Organic Food – Organic Bread

Why Choose Organic Bread?
Mass produced breads usually contain more additives than you might imagine because they help to reduce the time needed to make bread. The additives can come in the shape of bleaching agents, preservatives and colouring, and there are always concerns about the potential side-effects of these man-made artificial additives.

Besides additives, bread may likely to contain agro-chemicals from its ingredients. High-fibre bread is the most likely type of bread to contain pesticide residues because they can collect in the grain's outer layers.

To avoid these nasty ingredients, you should look for organic or traditionally made breads.

Benefits of Organic Bread
Organically baked bread is the natural alternative for people who care about their health and the environment. It is made from flour milled exclusively from organic grain and contains none of the various dough improvers and additives that are widely used in many mass produced breads.

The term "organic" refers to the manner in which the wheat has been farmed and turned into flour and bread. Organic farming uses more natural methods of treating the land during the farming cycle. And more importantly, it does not use artificial fertilizers and restricts applications of pesticides, insecticides or herbicides.

Nowadays, most organic bead bakers do not even use yeast, they prefer to allow the bread to rise on its own. Although it takes much longer, bread without yeast is much easier to digest because it contains lactobacillus, a Gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium that produces lactic acid essential for good digestion.

In addition to being yeast free, more and more the organic breads are dairy free as well, making them ideal for those who are lactose intolerant or following a strict vegetarian diet.

Does Organic Bread Taste Better?
Organic breads should not be substantially different from non-organic ones. In fact, people who have tried organic breads, find that they generally taste better mainly due to the purity of the ingredients. Commercial bread makers tend to simplify and speed up the bread making process that unfortunately, have caused the bread to lose its rich texture and nutrients.

I believe many people are likely to think that fresh bread must be soft, but the truth is exactly the opposite. Preservatives and additives make breads soft. Organic bread or traditional bread should feel firm when touched. So, if you come upon a loaf of bread that is soft, there is a high chance that it is filled with preservatives and additives.

Organic Bread Ingredients
All organic baked goods shall contain 95% or more certified organic ingredients. Only a few natural baking aids, such as vitamin C, calcium carbonate and raising agents are allowed. No hydrogenated fats or genetically modified ingredients are permitted. Sometimes, refined white sugar, artificial additives or dough improvers may be used.

Organic Breads Easily Available
Organic breads can be found at most local health stores. In fact, nowadays, the standard supermarket organic bread is made to be more like a traditional loaf, and may contain organic soya flour, fat or sugar, or added vitamin C.

While mass-produced or processed breads are much simpler to make and cost lesser, organic breads take more time to bake, but the taste and health benefits definitely outweigh the convenience and cheaper cost.

Making Your Own Organic Bread
Perhaps you might want to have a go at making your own at home. There is organic pre-mixed bread flour available which contains wheat flour, butter, shortening, sugar, milk powder, etc. This flour mix is ready to be baked because it already contains all the essential ingredients necessary to bake bread.

To further simplify the making process, you can even use a bread-making machine which is really easy to use. Just throw the ingredients in and turn it on. That's it, you have your own home-made bread.

Let's Learn & Experience Organics for Better Personal Health & Our Planet Wellness

Organic Foods - Breakfast

Changing to an organic diet may not be easy and certainly is not going to happen overnight. So you should try and experiment whatever you feel like. Perhaps, you should begin with Breakfast, the most important meal of the day.

An organic breakfast offers the best possible start to the day, and it gives you that feel-healthy lift that comes from food you know you can trust.

What can you have for organic breakfast?

• Similar to normal bread, organic bread is a good, nutritious source of complex carbohydrate and vitamins. It does not have any hydrogenated fats, and in some minor cases, may contain refined white sugars, artificial additives or dough improvers. For variety, choose different kind every week. (Advice: Just be aware that organic bread has a shorter shelf life because of its lack of chemical preservatives.)


• To make breakfast more interesting, you can have varieties of organic cereals that are rich, nutty, and completely natural with no unwanted artificial extra ingredients. Kids can also have organic cornflakes and crunchy. (Advice: something certified organic does not mean it is super healthy. Breakfast cereals can actually have higher fat, salt and sugar contents that non-organic versions. So you need to read the labels)


• Adults with busy days ahead of them may prefer organic porridge. Porridge has a low glycaemic index score which means it gives a slow, sustained release of energy, helping you to feel fuller for longer.


• Organic muesli are made from their own organic oats, rye and barley, and available loose or pre-packed.


