My Favorite Things...Air Detox by Dr. Schulze

Originally published August 3, 2010

Recently, I shared the following information with a friend, and it reminded me that one of My Favorite Things is Air Detox by Dr. Schulze. So here's my Air Detox blog. (We have no endorsement deal as of yet, so I just share this because I truly like this stuff.)

The cool thing, and the reason it's one of my favorite products, is because we've discovered how useful it is for more than what the product was originally intended for. I like multi-purpose. Like coconut oil, milk and cream - it can be used for savory and sweet dishes. (I love multi-purpose clothing too like sarongs & reversible jeans/leggings, but that's another blog!)

One added note: Please know what you're using when you spray and use products at your home. Febreeze is very popular and understandably so - it does what it claims, right? It rids your space of odors, but the pertinent question is: how does it do that? Well, here's a website (Sustainable Baby Steps) that explains and lists some of the chemical ingredients. Scary! Here's a snippet (THIS IS ONLY A SAMPLE, FOLLOW LINK FOR LONGER LIST OF INGREDIENTS:

"Below you'll find a list of just some of the 87 chemicals found by the EWG in Febreze Air Effects, listed in order of their toxicity to humans:

• BHT - Known as a neurotoxin, endocrine disruptor, immunotoxicity, non-reproductive organ system toxicity, skin eye and lung irritator
• Propylene Glycol - Causes cancer, allergies, toxic to immune system, accumulates in the system, non-reproductive organ system toxin, is classified with "enhanced skin absorption" and irritates the skin, eye and lung
• 1,3-Dichloro-2-propanol - Carcinogenic (causes cancer)

Now that I got that caveat out of the way, here's just some of the ways we use Dr. Schulze's Air Detox:

• Bathroom Air Freshener Why does pooh smell bad to humans? Well, here's a little known fact I recently learned. Anyone who's ever had a dog knows that poop does not smell bad to a dog, but it usually smells very bad to us. The reason? Dogs will eat doo-doo as a nutritional supplement because their pooh often contains undigested food and essential nutrients. Doo-doo for us can be deadly as human pooh is riddled with e-coli and other health-hazards, hence pooh smells bad to us, good to dogs.
• Travel/Airplane Disinfectant I spray this on me before flying as it helps the air around me smell better and I swear stay more fresh. Because the oils in Air Detox are disinfectant, it also (potentially) disinfects the air around me. Could be psycho-somatic, but it seems to help. I'll even spray it directly on me during the flight to refresh. So far, I've not gotten any complaints about the smell (it actually smells pretty good).
• Spray Air and Furniture after we've had clients or guests at our home Marcus and I love our friends and clients, but people bring in their own germs, smells and whathaveyou, especially since Marcus teaches martial arts and sometimes we hang out at home after class. Air Detox helps freshen and neutralize the air, especially when we have people here (myself and Marcus included) with post-martial arts stank.
• Natural Mosquito Repellent This is perhaps the most essential of all uses for Air Detox because as much as I do my best to see the good in all things, I have a hard time seeing the good in mosquitoes. War, greed, fascism, rape, disease, GMO, and hunger too, but mosquitoes, I'm still learning to love. Air Detox saves me from the awful toxicity of deet and the nasty smell of Skin So Soft or other "natural" mosquito repellents that I'm not sure are all that natural. I like spraying it on my clothing when I'll be out at night when mosquitoes are likely.
• Eucalyptus/Therapeutic steam bath at home! Dr. Schulze's website recommends spraying Air Detox profusely when running a hot bath in the bathroom to create your at-home eucalyptus steam bath. It's lovely.

It may be pricier than other air fresheners or mosquito repellents, but it lasts a lot longer because it's so concentrated. Because I'm not in a high-germ area (like a clinic, spa or hospital), I cut it with 50% water (but shake before spraying to mix). Also, you can make your own using similar ingredients, just make sure you get eucalyptus (or peppermint) and citrus (orange and/or grapefruit) oils, as these seem to have the most potent  detoxifying effects.


Here's the link for Dr. Schulze's website and Air Detox. We also love his Super-Food + and all of his detox products and programs, especially detox tea (which I drink instead of regular tea or coffee). Best on the market. Also, since Dr. Schulze products are grown and produced in the United States, they don't get irradiated like imported herbs. I don't believe Schulze is certified organic, but based on our research and experience, his products are equivalent to organic or better, as many of them are wild harvested in areas that have never seen pesticides or GMO, so that's a bonus.

Let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Shampoo, too? Damn!

I must admit, there's a part of me, albeit base or unevolved, that gets tired of all this shit.

