Alternative Information

The Simplest Asthma Solution


During the Democratic convention the Reverend Al Sharpton quoted a shocking statistic: One third of the children in Harlem suffer from asthma. This shouldn't be completely surprising since asthma cases have been consistently increasing over the years, especially in the cities, escalating recently during the rollback of some key environmental laws, but it is a trend we must turn back.

While parents have only limited control over the environment where they raise their children, there is a personal environmental decision they can make that may dramatically reduce the symptoms their children experience. It all comes down to detergent, and not just any detergent. It is the detergent that they use to wash their children's clothes and sheets. The biggest selling detergents in the United States contain large amounts of irritating phosphates, which are not only a major irritant to the skin and respiratory system, but a source of serious pollution, and a component in global warming.

If you are wondering if your laundry detergent contains phosphates just read the label, it is listed there. In most industrialized countries phosphate detergents are outlawed for good reason, but in the United States the chemical industry has a strong lobby and cheap phosphates help manufacturers keep their costs low, so their use continues. The next time you walk though the laundry detergent section of your supermarket, take a deep breath and notice how much the smell irritates your nose and lungs.

What kinds of detergent contain low, or no phosphates? Baby detergent! No mother would dream of washing their newborn's clothes and sheets in the family's powdered detergent! That would give their baby's delicate skin rashes, not to mention an increase in crying and crankiness. There are many readily available natural detergents that are phosphate-free and it's worth the time to find them.

We have noticed tremendous improvements for both children and adults when their clothes and sheets are consistently washed in a phosphate-free detergent. By itself this change may not alleviate all of the symptoms of asthma and those related skin rashes, but it clearly removes an insidious irritant from the equation.

It might be helpful to explain why this simple change is so effective. Testing in Europe shows that, while sleeping, people are between two thousand and ten thousand times more sensitive to chemical and electromagnetic pollution than while they are awake. When a child's pajamas are washed with a chemical irritant and they sleep on bedclothes containing those same toxins, their immune system is challenged nightly, during a time when they are most vulnerable. Their body's nutritional reserves are consumed in that battle and they are less able to defend themselves from the pollutants they encounter during their day. Asthma and allergies are not produced by a single irritant, but by an accumulation of minor irritants that eventually overwhelm the body's ability to adapt. It is not a huge leap to imagine that removing a respiratory irritant from the sleeping environment, where a person spends one third of their time, is going to produce an improvement in a child's ability to breathe.

Drs. Ralph & Lahni DeAmicis are Naturopathic Physicians. Their educational program, The 10 Minute Herbalist, seeks to put the knowledge of everyday good health into everyone's hands. Information about their program and publications is available at www.SpaceAndTime.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

USA TODAY

Millennials use alternative financial services
USA TODAY
A recent survey suggests many underbanked millennials are turning to alternative financial services. AP A neon signs illuminates a payday loan business in Phoenix. A recent survey suggests many underbanked millennials are turning to alternative ...

and more »


ThinkProgress

Kansas Legislature hammers out alternative tax bill
Kansas City Star
By BRAD COOPER TOPEKA -- A new, less costly tax-cutting measure emerged in the Kansas Legislature on Wednesday as lawmakers tried to rescue the state from another plan that critics said would wreak financial havoc. Negotiators from the House and Senate ...
Kansas lawmakers resuming tax talks to work on alternative to cuts already ...The Republic
Kansas lawmakers looking for alternative to tax-cut billWichita Business Journal
Legislative limbo: Lawmakers fret over budget, hotel rooms as session drags onKansas.com (blog)

all 307 news articles »


U.S. News & World Report

Novel alternative presidential ticket falls short
Los Angeles Times
Americans Elect, which promised an alternative ticket based on an online nominating process, says that none of its potential candidates has garnered the support needed to qualify for its primary. Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer is among the leading ...
Online effort Americans Elect nears end of lineDetroit Free Press

all 233 news articles »


NFA'S alternative model
TheDay.com
Norwich desperately needs to drastically change or outright replace the Thames River Academy alternative high school. Norwich Free Academy, a quasi-public regional high school with a reputation for excellence, is exploring the potential of opening a ...

and more »


Senate Democrats reject House GOP budget plan but don't offer alternative
Washington Post
The end results were preordained: sweeping rejection of Obama's budget and a near party-line vote to block the main alternative, the blueprint of Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that passed the House in March.

and more »


AdvisorOne

Advisers move toward alternative investments-study
Reuters
(Reuters) - Some US financial advisers are steering away from traditional investments and looking to alternative portfolio allocations as their clients are more willing to take on risk, a study released on Wednesday showed.
Advisors Eye Alternatives, Question Buy-and-Hold ApproachFinancial-Planning.com
U.S. Financial Advisors Question Traditional Portfolio Construction, Turn ...MarketWatch (press release)
Financial Advisors Seeking Alternative Investments For Portfolios, Says SurveyFinancial Advisor Magazine
On Wall Street -AdvisorOne
all 12 news articles »


Alternative Resolutions column: Put end to harassment, bullying quickly
Appleton Post Crescent
Q: My problem is one person who keeps picking on me. I'm fairly new and still learning but that's no reason why every day I should get yelled at, sworn at, made fun of, called an “old fart” or ridiculed for my heritage. Some of my work has even been ...



Hollywood Reporter

Sale, layoffs rock alternative radio station
Boston Globe
By Sarah Rodman and DC Denison Most staffers at local alternative rock radio outlet WFNX 101.7 FM were laid off Wednesday as Stephen M. Mindich, publisher and chief executive of corporate owner Phoenix Media/Communications Group, revealed that the ...
Clear Channel Buys One of Last Independent Alternative Stations in U.S.Hollywood Reporter
Local alternative rock station sold, employees laid-offMy Fox Boston
Clear Channel to buy 101.7 WFNX from Phoenix MediaBoston Herald
Blast -CBS Local -Nashua Telegraph
all 28 news articles »


Alternative graduation supported Occupy
The Daily Tar Heel
By Alex Dixon | The Daily Tar Heel Graduates toss their caps in the air at the end of alternative commencement on Sunday, attended by about 100 people. As thousands gathered in Kenan Stadium Sunday, a much smaller group occupied the Forest Theatre for ...

and more »


LETTER — Alternative voting system could produce better representation
HollandSentinel.com
By Doug Zylstra In Saturday's Quick Hits column, the Sentinel editorial board talked about the lack of competition in local elections, especially in multi-candidate, at-large township races. One main reason that it' s difficult to have candidates from ...


Google News

Mommy Home Jobs | Mommy Matters | index | site map
Copyright MommyHomeJobs.com