• Organic milk comes from organically raised cows that graze organic pastures supplemented with natural feeds and that receive no routine antibiotics. Recent research from Aberdeen University showed that organic milk can contain almost 75% more of the essential fatty acid omega 3 than ordinary milk. This thanks to a higher proportion of clover forage in the diets of organic cows. Organic cheese is thought to contain even more Omega 3 than milk.


• Organic soya milk, rice milk and almond milk drinks are creamy, if you are looking for dairy-free alternatives for milk.


• Spread your organic toasts with organic jams or marmalades that are sweetened with honey, apple juice or agave syrup instead of sugar.


• Mixing chopped organic fruits with creamy organic yoghurts can be an excellent meal to begin your day with. Organic fruits and vegetables contain higher levels of vitamin C, essential minerals and antioxidants than non-organic types.

Tips for Parents
Some studies have found strong link between eating breakfast and improved learning, a better ability to concentrate, less irritability, more energy, less likelihood of overeating during the rest of the day and a general feeling of well-being.

Eating the right food at breakfast time will stabilize blood sugar levels, making it less likely that your child will crave a boost from sugary, high fat or processed foods later.

The foods to avoid at breakfast most of the time are the sugary and over processed ones, such as chocolate spread, croissants, muffins, cereals bars and pastries. Although they may go down well with your child, they tend to lead to craving for yet more sugary, over processed foods by mid-morning.

Try to give your child a combination of slow-releasing carbohydrates and protein which will help to keep him/her full and offer a steady supply of energy until lunchtime. For examples:

• Wholegrain cereal served with chopped banana and semi-skimmed milk
• Bacon (non-smoked, lean bacon with fatty rind trimmed away) sandwich for older children
• Unsweetened porridge, try the plain type with half semi-skimmed milk and half water, and add chopped fruits or raisins instead of sugar or honey.
• Wholegrain, multi-grain, seeded or fruit toast with low sugar peanut or other nut butter, cream cheese or ham slices.
• A pot of natural bio-yogurt with fruit and muesli.

Let's Learn & Experience Organics for Better Personal Health & Our Planet Wellness

Organic Food - Why Are We Sicked?

Generally, there are only two main sources why we get sicked

Reason #1 - We catch a virus or bacteria.
We will pick up thousands of bacteria and viruses throughout your life and that's natural. Our body immune system is designed to counter or handle the bacteria or virus. Our immune system is effective only when our body is in balance, a state known as homeostasis, and we will never get sick because of a virus or bacteria. On the other hand, if our body is not in balance, our immune system becomes too weak to fight off the virus or bacteria, and so, we can get sick more often, more severe and for longer period of time.

Reason #2 - Our body develops an illness or disease
We can have illness or disease such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer because something in our body is not working properly. This is a result of too much toxin getting into our body which affects our body pH level. When our body pH is alkaline, we virtually can never get sick. However, when we are toxic, our body becomes highly acidic, which means that we are susceptible to illness and disease. Every patient who has cancer is found to has a low pH level i.e., too acidic!

One of the sources of causing our body to be imbalanced or highly acidic is what goes into our body or what we eat.

Sadly, today, almost all kinds of man-made or man-grown food contain toxic synthetic chemicals.

Let's be practical, food manufacturers or farmers are in food business and in order to make profits, they have to sell more of their products at lower cost. For example, to produce more crops in shorter possible time, a farmer will use chemicals fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to ensure that his crops grow faster and are not easily destroyed by pests.

That's why if you are going to eat fruits and vegetables or any food for that matter, it is important that they are organically grown without any toxic chemicals for personal healths.

For the coming posts, I will share with you on organic food.


Let's Learn & Experience Organics for Better Personal Health & Our Planet Wellness

Wearing Organic

I believe that you tend to choose clothes made from natural fibers because they feel good and allow your body to breathe, but you may not know that it takes 150g (1/3 lb) of pesticides just to produce a conventional cotton T-shirt.

What to look for?

• Look for natural, organic and non-toxic fabrics in the-closest-to-your-skin types of clothes your wear, such as underwear, socks, leggings, and T-shirts.
• Look for fabrics made from organic cotton that are not colored using heavy metal dyes or bleached with chlorine bleaches. Do your know that cotton actually grows in several different colors? They can be used to make the ultimate eco-friendly fabrics, since they are created without the need for dyes. As for bleaching, try to look for fabrics bleached using eco-responsible methods, for example, hydrogen peroxide bleaches.

