morning, first thing, while your skin is still dry. Brush down your entire body from head to toe as if your brush were a bar of soap. Use a variety of motions, including circular motions.

Be careful at first, since your skin will more than likely be in poor condition and overly sensitive. Skin brushing removes the top layer of dead skin cells. It stimulates the oil-secreting glands, moisturizes your skin, and can often clear up a dry skin condition in one week.

It stimulates the circulation, invigorates and “wakes you up.” Over the long haul, it will help your kidneys, bowel, lungs, and blood. A couple of weeks of skin brushing brings an increase in energy level and an improved feeling of general well-being.

There is a definite relationship between your skin and bronchial or mucus problems, stomach and bowel problems, and kidney problems. Skin brushing actually removes large quantities of waste material that would have to be carried by your blood for removal through the bowel or kidneys.

So, skin brushing actually acts as a blood purifier.

Skin brushing can also be a good muscular workout if you take the time to bend and reach all parts of your body. And exercising will bring more toxins to the skin level for removal by skin brushing.

Skin brushing will help you endure weather conditions more easily. You will need fewer visits to the doctor because you will be aiding your body’s elimination. Your complexion will improve--often dramatically.

If you suffer chronic fatigue, skin brushing will help. And if you’re overweight, skin brushing helps to maintain muscle activity of the skin allowing for less loose skin with weight loss.

Even if your problem is nervousness, this technique will help to stabilize the nervous system.

How to Dry Skin Brush

1. 
   
   1. Using your right hand, gently slide the brush along your right jaw line starting from your earlobe to the underside of your chin 7 times .
   2. Place the brush at the hairline on your neck and gently pull around the right side of your neck to the Adam’s apple 7 times.
   3. Hold the brush with your right hand at the bottom of your neck (where it joins the top of your back) and bring it around your neck to the right and down along your right collar bone and end up between your collar bones 7 times.
   4. Stroke your breastbone in a circular fashion 7 times to stimulate the thymus gland. Carefully brush the right breast in a circular motion 7 times. Do steps 1a,b, and c on your left side holding the brush with your left hand.
2. To stimulate the pituitary gland, hold the brush on the back of your head near the base of your neck and rock the brush up and down, then side to side, both 14 times.
3. Hold the brush in your left armpit with your right hand and rotate it counterclockwise 7 times, then clockwise 7 times. Repeat on your right armpit with your left hand.
4. Brush upward 7 times from your upper right thigh to your right armpit. Repeat process on your left side.
5. Brush back and forth over the navel and around your waistline 14 times. (like passing a basketball behind your back)
6. Brush in a circular motion over your navel, counter-clockwise 7 times, then clockwise 7 times. Finish brushing the front of your body in any direction starting at the bottom and brushing all the way up 14 times. Very little pressure needs to be applied to the genitals and breasts because the skin is sensitive.
7. Brush up and down your spine from the base of your neck and down as far as you can 14 times. Finish your upper back by stroking it around toward your sides.
8. Brush your spine from tailbone up as high as you can reach 14 times, holding the brush with two hands or with the detachable wooden handle. Finish your lower back by stroking it around toward your sides.
9. Brush the entire area of the buttocks 7 times. Brushing the buttocks and thighs helps rid them of cellulite.
10. Hold the brush in the right groin with both hands and rotate it 7 times counter-clockwise, then 7 times clockwise. Repeat with the left groin.
11. 
    
    1. Brush from right knee to right hip 7 times. Work all the way around your leg continuing to brush upwards (towards the heart).
    2. Brush up from right ankle to right knee and work all the way around your leg, brushing up towards your heart. This improves blood circulation, firms skin and helps reduce cellulite.
    3. Brush around your right ankle 7 times.
    4. Brush back and forth over the top of your right foot from toes to ankle.
    5. Brush across your right toes on top and underneath 7 times.
    6. Brush the bottom of your right foot heel to toe 7 times.
    7. Repeat 11 a-f for the left leg and foot.
12. 
    
    1. Brushing upward from right elbow to your armpit and shoulder, cover that entire area 7 times.
    2. Brush from your right wrist to the elbow in the same manner 7 times.
    3. Repeat 12 a and b for left arm.
13. 
    
    1. Lightly brush the webbing (or junction) between your left thumb and index or pointer finger on the palm side 14 times, then on the non-palm side 14 times.
    2. Brush your left palm from wrist to fingertips and back 7 times.
    3. Brush the back of your left hand the same way 7 times.
    4. Brush each left hand finger individually back and forth 7 times on the areas that have not been brushed yet.
    5. Repeat 13 a – d for your right hand.

Anyone can utilize skin brushing. In fact, babies often need a modified form of skin stimulation. If your baby is having trouble gaining weight or is not growing as fast as should be expected (and other probable causes have been exhausted), consider the skin. Parents are notorious for wrapping up their babies in lots of clothes and blankets to keep them warm. But other than the precautions your doctor or midwife will advise for the early newborn days, a normal, full-term baby’s skin needs invigorating exposure and stimulation, just as adult skin does. If your baby is having trouble with weight gain or overall growth, take a look into the infant’s eyes. If you see a dark circle around the edge of the iris (colored portion of the eye), try stimulating your baby’s skin. Simply expose baby’s skin to clean, fresh air and rub the skin gently but briskly (with your hands, not with a brush). This will increase circulation and will remove debris and dead skin cells. A couple minutes each day is sufficient. Judge your results by measuring weight gain and watching for improvements in the eyes.

Skin Brushing with Hot/Damp Towel

Use the following technique routinely to induce deeper sleep or when body is highly toxic or after exposures.

A daily body rub or scrub stimulates good circulation which helps the body to discharge toxins. If too tight the body can’t discharge toxins easily. If we open up bowels and skin to discharge then pressure is taken off the detoxification organs. For optimum results there needs to be both attraction (based on differences) and communication (based on similarity). The attraction based on differences is the damp cloth and the dry skin. The communication is based on the principle of like resonates with like – drawing of toxins are increased because of the communication between the water in the basin together with the toxins on the cloth. As the cloth is used to scrub the body, then dipped back in clean water the water becomes dirty from toxins in the skin. As the water becomes soiled and cloth is dipped in that water there is more attraction to toxins in the body. There is communication between like – the toxins in damp rag communicate with the toxins in the body. Doing the Body Rub before bed helps you sleep better, helps bone metabolism, and is good for blood pressure. The Body Rub penetrates more deeply with a soft cloth than a rough one. Cover entire body in orderly manner, feet, legs, hands, arms, torso. It takes 10-15 minutes to do it well. The object is to make your skin red. If your skin does not get red in the beginning, it will over time as your condition improves. The skin scrub deeply cleans your skin and activates circulation and energy. This can be made even more effective by grating a handful of ginger into a pot of water and simmering it for 15 minutes – do not boil – and then dipping skin scrubbing towel in hot ginger water.

How to Do A Body Scrub

1. Fill sink or container – large bowl with hot water or hot ginger water. This technique is easier if done in the shower or bathtub before or after showering or bathing.
2. Take a soft cotton cloth and dip in the hot water.
3. Wring cloth out in container and rub all over skin. The soft cotton penetrates and absorbs toxins.
4. As dip cloth back in hot water, some of the toxins are left in the basin. As the level of toxins left in the water increase the more the attraction between the cloth and toxins in the body.
5. Start with the left foot – all individual toes, left ankle, then right foot – all individual toes, then right ankle, then left leg, right leg, lower torso, upper torso, armpits, left arm, left wrist, left hand and individual fingers, right arm, right wrist, right hand and fingers, neck, and head.
6. Pay special attention to the wrists, fingers, ankles, toes, armpits, bottom of feet, coccyx, and central line.
7. Finish with a repeat of only the left foot.
8. This charges the meridians. Should be separate from bath or shower. Can be done before or after shower. After shower – the skin is more open.
9. Do body rub twice a day. Can increase to three times a day.

Spring-cleaning is a tradition that is always very satisfying in the end. It feels good to have a clean, organized house. What better time to do a super spring clean that will greatly improve the air quality of your home and really make a difference. This basic deep clean should ideally be done sometime after you have completed the heavy-duty version, especially if you suspect that your house has some serious contamination  - see “A Heavy Duty Clean-Up Job.”

The basic deep clean protocol is the heavy-duty clean minus the need for containment of rooms, exhaust fans, and air purifiers. This process can be taken incrementally and in workable steps over time, one room at a time, or it can be taken on all at once like a spring-cleaning project. If you are not yet ready for this and it just seems like too much then please see “Using Your HEPA Vacuum” as a first step and to read why dust is such a big deal.  

What does a basic deep clean consist of?

• The use of a true DOP rated HEPA filtered vacuuming equipment such as a Nilfisk. This is imperative for a deep cleaning protocol, as you want your air to be cleaner when you finish vacuuming, not more contaminated. See "HEPA Vacuum 101."   
• A more precise approach to remove dust and other microscopic particles from surfaces
• The use of non-toxic cleaning agents

Equipment and Supplies

(Read all procedures before commencing cleanup)

• Abatement Level HEPA vacuum – The HEPA vacuum is of critical importance because contaminants such as flame-retardants, pesticides, biocides, and plasticizers bind to dust particles. Three Branches recommends the Nilfisk GM 80.
• Branch Basics - A plant based enzymatic formula that is human safe (which means it wouldn’t harm you if you drank it) made from foods that you normally eat everyday.  Branch Basics is a degreaser that breaks down hydrocarbons, chlorinated pesticides such as chlordane, and chemicals. It kills and disinfects viruses and bacteria - salmonella and e coli, etc.   
• Distilled Water – Use distilled water for washing down walls and ceilings if water supply has a high mineral content that would affect paint. Many people do not need to use distilled water as using water from home water supply does not discolor the wall.  Test home water supply on area of wall to determine if spotting occurs.
• Clean soft cloths - Use as many as necessary per the procedure below according to size and number of rooms. Include enough cloths for use using an 8-sided cloth wipe down procedure. Get 48 Terry Utility Towels for $13.00 from Costco or Home Depot. Wal-Mart also carries these towels in a smaller size.   

Note: Do not use sponges for cleaning any part of the home. Most sponges in the U.S. are impregnated with a synthetic disinfectant – usually Triclosan, which has been registered as a pesticide with the EPA and has been shown to cause cancer and growth problems in children.

Preliminary Procedures

Step 1 – If you haven’t already implemented “Reducing Immune Stress: Where Do I Start?” then this is a good time. This is of paramount importance and implementation of it will immediately improve the air quality in your home greatly. I have had numerous clients with asthma clean up their environment as described in that article and their symptoms either went away or were greatly reduced. In addition, clients with a long-term history of migraines and headaches have been freed from that misery, depression has lifted, sinus congestion has cleared, etc. (Note: We were also working on dietary changes as well.)

Step 2 – Go through each room and gather up anything you don’t use including clothes that you don’t wear anymore. Either throw away or give to charity.

Step 3 – Take the cleanup room by room. If you have a multiple story home, start on the top floor and go room by room. If there is a common area on the floor, start with that. After you finish one floor, go down to the next floor and so on until the basement, if you have one. That would be the last level you will clean.

Step 4 – Test cleaning solution on surfaces. Before you start in a room you want to make sure that the cleaning solution will not damage the surface. It is very important that you take a small portion of the surface and apply agent to see if streaking or any other undesirable outcome results. Wipe an area in the most inconspicuous area possible. Let it dry, stand back and see if there is any problem. This is normally not an issue, but do not skip this step.

Step 5 – In the basic deep cleaning protocol, in contrast to the “Heavy Duty Clean-Up Job,” we do not set up containment, do not use air purifiers, and do not exhaust the room with fans. In the heavy duty deep clean we set up containment and exhaust because of the potential for stirring up very toxic dust. If the heavy duty deep clean has already been done, then containment, air purification, and exhaust fans are not necessary. Carpet cleaning is not part of this protocol, but can be added if desired. See “Carpet Cleaning, Encapsulation, and Sealing.”

Preparing and Testing Cleaning Solutions

For this deep clean, Branch Basics is chosen because of its versatility. You will need to make two solutions of Branch Basics: ½ t. Branch Basics per gallon of water and 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics. It helps to put this in a spray bottle. Test sample area for compatibility with solution.

Important Note: Do not use Branch Basics on any manufactured wood products, plywood, or OSB. The Branch Basics will draw out the formaldehyde.

Walls and Ceilings

• Use a very dilute solution of Branch Basics on the ceilings and the walls. Use ½ teaspoon Branch Basics per gallon of water (use distilled water if needed) on walls and ceiling. Test the solution on a small inconspicuous area of a wall.  Dip the cleaning cloth in the Branch Basics solution, clean and wipe the surface. This is done to determine if paint will stand up to the solution. 
• Test on all surfaces to which solution will be applied. All colors of paints should be tested. There is usually no problem with the Branch Basics, but it is always important to test each surface.

Floors

• Test wood floors with the same very dilute solution used on walls and ceiling.
• No need to test solution on glazed ceramic tile. Use Branch Basics 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics.  No need for distilled water on ceramic tile.
• No need to test solution on vinyl/linoleum floors. Use Branch Basics 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics. No need for distilled water on vinyl/linoleum floors.
• Carpet – see “Carpet Cleaning, Encapsulation, and Sealing.”

Other materials

• Test solutions on all materials to be cleaned
• On all solid non-porous materials wipe down using a Branch Basics 5 parts water to 1 part water solution. 

Basic Deep Cleaning Procedure

General Requirements and Summary

Systematically deep clean each room on a room-by-room basis starting on the top floor if multi leveled by first HEPA vacuuming all surfaces in the room and second, wipe down with Branch Basics.

Step 1: HEPA Vacuum

• Starting with ceiling and moving down to walls and floors, HEPA vacuum all horizontal and vertical surfaces using careful, overlapping strokes by 30%.
•  HEPA vacuum all personal items and furnishings, including all soft goods and draperies. Go slowly and thoroughly and do not skip over any areas or items, no matter how small.
• HEPA vacuum all books – all sides.
• Upholstered furniture like the couch is a magnet for dust and dirt. Vacuum the surfaces of your upholstery. Pull the cushions off and clean under the cushions. It is also good to take cushions outside and beat the dust out of them. 

Step 2: Branch Basics Wipe Down

• After testing all surfaces, use Branch Basics solution (1/2 teaspoon to one gallon of distilled water if necessary.)
• Thoroughly wipe all horizontal and vertical hard surfaces, starting with ceiling, then walls, then floors. Use clean cloths folded into 8 sections or sides that are dampened with Branch Basics solution. Wipe down all surfaces using one stroke per wipe - overlap strokes by 30%. Do not reuse cloths after last side is used.
• Do not skip over any areas or items no matter how small. All wiping movements should, like the vacuuming, be done with parallel and overlapping passes.  

YOUR’E DONE!!!!!

Back to Articles

Ideally, when you start to make changes to improve your home’s air quality, a heavy duty deep clean should be done. Basically, that means you will thoroughly clean every surface in your home from ceilings and walls to books, upholstered furniture, stuffed animals, toys, and any small items around the home. It can be overwhelming to think of facing perhaps years of accumulated dust, but the effort will be well worth it. A clean environment is always uplifting, but with this supercharged cleaning method you will reap life-changing benefits.  

