The Bug Spray Experiment

In my last post I noted that I was going to conduct a study of all the bug sprays we currently carry at the Co-op as well as my own personal homemade formula. Although not completely scientific, I did choose days that were partly cloudy with little wind to ensure optimal bug levels. I did not participate in this study as I refuse to purposely expose myself to long periods of bug exposure, but my two young boys were perfect candidates for this as they were willing to stay outside as long as possible and they love experiments. I tested these sprays for application (ease of applying the bug spray), exposure (how long they could be outside with only one application), and overall impression of the spray.  Here are the results:

Purple Prairie Bug Spray (Made in Minnesota)
Application: Easy to apply, needed to rub it in for optimal coverage.
Exposure: 50 minutes
Overall Impression: Both boys liked the light scent.

Simply B Natural "Bug Off" Juice (Made in Minnesota)
Application: Easy to spray on, needed to rub in for optimal coverage.
Exposure: 35 minutes (note: this was the buggiest of all four days)
Overall Impression: This is a a different spray in that it is vanilla-based instead of your traditional citronella or lemon eucalyptus-based sprays. I believe one child stated, "It smells like cookies".





My Homemade Bug Spray
Application: I used the mist bottles that we sell here at the store, they provide a good even mist.
Exposure: 30 minutes for one child, 1 hour and 15 minutes for the other.
Overall Impression: Pleasant smell as I add some floral scents to my formula to cut the strong citronella smell. Bugs started to bite through non-sprayed clothes.

Badger Anti-Bug Shake & Spray (Made in Vermont)
Application: Easy to spray, but like the others it needs to be rubbed in a bit to coat.
Exposure: 1 hour and 45 minutes (they would have stayed longer, but had to come in for lunch).
Overall Impression: This spray definitely has the strongest smell of the four. Both boys noted this with one okay with it and the other not a fan.

So there you have it. This has turned out to be a very bad bug year, but for natural bug sprays I think these fair very well. Chemical-free bug sprays will never hold a candle to those with chemicals. For one, re-application is minimal and their effectiveness is much more apparent, but they contain chemicals that can be harmful to you and to the environment. You will have to carry these natural bug sprays with you and re-apply often, but can rest easy knowing that warding off those awful bugs didn't expose you, your family, or the world to some potentially harmful chemicals. Here's to hoping bug season will be over soon!

Bugs, Bugs, and More Bugs!

The bugs are out in full force here in northern Minnesota which poses a problem. After a very long and very cold winter all I want to do is be outside when the sun is shining and this bug thing is making it very difficult.  Bug spray is what I need, and lots of it! But what kinds of bug sprays are effective, natural, safe?

Most of us are used to DEET-laden bug sprays, we know them to be very effective against those nasty bugs. But are they safe? DEET is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, but it is also noted, by this same agency, to have caused 18 different cases of neurological damage in children and 2 adult deaths. It is also a known to cause eye irritation, rashes, and blistering. Research has shown brain cell death and behavioral changes in rats and it is toxic to the environment. DEET is now in 75% of all US water sources and incredibly dangerous for all aquatic and bird life.

So I'm not going to be using DEET.  This summer I am trying out several different types of natural bug

sprays. The one I turn to most often is Badger's Anti-Bug Spray. Badger products come from Vermont where they know bugs and they are very effective and very safe. They contains citronella, geranium and cedar essential oils all in a water and soybean oil base. In addition to the spray they have some Anti-Bug Balms containing the same set of  essential oils in an organic olive oil and beeswax base.

I have also started making my own bug spray this year. I start with a 4 ounce mist bottle and add two ounces of water and two ounces of witch hazel. I then mix and match different essential oils that are known to have active constituents that help repel bugs. My favorite essential oil right now is Lemon Eucalyptus. This isn't just lemon essential oil and eucalyptus essential mixed together, it is an actual variety of eucalyptus tree that originates in Brazil. I mix it with other essential oils in that water/witch hazel base, shake and spray before heading outside. I like making my own because I can make it as strong or as light as I wish. Other essential oils that are great at repelling bugs are: citronella, cedarwood, geranium, rosemary, grapefruit and tea tree.