What to avoid?

• Try to avoid fabrics with "non-iron" or crease-resistant" finishes as these finishes contain formaldehyde, a colorless poisonous gas made by the oxidation of methanol and possibly causes cancer. They are bonded into the fibers and cannot be washed out.
• Try to avoid your dry-cleaning as much as possible. The chemicals used in this process are toxic and there is evidence that we as well as workers at dry-cleaning factories are all exposed to these chemicals when they are released into the environment through air and groundwater pollution.

Let's Learn & Experience Organics for Better Personal Health & Our Planet Wellness

Organic for Children - Organic Bedding

Is organic bedding necessary?
I would say it definitely helps. Children or babies can spend from one-third to half of their times in bed, and their skins are constantly in contact with the bed sheets, pillows or even duvet covers. Therefore, it is important to avoid choosing children or baby bedding made from materials with chemicals that are potentially harmful to your children's health.

These days, most new conventional bedding materials are made purely from synthetic fabric, conventional cotton or combination of both. Synthetic fabric, like nylon or rayon are by definition made by means of chemical synthesis. Conventional cotton is growth with 30 over different pesticides and herbicides. Most people may not know that the cotton industry is responsible for 50% of all chemicals used in the world for agriculture purposes.

Besides the bedding raw materials, the end-products will also have been treated with fire- and water retardant chemicals, formaldehyde, strong bleaches, dyes and other chemicals.

All these chemicals can potentially cause respiratory problems and skin allergies if your children or babies are exposed to them continuously for a long period of time.

Organic Bedding is a Healthier Option
To minimize the risk to your children's health, go for organic bedding, preferably, to choose those made from pure organic cotton. Organic cotton is grown without nasty chemicals, only with natural means. For an example, instead of using pesticides, Australian wasp are used to control pest that destroy the cotton plants. Furthermore, fabrics made from organic cotton are not colored using heavy metal dyes, bleached with strong chlorine bleaches or treated with formaldehyde.

Therefore, organic bedding is a much healthier choice because it provides a natural, chemical-free environment for your babies or children while they are sleeping or resting.

Furthermore, knowing organic bedding conforming to international organic standards means that you are helping to protect the environment as well.

Getting Organic Bedding
Nowadays, organic cotton sheets, blankets or mattresses for cots are quite easy to get from mail or online order if they are not available in your nearby stores.

Perhaps, because of budget constraint, a more affordable alternative for cot mattresses may be a natural futon, stuffed with organic cotton or wool. If you decide to buy new conventional mattresses, it is advisable to avoid one filled with polyurethane foam, and to allow it to release “gas” in a well-ventilated room for several days before using it.

Besides organic bedding, try to make sure that what is closest to your children's and especially baby's skin, is organic or untreated fabric for their better health.

Again, although the price of organic product is slightly higher, but the extra little more money offers more peace of mind. Won't you agree?

Let's Learn & Experience Organics for Better Personal Health & Our Planet Wellness

Organic for Baby - Baby Organic Wipes

Most commercial baby wipes for your baby's bottom contain alcohol or other chemical ingredients that can irritate a baby's skin. Washable wipe is the best baby wipe for both your baby and the environment.

And of course, not forgetting to get those made from organic undyed cotton. They are usually avaiable in most cloth diaper companies. Just get one or two dozens washable wipes and use them with a home-made wipe solution or water.

Here is one of the effective soothing wipe solution recipes.

• 3 & ½ tbsp (50ml) distilled water


• 1 tbsp (15ml) vinegar


• 2 tbsp (30ml) aloe vera gel (may help to heal minor burns or cut and to soothe sunburn)


• 1 tbsp (15ml) calendula oil (is gentle, cooling and soothing. It is suitable for babycare oil or lotion. It helps to heal dry and damaged skin, skin inflammations, rashes, diaper irritations, and other skin disorders.)


• 1 drop lavender essential oil (a relaxing, cooling and healing oil with sweet, floral herbaceous scent)


• 1 drop tea tree essential oil (is a powerful and healing natural antiseptic, excellent for children's skin and cleaning hands. However, a point to note is that it can be little dry on the skin when use on its own, so don't put too much)

The vinegar and essential oils will act as preservative, so you can store the solution for up to six weeks.

There you have it, a do-it-self natural wipe that is excellent for your baby's skin.

Hope you like it.

