250 Care Labels- 100% Organic Cotton $10.85

Addis Shay Gold Label Addis Tea Ethiopian Organic Blend Loose Tea 100g $10.99

100% Organic Label

What’s In It? Evaluating Natural Product Labels

With the plethora of new “natural” and “organic” beauty products on the market, it can be a confusing task to try to figure out which ones to buy. Visiting my local Walmart lately, I noticed an entire section devoted to “natural” beauty care. However, upon examining the labels of some of the skin-care products in this section, I found a lot of chemicals I wasn’t sure I truly want on or in my body.

So how do you find products that are truly natural, or organic? First of all, “natural” just implies the product contains something that came from nature. This doesn’t mean the entire product is actually from natural sources. (100% natural is another matter.)

The same thing applies to the “organic” label.

By law, a product must specify what percentage of the ingredients are actually certified organic. However, a product can use the word “organic” on the label, even if only one organic component (in sufficient amounts) is present, as long as it specifies in the tiny print somewhere, which ingredients are organic.

Here are some helpful tips to navigate through the “natural” beauty product jungle:

1. Look for products marked “100% Organic”, and also with the “Certified Organic” sticker. (“100% Natural” is also good, but be aware this does not mean organic.) If you can’t find 100% Organic products (which in some cases may be very difficult or impossible to find), go for the highest percentage possible, and try to make sure the other items are at least natural, if not organic.

2. Look for products with ingredients you can identify. I like to only buy products if I can actually pronounce all of the ingredients! This doesn’t mean you have to know exactly what everything is. For example you may see the ingredient “rosehip seed oil”, and not know what a rosehip is, but you can at least recognize that it is a natural substance. As an opposite example, recently there has been quite a bit of talk about parabens, and how bad they are for you (many new products even advertise “paraben free!” on the label). Therefore, if you see something like “methylparaben” on the label, you don’t have to know exactly what a paraben is and how it works, to know you should avoid that product.

3. If you are buying all-natural products, be aware that they may have a shorter shelf-life than the usual chemical-laden fare. Therefore, I recommend where possible, that you purchase direct from the manufacturer, so you know the item is recently made. For example, the leading producer of organic beauty products & skin care that I recommend on my website makes all their products in small batches, so that they will be as fresh as possible when you order them. If you purchase their products from another store, you may not know how long they have been sitting on the shelf. (Also check the label carefully, as some may advocate refrigeration.)

4. Seriously, if you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably a toxin you don’t want on or in your body! (With the exception of some products that list natural plant-based ingredients by their scientific names — but usually they will list the common name — e.g. “rosehip seed oil” — as well.) Ingredient lists for most items will also probably be much shorter than for traditional products, as natural products don’t (or shouldn’t!) contain artificial fragrances, dyes, or preservatives.

Hopefully this will serve as a handy checklist, next time you are bogged down in the “natural” beauty product aisle! Just remember, don’t just look for “natural” or “organic” on the front of the bottle — check the label, and also look for “100%”. Also look for a short list of ingredients which you can identify (or at least spell!), and an expiration or “use-by” date. These guidelines can help reduce your toxic load — at least the part of it that is absorbed through your skin.

Happy shopping! And for some recommendations of excellent, truly natural and organic products (as well as lots of other tips and ideas for avoiding toxins in your home and reducing your toxic load), feel free to stop by my website at the link below.

Is it worth it to shop at organic food places?

The food at organic and naturally grown/fed markets and stores is often very costly. Sometimes up to 4-5x the FDA approved ‘food’ and I’m wondering whether or not it’s worth going to organic markets for groceries. I did shop at large retailers like Safeway but after reading so many ingredient labels and finding that it’s almost not worth the time to bother finding a few good products (out of the entire store), I need some other options and e.g not 100 cheap quality, flimsy and bad tasting organic lolipops for $15 (5x their price).

Organic produce is always going to cost a bit more than non organic because it’s cheap to spray chemicals all over the food to keep away pests and to use chemical fertilizer than to not use them. Try price shopping around your local shops. Also consider that there are some veggies/fruits that are better to purchase organic than others. For example, fruits/veggies with hard/tough skins are typically not as big of a deal to get non organic, like bananas, avocados, pumpkins, etc. However certain fruits and veggies have a lot of pesticides in them like apples, celery, etc. and should be purchased organic.