We have a couple new bug sprays at the Co-op that are actually made here in Minnesota: Purple Prairie and Simply B Natural.  I am going to try them out and compare them to my homemade one and Badger to see which is the most effective, so keep your eyes out for that!

If you live here in Cook County, join me for my Make-Your-Own Bug Spray Class Friday, July 11 at 5pm.

In the Sun

Up here in northern Minnesota it doesn't feel anywhere near the kind of weather you feel the need to apply a good helping of sunscreen. Fortunately, I was able to get away to a part of this country where a cloudy day is rare: northern Arizona and southern Utah. Sunscreen was important even riding in the car, that sun is powerful over there in the desert!

I brought along several varieties to test as I knew I would be applying it to myself and my family several times a day. DISCLAIMER: I only use natural, chemical-free sunscreens. This means the primary active ingredient is zinc oxide and they usually apply white. I have reached an age where I care more for the health of my skin than looking like a geisha. Here are my favorites:

 #1 Purple Prairie Botanicals Sunstuff SPF30:
I would say that this was everyone's favorite. It had a light consistency and was slightly less white than the others. Made in Minnesota!

 #2 Elemental Herbs Coconut Sunstick SPF30:
This is the perfect sunscreen if you are an avid hiker.
We did a lot of hiking on our vacation and this was very
portable. It fit easily in a back pocket for easy reapplication throughout the day.








#3 Badger Unscented Sunscreen Cream SPF30:
By far the whitest of the three, I like to call it my geisha makeup. This is the one we used most to cover arms and legs. We managed to make it through without any serious burns thanks to this sunscreen. Of the three, this sunscreen is the only that follows FDA standards for UVA and UVB protection (Broad Spectrum) or water resistance. Badger is one of those awesome companies voted "Best for the World 2014" by the B Corporation organization which rates businesses based on their environmental, worker and community impact.

Honorable Mention: Elemental Herbs Lip Balm SPF12
The three sunscreens mentioned above are all great but not
what you would apply to your lips for protection, and those
lips need protecting! This lip balm is my favorite, so great
that I would use it as my everyday lip moisturizer.

Cabin Fever!

I've held it together all winter.  Usually I start complaining the day the temperature hits below zero and I don't stop until spring. But not this winter, I've been embracing the cold and the snow like a champ. Until March 1st....

I just couldn't take it anymore. All the endless snow and more days when the temperature fell far below zero (-28 degrees F at my house!)- I began to wonder if I was completely insane for living in such a place. So needless to say I have a serious case of Cabin Fever!  

In the past, I mostly just suffer through.  I take my multivitamin, try to get enough Vitamin D and sleep.  Exercise has always been a great help. But this winter, since it seemed to hit me so hard, I decided to look in to some different solutions for lifting my mood and alleviating some my symptoms of Seasonal Effective Disorder.

Typically I use Passionflower tincture for mood support, but the old tried and true St. John's Wort seems to

be winning out after a winter such as this one. After further research I found these other products that may help with symptoms of Seasonal Effective Disorder:

*Melatonin. This natural hormone helps regulate mood yet seasonal changes may reduce natural levels.

*Omega-3. Another name for Omega-3's is essential fatty acids. Note the word essential. We require these essential fatty acids for optimal functioning of our bodies. For mood, they help transmission of nerve impulses.

*5 HTP. This amino acid helps increase the body's natural production of serotonin.

*Florida. I here it's sunny and warm there, sun and warm weather will eliminate all of your symptoms.

Early Winter Favorites

It's that time of year where it seems as if EVERYONE! is coughing. Maybe not everyone, but it feels like that when your child is waking up in the middle of the night with a cough.  To remedy that persistent cough I've been favoring Herb Pharm's Herbal Respiratory Relief. I like it because it not only helps support you through a nasty cold by promoting a productive cough, reducing irritation and enhancing immunity, it can also offer relief for that otherwise healthy person who has a lingering cough. I like making my own cough syrup out of it by mixing 1 TBLS. of honey with the recommended dosage.  For children simply divide their weight by 4 to get the proper dose.