This heavy-duty version should definitely be used if you suspect that your house has some type of serious contamination (unfortunately many homes do – testing can be done to verify) or if you just want to do a very thorough cleaning job. Don’t be surprised at the steps that are recommended, as it is serious business to contend with the chemicals that have been brought into the house on your shoes and have been used in the house for years. They incorporate into the walls, furnishings, and flooring, especially carpet. The process can be taken incrementally room-by-room and in workable steps over time (every room you conquer will make a difference) or it can be taken on with vigor. If you read this and it just seems like too much then see “A Basic Deep Clean” or if you want to get started without a lot of preparation see “Using Your HEPA Vacuum.” In this article, also note the importance of dust.

Important Note

Any time you clean there is the potential that chemicals will be released into the air and this can cause acute symptoms. That is the reason many people say that they don’t feel well after they have cleaned. This is especially true if there is a lot of contamination in the home and the right cleaning tools are not used. The materials and tools recommended and instructions below are designed to help protect the person who cleans as well as other occupants of the house. There is a specific order as well as particular techniques that should be followed to ensure safety. It is especially important to follow these steps if children or chronically ill people live in the home. 

Equipment and Supplies

(Read all procedures before commencing cleanup)

• Abatement Level HEPA vacuum – The HEPA vacuum is of critical importance because contaminants such as flame-retardants, pesticides, biocides, and plasticizers bind to dust particles.  Three Branches recommends the Nilfisk.
• Fans to Create Negative Pressure – see Containment Procedure below.
• Air Purifier – Optional – may not need
• Branch Basics - A plant based enzymatic formula that is human safe (which means it wouldn’t harm you if you drank it) made from foods that you normally eat everyday.  Branch Basics is a degreaser that breaks down hydrocarbons, chlorinated pesticides such as chlordane, and chemicals. It kills and disinfects viruses and bacteria - salmonella and e coli, etc.   
• Distilled Water – Use distilled water for washing down walls and ceilings if water supply has a high mineral content that would affect paint. Many people do not need to use distilled water as using water from home water supply does not discolor the wall.  Test home water supply on area of wall to determine if spotting occurs.
• BOC (Biological Odor Control) – by Medina (Contact Stewart Franke – 888-249-1124 to order by phone if needed.) BOC is odorless, colorless and looks exactly like water. BOC neutralizes hydrocarbons, certain pesticides and other chemicals. BOC is made up of algae (biological base of all their products).
• Clean soft cloths - Use as many as necessary per the procedure below according to size and number of rooms. Include enough cloths for use using an 8-sided cloth wipe down procedure. Get 48 Terry Utility Towels for $13.00 from Costco or Home Depot. Wal-Mart also carries these towels in a smaller size.   

Note: Do not use sponges for cleaning any part of the home. Most sponges in the U.S. are impregnated with a synthetic disinfectant – usually Triclosan, which has been registered as a pesticide with the EPA and has been shown to cause cancer and growth problems in children.

LET’S GET STARTED WITH PRELIMINARY PROCEDURES!

Step 1 – If you haven’t already implemented “Reducing Immune Stress: Where Do I Start?” then this is a good time. This is of paramount importance and implementation of it will immediately improve the air quality in your home greatly. I have had numerous clients with asthma clean up their environment as described in that article and their symptoms either went away or were greatly reduced. In addition, clients with a long-term history of migraines and headaches have been freed from that misery, depression has lifted, sinus congestion has cleared, etc. (Note: We were also working on dietary changes as well.)

Step 2 – Go through each room and gather up anything you don’t use including clothes that you don’t wear anymore. Either throw away or give to charity.

Step 3 – Take the cleanup room by room. If you have a multiple story home, start on the top floor and go room by room. If there is a common area on the floor, start with that. After you finish one floor, go down to the next floor and so on until the basement, if you have one. That would be the last level you will clean.

Step 4 – Test cleaning solution on surfaces. Before you start in a room you want to make sure that the cleaning solution will not damage the surface. It is very important that you take a small portion of the surface and apply agent to see if streaking or any other undesirable outcome results. Wipe an area in the most inconspicuous area possible. Let it dry, stand back and see if there is any problem. This is normally not an issue, but do not skip this step. See Preparing and Testing Cleaning Solutions below.

Step 5 – Setting up containment. See Containment Procedure below

Preparing and Testing Cleaning Solutions

For this deep clean, Branch Basics is chosen because of its versatility. You will need to make two solutions of Branch Basics: ½ t. Branch Basics per gallon of water and 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics. It helps to put this in a spray bottle. Test sample area for compatibility with solution.

Important Note: Do not use Branch Basics on any manufactured wood products, plywood, or OSB. The Branch Basics will draw out the formaldehyde.

Walls and Ceilings

• Use a very dilute solution of Branch Basics on the ceilings and the walls. Use ½ teaspoon Branch Basics per gallon of water (use distilled water if needed) on walls and ceiling. Test the solution on a small inconspicuous area of a wall.  Dip the cleaning cloth in the Branch Basics solution, clean and wipe the surface. This is done to determine if paint will stand up to the solution. 
• Test on all surfaces to which solution will be applied. All colors of paints should be tested. There is usually no problem with the Branch Basics, but it is always important to test each surface.

Floors

• Test wood floors with the same very dilute solution used on walls and ceiling.
• No need to test solution on glazed ceramic tile. Use Branch Basics 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics.  No need for distilled water on ceramic tile.
• No need to test solution on vinyl/linoleum floors. Use Branch Basics 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics. No need for distilled water on vinyl/linoleum floors.
• Carpet – see “Carpet Cleaning, Encapsulation, and Sealing.”

Other materials

• Test solutions on all materials to be cleaned
• On all solid non-porous materials wipe down using a Branch Basics 5 parts water to 1 part water solution. 

Containment Procedure

The following procedure allows for the isolation of a space in order to prevent cross contamination between rooms. When a home is being deep cleaned, contaminated dust, semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC’s), and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) are generated as the result of the clean-up procedures. There are precautions to take that prevent the spreading of contaminants throughout the home and also in the air supply system. It is important to follow the instructions below in order not to contaminate or further contaminate the HVAC system and rooms that are not involved. Please note, however, the steps taken will need to be adjusted to suit particular circumstances.

Materials

 Vapor Barrier Options:

• Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil 1 ml thick– used for some applications such as covering HVAC grilles, etc. if desired.  
• Denny Foil  - available from Foust 1-800-225-9549 – used for some applications such as covering doorways. 
• Tu-Tuff 3 - from Stocate 262.279-6000 (has 4 feet wide rolls) or Shelter Supply 1-800-762-8399. Use for covering doorways or larger containment areas. Tu-Tuff 3 is a vapor barrier that doesn’t have the plasticizers (endocrine disruptors) that typical 6 ml. vapor barriers contain.  It is well tolerated by the chemically sensitive if they will be present in the home with the vapor barrier in place.   

Tape Options:

• Duct Tape
• Masking Tape
• Shurtape Aluminum Foil Tape - available in 2 and 3 inch width from Foust 1-800-225-9549.     
• Clean Release Painter’s Tape – (only available in 3 inch width) by Henkel Consumer Adhesives – 1-800-321-1733 www.duckproducts.com. Available from Wal-Mart or True Value Hardware. This same tape is also called Pro Painters Plus at Lowe’s. Do not get the 3-M Safe Release Tape #2090 that Home Depot sells, as this tape is toxic.   

Note:  If applicable, test tape in an inconspicuous area to make sure that it doesn’t pull paint off the wall. 

Setting Up Containment

Do the following procedure before starting decontamination deep cleaning: 

• Turn off the HVAC system (Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning System). The system should be off while procedure is being done. 
• Cover all air returns, supplies, and grilles in the room that you are cleaning. Use Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil to cover the air system.
• Secure the vapor barrier over the air returns and grilles with tape to keep dust and/or fumes out of HVAC system. Tape completely around perimeter of the vapor barrier so that no dust or fumes can penetrate. If using duct tape or aluminum foil tape, try to tape vapor barrier to metal of return or grille to avoid the chance of pulling paint off when removing tape.
• Isolate room being cleaned. Put vapor barrier of tape, Tu Tuff 3, or Denny Foil over OUTSIDE of doors to all rooms on the floor that is not being cleaned first. Be sure that the entire perimeter is fully taped so that no dust or fumes can penetrate barrier. Or you can cut Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap and cut strips to cover the perimeter of the door including the floor (entire door opening around the edges where air could penetrate should be covered.) Be careful with tape and paint. Tape first with painter’s tape then cover painter’s tape with aluminum foil tape to make a vapor barrier that can’t be penetrated.
• If in a multiple story home, start on the top floor and work your way down down. If there is a common room or hall that the rooms open up into, clean this area first. Put a vapor barrier of tape, Tu Tuff 3, Denny Foil, or Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap, as described above, over the doors that open up into the common area.
• Take equipment into room being cleaned – HEPA vacuum and cleaning solutions.
• A negative pressure in the room being cleaned should be maintained by the use of an exhaust fan in window if possible. (Fan options are listed below.) Fan must be pointing to the outside to draw air from inside the house to the outside. Open other windows in area not being cleaned. For instance if working in the one room, place fan (such as the Honeywell fan or box fan below) in a window in that room and open the windows in other rooms not being cleaned. The fan will draw the air out of the room that is being cleaned and will help keep the outgassing and particulates from going to other rooms in the house. In other words, do not put fans in the windows of your other rooms as this will draw the outgassing and particulates from the chemicals liberated during a deep clean throughout those rooms. Direct all air out of the window of the room being cleaned – not through other rooms.  Also, after finishing for the day, place a fan that will blow air across the room where cleaning has occurred in order to increase air circulation in the room. This will increase the rate of clearing released chemicals. (Note: Bed Bath and Beyond carries Vornado Fans 1-800-462-3966 (Bed Bath and Beyond) which are very powerful for the price. Leave on all night long to facilitate drying out and or use fan of own choosing.)
• If there are no windows in the room, then use an air purifier inside the room while cleaning if possible.
• When inside the room you are ready to clean, put a vapor barrier of tape, Tu Tuff 3, Denny Foil, or Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap over the INSIDE of door. Follow the same guidelines as used for the outside of the other doors to ensure that the entire perimeter is fully taped so no dust or fumes can exit the room.
• When you finish a room, place a barrier on the outside of the door to protect the cleaned room until other rooms on the floor are completed.

 

Fan Options

• Box Fan – This is the least expensive option. Use a box fan in window of room being cleaned. Cut cardboard to fit in the open space of window not occupied by the box fan. Tape cardboard to window and fan to cover opening that is not covered by the box fan. This way air is only being drawn out through the fan.
• Honeywell Window Fans (Honeywell HW628 Window Mount Fan) fits in windows and can be used to create a negative pressure in the room being cleaned. 
• Twin Window Fan with Accutemp Digital Control by Holmes 1-800-546-5637. Holmes offers over 15 models. Holmes window fans come available in three distinct styles; Twin, Streamline, and Power. Window fans offer a space-saving option and can conveniently draw in fresh cool air from outside or blow warm air out from within. The window fans are available with a range of features and innovations and come with slider-safe panels that allow the fan to fit virtually any window.

Heavy Duty Cleaning Procedure

Step 1: Clean the Carpet

• If you have carpet see “Carpet Cleaning, Encapsulation, and Sealing”

Step 2: HEPA Vacuum

• Starting with ceiling and moving down to walls and floors, HEPA vacuum all horizontal and vertical surfaces using careful, overlapping strokes by 30%.
•  HEPA vacuum all personal items and furnishings, including all soft goods and draperies. Go slowly and thoroughly and do not skip over any areas or items, no matter how small.
• HEPA vacuum all books – all sides.
• Upholstered furniture like the couch is a magnet for dust and dirt. Vacuum the surfaces of your upholstery. Pull the cushions off and clean under the cushions. It is also good to take cushions outside and beat the dust out of them. 

Step 3: Branch Basics Wipe Down

• After testing all surfaces, use Branch Basics solution (1/2 teaspoon to one gallon of distilled water if necessary.)
• Thoroughly wipe all horizontal and vertical hard surfaces, starting with ceiling, then walls, then floors. Use clean cloths folded into 8 sections or sides that are dampened with Branch Basics solution. Wipe down all surfaces using one stroke per wipe - overlap strokes by 30%. Do not reuse cloths after last side is used.
• Do not skip over any areas or items no matter how small. All wiping movements should, like the vacuuming, be done with parallel and overlapping passes.  

Step 4:  – BOC Treatment

• After room is completed and air purifier or exhaust fan is turned off, close windows and mist the air in the room with undiluted BOC. Use a spray bottle or a pump sprayer to apply.
• Spray BOC into the air to let it fall on all surfaces to neutralize any remaining chemicals in the air. 
• Let BOC sit for 30 minutes in closed room.
• After 30 minutes open up windows and turn on exhaust fans in room to circulate the air until fully cleared.

Step 5:  Ventilate

• Ventilate area completely. Use fans and air out until clear. 

Step 6: Containment on Completed Rooms

• When treatment is completed in a room, put vapor barrier of tape, Tu Tuff 3, Denny Foil, or Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap over the outside of the door to the room that has just been cleaned. Follow the procedure given above in Setting Up Containment.
• When all rooms are complete, the barriers can come down.

Back to Articles

Sadly, many people are wearing clothing that has been washed with toxic laundry soaps and fabric softeners.  After repeated washings our clothes become incorporated with the chemicals and dyes from the detergents. Since toxins can enter the body not only by inhalation through the respiratory tract, but also by absorption through the skin our bodies receive a double dose from these scented toxic laundry products. The clothing appears white and bright because of the chemical whiteners, yet they are a toxic waste by-product and a menace to our health. The synthetic fragrances may seem pleasant, but they are synthetic and neurotoxic. Most people don’t get sick immediately by wearing the garments, but the absorption of these chemicals/metals consistently over the long term presents a potential for immune system depression and illness.

To detoxify clothing and sheets that have been washed in conventional toxic detergents*, a detoxification procedure is necessary. Sleeping on sheets or wearing clothes that have been washed in conventional detergents contribute to the chemical load that the body has to detoxify. This is especially an issue when sleeping because at night when the immune system is supposed to rest and repair, it instead has to use its energy to detoxify chemicals from the Bedding & Mattresses and pajamas. The kidneys and liver have to work harder through the night instead of rejuvenate and repair. It may take several treatments to remove detergent residues especially if fabric softeners have been used. If clothes are contaminated with mold or pesticides, a more extensive procedure is needed.

Possible Materials Needed

• Baking Soda – available at grocery stores; can be used as a boost to other soaps
• 20 Mule Team Borax – available at grocery stores; can be used as a boost to other soaps
• Branch Basics * – This is a virtually odorless enzyme product made from green leafy vegetables. It is natural product and human safe, meaning it would not harm you if ingested. Branch Basics breaks down hydrocarbons, is a degreaser, decontaminator (breaks down chemicals), kills mold and all gram negative bacteria such as e-coli, shigella, salmonella, and gram positive bacteria such as staph, and streptococci.
• Sodium Sesquicarbonate – Dr.Erlander (1-626-797-7004; sold by the pound at 79 cents/lb) or for less expensive option, can be bought in bulk at a chemical supply company in your city (Lab Safety Supply, Sciecne Lab, etc.)
• Grapefruit Seed Extract by Nutribiotics – available at Whole Foods and other health food stores (www.nutribiotic.com 1-800-225-4345) Especially useful if there is any mold in clothes or Bedding & Mattresses
• BOC (Biological Odor Control) by Medina – (www.medina.com 1-888-249-1124) Has no scent, must use with cold water. Medina does decontamination work all over the world. BOC is made up of algae (biological base of all their products) and is used in hydrocarbon degradation, chemical decontamination, VOC decontamination, etc. It will not kill mold, but slows it down and takes the odors down by neutralizing the mycotoxins (the metabolic byproducts of mold that many people react to.)