Here's my list, off the cuff, of things that stand out as the most absurd crap that we're all exposed to on a regular basis unless we're hyper-vigilant about avoiding them:

• GMO Genetically Modified Organism
• Sodium Fluoride. Are you kidding me?!? It's illegal to dump in nature because it kills everything, but, hey, go ahead, put it in our frickin' water supply! WTF?!?
• Pasteurization - that makes dairy products and honey way less healthy and often toxic
• Weird, fake sweeteners that cause brain tumors in rats and probably human
• All the metal additives in immunization shots that are MANDATORY?!? for babies and children
• All the antibiotics and hormones they put in animals makes humans antibiotic resistant and gives humans unwanted and unwarranted hormone supplements! That's why puberty and menopause are happening earlier. Have you seen a busty10-year-old lately? It's crazy!
• Chlorine pools! Chlorine gas was used during WWII in concentration camps. Come on!
• Shampoos, lotions & makeup with strange, toxic additives
• Hydrogenated vegetable oils - which, let's be honest, does not, ever, happen in nature*

Now at this point in my life, I manage to avoid most of these toxic things. Also, it doesn't feel like vigilance because I'm used to it, but man oh man, does it seem like something's amiss in our current society and culture when all most people want to do, fundamentally, is live their lives happy, healthy, being loved and loving, and having purpose. That really seems to be at the core of what people want. Yet all of the above things and more seem to be in contradiction to that fundamental human goal, if not flat out sabotaging it and/or shortening human lives. It almost seems like some evil giant is doing an experiment on humans. Crazy!

Geesh! You can see I get a bit frustrated about this.

But on the shampoo front, here's Dr. Mercola's latest video on how Shampoo, too, is toxic. Damn!



Do all you can to eat and live organically...

at least until I'm Queen of my own Island Nation where everything will be organic and natural.

*Hydrogenation, a form of chemical reduction, is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic compounds. Hydrogenation typically constitutes the addition of pairs of hydrogen atoms to a molecule, generally an alkene. Catalysts are required for the reaction to be usable; non-catalytic hydrogenation takes place only at very high temperatures. Hydrogen adds to double and triple bonds in hydrocarbons.[1] Source: wikipedia

Worry vs Choice

Recently I was hanging with some friends near a chlorine pool.

I use the word near because I was indeed near the pool, not in the pool.

It's Marcus' fault, sort of.

Sixteen months ago, I was swimming laps in my local pool for exercise (and a sort of moving meditation) five to six days a week. Then I got an outer ear infection (apparently common for regular chlorine swimmers - though it was my first). It got me to thinking that if chlorine can disrupt the balance of my ear, it's probably not the best thing. A few months later, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. For two years prior, she had been doing water aerobics in a chlorinated pool three to five days a week. No one can know for certain if this cause, contributed or is correlated to her cancer, but Marcus (who became her health adviser soon after her diagnosis) recommended she cease all chlorine pool swimming.

One of my friends at the chlorine pool basically implied that even though he knows chlorine is not good for you, he thinks worrying about chlorine is not good either and potentially worse (since he decided to go into the pool).

I agree. Worry is not good, or at the very least, it's unproductive and worst, detrimental to health and life-shortening.

I told him I didn't necessary worry about it, just made choices about what felt right for me. If I really wanted to go swimming, I would. But I can still have fun just hanging out. (It makes me miss growing up in Minnesota - land of ten thousand fresh water lakes.)

But it did make me wonder. Am I worrying about chlorine or pollution or toxins we're exposed to on a regular basis?  Maybe. Part of why I eat organic 90% of the time is because I live in Los Angeles, and a lot of my pollution/toxic exposure is pre-determined by where I choose to live and breathe. So I figure, at this point I choose LA, so I'm exposed to certain toxins, I might as well eat as healthy as possible to help my body with all the "unavoidable" toxic exposure. Get my drift?

Anyway, I do believe I worry less than I used to. Though worry seems to be passed down from both sides of my family. The decreased worry in me is also part Marcus' fault... I'd been releasing worry from my life before he and I got together, but he has been a model for me, in a way. He has what many would call a "terminal" illness and he's not worried. Why should I worry about being late, car repair bills or chlorine? I'm still working on worrying less about Marcus. I do get a little protective of him sometimes given his health stuff...though there are signs his body and kidneys are...waking up. Yay! Horray!

Finally, I get to my point. We make choices every day, without worry. Let's say you prefer not to wear clothing, generally. You still choose to wear clothes when you go out into the world, right? (At least in most environments/circumstances.) Does it cause you worry when you choose to wear clothes? Probably not, you just put something on.

Well, that's how I'm approaching my choices about health, lifestyle and chlorine pools. My gauge for whether I'm worrying or not? If I have a furrow in my brow, anxiety in my body, or thoughts of future apocalypse in my brain, I'm probably worry-laden. If I'm smiling (a real smile), happy, and even playful about navigating through my choices (whether in the usually polluted LA-air or the remarkably clean Minnesota air), then I'm probably just flowing and choosing.

I prefer the latter.

 

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