This winter I'm also liking the Sambucol Black Elderberry Original Formula.  I've been using ALOT of this product this winter and so far (I'm knocking on wood) I haven't even had a minor cold. Elderberry is known for it's support of the immune system, so I'm using it mostly as a preventative, but I'm also giving it to the kids when they are sick just to help strengthen their immune systems to better fight the colds and coughs.

Chicken Soup for the Common Cold

The winter season is upon us, and with that: the common cold.  We know we need to wash our hands, try to keep our immune systems functioning properly, but it is destined to befall all of us as we spend most of our time in enclosed places during these cold months.

Reputable sources discount the effectiveness of everything from antibiotics to over-the-counter  medicines as a cure for the common cold.  Alternative medicine is full of natural remedies, everything from zinc and vitamin C to echinacea and other herbal remedies.  But the answer to relief from the common cold may have been stewing on our kitchen stove all along: chicken soup!

In a recent study out of the University of Nebraska, Dr. Stephen Rennard showed that chicken soup actually has medicinal value.  Using his wife's recipe, passed down from her Lithuanian grandmother, Rennard's study demonstrated the soup's ability to slow down the movement of neutrophils.  Neutrophils are immune system cells that help the body's response to inflammation.  It was also shown to, "temporarily speed up the movement of mucus through the nose, helping relieve congestion and limiting the time viruses are in contact with the nasal lining," according to the Mayo Clinic. 

Results are out as to what exactly in the soup produces these reactions.  They believe it may be the workings of both the vegetables and the chicken together.  Yet more proof that our food can actually cure.

Here is the actual chicken soup used in the study:

Grandma's Recipe:
1 5-to 6-pound Stewing hen or baking chicken
1 package of chicken wings
3 large onions
1 large sweet potato
3 parsnips
2 turnips
11-12 large carrots
5-6 celery stems
1 bunch of parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Clean the chicken, put it in a large pot and cover it with cold water.  Bring the

 water to a boil.  Add chicken wings, onions, sweet potato, parsnips, turnips and 

carrots.  Boil about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove fat from the surface as it accumulates. 

Add the parsley and celery.  Cook the mixture about 45 minutes longer.  Remove the

 chicken.  The chicken is not used further for the soup.  (The meat makes excellent

 chicken parmesan.)  Put the vegetables in a food processor until they are chopped 

fine or pass through a strainer.  Both were performed in the present study.  Add

 salt and pepper to taste.

Las Vegas Essentials

I recently returned from a fabulous getaway to Las Vegas.  Whenever I return from a trip I like to ponder what item from our Wellness Department helped me the most.  I didn't have to think long on this one because without a doubt the product that saved me was the Urban Moonshine Digestive Bitters. 

Digestive Bitters are great for so many things, not just digestion.  These are mentioned by Urban Moonshine as aided by Digestive Bitters:        
*Soothes gas and bloating
*Relieves occasional heartburn

*Strengthens digestive health
*Maintains healthy blood sugar levels
*Balances appetite
*Supports liver and healthy skin

But the "ailment" I needed it for was overindulgence.  Las Vegas is all about overindulgence, so it was so nice to have something to help while I ate too much, stayed up way past my bedtime, and imbibed a drink or two (or three).

Speaking of drinks, this is the one that saved me from excess and helped keep my digestion in shape. This may be an actual drink but today I'm going to call it Kim's Las Vegas Tonic:
             1 ounce whiskey (optional)
             ginger ale
             1tsp. Urban Moonshine Bitters
             slice of lemon or lime
Start with a small glass of ice.  Pour in whiskey if using, top with ginger ale and bitters.  Garnish with slice of lemon, lime, or both.  I prefer the Citrus Bitters, but the Maple Bitters are just as nice-especially for the holidays.

And speaking of the holidays, Digestive Bitters are a great accompaniment to your holiday table.  Because, like Las Vegas, we all know we are going to overindulge.  All it takes is a little bitters in some sparkling water before or after a meal to get those digestive juices flowing!