Procedure:

• Take sheets or clothes and place in washing machine with hot water. Let soak several hours, all day, or overnight with one of the following:
  • 1 – 2 small boxes baking soda
  • ½ – 1 cup Borax
  • ¼ - ½ cup Sodium Sesquicarbonate
    Note: Using the baking soda and borax combination or Sodium Sesquicarbonate (bought in bulk) above is probably the most inexpensive way to go. If that does not work, then proceed to products listed below.
  • ½ cup Branch Basics* (5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics) – Also spray a 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics Concentrate on soiled areas
  • Grapefruit Seed Extract – Include 20 – 40 drops GSE with load if clothes or Bedding & Mattresses have any mold contamination
• Wash and double rinse sheets or clothes in the morning (Note: after clothes and sheets have been detoxified, then overnight soaking is not necessary)
• Repeat as necessary
• Hang clothes out in the sun to be exposed to UV rays. Turn clothes inside out to minimize fading. This will also help to outgas the chemicals from the clothes.
  If there remains a strong odor in the clothes, then use BOC
  • 1 – 2 cups BOC – Soak overnight in cold water (hot water kills the enzyme action)
  • Wash in the morning with one or more of the soaps above

IMPORTANT

• Fully detoxified clothes and Bedding & Mattresses will have no fragrance
• It can take a long time to detoxify clothes fully, especially if fabric softeners have been used. Just keep washing and sunning them.
• For the Chemically Sensitive: To protect those recovering form illness from the fumes that may be generated when drying these clothes, ventilate the laundry room. Place fans facing out of nearest window (in the laundry room, if possible) to draw fumes out of the house. Do not have fans facing out of other areas of the home because these fans will draw air from the laundry room throughout the house.

*Case Study: Conventional Laundry Detergents

Larry Wayns Harris, registered microbiologist

Registered with the American Academy of Microbiology in Clinical and Public Health, Harris specializes in Biological Weapons Defense, Infectious Disease Control and Clinical Laboratory Techniques used to identify bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasitic infections pathogenic to man. Harris has been interviewed over 30 times by CNN, 60 Minutes, and Diane Sawyer on Prime Time. He is also the author of “Bacteriological Warfare – A Major Threat to North America.” Larry Wayne Harris’s research reveals very interesting developments within our home environment that most people are totally unaware of.

The Problem

Harris gave a friend a sample of Branch Basics to use in her laundry. The friend called Larry a week later and said to him “What did you give me? I have broken out and have a rash on my body. It began shortly after using your so-called safe solution.”* As a scientist, he started investigating.

The Study

Mr. Harris ran a test on a piece of clothing that had been washed countless times with a standard detergent and weighed it on a lab scale. He discovered that in the first wash with Branch Basics, the article weighed less, but the metals were actually brought to the surface of the fabric by unbinding them. This, of course, could create a greater exposure to the metals, and certain individuals that would be allergic or sensitive to nickel or chromium could possibly experience a skin rash or other symptoms. However, when this same fabric was washed four consecutive times in Branch Basics, it was free of metals/chemicals and weighed 7% less.

The Results

Through fully-accredited laboratory testing, Harris discovered that heavy metals are bound to our fabrics as a result of utilizing such everyday detergents as Tide, Cheer, or All, etc. This is due to an ingredient added to the detergent known as aluminum silicate, which binds the metals into the clothing as opposed to releasing them into the wash water. This results in a buildup with repeated washings. A close personal friend of Larry’s who works with the EPA advised him that the EPA would be very upset if these chemicals were to be released down the drain into the water. Instead, the manufacturers find a way to keep it in the clothes that we wear every day!

Conclusion

In summary, 7% of the article’s weight had consisted of heavy metals and chemicals, which are placed into most detergents as part of their cleaning and whitening process.

When articles are washed 4 consecutive times with Branch Basics, they can be freed of metals/chemicals and worn safely.

Take-Home Message

IMPORTANT: If you previously washed your clothes, especially undergarments, in standard laundry detergent, we highly recommended that you wash them at least four consecutive times in the wash cycle before wearing them.

*It should be noted that this is an extreme case that involved a combination of: 1) the long-term use of toxic, conventional detergents 2) very sensitive skin. This in no way reflects the typical response of someone who begins using Branch Basics. Instead of letting this case keep you from switching to a human-safe soap for your laundry, let it be a reminder of how toxic conventional detergents are and therefore how important it is to remove them from clothes and bedding. 

Back to Articles

If you have been using conventional laundry care products that contain toxic chemicals, then you should decontaminate your washer and dryer. The toxic products deposit a residue in the washers and dryers that can be difficult to fully remove. It may take some time, depending on what the machines were contaminated with, but the effort will be well worth it. Please read the entire protocol before you begin.

Products

• Branch Basics- Helps break down and neutralize chemical residues. Available at Three Branches.
• BOC (Unscented) – Helps to break down chemicals, neutralizes mycotoxins from mold and decomposes hydrocarbons. Available from Medina Company (http://www.hastagro.com/ or 888-249-1124)
• Baking Soda – Available from your local grocery store
• Hydrogen Peroxide – Regular 3% Peroxide. Available from your local grocery store.

Detoxifying Your Washer

TOP-LOADING MACHINES

• Fill washer with hot water
• Add one or more of the following:
  • Up to 2 quarts of hydrogen peroxide
  • 2 lb box of baking soda
  • ½ - 1 cup Branch Basics (5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics)
• Let sit overnight
• Run through full cycle
• Repeat as many times as necessary using a variety of the above options
• Additional treatments:
  • Affresh (www.affresh.com) - Odor removal (mold, mildew, fragrance). Helps to remove fabric softener and detergent odors. Will take numerous treatments. This is available from Lowe’s, Home Depot, Krogers, Sears, Best Buy. Designed for front loaders, but can try in top loading machine. (Note: this product has an odor, but it will dissipate. If chemically sensitive, please have someone else treat the washer and dryer.)
  • Spray Branch Basics (5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics) in washer when not running.

HE (HIGH EFFICIENCY) FRONT LOADING MACHINES

• Fill washer with hot water
• Add one or more of the following
• Additional treatments:
  • Up to 2 quarts hydrogen peroxide
  • ½ - 1 cup Branch Basics (5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics)
  • Run through full cycle
  • Repeat as many times as necessary using a variety of the above options
• Fill washer with hot water
• Additional treatments:
  • Affresh (www.affresh.com) - Odor removal (mold, mildew, fragrance). Helps to remove fabric softener and detergent odors. Will take numerous treatments. This is available from Lowe’s, Home Depot, Krogers, Sears, Best Buy. Designed for front loaders, but can try in top loading machine. (Note: this product has an odor, but it will dissipate. If chemically sensitive, please have someone else treat the washer and dryer.)
  • Spray Branch Basics (5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics) in washer when not running

Detoxifying your Dryer

ALTERNATE BETWEEN THE FOLLOWING:

Use Medina’s BOC
• Spray undiluted BOC on the dryer interior
• Close dryer for 1 hour
• Open up and ventilate
• Spray a damp towel with BOC and run through a drying cycle

Use Branch Basics
• Spray Branch Basics (5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics) on the dryer interior
• Spray a damp towel with Branch Basics (5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics) and run through a drying cycle
• Also, can spray Branch Basics (5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics) on the dryer interior when dryer is not in use

Repeat this process until all odors are gone. Unfortunately, this could take several weeks.

Back to Articles

A simple way to start reducing your body’s toxic load is by taking a bath in the comfort of your own home. Detoxification baths are one of the easiest, most comfortable, most economical, and convenient ways to assist the body in reducing the body’s burden of stored chemicals. A bath with no additives cleans your skin, but if you add some simple ingredients to the bath water, then you can help to cleanse and nourish the inside of the body as well. Hydrotherapy, the use of water for medicinal purposes, has been used for centuries. A bath can be therapeutic and rejuvenating, provide deep relaxation, give pain relief, alkalinize the body, detoxify the body, lower blood pressure, increase circulation, relieve inflammation, help prevent muscle cramping, relax the mind and body, relieve insomnia, and can also be a vehicle to deliver nutrients to the body through the skin.

The combination of the hot water plus bath additives work together to create a detoxifying ,as well as, a nourishing action. First, the hot water in the bath pulls toxins out of the body to the surface of the skin. The additives in the bath encourage sweating and the poisons are drawn out of the body as the water in the bath cools. As the skin, known as the third kidney, eliminates the toxins through sweating it will also absorb the minerals and nutrients that are in the water.

Suggestion:

If you are interested in implementing a detox program, baths can be taken on a daily basis during detox and rotated, switching to a different type of bath each day. After detoxing, use whichever bath seems appropriate to meet your current need.

General Instructions for Detox Baths

• If possible prior to the bath open up your skin’s pores by skin brushing. Skin brushing with a natural bristle bath brush removes dead skin cells and allows the pores to sweat more effectively. Skin brushing, a detoxification method in itself, will enhance the bath experience because it helps to open up the skin as a primary avenue for detoxification. Carefully brush all parts of your body brushing toward the heart to avoid extra pressure on veins and lymph vessels. Use light pressure in areas where your skin is thin such as the face and neck, and harder pressure on places such as the soles of the feet. See “Skin Brushing” for complete instructions.
• If there is no chlorine or chloromine filter on the bathwater then do one or a combination of the following: (These options are also great for use when traveling.)
  • 3000 Crystal Ball for the Bath - The ball requires no plumbing attachment and it removes 90% or more of the free chlorine in the water. You may want to add a couple of Microhydrin or Hydrogen Boost to the water for added protection. Toss it in your suitcase when you travel.
  • Microhydrin – open up 5 capsules of Microhydrin into the bath water. This will neutralize the chlorine or chloramines in the water.
  • Hydrogen Boost by Source Naturals – open up 5 capsules of Hydrogen Boost into the bath water. This will neutralize the chlorine or chloramines in the water. Get Hydrogen Boost at local health food stores.
  • Baking Soda – according to Warren Clough, chemist and water expert, baking soda added to bath water will reduce the chorine and chloramines in the water to a very small degree.
• Draw your water as hot as you can comfortably stand. The hotter the water you use, the better, more thorough detox you will have. Use a cooking thermometer - usually 104 degrees is a comfortable temperature. It is important not to overheat to the point of weakness.
• Pour the ingredients for the bath into the water as the bath is filling. Double ingredients for large garden tubs.
• To assist hydration, drink water before, during and after your bath to replenish the water you have sweated out.
• Twenty to forty minutes is usually an adequate amount of time to soak in the bath. See directions for each bath.
• If you feel like you need to jump out of the water because you are too hot and uncomfortable, add a little cool water. Keep adding cool water until you can relax again. Get out of the bath if you are still uncomfortable.
• When you are ready to get out, move slowly and carefully in case you feel lightheaded or drained.
• You might also want to scrub or rub your skin after you finish soaking to encourage all the toxins brought to the surface of the skin to clear out.
• Until you know how you'll react, you might want to limit your first bath to 10 minutes or less; and if you begin to feel unwell, cool the water down and if that doesn’t help get out of the tub!
• Optional: Some baths promote sweating even after the bath. If desired, get out of the bath, wrap up in a towel, lie down, and continue to sweat for thirty minutes.
• Follow with a shower in tepid water to cool down.
• If you have a weak heart or if you get palpitations while in the bath, you should not submerge your chest during the bath.
• If you should become dizzy or experience a rapid heartbeat, add cold water to the tub, which sometimes remedies the situation. Get assistance if needed and slowly get out of the tub.
• As a word of caution, if you have heart disease, high blood pressure or if you are diabetic, check with your doctor before trying a detox bath.

Medical testing that involves exposure to radiation (both ionizing and non ionizing) presents the body with a stress that can be prepared for. Susceptibility to infection and a weakened immune response is intensified by this concentrated exposure to various electromagnetic fields. Taking a precautionary approach to strengthen and help the body withstand these medical tests is a smart thing to do. The following are steps to support the body with adequate rest and good nutrition.

Rest
One simple measure is to get good rest and sleep before any medical testing. Being exhausted and stressed adds to the body’s burden.

Overall Diet
Weeks before testing upgrade your diet if needed. Eat organic, whole foods. Avoid sugar as it weakens the immune system and makes the entire body more vulnerable to chemicals, radiation, bacteria, viruses, and other stressors. Also avoid processed food, additives, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, etc. A well-nourished body is less vulnerable to all stressors.

We should learn from history. *“It is something of a miracle to most people that after an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945, staff members at St. Francis’s Hospital located just one mile from the epicenter of the blast suffered no effects of radiation. Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D. who was director of the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Francis’s Hospital, thought his people would have a chance to survive the fallout and remain healthy if they avoided all sugar and followed a diet of miso soup, unrefined brown rice, and sea vegetables (seaweed). He gave the kitchen staff strict orders to prepare this food to everyone in the hospital, and he not only kept his staff healthy, but improved the condition of all the patients.”* Studies at Hiroshima University determined that sea vegetables and miso soup were protective against radiation. They consumed these and escaped any radiation poisoning while people all around were dying from being exposed. (*Taken from article by Thea Hall - Stella Nova Publications)

Miso
If possible and if it is beneficial or neutral for your bloodtype (see below), add medicinal grade miso soup to your diet. Medicinal quality miso is a traditional food and is a fermented soy product that is protective against radiation (is used to treat radiation sickness), helps improve resistance to EMF exposure, neutralizes some of the effects of pollution, and provides beneficial bacteria to the colon. Properly prepared, miso contains an amino acid pattern that is similar to meat along with a trace of vitamin B 12, is a live food containing lactobacillus that aids in digestion and assimilation, and creates an alkaline condition in the body that promotes resistance against disease. Even though miso is salty it can help lower blood pressure taken at 1 t. a day. Have miso soup with an all-vegetable meal with beans and grains. Do not eat miso with a meal that contains animal food. See Basic Miso Soup recipe. Good quality, medicinal misos can be ordered through the following:

1. Natural Import Company (1-800-324-1878) - Mitoku Josen Barley Miso and Mitoku Tateshina Barley Miso
2. Gold Mine Natural Foods (Can call 1-800-475-3663 to order a catalog.) The three year misos are the most medicinal - South River 3 year Barley Miso and 3 year Dandelion Leek Miso

Miso is a beneficial food for Blood Types A and Type AB Secretors, and is a neutral food for Type A, AB, and O Non- Secretors. Miso is an avoid for B Secretors and B Non-Secretors, as well as O Non-Secretors. See “Blood Type, Genotype, and Secretor Test” to determine your blood type, genotype, and secretor status.

