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Green Living Now News, Edition
Three
#1. Student
Chef Testers choose
best dish liquid. Who Won?
Imagine if student testers at a chef program,
trained to know clean, tested out 5 different dish liquids to see
which one(s) cleaned grease most effectively with the least amount
of effort. And, which one(s) wiped out E-coli and coliform bacteria
according to a microbiological lab analysis.
The white chef hat, rubber glove clad testers
from Toronto's George Brown College washed away the monkfish quenelle
in a Breton sauce (whatever that is) from pots and pans. They used
5 different dish liquids: Nature Clean, 7th Generation, Sunlight,
Ecover, and a homemade version. They got the same amount of each
dish liquid, and washed for the same amount of time. So, what were
the results? Pineapples. No, I'm just kidding…They rated the
dish soaps using pineapples, the more the better. Guess what? The
only one to get 5 pineapples, the highest score, was Ecover. Nature
clean got 4, Seventh Generation Scored 3, Sunlight only got 2, and
the Homemade version scored
a lonely 1 pineapple.
Ecover easily cut through the grease the fastest.
The homemade version took twice as long to clean as the others,
Seventh Generation took a little longer to scrub than Nature Clean.
Several students felt that Sunlight smelled too strong,
and the dishes carried the smell after rinsing. Luckily all of them
got five pineapples for effectively cleaning away the E-coli and
coliform bacteria. This confirms the fact that even plain soap and
water effectively washes away bacteria. (Get rid of those anti bacterial
soaps, people…)
New Addendum: After
many years of using and recommending Ecover, I have stopped. I learned
that many of their products contain sodium lauryl sulfate, SLS,
(a controversial synthetic chemical) that is not disclosed on the
label. This was a great disappointement to me. Many so-called "natural"
cleaning products probably contain SLS, despite the fact that you
won't see it listed individually on the label. Many companies now
claim to disclose all ingredients, but only give you the category,
such as "non-ionic surfactants". Not good enough for me.
So, I now use and recommend Aubrey Organics, Earth
Aware cleanser. It's a soap based herbal product which can be
used for dishes, laundry, and all of your cleaning needs. I love
it! The smell is terrific and it works very well.
To purchase Earth
Aware and the other terrific organic and natural products that
I use: http://www.greenlivingnow.com/products.htm
2. Are
Toxins in the Environment Linked
to Breast Cancer?
Eek, yes! This is according to the new report,
State of Evidence 2004: What is the Connection Between the Environment
and Breast Cancer?" released by the nonprofits: the Breast
Cancer Fund and Breast Cancer Action. This report tells us
that nearly 50% of breast cancer cases are unexplained by personal
characteristics and other traditionally-accepted risk factors. Many
epidemiologists and other scientists increasingly believe that many
of these cases are linked to environmental factors. This conclusion
is based on 21 research studies
published since February of 2003, which adds to existing evidence
linking toxins in the environment to breast cancer.
So guess what?
Here are the culprits mentioned in the research
findings:
· Chlorinated chemicals found in drinking
water (get a good
tap water filter if your water is chlorinated or if you suspect
other toxic contaminants) and computer component manufacturing are
associated with elevated risk of breast cancer in three new studies.
· Common chemicals in the home and workplace
include: Pesticides, household
cleaning products, personal
care products, and some pharmaceuticals.
· Bisphenol-A, used in plastic food containers
and baby bottles and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used extensively in
food packaging, vinyl shower curtains, rainwear, cars, credit cards
medical products (like IV tubes), and more. And,
diethylstilbestrol, the drug given to pregnant women from 1941-1971,
that doubled the risk of cancer of breast cancer for women who were
exposed to it in the womb and who are now over 40.
· The Million Women Study in the United
Kingdom revealed that all types of postmenopausal hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) significantly increased the risk of breast cancer.
In fact, the use of HRT after previously being diagnosed with breast
cancer tripled a woman's risk of reoccurrence or development of
a new breast tumor.
· A solvent used in many varnishes, paints,
dyes and fuel additives (ethylene glycol methyl ether) was found
to sensitize breast tissue cells to the effects of estrogens and
progestins, increasing the risk of breast cancer.
· And the best established cause of breast
cancer-- ionizing radiation (as in X-rays, CT scans, fluoroscopy
and nuclear fallout).
So, lest you throw up your arms in frustration
screaming out "Everything Causes cancer, what am I going to
do?" here are some practical and relatively easy suggestions
to help you prevent cancer:
Check out my column: Top
Ten Nontoxic, Earth Friendly Living Suggestions
3. What Natural
Substance Kills
Bacteria, Mold and Germs?
Vinegar…it's not just for salads. Vinegar
has been used as an old folk recipe for cleaning for years. Why?
According to Heinz company spokesperson, Michael Mullen, numerous
studies show that straight 5% solution of vinegar (as it's
sold in supermarkets) kills 99% of bacteria, 82% of mold, and 80%
of germs (viruses). Wow, who knew? Well, a bunch of people actually.
Wanda Olson, Donald Vesley, Marilyn Bode, Polly Dubbel, and Terry
Bauer conducted a lab study called, "Hard surface cleaning
performance of six alternative household
cleaners as measured by soil removal and microbial reduction under
laboratory condition" (catchy title, eh?) The results showed
that vinegar rated in the "most effective" category for
removing kitchen and bathroom microbial contamination.
Too bad Heinz can't make this claim on their
bottle unless they want to register vinegar as a pesticide with
the Environmental Protection Agency. I keep a spray bottle of distilled
white vinegar at my kitchen sink to spray down the counters and
sink at the end of the day. And, I use approximately one cup of
vinegar to 5
gallons warm to hot water, to wash the floors. The vinegar smell
goes away fairly quickly, and it works great! And so inexpensive.
Using antibacterial products, which surprisingly
are even in "natural" cellulose sponges now (if it says
"resists odors" then you know that there's an antibacterial
agent in it), can contribute to drug resistant bacteria. I went
to the "Ask a Scientist" site, http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01671.htm,
for more information. Here's what Dr. Peter Faletra had to say about
soap and water versus antibacterial lotion, "For my own personal
health, I would never use antibacterial gels, washes, lotions etc.
Soap (i.e., non-antibacterial) and water is by far a better approach
since this age old practice sufficiently cleans hands and does not
contribute to the advancement of resistant bacterial strains, nor
does it eliminate all the commensal (an organism living on or within
another, but not causing injury to the host) bacteria". Good
enough for me.
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