These websites can help:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods

http://www.webmd.com/health-ehome-9/slideshow-organic-foods

I’d also recommend shopping at farmer’s markets. Most of those veggies/fruits are organic, very fresh, and have better prices then what you can get at the grocery. Another option is joining a local CSA, but that can be somewhat expensive up front (you have to pay for all your veggies up front) and you don’t always get what you want. However, it can be a great way to get organic produce and will get you to try veggies you might not ever eaten before.

Hope that helps!

Organic Super Foods Part 1

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Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Bloom – Gallon $30.89 Pure Blend Pro Bloom Formula (2.5 – 2 – 5)is a stand-alone, one part hydro-organic vegetative and fruit / flower formula. A specialty custom blend of organic and natural sources of the essential major, secondary, and trace plant nutrients in 100% soluble form – from the land and sea. It will produce vigorous lush green vegetation and superior fruits, flowers, and vegetables. A healthy alternative …

Green Web Raspberry Ketones 500 mg, Ultra Weight Loss Supplement, with African Mango, Green Tea, and L-Carnitine, 60 capsules $16.74 The #1 Raspberry Ketones brand on Amazon! Raspberry Ketone is a natural phenolic compound that is responsible for the heavenly aroma of red raspberries. Raspberry ketones helps increase fat breakdown and increase fat burning by a number of different mechanisms. It can lead to increased lipolysis, which helps breakdown fat, increased resting energy expenditure, which increases the rate in which ca…

Clif Bar Builder’s Bar, 2.4-Ounce Bars Clif Bar Builder’s Bar is the first delicious high protein bar to pay tribute to those who turn their everyday world into a gym. It will fuel your muscles with added protein, especially when your day requires a little extra oomph 12 bars per box…

Saffron Elite – Advanced Appetite Control | 100% Pure Premium Saffron Extract | 88.5mg – 60 capsules | #1 Rated Highest Quality Organic Saffron Extract $23.95 Saffron Elite by BodySuperior is simply the most effective and coveted appetite suppressant currently on the market. No other weight loss product compares to its price, purity or quality. Each capsule in Saffron Elite contains 88.5mg of pure Saffron Extract standardized to contain 0.34% safranal, the exact same amount as leading brands Re-Body Hunger Caps and Life Extension Optimized Saffron with …

Vita Coco 100% Pure Coconut Water, 11.1-Ounce Containers (Pack of 12) $10.49 Vita Coco is 100% pure coconut water with natural fruit purees. Made of five essential electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, low acidity, no fat, no sugar added, and no cholesterol. Vita Coco is the natural, refreshing way to hydrate and replenish. Read on to discover the amazing properties of coconut water. Vita Coco captures the taste of the tropics In 85 tropical countries, millions of pe…

ZICO Pure Premium Coconut Water, Natural, 11.2-Ounce Tetra Paks (Pack of 12) $16.90 Flavor: PURE COCONUT WATER Size: 11 OZ. PACKAGING: 12 PK…

O.N.E. Coconut Water, 11.2-Ounce Aseptic Containers (Pack of 12) $11.49 O.N.E.TM is 100% natural coconut water, which is the water inside a young green coconut. It is naturally filtered for nine months through the dense fibers of the coconut creating a nutritious, pure and refreshing isotonic beverage. O.N.E.TM is 100% natural and has five essential electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, no added sugars, no fat, no cholesterol and no preservatives. O.N.E.TM is no…

Anvil 498 Organic Ladies Ringspun T-Shirt 100% certified organic combed ringspun cotton; double-needle stitching on sleeves and bottom hem; 3/4″ seamed collarette and display tape at the neck; AnvilOrganic TearAway” label; fitted silhouette with sideseams; single-needle stitched neck; White and Natural are sewn with cotton thread;…

Anvil Mens 4.5 oz., 100% Organic Ringspun Cotton T-Shirt – WHITE – S 100% certified organic combed ringspun cotton; 3/4″ seamed collarette; double-needle stitching on sleeves and bottom hem; shoulder-to-shoulder tape; AnvilOrganic TearAway” label; White and Natural are sewn with cotton thread; Heather Grey is 90% certified organic cotton, 10% polyester;…

Anvil Youth 4.5 oz., 100% Organic Ringspun Cotton T-Shirt – WHITE – XS 100% certified organic combed ringspun cotton; 3/4″ seamed collarette and shoulder-to-shoulder tape; double-needle stitching on sleeves and bottom hem; AnvilOrganic TearAway” label; White and Natural are sewn with cotton thread; Heather Grey is 90/10 certified organic ringspun cotton/poly; for more information visit www.TrackMyT.com;…