Sea Vegetables
In addition, consume more sea vegetables. Sea vegetables increase the body’s capacity for detoxification and also help strengthen the body’s resistance to electromagnetic fields. Sea vegetables bind and neutralize harmful radioactive metals such as strontium – 90, cesium, and plutonium and help eliminate them from the body. In addition sea vegetables bind with heavy metals and help eliminate them from the body. Sea Vegetables contain the entire spectrum of trace minerals, which are critical for efficient detoxification.

If unable to cook sea vegetables or for ease when traveling, a good inexpensive substitute is XenoStat. This is a whole food. The sea vegetables are in a capsule with no fillers, or additives. Many people who are unable to take supplements are able to take these sea vegetation capsules, as they are real food and not synthetic. Work up to 6 per day as a serving of sea vegetation. Start with one at breakfast and then gradually build up to 6 per day taken in divided doses or with the largest meal of the day. Since these are a food they can even be taken alone. If having electromagnetic sensitivity, take up to 6 per meal for two meals a day. Take 6 per meal (three meals a day) two days before you have any medical diagnostic testing and for two to five days thereafter.

Green Tea
Drink Super Nano Green Tea with water. This is beyond organic predigested green tea that is not irradiated (70% of all green teas are irradiated). Polyphenols from green tea have been shown to protect DNA from damage inflicted from radiation and harmful chemicals. Green tea is extremely effective as its antioxidants are capable of inhibiting mutation and formation of cancerous cells as well as providing protection for the heart, kidneys, skin, connective tissue, and stomach. Super Nano Green Tea also contains L-theanine, which is calming, protects and restores the brain, stimulates the immune system, promotes sleep, and increases mental clarity. On the morning of the test mix ½ - 1 tsp. in 4 ounces of purified water - sip throughout morning before testing.  After x-rays, or other diagnostic tests mix ½ - 1 tsp. in 4 - 8 ounces of water and sip throughout the rest of the day (if not convenient to do this just drink all at once). For a couple of days after testing, mix ½ - 1 tsp. in water and sip throughout the day. Try to finish the drink by 3:00 p.m.

Superfoods
Take superfood supplements to strengthen the body. These are concentrated, nutrition-packed, super foods that are virtually predigested and provide energy and antioxidant protection.

• Greens Mix Capsules - Greens Mix delivers over 70 known antioxidants and every vitamin, amino acid, and mineral in the food-grade form. All the greens are grade 10 (highest grade) more than organic and are not irradiated, solvent extracted, or heat damaged. Because of the synergistic effect of its broad spectrum of nutrients, grasses are premier functional foods and provide excellent intracellular DNA repair from agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Greens Mix is an excellent bioavailable non-synthetic source of calcium, magnesium, and other minerals. Greens Mix also comes in a more economical 8-ounce powder form. Take 6 capsules in a.m. before testing, take 6 after testing and 6 before bed. Continue taking 6 Greens Mix capsules a day for a week after testing.

• Nucleotides - Take Nucleotides to strengthen the immune system, neutralize toxins and enhance the body’s ability to fight infection whenever exposed to environmental stressors such as diagnostic medical tests. Trauma, x-rays, medical tests, surgery, airplane travel, infection, and other stresses rapidly deplete the body’s stores of nucleotides (nucleotides are tiny building blocks of RNA and DNA which are the blueprints for every cell in the body). Taking Nucleotides gives the body extra protection and resistance from exposure to bacteria and viruses/infections when under stress. The immune system is strengthened against all invaders. Take 6 Nucleotides before the test, 6 after the test and 6 in the evening before bed. Continue taking Nucleotides at 6 a day until bottle is finished.

Bath
The Radiation Neutralizing Bath is designed to help clear the system of radiation - a particularly invasive environmental factor that can devastate the immune system. To help neutralize this exposure after every medical diagnostic test that involves ionizing or non-ionizing radiation take a radiation neutralizing bath as soon after the test as possible and then every day for a week if possible. In addition, this bath is helpful because unfortunately, today more than any time in history we are exposed to many sources and types of radiation on a daily basis – computers, microwaves, cell phones, televisions, cordless phones, Wi Fi, ipods, video games, air plane flights, etc. This radiation soak can be done two to three times per week to help remove the radiation we so frequently (and unknowingly) encounter, and to eliminate toxins from the body’s largest organ, the skin.

Some people say that they seem to get sick after going on a vacation or on a trip. There can be many reasons for this especially if the travel involves riding on an airplane. Airline travel presents the body with a myriad of stressors that can be prepared for. For example a recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Health Research states that you might be 100 times more likely to catch a cold or flu on a plane than you are in normal life. The study lists a number of possible stressors or causes that make one more vulnerable to viruses, bacteria, etc. such as being in a confined space with a large number of people, shared air, and low cabin humidity. This susceptibility is intensified by the concentrated exposure to various electromagnetic fields such as the cosmic radiation from the flight, electromagnetic fields from the airplane itself, passenger laptops, cell phones, blackberries, and scanners at the airport. It is smart to take a precautionary approach to strengthen and help the body withstand so many stressors. The following are steps to support your body, making it stronger and more resilient when traveling by flight.

Rest
One simple measure is to get good rest and sleep before you travel. Being exhausted and stressed adds to the body’s burden.

Overall Diet
Weeks before your trip upgrade your diet if needed. Eat organic, whole foods. Avoid sugar as it weakens the immune system and makes the entire body more vulnerable to chemicals, radiation, bacteria, viruses, and other stressors. Also avoid processed food, additives, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, etc. A well-nourished body is less vulnerable to all stressors.

We should learn from history. “It is something of a miracle to most people that after an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945, staff members at St. Francis’s Hospital located just one mile from the epicenter of the blast suffered no effects of radiation. Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D. who was director of the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Francis’s Hospital, thought his people would have a chance to survive the fallout and remain healthy if they avoided all sugar and followed a diet of miso soup, unrefined brown rice, and sea vegetables (seaweed). He gave the kitchen staff strict orders to prepare this food to everyone in the hospital, and he not only kept his staff healthy, but improved the condition of all the patients.”* Studies at Hiroshima University determined that sea vegetables and miso soup were protective against radiation. They consumed these and escaped any radiation poisoning while people all around were dying from being exposed.

Miso
If possible and if it is beneficial or neutral for your bloodtype (see below), add medicinal grade miso soup to your diet. Medicinal quality miso is a traditional food and is a fermented soy product that is protective against radiation (is used to treat radiation sickness), helps improve resistance to EMF exposure, neutralizes some of the effects of pollution, and provides beneficial bacteria to the colon. Properly prepared, miso contains an amino acid pattern that is similar to meat along with a trace of vitamin B 12, is a live food containing lactobacillus that aids in digestion and assimilation, and creates an alkaline condition in the body that promotes resistance against disease. Even though miso is salty it can help lower blood pressure taken at 1 t. a day. Have miso soup with an all-vegetable meal with beans and grains. Do not eat miso with a meal that contains animal food. Good quality, medicinal misos can be ordered through the following:

1. Natural Import Company (1-800-324-1878) - Mitoku Josen Barley Miso and Mitoku Tateshina Barley Miso
2. Gold Mine Natural Foods  (Can call 1-800-475-3663 to order a catalog.) The three year misos are the most medicinal - South River 3 year Barley Miso and 3 year Dandelion Leek Miso

Miso is a beneficial food for Blood Types A and Type AB Secretors, and is a neutral food for Type A, AB, and O Non- Secretors. Miso is an avoid for B Secretors and B Non-Secretors, as well as O Non-Secretors. See “Blood Type, Genotype, and Secretor Test” to determine your blood type, genotype, and secretor status.

Sea Vegetables
In addition, consume more sea vegetables. Sea vegetables increase the body’s capacity for detoxification and also help strengthen the body’s resistance to electromagnetic fields from the flight. Sea Vegetables contain the entire spectrum of trace minerals, which are critical for efficient detoxification.

If unable to cook sea vegetables or for ease when traveling, a good inexpensive substitute is XenoStat. This is a whole food. The sea vegetables are in a capsule with no fillers, or additives. Many people who are unable to take supplements are able to take these sea vegetation capsules, as they are real food and not synthetic. Work up to 6 per day as a serving of sea vegetation. Start with one at breakfast and then gradually build up to 6 per day taken in divided doses or with the largest meal of the day. Since these are a food they can even be taken alone. Take 6 capsules per meal (three meals a day) two days before flying in an airplane and two to five days thereafter. This is an inexpensive and good way to get trace minerals.

Grean Tea
Drink Super Nano Green Tea with water, which is available in a convenient 2 ounce bottle that can be taken on an airplane. This is beyond organic predigested green tea that is not irradiated (70% of all green teas are irradiated). Polyphenols from green tea have been shown to protect DNA from damage inflicted from radiation and harmful chemicals. Green tea is extremely effective as its antioxidants are capable of inhibiting mutation and formation of cancerous cells as well as providing protection for the heart, kidneys, skin, connective tissue, and stomach. Super Nano Green Tea also contains L-theanine, which is calming, protects and restores the brain, stimulates the immune system, promotes sleep, and increases mental clarity. Before flight mix ½ - 1 tsp. in 4 ounces of purified water.

After flight mix ½ - 1 tsp. in 4 - 8 ounces of water and sip throughout the rest of the day (if not convenient to do this just drink all at once). For a couple of days after flight, mix ½ - 1 tsp. in water and sip throughout the day. Try to finish the drink by 3:00 p.m.

Melatonin
Melatonin promotes immune system integrity and normal circadian rhythms. It minimizes jet lag, is a sleep regulator, and is a potent antioxidant offering protection against free radicals, which can cause cellular damage. PRL’s Melatonin is live source, non-synthetic solvent free melatonin. Take 2 – 5 drops in evening before bed on day before travel, on day of travel, and several days after travel.

Superfoods
Take superfood supplements on the plane. These are concentrated, nutrition-packed, super foods that are virtually predigested and provide energy and antioxidant protection.

• Greens Mix Capsules - Greens Mix delivers over 70 known antioxidants and every vitamin, amino acid, and mineral in the food-grade form. All the greens are grade 10 (highest grade) more than organic and are not irradiated, solvent extracted, or heat damaged. Because of the synergistic effect of its broad spectrum of nutrients, grasses are premier functional foods and provide excellent intracellular DNA repair from agents such as ionizing radiation while on airplane flights. Take 6 capsules in a.m. before flight, 6 during flight, and 6 after flight. Greens Mix is an excellent bioavailable, non-synthetic source of calcium, magnesium, and other minerals.
• Nucleotides - Take Nucleotides to strengthen the immune system, neutralize toxins and enhance the body’s ability to fight infection whenever traveling by airplane. Trauma, surgery, airplane travel, infection, and other stresses rapidly deplete the body’s stores of nucleotides (nucleotides are tiny building blocks of RNA and DNA which are the blueprints for every cell in the body). Taking Nucleotides gives the body extra protection and resistance from exposure to bacteria and viruses/infections while in the confined space of the airplane. The immune system is strengthened against all invaders. Take 6 Nucleotides before the flight, 6 during the flight, and 6 after the flight (or at the first slightest sign that you may be catching a cold, sore throat, etc).

Atlas Band
Wear the Earthcalm Atlas Band. The Atlas Band comes in two style, the Hat Band which, is worn inside a cap and the Wrist/Ankle Band, which can be worn around the ankle or wrist. The Atlas Band is designed for EMF protection when outside the home such as when flying, driving or walking outside. Pilots and navigators have reported the Atlas Band to be a lifesaver enabling them to be around extensive electronic equipment, radar, EMF exposure, and to use headphones without getting a headache or brain fog. It provides enhanced microwave protection from cell phone towers, wireless antennas, Wi-Fi, and high-tension towers. Wear it at night in bed while sleeping if in a hotel or home with Wi Fi.

Note: Three Branches does not claim that the following product shields the body from EMF exposure even though the explanation implies it does. We include them it because those people who are electromagnetically sensitive, our canaries, have reported tangible and repeatable results. Also biofield testing verified that the body’s resistance and biofield is enhanced through the use of these measures. No product can protect us 100% from the hazards of EMF’s and the wireless revolution at this time. But after two years of testing many products that claim to alter field influence with electromagnetically sensitive people, the Earthcalm and Premier Research Labs Products are the ones that have given tangible relief.

Bath
The Radiation Neutralizing Bath is designed to help clear the system of radiation, a particularly invasive environmental factor that can devastate the immune system. Flying on an airplane especially increases your exposure to radiation (increases exposure to gamma-ray radiation at high altitude levels). The Federal Aviation Administration and the U. S. Department of Transportation have stated that flying can increase your cancer risk. To help neutralize this exposure after every airplane flight take a radiation bath as soon after the flight as possible and then every day for a week if possible. If taking a bath in a hotel or bathtub without purification where chorine or chloramines are present, neutralize chlorine and chloramines with Microhydrin or Source Naturals Hydrogen Boost. Open up 5 capsules of Microhydrin or Hydrogen Boost into the bath water. Each will neutralize the chlorine or chloramines in the water. Then add your salt and soda.

* Taken from article by Thea Hall. Stella Nova Publications.

It is important that the water not be extremely hot. Use a meat or candy thermometer to measure – do not go over 104 degrees. If very weak start with 100 degrees or below. If it is too hot, it may lead to dizziness or fatigue. If you have a weak heart or if you get palpitations, you should not submerge your chest during the salt bath. If you should become dizzy or experience rapid heartbeat during a salt bath, slowly get out of the tub with someone’s assistance. If you have any reason to believe that the salt bath may not be right for you to do, please consult with your doctor before attempting to take one.

How does the Salt Bath work?
When you sit in a salt bath that is at least 1% salt (1 pound of salt for every 12 gallons of water), a process of osmosis will take place where a small amount of liquid will be drawn out through your skin and the minerals in your body fluids will naturally become more concentrated. This concentration of minerals causes a slight rise in the alkalinity of your body fluids. A slight alkalinity is necessary for proper function of all healthy body cells including enzymes. If you are in an acidic condition (most illnesses have their roots in an acidic body state) the salt bath can help bring you back to the normal alkaline side.

The salt bath is also an aid in strengthening weak kidneys. If the kidneys are weak, the body usually develops an acidic condition due to the loss of certain minerals through frequent urination (normal urination is 3-5x per day for most people plus no nighttime urination). Chronic fatigue, chemical exposure, pain, infection, malignancy, and emotional negativity are just a few of the causes or results of over-acidity. The immune system is also weakened by body acidity.

Sometimes in the beginning, some people develop a salty taste in the mouth and they think it is a result of salt being absorbed from the bath water. However, this salty taste is due to the slight concentration of minerals in your body fluid brought about by the process of osmosis. You will not absorb large quantities of salt into your blood from the salt bath, so there is no need to worry. The salty taste should disappear after several salt baths, although it might return from time to time.

Some people also feel itchy now and then during a salt bath. This itchiness is a result of acid being drawn out through the skin. It too, should pass. Most people prefer to rinse themselves with a washcloth after a salt bath to remove any salty residue. It is not necessary nor is it advised to take another bath or shower to remove salt.

Some people find that a salt bath helps them sleep better, other people feel like it energizes them. In that case, take a morning salt bath instead of before bed until you determine how the bath affects you.