Let's Learn & Experience Organic for Better Personal Health & Better Our Planet Wellness

Environmentally Friendly Pencil

I found an interesting pencil which I would like to share with you. Actually, it has nothing to do with organics but it is an environmentally friendly pencil,

If you look closely on the picture above, you will see "SAVE FOREST PENCIL" labelling on the pencil.

It is made of recycled newspaper. I think it is manufactured by rolling up probably a single sheet of newspaper over a piece of graphite with glue in between. Then coated with a layer of paint with decorative drawings.

When I wrote or scribbled with it, I did not notice any significant differences as compared with conventional wooden pencils. The plus point is that it is much easier to sharpen and the shavings came off in bigger pieces.

I think it is a brilliant way of cycling newspapers.

That's all, a short one for today.

Organic Soap - Making Your Own Soap for Baby

Baby Rose - Recipe

Generally, for the first few weeks, new baby's skin just needs little water to clean since it does not have many opportunities to get dirty. However, when you need to start using soap, use a moisturizing natural olive oil soap sparingly and rinse it off well. This following soap recipe is suitable for baby and young children.

Ingredients

• 4 tsp/20ml ground rosehips (helps to reduce scarring and induce skin healing, suitable for number of sensitive skin problem)


• 1lb & 3oz/600g olive oil (provides firmness and a silkiness to the lather)


• 10 & 1/2 oz/300g coconut oil (provides a lovely and fluffy lather)


• 3&half oz/100g borage oil (is very moisturizing and soothing to sensitive skin)


• 13 oz/375g distilled water


• 5 oz/145g lye (or sodium hydroxide)


• 1 tsp/5ml Roman Chamomile essential oils (gives a relaxing oil with a sweet-fruity and herbaceous scent.)


• 3 tsp/15ml mandarin essential oils (gives quite a strong sweet and almost floral-like scent.)

Cold Process (You can find videos on soap making on my previous post How To Make Your Own Soaps)

• Put the ground rosehips in a woven cotton bag and tie the bag.


• Place the bag in the distilled water for a few hours.


• Remove the bag when the distilled water turns a rich red color.


• Prepare the lye solution water using the red distilled water and sodium hydroxide. The lye solution water will turn from red into rusty color.


• Warm the base oils in a stainless steel pot over a low heat.


• Add the warm base oils into the lye solution water and stir the mixture carefully. The mixture will slowly become thicken and color also become lighter.


• When the mixture is done, add the essential oils.


• Pour the mixture into a mold and insulate your mold with blankets to help the soap mixture gel.


• Leave the soap mixture for 24 to 48 hours to cool.


• Remove the soap from the mold and place it somewhere well-ventilated to cure for 6 to 8 weeks.


• Try to let the soap bar becomes hardened and the pH level is close to 7 (i.e. neutral, not acidic nor alkaline) before using it.

Next, I would like to share a tip on how you can store your handmade soap

If you want to store your soaps for a longer period, simply wrap them in greaseproof paper and leave them somewhere cool and dry, such as the bottom of a drawer or the back of a closet. Keeping soaps away from light and heat will help to preserve the freshness of their color and scent. If you made your soaps correctly, you should be able to keep them in good condition for a year and beyond. Another plus point of storing for longer period is that your bars will harden and improve in quality, as they mature and age.

So if you can keep your soaps in good condition, you will not only have a constant supply of soaps for your own personal use, but you will also have a ready supply of last minute gifts. That's right, if you have no ideas what present to get for special occasion, handmade soaps can be perfect presents. They will always be a welcome and popular gift.

Let's Learn & Experience Organics for Better Personal Health & Better Our Planet Wellness

Organic for Children - Baby Organic Cotton Diapers

Concerns of commercial disposable diapers
The advantages of using disposable diapers are convenient, no need to wash, and may even be cheaper than re-usable cotton diapers. However, most people may not know that the nasty chemicals used in the manufacture of disposable diapers can leach into your baby's skin, causing skin rashes or even infection. The heat in disposable diapers can raise the temperature around the genital area to an ideal level suitable for a breeding ground for infection.

Disposal diapers unfriendly to environments
It is estimated that each year, the U.S. consumes about 40 billion of disposable diapers which resulted in hundreds of tonnes of rubbish, over 90% of them end up in a landfill. Tens of millions of dollars are spent on collection and disposal of the rubbish a year.

Several millions of trees are cut down to just to make diapers each year. Up to 20 trees and about 420 gallons of petroleum are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby each year.