Salt Bath Instructions:

1. To every 12 gallons of water, add 1 pound of salt.
2. Use sodium chloride. Do not use Epsom salts. Do not use regular table salt like Morton’s as it contains chemicals.
3. However, a very inexpensive option that works fine is Morton’s pickling salt, which comes in a 4 pound green box. This is pure salt with no additives. Other options are mixing salt from a feed store (ground to a fine consistency) or the coarse salt used in water softeners (must be sodium chloride). The coarse salt will be more difficult to dissolve, but will work.
4. The average tub will need 2 pounds of salt.
5. Most people find that 24-36 gallons of water is enough. It is not necessary to keep your body submerged up to the neck.
6. Pour the salt in while water is entering the tub to give it more time to dissolve.
7. Sit 20 - 40 minutes in the bath and relax.

Note: For an alternative bath to the salt bath, use 2 cups Epsom salts with the addition of 2-3 bottles of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. This is also helpful in relieving muscular aches and pains and detoxifying. Do this up to 3 times a week if feeling strong.

If you want to be precise about the amount of salt to use, the following article can help.

How Do I Know If I Have The Right Amount of Water and Salt?
By David Briscoe

It is not really necessary to be overly concerned about having exactly the right amount of water and salt, but if you have kidney disease and for those who like clear directions, you can do the following:

1. Place a gallon bucket under the tub faucet.
2. Turn on the water and let it flow into the bucket.
3. As the water is flowing into the bucket, use the second hand of a watch or clock to time how long it takes to fill the bucket.
4. Multiply the time it takes to fill the bucket by 24 if you want to use 24 gallons or 36 for 36 gallons, etc.
5. Remove the bucket and then let the water fun into the tub for the length of time you calculated.
6. When you have reached the desired time for running the water, turn it off.
7. Mark clearly with a piece of duct tape on the tub where the water line is. When you do salt baths from then on you will fill it up to the line you have marked.
8. The measure of salt depends on its coarseness or fineness. Weigh your salt first, and then place it in a measuring cup to see how many cups are necessary. Remember – 1 pound of salt for every 12 gallons of water.
9. Most people find that 24 – 36 gallons of water is enough. It is not necessary to keep your body submerged up to the neck during the whole bath.
10. While water is entering the tub, pour the salt in. This will give it more time to dissolve than if you wait to pour it right as you get in the tub. If you use a coarser kind of salt, it usually takes longer to dissolve. Swishing it around in the tub with your feet or hands will help it dissolve faster. Don’t worry, though, eventually almost all of the salt will dissolve on its own during the salt bath. Use the time in the salt bath to relax, do breathing exercises, or foot and hand massages. Enjoy it!

If you have been using conventional laundry care products that contain toxic chemicals, it is highly likely that the air quality in your home is being affected. Decontaminating these chemicals from your laundry room is a big step in improving your entire home’s air quality. The toxic volatiles incorporate into the surfaces that they come in contact with. In some instances, the minute you walk into a laundry room, you immediately smell the lingering odor of the products used even though there is no wash going. That is because the porous sheetrock has picked up the chemicals and they are continuously outgassing into the air. It can sometimes take quite a bit of time and work to eliminate this contamination. Unfortunately, these toxic chemicals from the laundry room have the potential to extend beyond the laundry room and permeate the entire house. In order to remove this contamination, there are several steps that should be repeated until there is no fragrance left in the laundry room.

1. Source Removal – Stop using toxic laundry care products.
2. HEPA Vacuum –Vacuum the ceiling, walls, and surfaces such as countertops, washer, and dryer, behind washer and dryer, floor and under washer and dryer in that order. Make 3 passes on each surface. See "HEPA Vacuum 101."
3. Wash Surfaces – Clean the ceiling, walls, and surfaces such as countertops, washer and dryer, behind washer and dryer, floor and under washer and dryer in that order. Use one of the following options and test a section of the wall to see how it takes the solution to make sure that the paint is not damaged.
   1. Branch Basics – Solution of 50 parts distilled water to 1 part Branch Basics. Spray in an inconspicuous area first to determine color fastness of paint.
   2. Hydrogen peroxide – Solution of 1 part distilled water to 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide.
4. Use Biological Odor Control – B.O.C. looks and smells like water. It is made up of algae (biological base of all their products) and is used in hydrocarbon degradation, chemical decontamination, VOC decontamination, etc. BOC will not kill mold, but slows it down and takes the odors down by neutralizing the mycotoxins, which are the toxic metabolic byproducts of mold that many people react to. Available at www.medina.theshoppe.com (1-888-249-1124)

Directions: Spray full strength B.O.C. up towards ceiling so that the mist falls on all surfaces. Spray mist towards the walls. Close room up for one hour. Open up and ventilate to the outdoors. Turn on the laundry room exhaust fan. If there is a window in the laundry room, open it and place a fan facing out so that the fan is drawing air from the laundry room to the outside. If there is no window, direct airflow to the nearest window with fans. Place a fan in the window facing out as described above. It also may be helpful to wash down the surfaces in the room with the B.O.C. as described above.

If the above treatments do not completely take away the odor, then heating the laundry room is recommended. As temperature increases, so does the volatilization of chemicals. This can be done in the following ways:

1. Space Heater – Shut the laundry room, make sure that the exhaust fan is not on, bring in a space heater, and heat up the room for 4-6 hours or less. Have the washer and dryer doors open. The heat will increase the level of chemical contamination in the room as the heat causes increased volatilization of the chemicals. Turn on the laundry room exhaust fan and open up the room and direct the contaminated air to the outside with fans as described above. Repeat this procedure over and over until fragrance is gone.
2. Halogen Lights – You can find construction halogen lights at Home Depot or Lowe’s. Several brands are Commercial Electric, Husky, and Utilitec. Direct the light at the wall to increase the outgassing. Let the contaminants build up for 4-6 hours or less, then turn on the laundry room exhaust fan and open up the room and direct the contaminated air to the outside with fans as described above. Repeat this procedure over and over until fragrance is gone.

Note: It has been demonstrated that by opening up a house that is very contaminated with laundry care products in the hot summer and letting it “bake” (air conditioning off, house exhaust fans on, with plenty of air flow), these toxic chemicals will totally clear from the house. It may take days, weeks, or months depending on the contamination. Of course this is not practical for most people, but it serves as an example that repeated heating (which can be done with the heater or the halogen light) is effective.

Back to Articles

Inexpensive Epsom salt baths pack a huge punch! The benefits are very well stated in the article below written by Melissa Breyer. After you read it you will probably go pick up some Epsom Salts from the store and jump in the bathtub. The bath can help calm and soothe—it is a sedative for the nervous system, it can help relieve constipation (as magnesium deficiency can be a cause), it can relieve pain, and more. Before you read the benefits, look how easy it is….simply add Epsom salt and baking soda to your bathwater and you’re ready to go!

Epsom Salt Bath

• Prepare your bath at a time when you have at least 40 minutes available as the first 20 minutes are said to help your body remove the toxins, while the second 20 minutes are for absorbing the minerals in the water.
• Add two cups of Epsom salt (or 1 cup per 60 pounds or double if you have a large garden tub) and soak for at 40 minutes. Do this three times weekly. You may add more.
• Also add 1 – 2 cups or more of Baking Soda, sodium bicarbonate. This helps to eliminate a small amount of the chlorine in the water, as well as soften the water, and helps the body to absorb the magnesium.

Epsom Salts and Ginger

Ground Ginger can be added to the bath. This bath opens pores and eliminates toxins and also helps to eliminate pain. The ginger heats the body and may cause the skin to turn red. Depending on the capacity of the tub and your sensitivity, add anywhere from 1 Tablespoon to 1/3 cup of ginger powder. Most people sweat profusely with the addition of the ginger. If you wrap your body in a blanket immediately after getting out of the tub, you can continue to detoxify through perspiration for another couple of hours. This can be very beneficial if you are trying to rid the body of a bug like a cold or flu.

• Stir two cups of Epsom salts and 2 tablespoons of ginger in a cup of water, then add to the bath.
• Do not remain in the tub for more than 30 – 40 minutes.

Epsom Salts, Sea Salt, and Sesame Oil

This bath helps with dry skin and stress. Add to the bath:
• 1-2 cups of Epsom salt,
• 1-2 cups of sea salt (use inexpensive bulk sea salt from the health food store)
• 1 cup of sesame oil
• Soak for 20 minutes.
• Pat yourself dry.

Note: Epsom Salts or magnesium sulphate can be purchased in grocery stores, garden centers, pharmacies, etc. in 1 pound cartons or up to 50 pound bags. It is very inexpensive.

“Health Benefits of Epsom Salt Baths”

By Melissa Breyer, Senior Editor, Healthy & Green Living

Many of us are deficient in magnesium, and by simply soaking in a relaxing bath with magnesium-rich Epsom salt we can boost our levels of this important element. “Magnesium,” you might wonder, “what’s the big deal?” Find out the importance of magnesium and discover the many surprising health benefits of using Epsom salt in your bath.

We all know about the importance of iron and calcium, but what about magnesium? It is the second-most abundant element in human cells and the fourth-most important positively charged ion in the body. Surprisingly, it helps the body regulate over 325 enzymes and plays an important role in organizing many bodily functions, like muscle control, electrical impulses, energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, most Americans are magnesium deficient, which the academy says helps to account for high rates of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, arthritis and joint pain, digestive maladies, stress-related illnesses, chronic fatigue and a number of other ailments.

Americans’ magnesium levels have dropped by half in the last century due to changes in agriculture and diet. Industrial farming has depleted magnesium from soil and the typical American diet contains much less magnesium than that of our forefathers. And in fact, the modern American diet with its fat, sugar, salt and protein actually works to speed up the depletion of magnesium from our bodies.

Interestingly, our focus on getting enough calcium is another factor in decreased magnesium levels. In a delicate dance of balance, calcium depletes magnesium yet calcium functions best when enough magnesium is present. Studies indicate that taking a calcium supplement without enough magnesium can increase the shortage of both nutrients. Researchers have found that many Americans have five times as much calcium as magnesium in their bodies, although the proper ratio for optimum absorption of both minerals is two to one.

With such widespread magnesium deficiency one might think that magnesium supplements would be called upon, but studies show that magnesium is not easily absorbed through the digestive tract. The presence of specific foods or drugs, certain medical conditions, and the chemistry of a person’s stomach acid can render magnesium supplements ineffective.

This brings us to Epsom salt. Known scientifically as hydrated magnesium sulfate, Epsom salt is rich in both magnesium and sulfate. While both magnesium and sulfate can be poorly absorbed through the stomach, studies show increased magnesium levels from soaking in a bath enriched with Epsom salt! Magnesium and sulfate are both easily absorbed through the skin. Sulfates play an important role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. They stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are thought to help detoxify the body of medicines and environmental contaminants.

Researchers and physicians suggest these health benefits from proper magnesium and sulfate levels, as listed on the web site of the Epsom Salt Industry Council:
• Improved heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.
• Improved ability for the body to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.
• Flushed toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.
• Improved nerve function by electrolyte regulation. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.
• Relieved stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well-being and relaxation.
• Reduced inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps.
• Improved oxygen use.
• Improved absorption of nutrients.
• Improved formation of joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins.
• Prevention or easing of migraine headaches.

All this from a bath, hurray! While there are many different brands of Epsom salt, they are all the same product chemically, and can be found at most drug stores.

If you are pregnant or have any health concerns, check with your doctor before using Epsom salts.

Warning: Cleaning carpet can cause problems. In fact, the cleaning products used by carpet cleaning companies have been implicated in serious health problems. Cleaning of carpet has also been connected to Kawasaki syndrome, which is a serious systemic illness in children. Whenever a carpet is cleaned, use caution and leave the home until it has aired out and cleared.

If the carpet is new and has a high chemical content (you can carefully choose carpet that does not), use a Dry Steam Cleaner or have a professional clean the carpet with one of the specified products/procedures below.

Do not stay in the home while the cleaning is being done. Open windows and ventilate. Draw air out of home with large fans facing to the outside of windows and doors to suck the air out of the house. Make sure that outgassing has dissipated before returning to the home. Do not return to the home if any unusual odor persists. (It is especially important not to let children into the home until all chemical odor is gone. Many children have become immune impaired from breathing the air where carpets with toxic chemicals are cleaned.)

Again, occupants of the home and especially the chemically sensitive should not be present during this procedure and should not return to home until decontamination/cleaning is complete. Refuse to start procedure if chronically ill or chemically sensitive person is present. It can take a day, a week, or sometimes longer for there to be a full clearance of chemicals stirred up by this procedure if not done correctly. Good exhaust ventilation at the time of application can help to prevent and resolve this problem. It is recommended to do one room first, ideally the room farthest from the bedroom that can be exhausted out until all residues are cleared.

Materials Needed for Cleaning and Encapsulation
Hepa Vacuum - The use of true HEPA filtered vacuuming equipment is desired. The vacuum should be DOP rated. Use a Nilfisk G-M 80 Hepa Abatement vacuum (Nilfisk vacuums are used for lead, mold, and asbestos abatement and are used to clean the clean rooms for NASA.)

AFM Safe Choice Carpet Shampoo – Jay Watts is the Technical Representative 1-800-281-9785 or 619-239-0321

AFM Carpet Seal – Carpet Seal is a sealer designed to seal in harmful chemicals in treated carpet. Carpet Seal is odor free and will, when properly applied, last for up to five cleanings or one year. 1-800-281-9785 or 619-239-0321

AFM SafeChoice Carpet Lock Out – Designed to perform two functions: first, to seal in the outgassing of harmful chemicals found in carpet fibers and second, to help repel dirt and stains. It is suitable for all synthetic carpets and rugs. Spot test for compatibility with carpet. (Wool fibers do not react well to water based products.) 800-281-9785 or 619-239-0321 http://www.afmsafecoat.com/Techpdfs/Lock%20Out%20data.pdf

Miracle Cover – A non-toxic stain guard treatment that seals in the Carpet Seal and enables the Carpet Seal to last much longer. This is a non-toxic Scotchguard. Talk to Paul Jordan about procedure and for technical information. 1-800-304-7325 http://www.usamiracle.com

Materials for HVAC System Barrier
Vapor Barrier Options:
Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil 1 ml thick – easy and inexpensive way to cover registers and grilles of the HVAC system.
Denny Foil - available from Foust 1-800-225-9549 . NOTE: Sometimes it is easier (also less expensive) to tape the bedroom door with heavy-duty aluminum foil or denny foil, than to use the vapor barrier Tu-Tuff below.
Tu-Tuff 3 - from Shelter Supply 1-800-762-8399. Tu-Tuff 3 is a vapor barrier that is well tolerated by the chemically sensitive. Call Shelter Supply for a sample. Use Tu Tuff when setting up large containment areas.

Tape Options:
Duct Tape

Masking Tape

Clean Release Painter’s Tape – (only available in 3 inch width) by Henkel Consumer Adhesives 1-800-321-1733 www.duckproducts.com. Available at Wal-Mart or True Value Hardware. This same tape is also called Pro Painters Plus at Lowe’s. Do NOT get the 3-M Safe Release Tape #2090 that Home Depot Sells. This tape is toxic.

Shurtape – available in 2 and 3-inch width from Foust 1-800-225-9549

Note: If applicable, test tape in an inconspicuous area to make sure that it doesn’t pull paint off the wall.

Preliminary Preparations
Shut down the HVAC system and cover all registers - supplies and returns - with foil vapor barrier. Tape the entire perimeter of the foil so that no air or particulates can get into the system. Be careful when taping so that paint is not damaged – try to tape the register.

Cover door to bedroom with a vapor barrier (Tu-Tuff 3 or Denny Foil) to protect it from particulates and fumes released during this process. Tape entire perimeter of door so that it is completely sealed. An alternative to using the vapor barrier on the door is to use Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap and cut strips to cover the perimeter of the door including the floor – entire door opening around the edges where air could penetrate should be covered. Be careful with tape and paint. Tape first with painter’s tape then cover painter’s tape with aluminum foil tape to make a vapor barrier that can’t be penetrated. If after completing the rest of the house, you are comfortable and not reacting, then treat your bedroom carpet last.

Do not open up registers and start HVAC system until process is complete.

It is important that the house is well ventilated during this procedure. Ducted HEPA negative air machines should be installed if possible to act as air scrubbers. (The specified cleaning products are going to pull out and release chemicals embedded in the carpet into the air; these airborne contaminants have to be drawn out of the house.)

Cleaning, Shampoo, Encapsulation, and Sealing Options
The following carpet treatments will help remove pesticides, formaldehyde, and other chemicals from the carpeting and pad. In addition to cleaning you have the option to also seal in chemicals to prevent outgassing. These treatments are not suitable for carpets with large wool content. (Check with manufacturer.) Always test products used on a small piece of carpet that is not in a conspicuous place.

Hepa vacuum the carpet first making 3 passes over all areas of carpet. If you are only going to clean the carpet, you can choose one of two methods - steam cleaning only or shampooing the carpet and following it with steam cleaning. Test the AFM Carpet Shampoo on carpet in an inconspicuous area before using on entire carpet to ensure compatibility and colorfastness. If carpet does not pass the colorfast test, then skip the shampoo and just steam clean.

Steam Clean Only
Use water only. No chemicals. Bring in a truck mounted steam clean extractor (Steamatic and Blackman Mooring are in many cities). Hot water steam extraction process will clean the carpet.

Make sure to ventilate and exhaust the area with a fan placed in window facing out so that the fan takes the air from the room and blows the air from the room being treated out the window.

This may be your last step. If so, then you are done. Keep ventilation going until there is no odor left from the carpet cleaning. Steer clear of area until all odor has cleared from the house. Do not expose yourself to the odor of the cleaned carpet. This is very important.

Important: Ask steam cleaning company if they ever use the equipment for anything other than steam cleaning. No Chemicals should have been used in the steam cleaning equipment. If there has been chemical contamination, then their equipment needs to be washed with a 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics solution before use. Most steam cleaning companies only use water and no chemicals but play it safe by asking.

Shampoo and Steam Clean
The carpet will need to be shampooed first, then immediately steam cleaned. Shampoo carpet with AFM Safe Choice Carpet Shampoo. Do a colorfast test with the materials.

Mix 8 ounces Safe Choice Carpet Shampoo to 1-gallon water. Spray on with a pump sprayer; agitate fibers with brush, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Make sure to ventilate and exhaust the area with a fan placed in window facing out so that the fan takes the air from the room and blows the air from the room being treated out the window. Keep ventilation going until there is no odor left from the carpet cleaning.

Steam Clean the shampooed carpet by bringing in a truck mounted steam clean extractor (Steamatic and Blackman Mooring are in many cities). Hot water steam extraction process will clean the carpet and remove all shampoo residue.

This may be your last step. If so, then you are done. Do not expose yourself to the odor of the cleaned carpet. This is very important.

Important: Ask steam cleaning company if they ever use the equipment for anything other than steam cleaning. No Chemicals should have been used in the steam cleaning equipment. If there has been chemical contamination, then their equipment needs to be washed with a 5 parts water to 1 part Branch Basics solution before use. Most steam cleaning companies only use water and no chemicals but play it safe by asking.

Encapsulation – Sealing of Carpet
If you feel that your carpet is toxic, new or contaminated and you can’t remove the carpet, then encapsulation is an option. After steam cleaning:

Apply AFM Carpet Seal right after steam clean the carpet. (While carpet is still damp spray the Carpet Seal.) You shouldn’t put AFM Carpet Seal on carpet until it is well prepared through steam cleaning. The steam cleaning softens the soil retarders. If the carpet is not steam cleaned, the Carpet Seal can’t penetrate the fibers and will sit on the surface.

Work AFM Carpet Seal into fibers with a brush. This will impregnate the sealer into the fibers. Talk with Jay Watts at AFM for tips on application.

Dry the carpet with fans and ventilation. Dry Completely. Use heaters if necessary. Do not expose yourself to the odor of the cleaned carpet. This is very important

Apply AFM Safe Choice Lock Out. Carpet must be completely dry before application. Using a hand-held pump sprayer (similar to a garden sprayer), spray a fine mist of Safe Choice Lock Out evenly and uniformly over the entire carpet surface. Do not over saturate. Allow the carpet to dry thoroughly before permitting floor traffic. Again, do not expose yourself to the odor of the cleaned carpet. This is very important.

If you want added stain protection and protection for the Carpet Seal and Lock Out, then the last step is to apply Miracle Cover that is a non-toxic replacement for Scotchguard. Apply Miracle Cover according to directions (call Paul Jordan of Miracle Cover at 1-800-304-7325 for instructions) to dry carpet. This application will increase the longevity of the Carpet Seal and Lock Out. Once again, ventilate and do not expose yourself to the odor of the cleaned carpet. This is very important.

After procedure, complete with the basic cleaning vacuuming protocol HEPA vacuum – the ceiling, the walls, and floor.

Carpet Maintenance Tips

Vacuum daily with a true HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Accumulator) type vacuum cleaner – a must if you have carpet. It is the only vacuum type that picks up dust mite feces, animal dander and mold spores. Recommend is the Nilfisk GM-80 double insulated vacuum system that filters to .3 microns. Nilfisk is the type of vacuum that NASA uses in their “clean rooms” and is also used in asbestos, mold, and lead abatement.

A Hoover Steam Vac All Terrain can be used to pull the dirt out of the carpet and can also be used on hard surface floors such as ceramic tile. Do not use the cleaner that is recommended with the vac, use Branch Basics diluted 5-1 as the cleaning agent. There is a container that you fill with water and a percentage of cleaner – the percentage you use is the 5-1. You DO NOT fill the entire container with the Branch Basics 5-1. Beware –If the carpet has embedded chemicals you should ventilate and exhaust as you clean. (www.hoover.com 1-800-944-9200)

Carpeting should never be used in areas where it will get wet – bathrooms, laundry rooms, basements, kitchens and dining rooms. Dust mites, bacteria and molds grow in damp carpets.

If the carpet or pad gets wet, dry it as quickly as possible to prevent microbial growth. Must dry within 24 hours or mold growth will begin. There is no way to quickly and completely dry out a wet carpet from the top. If there is an accident, the best way to deal with it is to remove the carpet and carpet pad from floor and hang them to dry. If carpet can’t be removed for drying, professional blower fans are available at rental centers, which can be inserted under the carpet to blow air up through the carpet and help speed the drying. Set up fans as soon as possible.

Keep dirt and mold spores out. Remove shoes at the door. Avoid wearing shoes on the carpet as much as possible.

To remove odors in carpets sprinkle with baking soda and let set over night. Then use a HEPA vacuum. Be careful to apply baking soda so that it doesn’t become airborne. Then while baking soda is down, lay down a path of brown building paper to walk on so that baking soda is not lifted into the air when walked on.

Back to Articles

The radiation bath is designed to help clear the system of radiation - a particularly invasive environmental factor that can devastate the immune system. Flying on an airplane especially increases your exposure to radiation (increases exposure to gamma-ray radiation at high altitude levels). The Federal Aviation Administration and the U. S. Department of Transportation have stated that flying can increase your cancer risk. To help neutralize this exposure after every airplane flight, take a radiation bath. The best results occur from taking the radiation bath as soon after the flight as possible and then every day for a week, if possible. Also, take a radiation bath after having medical or dental x-rays.

Unfortunately, today more than any time in history we are exposed to many sources and types of radiation on a daily basis – computers, microwaves, cell phones, televisions, cordless phones, Wi-Fi, iPods, video games, etc. This radiation soak can be done two to three times per week to remove the radiation we so frequently (and unknowingly) encounter, and to eliminate toxins from the body’s largest organ, the skin.

Radiation is acidifying to the system; a salt and basking soda soak, which is highly alkaline, helps neutralize this effect.

Sources of Salt
• Use a sodium chloride salt, not Epsom salts for this bath. Do not use regular table salt like Morton’s, because it contains chemicals.
• Get Morton’s pickling salt, which comes in a 4 pound green box – this is pure salt with no additives and is very inexpensive.
• Buy inexpensive sea salt in bulk at a health food store.
• Mixing salt from a feed store (ground to a fine consistency)
• Coarse salt used in water softeners sold in 25 – 50 pound bags – (must be sodium chloride). The coarse salt will be more difficult to dissolve, but will work.

Procedure
• Place 2 pounds of salt with 2 pounds of baking soda in a hot bath.
• Soak for 40 minutes with most of the body submerged.
• It is important that the water not be extremely hot. Use a meat or candy thermometer to measure the water temperature – do not go over 104 degrees.
• If very weak start with 100 degrees or below. If it is too hot, it may lead to dizziness or fatigue. If you feel like you need to get out because it is too hot, add cold water until you are able to relax and enjoy the bath.
• If you have a weak heart or if you get palpitations, you should not submerge your chest during the bath. If you should become dizzy or experience rapid heartbeat during bath, slowly get out of the tub with someone’s assistance. If you have any reason to believe that the bath may not be right for you to do, please consult with your doctor before attempting to take one.

Below is an article by Anna Mangala Searles that further explains the benefits of a Mustard Bath.

The combination of ingredients in Dr. Singha’s Mustard Bath and Mustard Rub assist in restoring the correct pH to the body. They do this by helping the body tissues to eliminate acid waste. This includes the elimination of acid waste, particularly lactic acid, after physical exertion.

The importance of elimination and detoxification cannot be overstated. Dr. Singha said,  “There are 4 stages of nutrition: ingestion, digestion, assimilation and elimination and, of these 4, elimination is the most important. No elimination……no assimilation.”

This is true in all aspects of life. If the plumbing in your house is clogged, there will be no flow and so it is with the body. Why carry anything in your life that doesn’t serve? Now more than ever we need to discover simple methods of freeing the mind and body from toxic encumbrances. Only when we restore cell resonance are we truly free to celebrate life. A balanced and purified body is essential for immune strength. It is the choices that we make day in and day out that give us true health or dis-ease.

Mustard seeds and their medicinal use have been around since Biblical times. In Ayurvedic Medicine, Mustard Baths and Mustard Rubs have been traditionally used for detoxification and purification. In many parts of the world mustard is well-known for its therapeutic value when used as a Mustard Pack, a Mustard Plaster or a Mustard Bath. It helps to increase circulation, oxygenation and aids tremendously in solving the continual need to eliminate toxins. The outward application contributes to general well being by activating the largest organ of elimination in the body, the skin. Sweating helps to reduce the toxic load and acid waste stored in tissues throughout the body. The increase in circulation helps to move on stagnant waste from the tissues so that it can be eliminated through other organs of elimination as well as the skin.

In his book Alkalize or Die, Dr. Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D. says, “The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause… too much tissue acid waste in the body!” An excessively acid pH sends a signal to the microbes of the universe that this body is ready to decompose.

Dr. Shyam Singha not only practiced Acupuncture, Osteopathy and Ayurvedic Natural Medicine in England for over 40 years, but he also created the first Acupuncture School in the U.K in 1964. He had three treatment centers in London and an extraordinary Holistic Residential Retreat Center deep in the countryside of Suffolk. Every clinic dispensed his Mustard Bath formula.

Dr. Singha’s Mustard Bath is commonly used in conjunction with fasts and detoxification programs to help assist in the elimination of acid waste and other toxic matter that accumulates in the organ tissues. The Sodium Carbonate base provides a potent alkaline medium to assist in the restoration of a healthy body pH. The aromatic essential oils of Wintergreen, Eucalyptus, Rosemary and Thyme were carefully chosen for their therapeutic benefits to help reduce nerve pain, assist breathing, and provide general antiseptic properties. Dr. Singha’s Mustard Rub contains Organic Base Oil and Organic

Mustard Oil with a generous amount of therapeutic essential oils of Lavender, Marjoram, Rosemary, Thyme, Sandalwood and Mustard Seed.

Dr. Singha’s masterful combinations of ingredients leave the skin feeling rejuvenated, radiant, re-conditioned, soft and open. Both products are so easy and enjoyable to use and the results are most rewarding and pleasurable. Twenty minutes in a hot bath followed by a cold shower. Then a rough towel dry and put your feet up and keep warm! A Mustard Rub massage can be added for even more toning, warmth and purification. The Mustard Rub is used by Massage Therapists throughout America.

People with onset of colds and flu’s, aches and pains resulting from both physical trauma including sports injuries and physical exertion, skin problems, breathing difficulties, sleeping irregularities and so on continue to immerse themselves in this effective and therapeutic bath product and massage themselves with this healing massage oil.

BY MARILEE NELSON

Chemical injury to the lungs can result in an imbalance in the gases involved in respiration, carbon dioxide and oxygen. After chemical injury to the lungs, the lungs many times go into a chronic state of hyperventilation, constantly breathing 2-3 times more than the metabolic need. This disturbs the body pH and the smooth muscle function, which can result in lung dysfunction. This lung dysfunction is many times labeled as reactive airway disorder, occupational asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), etc.

Much of the following information is taken from www.breathing.com

Signs of hyperventilation:

• Shortness of breath
• Tightness in chest
• A feeling like drowning
• Over sensitivity of airways
• Excessive sneezing
• Production of mucous, blocked or running sinus
• Excessive yawning and sighing
• Light-headedness
• Unsteadiness
• Poor concentration
• Numbness
• Shallow rapid breathing
• Tingling and coldness – especially in the hands and fingers and sometimes in the face
• Loss of memory
• Irregular, pounding or racing heart beat
• Degrees of anxiety, tension and apprehension
• Mouth dryness,
• Abdominal bloating
• Abdominal distress
• Bowel dysfunction
• Belching
• Flatulence
• Easily tired
• Poor sleep patterns
• Exhaustion

This chronic hyperventilation causes an imbalance in the gases involved in respiration – oxygen and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is responsible for many of the operations in the body even though we think of carbon dioxide as the waste gas of tissue respiration. Carbon dioxide levels are related to the body’s pH. The blood’s pH must be in the range of 7.35 – 7.45 for the tissues to effectively use oxygen. If the blood pH goes higher or lower the blood does not release oxygen effectively to the tissues (Bohr effect). Therefore the body tries to maintain that narrow pH range. The body uses carbon dioxide to help to maintain the pH balance with 6% CO@ in the lungs and the blood. The atmosphere is only .03% (1/200th the concentration that the body wants) so, the low level in the atmosphere means you can take a few deep breaths and drop the concentration in the lungs very quickly to well below the desirable 6%. When that happens, the body begins anaerobic tissue respiration (process by which the cells create energy without oxygen when no oxygen is available. If this process were not available the cells would die whenever oxygen was unavailable for even a short period). A byproduct of anaerobic tissue respiration is lactic acid. Lactic acid lowers pH (and causes sore chest muscles if your CO2 levels stay very low for a long time). Also, the body employs the kidneys to get rid of bicarbonates in an effort to maintain the pH at a level it can use oxygen in the blood. Bicarbonates (HCO3) are a byproduct of aerobic tissue respiration. Bicarbonates are alkaline. When the lungs are damaged and inflamed by chemical injury this system can be deranged and the body struggles to keep the pH where it should be.

Role of Carbon Dioxide in Lung and Digestive Function

CO2 Controls Smooth Muscle. Smooth muscle is non-striated muscle that surrounds all the hollow organs in the body including the blood vessels, the bronchioles, the stomach, colon, etc. Low levels of CO2 tighten (constrict) smooth muscle and high levels loosen (relax) them. If the CO2 levels are low enough, the smooth muscle around the bronchioles tighten and difficulty in breathing results. This constriction is the body’s attempt to raise the level of CO2 – even though the person feels as though he may suffocate and therefore feels like he needs to hyperventilate (which lowers CO2 levels).

CO2 Levels and the Digestive System. A direct relationship exists between the level of carbon dioxide in the body and the functioning of the digestive system – especially between the level of carbon dioxide and the intensity of gastric secretion. Too little carbon dioxide can eventually lead to poor digestion, stomach pain, and possibly to ulcers.

CO2 Levels Control Breathing, Not Oxygen Levels. The body uses CO2 levels to control breathing, because CO2 is required by the body to be able to USE the oxygen. To monitor the CO2 levels, there are chemical receptors in the blood vessels in the chest and neck. When the CO2 levels rise to what the chemical receptors think is the correct amount, they signal the respiratory center to breathe. These chemical receptors are adjustable. If we constantly over-breathe, the chemoreceptors think we have changed altitude and adjust to breathe at lower levels of CO2. With chemical injury to the lung, this mechanism that triggers breathing is altered. The level the lungs normally are triggered is 40 mm Hg of pressurized arterial (A) CO2. The chemically injured person may respond and be triggered at a lower lever - to only 33 mm Hg of pACO2 (arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide). Smooth muscle, incidentally, constricts at 30 mm.

It is important to implement breathing techniques that can improve and restore lung function. Breathing exercises involve manipulation of the breathing pattern. After a chemical exposure, many times there is a tendency to breathe shallowly and very rapidly (up to 12 breaths in one minute) - this causes the levels of carbon dioxide to drop. The body then responds by narrowing the blood vessels and airways to try to cling onto any carbon dioxide that is left and thus making it harder to breathe.

Note: Our bodies carry 2-3 times as much oxygen as we need as a reserve in case of emergencies when we may need a sudden burst of energy.

Deregulated Respiration: Effects of Carbon Dioxide Defecit on Physiology. Overbreathing means bringing about carbon dioxide deficit in the blood (hypocapnia) through excessive ventilation (increased minute volume) during rapid, deep, and dysrhythmic, maladaptive breathing. The slight shift in CO2 chemistry associated with overbreathing may cause physiological changes such as bronchial constriction, gut constriction, calcium imbalance, magnesium deficiency, muscle fatigue, spasm (tetany), cerebral vasoconstriction (brain), coronary constriction (heart), buffer depletion (bicarbonates), ischemia (localized anemia, pain, and more.

Steps to Take

At the first sign of difficulty in breathing – consciously try to slow the breathing down and breathe through the nose – basically train your body to breath less. You do this by implementing the following:

1. Breathing through the nose
2. Learning and practicing the Control Pause
3. Implementing the Maximum Pause with Shallow Breathing when breathing difficulty is encountered.
4. Breathing Exercises designed to restore and improve lung function.

1.Breathing Through the Nose

Always breathe through your nose!!! You must make it a rule to convert to nose breathing especially before exercising. Breathing through the nose provides natural protection for the lungs.

Functions of the Nose

• Warms the air – The air should be warm on entering the lungs as the lungs function better with warm air.
• Filters the air – The inside of the nose is covered with visible and invisible hairs that function to catch any small pieces of dirt or anything else that it comes in contact with. To back up this system the nose also produces a coating of mucus to catch any debris that the hairs haven’t caught. Any particulates that enter the airway can irritate the lungs.
• Regulates the intake of oxygen – Because of the difference in size of the openings in the nose compared to the mouth, it is very important to breathe through the nose, as mouth breathing can cause an uncontrolled level of oxygen to enter into the body, compared to carbon dioxide. The levels have to be kept in the balance for optimum physical function.

If the nose is stopped up, the following exercise is helpful.

1. Take a normal breath in
2. Take a normal breath out.
3. Hold your breath.
4. Hold your nose.
5. Rock your head back and forwards from a vertical position down to your knees or nod your head up and down slowly until you have to take a breath.
6. Release the nose.
7. Take a nose breath in
8. Take a nose breath out.
9. Slow your breathing – see shallow breathing below
10. If necessary, repeat up to 5 times.

The buildup of carbon dioxide from doing these exercises will help to open up your nasal passages naturally.

2. The Control Pause

The control pause is a measure of lung function and can be a benchmark for progress.

1. Sit up comfortably in a chair. Breathe out normally then hold your breath in the out position and close the mouth.
2. Pinch the nose closed with the thumb and forefinger.
3. Measure how long you can hold your breath until the first signs of discomfort occur.
4. Exhale.

Record the date and the number of seconds that you are able to hold your breath. This will establish a benchmark to follow your progress. Some people can only hold their breath for one second while others can hold it over a minute. With proper breathing, exercise, dietary and environmental changes you should start to increase the time. With the control pause you can observe your progress. The idea is to beat the length of time that you held it the last time. Once you can practice the control pause for over twenty seconds, you should be seeing some progress.

The length of the Control Pause is like a diagnostic tool.

1. If your Control Pause is ten seconds or less then you are taking in six to twelve times more air than you need and you may have a serious health problem.
2. If your Control Pause is twenty-five seconds to ten seconds in length then you are taking in three or more times more air than you need and this is considered to be unhealthy.
3. If your Control Pause is thirty to forty seconds in length then you are taking in twice as much air as you need and your lung function is average or okay.
4. If you are able to maintain a control pause of fifty seconds or more your lung function is probably excellent.

Every day do the Control Pause and record your time. If you see a dramatic reduction in your ability to hold your breath, examine what you have been doing – exposures to dust, particulates, smoke, chemicals – perfume, gas/fuel, cleaning materials, solvents, etc. NOTE: A Peak Flow Meter (PFM) is a tool that helps detect early warning signs for asthmatic attacks. The Control Pause Method can also be used in this way. If your capacity for holding the breath (reduction in time able to hold breath) is reduced, then this is a warning sign and steps should be taken (special exercises and environmental and dietary controls).

3. The Maximum Pause and Shallow Breathing

The maximum pause refers to the amount of time that you can bear to hold your breath before you have to get the next breath. The Maximum Pause is a natural bronchodilator and can relieve tightness in the chest. After the maximum pause utilize shallow breathing for a couple of minutes. This involves breathing in and out through the nose as shallowly as possible. The breaths may be quite rapid but, if you hold the index finger parallel just under the nostrils, you should barely feel the ‘breeze’ of the exhalations across your finger.

1. Close the mouth and pinch the nose closed with your thumb and forefinger.
2. If you find it difficult to hold your breath distract yourself by moving around.
3. At the first temptation to take a breath rock your head backward and forward from a vertical position. Walking in a straight line from one point to another can also distract you from taking that breath.
4. After you do take a breath begin shallow breathing - remember that it is key to breathe strictly through your nose and as shallowly as possible.
5. Repeat sequence 5 times. Do exercise 2 times a day.
6. It is good to record the length of your maximum pause with a stopwatch or the second hand of your watch and try to beat that time the next time you do a pause.

4. Special Exercise

The following are two different techniques for improving lung function

• www.breathing.com free breathing test 
• Buteyko Correct Breathing Concepts

Additional Recommendations

Sleep

1. Try to go to bed before 11 p.m.
2. Before sleeping, do a few toe touching exercises and sit-ups – to make the abdominal muscles strong. Sleep predominantly on your left side – will help to control CO2 levels. Breathe through the nose. Sleeping on the back encourages open mouth breathing.
3. Lie down on one side with two pillows under the head, the upper arm and legs should be flexed forward. The upper arm should be facing backwards and the whole body should be turned forward.

Also, the head of the bed can be raised slightly for more comfortable lying position while sleeping and to relax respiratory muscles.

Exercise

1. When you exercise, breathe only through the nose!
2. Spend time outside in the fresh air every day.
3. Get plenty of sunlight – helps produce Vitamin D and is helpful in inflammatory lung disorders. Try to get at least 20 minutes of sunshine on the skin a day. Ideally, do not shower before sun exposure or for 2 hours after exposure so that the manufacture of Vitamin D is optimized. If the skin is washed with soap and free from natural skin oils – the production of Vitamin D is reduced.

Foot Reflexology

Self massage the reflex points corresponding to the lungs and respiratory system, as well as the lymphatic system (on top of foot) twice a day. You may be able to tell when lung function is dipping as the tenderness of the foot lung reflex points may become very sore. Google foot reflexology chart and click on Image results for foot reflexology charts.

Nutrition for Optimum Lung Function

1. The lungs and large intestine are paired organs. Lung weakness is related to digestive disorders. Strengthen the digestion and large intestine and the lung automatically benefits. If trying to improve lung function, it is imperative to address the digestive tract.
2. Eat as much live unprocessed, organic food as possible.
3. Eliminate all flour products, as they should be avoided with lung and/or digestive stress.
4. Eliminate all processed foods.
5. Eliminate sugar and caffeine.
6. Chew food well.
7. Do not take synthetic supplements. Make sure supplements are organic, whole food based and contain no toxic fillers.
8. Take digestive enzymes and Betaine HCL when eating cooked food.  Recommend Premier Research Lab’s Digest Complex and Betaine HCL.
9. Take probiotics  (Ideally, test for compatibility through Quantum Reflex Analysis (QRA) testing)
10. Cod Liver Oil – a lack of omega-3 fatty acids contributes to inflammation. Cod Liver Oil is anti-inflammatory and can be taken upon the onset of breathing difficulties.
11. Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 decreases the inflammation in the lungs and makes breathing easier. Take Max Stress B.
12. Vitamin C increases the amount of oxygen and reduces inflammation.
13. To loosen thick, bronchial secretions, take 500 milligrams of N-acteylcysteine 3 times a day. If you take this for several months, add 30 milligrams of zinc picolinate and 2 milligrams of copper sebacate, but take each separately because they bind together and are then excreted from the body.
14. Since secretions often cause infection, use 2 grams Vitamin C 2 times a day and 200-400 milligrams of goldenseal twice a day.
15. To relax the smooth muscle of the bronchial tubes, take 300-400 milligrams of magnesium in the form of citrate, aspartate, taurate, or glycinate.
16. 50,000 units of vitamin A daily to maintain the health of the bronchial tube cells.
17. 1 ½ Tablespoons of lecithin and flaxseed oil.
18. 400-600 units of vitamin E to improve the “surface properties” of all cells. 
19. Vitamin D3 helps support many body systems – including the lungs.  At a minimum intake should be 2000 IU/a day, helps with bone metabolism, nerve function, cognition, etc. Check blood levels of Vitamin D3 – levels below 20ng/ml is Vitamin D3 deficiency, 20-30ng/ml is still too low, 40-50 ng/ml is considered to be reasonable, but not ideal.  At all of these levels, supplementation with D3 is recommended at 5,000 – 7,000 IU/day for 6-8 weeks.  Retest every 3 months until blood levels in the ideal range greater than 50ng/ml, but less than 60ng/ml.  See D3.

Steps to Take in the Home

1. Remove all allergens or irritants from the home – especially the bedroom. Tobacco, smoke, animal dander, dust mites, pollen, perfumes, scented candles, glade plug-ins, toxic cleaning products, mold, mildew, etc. Get an air purifier with a medical grade HEPA filter/special carbon filter. Place in the bedroom at night and move air purifier to other occupied space in the day.
2. Remove all toxic cleaning products and personal care products from the home.
3. Replace toxic products with non-toxic products. .
4. Take nutritional supplements that are designed to support the immune system – triple antioxidant protection at least.
5. Get plenty of rest.
6. Possibly use a humidifier in bedroom at night if condition deteriorates.
7. Make sure that bedding – sheets, pillowcases are 100% cotton and washed in non-toxic detergent.
8. Pillow and mattress should be covered with a 100% cotton barrier cloth to prevent dust mites from invading the mattress and pillow. Available from Janices – 1-800- 526-4237 or Nirvana Safe Haven – 1-800-968-9355.
9. Remove as much paper, boxes, furniture, and clutter from the bedroom as possible.
10. The bedroom as well as the bed and pillow should be vacuumed regularly with a HEPA vacuum.
11. If possible have a hard surface floor in the bedroom such as tile or solid wood floor finished with non-toxic finish.
12. Use a Far Infrared Sauna.

Back to Articles

Some people that have a non-toxic bed choose to wrap the bed to contain the slight natural odors that emanate from the materials especially when they are new. Variations of the steps below may be applicable depending on the sensitivity of the person to the latex or natural fibers such as wool and cotton. For example, a non-toxic bed may only need to be covered with tightly woven silk and/or a barrier cloth or it may need the extra protection of carbon blankets or the Char Media to neutralize the slight odor of the materials.

IMPORTANT: The chemically sensitive should not prepare the bed.

Possible Materials Needed and their Sources

• Zippered Barrier Cloth – Organic cotton; custom-made by the following:
  • Janices (highly recommended!) – www.janices.com (1-800-526-4237)
  • Furnature – www.furnature.com (617-926-0111) Boston, Massachusetts
  • Heart of Vermont – www.heartofvermont.com (1-800-639-4123) Barre, Vermont
  • H-3 Environmental – www.h3environmental.com (818-766-1787) Los Angeles, CA
• Allersoft Zippered Cover
  • Allergy Store – www.allergystore.com (1-800-771-2246)
  • Tightly woven to 5.34 microns; order all-cotton
  • Note: To stop dust mites, you need a 10 micron weave at least; the lower the number, the tighter the weave and the better
• Cotton Mattress Pads
  • Furnature – www.furnature.com (617-926-0111)
  • Heart of Vermont – www.heartofvermont.com (1-800-639-4123)
  • Janices – www.janices.com 1-800-526-4237
• Old Sheets
• Silk Cloth
  • Thai Silks– www.thaisilks.com (1-650-948-8611 or 1-800-722-7455)
  • 30 mm Charmeuse, 45 inch natural white. 100% silk
  • $11.00/yard; Item # 011g
  • Many chemically sensitive people use this to block odors
• Activated Carbon Blankets
  • Nirvana Safe Haven – www.nontoxic.com (1-888-267-4600 or 1-800-968-9355) Call for sample piece of blankets
  • Order with the polyester encasing for storage convenience. No extra charge.
  • Ask Dalia to help determine how many sheets you need for your bed
• Char Media
  • Living Source – www.livingsource.com (254-776-4878 or 254-776-0777) Dr. Jim Summers
  • Order black Char Media; can get a sample piece as well
  • Note: The Char Media was tested on a non-toxic latex bed (that chemically sensitive person was sensitive to) and person was able to tolerate the latex bed with the Char Media wrapped around it.

Procedure for Wrapping a Non-Toxic Bed

1. Wrap the mattress in several layers of the tightly woven silk.
2. Encase mattress and box springs in zippered barrier cloth cover. Barrier cloth is an extremely tight-woven, 100% cotton fabric originally designed for medical use. Encasing the box springs, mattress, mattress pad, and pillow in a barrier cloth helps to protect the Bedding & Mattresses, helps to contain odors, and prevents dust mites from getting on mattress and pillow. Some people double the barrier cloth.
3. Apply cotton mattress pad. A cotton mattress pad on top of the mattress provides protection for the mattress plus provides another layer of protection from the mattress. This may be enough to block the odor from the latex. Test it first and, if it’s not sufficient, proceed to the next steps.
4. Wrap bed with Activated Carbon Blankets or Char Media. If you choose the carbon blankets, place old sheets> on bed first as a barrier cloth for the blankets. The tighter the sheet’s weave and the higher the thread count, the better. If you choose to use the Char Media, skip to step 7.
5. Order and remove Activated Carbon Blankets from their encasing. Place them on the bed and tuck in or wrap around mattress. If doing all the above steps, just tuck the carbon blankets in.
6. Activated Carbon Blankets will absorb the odors from mattresses. To cover a king mattress, you will need 2-3 blankets and maybe more if encasing entire mattress. Place a couple of old cotton sheets on the bed to protect from any carbon dust. Remove the polyester encasing from the carbon blankets for more effective reduction of odors. Place the carbon blankets on top of these sheets. Cover the bed and tuck in. (Can encase the entire bed if desired. Can stitch the blankets together or can slightly overlap at the seams).
7. Instead of carbon blankets, wrap in Char Media. Order sample material and compare to carbon blankets if desired.
8. Place a couple of old cotton sheets on top of the carbon blanket or Char Media to protect the mattress pad.
9. Then place another cotton mattress pad over the sheets (or any mattress topper, etc) to provide a cushion over the carbon blankets or Char Media.
10. The carbon will last about 6 months. After 6 months, remove from bed, place in the sun a few hours and it is ready for another 6 months.
11. Add a wool topper or topper of choice if desired.
12. Make bed with sheets and blankets.

You may use all of the above steps or any combination that works best for you.

Ginger is known for its medicinal and anti inflammatory properties. Ginger used in your bath has almost the same effects as taking it orally. Ginger has a warming effect, promotes the release of toxins through sweating, stimulates circulation, is an anti microbial agent for sore and wounds, relieves muscle pain and reduces spasms and cramps. Before preparing this bath see “Introduction to Detoxification Baths.”

Add the following to the bath:

• ¼ - 1 cup of freshly grated ginger.
• Place grated ginger in a tied off cheese cloth or a muslin bag. Dip the bag into the bathtub filled with warm water.
• In the absence of fresh ginger, use ginger powder. Use 2 tablespoons (1/3 cup). Using the powdered ginger is much easier.
• Mix the powdered ginger in a cup of water and add to the bath.
• Soak in it for forty minutes.
• Ginger irritates some people’s skin. If you have sensitive skin, you may want to test it on your skin or reduce the amount initially.

For immediate relief take a daikon radish and slice the very end off. Rub the newly cut end over the skin to give relief to the itching and to soothe the skin. Keep slicing the daikon to expose a freshly cut surface to the irritated skin.

The following are various bath options to help relieve skin irritation and itching. Remember to filter your bath water when preparing baths. See Crystal Bath 3000 Filter.

SkinDetox Bath
Place the following in a standard bathtubfilled with warm to hot water:

• 16 ounces of 3% store gradeHydrogen Peroxide
• 16 ounce box of baking soda
• 2 cups sea salt, mixing salt,or rock salt
• 1 T. Comfrey root powder -optional
• 2 cups Epsom Salts
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar -use least expensive store brand
• 1 T. olive oil (to counteractthe drying effects of hydrogen peroxide and salt)

Soak for 20 minutes 2 times a week for generaldetoxification. For severe cases of fungus or toxicity can take up to 2 baths aday. This bath relieves skin conditions and clears toxins from the body. Ifextremely weak, use warm instead of hot water and do not do more than twice aweek.

Bran Bath
Bring 4 pounds of bran (rice bran, wheat bran, oat bran, etc.) that is placed in a piece of cheesecloth to a boil in a large pan with plenty of water. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add this liquid to bath water. This is very effective to soothe any skin irritation.

Rice Bran Compress
Put several handfuls of rice bran in a cotton bag or cheesecloth, and tie the bag. Bring 2-3 quarts of water to a boil and drop in the rice bran, shaking the bag from time to time. The water should become milky yellow. A compress is an application to some surface of the body with a piece of cotton cloth that has been dipped into a liquid and wrung out. 

Rice bran is very nutritious for the skin. Applied as a compress it quiets down skin inflammations. It is particularly good to sooth eczema, itching or allergies. Do not discard the water after using it for a compress. Save it and add to bath water.

Skin Healing Bath
Soak 20 minutes in a bathtub of warm water and 4 ounces of 5-1 concentration of Branch Basics (Can use Branch Basics All-Purpose Cleaner or make your own solution with Branch Basics Concentrate). This will kill fungus, heal rashes, sooth and treat sunburn, soothe poison ivy and any other skin irritation.

Acute Allergic Skin Reaction Soak
Soak 20 minutes in a bathtub of warm water and ½ cup Branch Basics Concentrate. After bath, spray skin with a 5-1 dilution of Branch Basics. Let dry on skin.

Note:  Spray Branch Basics in a 5-1 dilution on any skin irritation for faster healing and relief from itching or pain.

The vinegar bath is used when the body is too acidic. This is a quick way of restoring the acid-alkaline balance.

Simply add 1 cup to 2 quarts of 100% apple cider vinegar to a bathtub of warm water.
Soak 40 minutes.

This is excellent for excess uric acid in the body and especially for the joints, arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, and gout.

Healing Bath for the Gut

The following homeopathic footbath helps heal the gut and provide nutrition. You must use enamel or glass pan to soak feet in.

½ cup long grain brown rice
6 cups water
2 t. organic yogurt
8 additional cups water

• Bring 6 cups water and ½ cup long grain brown rice to a boil. 
• Turn down to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. 
• Add 8 more cups of water. Don’t heat anymore. Stir.
• On the 1st day, pour 2 T. of rice water and ¼ t. yogurt into a lukewarm footbath. Need enough water to cover the ankles.
• Store remaining liquid in refrigerator.
• Soak feet every day in lukewarm water for 20 minutes. Molecules in long grain brown rice absorb better than short grain rice.
• 2nd day use 4 T. rice water and ½ t. yogurt.
• 3rd day use 6 T. rice water and ¾ t. yogurt.
• 4th day use 8 T. rice water (1 cup) and 1 t. yogurt.
• 5th day use 1 cup rice water and 1 ½ t. yogurt.
• 6th day use 1 cup rice water and 2 t. yogurt
• Continue at this level.

Heavy Metal/Pesticide Detox

The following bath pulls out pesticides, especially malathion, fungicides, heavy metals, etc., from the body. Again, you must use enamel or glass to soak in.

½ cup organic green beans (frozen or fresh)
4 cups water
1/8 t. organic salted butter

• Bring beans to a boil then simmer until very soft.
• Take beans out.
• Pour bean water into container to store in the refrigerator
• Add 1 T. of the green bean juice to pan of warm water that will cover ankles. Minerals and two forms of vitamin E are in the green bean juice.
• Add 1/8 t. organic salted butter to the warm water mixture. Water needs to be warm.
• Swish for 10-15 seconds to make a homeopathic tincture.
• Soak feet 3 ½ minutes every day for a week.
• Skip a week.
• Add 2 T. of the green bean juice to pan of warm water that will cover ankles.
• Add 1/8 t. organic salted butter to the warm water mixture. Water needs to be warm.
• Swish for 10-15 seconds to make a homeopathic tincture.
• Soak feet 5 minutes every day for a week.
• Skip a week
• Add 3 T. of the green bean juice to pan of warm water that will cover ankles.
• Add 1/8 t. organic salted butter to the warm water mixture. Water needs to be warm.
• Swish for 10-15 seconds to make a homeopathic tincture.
• Soak feet 7 minutes every day for a week.
• Skip a week
• Add 4 T. of the green bean juice to pan of warm water that will cover ankles.
• Add 1/8 t. organic salted butter to the warm water mixture. Water needs to be warm.
• Swish for 10-15 seconds to make a homeopathic tincture.
• Soak feet 9 minutes every day for a week.
• Skip a week
• Continue at 4-T. green bean juice.
• Soak feet 12 minutes every day for a week.
• Work up to 12 minutes daily for a week to pull heavy metals and pesticides out.

We should all be very conscious of our thought processes. This is especially important for the chemically sensitivity and those people with chronic illness. Fear, anxiety, anger, bitterness, envy, jealousy, despair, hopelessness, etc. should be considered as toxic thoughts and should be resolved in a constructive manner. These feelings should be dealt with and not buried. Stress poisons the bloodstream just as toxic chemicals do. In other words, negative thought processes should be detoxified – dealt with, removed, changed - just as chemical exposures and processed foods are removed to take the immune load off the body.

The Process

If you are ill, then there is definitely work to be done in this area even if you consciously do not think so. Please consider the following with an open mind!

Just as people change their diets (Standard American Diet - SAD) to more pure and organic food, so also people should change their thought processes (replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts). This change in thinking will automatically improve the blood quality as the stress is removed. But, stored emotions and stresses (that we are even unaware of) concerning unresolved issues or trauma can have an enormous impact on the body just as toxic waste stored in the fat tissue can contribute to the degeneration of the body. Fasting from food can accelerate detoxification from the fat stores just as fasting from thinking can help to accelerate detoxification of stored emotions that are adversely affecting the body.

The following techniques do not cost anything and will help to detoxify stored negative emotions, which can be one of the core reasons for vulnerability to illness or the inability to fully heal. The Relaxation Response is a way to fast from thinking and clear out stored negative emotions. The Mind/Body Prescription and the EFT Technique are also ways to draw out stored toxic emotions that are affecting the body. If you are dealing with any chronic illness, the exercises below can be helpful in detoxing the mind. A clear mind and body are keys to complete healing.

Relaxation Response

Recommended by Herbert Benson, MD, “The Relaxation Response” is a very important element in healing, especially for those under long-term stress, as it helps balance the nervous system. This is medicine for the chemically sensitive, those with cancer, and the chronically ill. It’s also wonderful for those who suffer from adrenal exhaustion and extreme stress.

Dr. Herbert Benson, M.D. (cardiologist and associate Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) has written books on this revitalizing, therapeutic technique, which has been extensively tested in the laboratories of Harvard Medical School and Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. The technique releases the body’s defenses against stress and stress-triggered illnesses, including high blood pressure. Once learned, it takes only ten to twenty minutes twice a day.

Practice the following relaxation response two times a day for 10 to 20 minutes. (20 minutes is optimal.) It is best performed on an empty stomach in the a.m. before breakfast and before the evening meal in the afternoon.

1. Sit quietly in a chair with the back straight in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes.
3. As much as you can, deeply relax your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face.
4. Breathe through your nose. Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out, say the word “one” (or any word of your choosing) silently in your mind to yourself. For example, breath IN . . . OUT, “ONE”; IN . . . OUT, “ONE”; etc. Breathe easily and naturally.
5. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes opened. Do not stand up for a few minutes.
6. Do not worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them and return to repeating “ONE” or your chosen word. With practice, the relaxation response should come with little effort. Practice the technique once or twice daily, but not within two hours after any meal, since the digestive processes interfere with the elicitation of the Relaxation Response.

Read Dr. Benson’s books The Relaxation Response and Beyond the Relaxation Response for more information.

The Mind/Body Prescription

In his book, The Mind/Body Prescription, Dr. John Sarno explores how the brain can produce physical symptoms and how emotions (especially suppressed anger) can lead to chronic pain and many ailments. Dr. Sarno recommends a toxic emotional purge by daily writing for 20 minutes anything that you can think of in past or present that has upset you in any way. This technique alone has produced dramatic recovery in his patients. See the book for detailed explanation of the writing technique.

EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique

Unresolved emotional issues can inhibit healing and EFT is a simple technique aimed at releasing these issues. In essence, EFT is an emotional version of acupuncture wherein you stimulate certain meridian points by tapping on them with your fingertips. This addresses unbalanced energy meridians, new cause for emotional issues. Properly done, this frequently reduces the therapeutic process from months or years down to hours or minutes. And, since emotional stress can contribute to pain, disease and physical ailments, we often find that EFT provides astonishing physical relief.

For more information, user manuals, testimonials, etc., visit www.emofree.com

See Dr. Mercola’s video demonstration.

A heart at peace gives life to the body. – Proverbs 14:30

Recommended by Herbert Benson, MD, “The Relaxation Response” is a very important element in healing, especially for those under long-term stress, as it helps balance the nervous system. This is medicine for the chemically sensitive, those with cancer, and the chronically ill. It’s also wonderful for those who suffer from adrenal exhaustion and extreme stress.

Dr. Herbert Benson, M.D. is a cardiologist and associate Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Benson has written books on this revitalizing, therapeutic technique, which has been extensively tested in the laboratories of Harvard Medical School and Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. The technique releases the body’s defenses against stress and stress-triggered illnesses, including high blood pressure. Once learned, it takes only ten to twenty minutes twice a day.

Practice the following relaxation response two times a day for 10 to 20 minutes. (20 minutes is optimal.) It is best performed on an empty stomach in the a.m. before breakfast and before the evening meal in the afternoon.

1. Sit quietly in a chair with the back straight in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes.
3. As much as you can, deeply relax your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face.
4. Breathe through your nose. Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out, say the word “one” (or any word of your choosing) silently in your mind to yourself. For example, breath IN . . . OUT, “ONE”; IN . . . OUT, “ONE”; etc. Breathe easily and naturally.
5. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes opened. Do not stand up for a few minutes.
6. Do not worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them and return to repeating “ONE” or your chosen word. With practice, the relaxation response should come with little effort. Practice the technique once or twice daily, but not within two hours after any meal, since the digestive processes interfere with the elicitation of the Relaxation Response.

Read Dr. Benson’s books The Relaxation Response and Beyond the Relaxation Response for more information.

Now you’re probably thinking, how could my Swiffer-swept, Windex-washed home be more polluted than the outdoor air filled with car exhaust and factory fumes? The truth is that many of the things we have in our homes – cleaning products, pest-control sprays, candles, laundry detergents, new carpet, and more – are filled with harmful chemicals that take a relentless toll on our immune systems.

As a first line of defense when you are starting to evaluate and take steps to improve your home’s air quality consider an air purifier. An air purifier provides an immediate reduction of exposures to dust, fine particles, and chemicals. This is especially important in the bedroom where the body is supposed to rest and regenerate instead of metabolize and detoxify chemicals.