Disposable diapers are estimated to take hundreds of years to decompose, so it will likely cause problem to our next generations.
Recycling disposable diapers has been found to be economically not viable.

Organic disposable diapers?
When I tried to look for information on organic disposable diapers, I could not find any, not at least on the internet. I guess that they are not widely available or well supported by the organic community. I am not surprised because even though organic disposable diapers have the same benefits as other organic products and they are biodegradable, they will still result in tonnes of rubbish since they are made for single use. And of course, the second reason is probably the higher price due to the cost of organic raw materials.

Benefits of cotton diapers

Therefore the best alternative is to use reusable unbleached organic cotton or cotton-and-wool diapers. There are many benefits:

• Organic baby diapers made from organic cotton are the most absorbent diapers because the dense loops create more surface area for contact and absorbing moisture.


• The conventional cultivation of fibres, including cotton consumes huge numbers of agro-chemicals. On the other hand, the raw materials of organic cotton clothing are grown without harmful pesticides or insecticides, and the diaper clothes are not chemically treated and do not receive chemical textile finishes.


• Using organic cotton diapers ensures that you are protecting your baby from chlorine bleach, glues, plastics, formaldehyde, dyes, artificial perfumes, chemical lotions, and other toxins that are widely found in both plastic and paper disposable diapers.


• Cotton diapers are expected to last between 50 to 200 times of usage before being turned into rags.


• Organic cotton cloth diapers will definitely helps to relieve pressure on our fast disappearing forests and our planet's fossil fuel limited supply.

Using re-usable unbleached pure cotton or cotton-and wool organic diapers may be expensive in terms of outlay, but knowing that it helps to reduce the considerable risks both to your baby and to the environment, is worth the extra price difference.

Before I stop here today, would like to share with you some interesting tips on baby diapers:

• Some babies have diaper rash, it could be because their skins come in contact with chemically treated fiber or plastic disposal diapers. It will be good to give organic diaper a try to see whether the condition improves.


• Avoid using petroleum-based cleaners (for example silicon-based softeners) helps to prevent waxy build-up that can prevent your baby clothes or diapers from absorbing moisture as much as they use to be.


• To keep your cloth diapers soft without adding chemical softeners, you can place in your dryer a gym sock tucked with a hockey puck or rubber ring. It "stirs" the diapers around as they dry as to prevent them from becoming stiff. When you remove diapers from the dryer, shake them to loosen and soften the fibers. This will fluff up the diapers and make them more absorbent.

Let's Learn & Experience Organic for Better Personal Health & Our Planet Wellness

Organic for Children - Baby Cotton Clothing

Baby’s skin
Most people may not know that a baby's skin is 5 times thinner and more sensitive but less oily than an adult's skin. It is less resistant to bacteria and harmful substances in the environment. Babies also sweat less efficiently than the rest of us, so it is harder for them to maintain their inner body temperature. Therefore, baby clothing and diapers made of natural cotton will be ideal because cotton provides better ventilation and absorbs moisture more easily.

Problems with Conventional Cotton Clothes
One important point to note is that baby's skin is much more porous than adult's skin, so whatever put on baby's skin will be absorbed directly into the body including chemicals on the baby clothing or diapers made of conventional cotton clothes.

Majority of the conventional cotton is produced with many different pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers and other chemicals, and as mentioned in www.treehugger.com:

“Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically-dependent crops, sucking up 10% of all agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides on 3% of our arable land; that's more than any other crop per unit. That adds up to 1/3 of a pound of chemicals to produce enough cotton for a t-shirt, and 3/4 of a pound for a pair of jeans. And that's just not bad for the planet; 20,000 deaths occur each year from pesticide poisoning in developing countries, many of these from cotton farming, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)”

Therefore, for the sake of your baby's health, parents should seriously consider getting organic cotton baby clothing or diapers.

Benefits of Organic Cotton Baby Clothing
Organic baby cotton clothes are made of pure cotton that is not only natural but also free from hidden nasty agro-chemicals.

Then, how to prevent pests from destroying cotton plants?

In Australia, cotton growers are making major progress in replacing costly and environmentally harmful pesticides with beneficial insects, such as Trichogramma Wasps to control pest from feeding on cotton plants. Basically, the tiny trichogramma wasps which lay their eggs into pest eggs and then trichogramma larvae eat pest eggs before the eggs can develop into destructive pest adults.

Besides free from agro-chemicals, you will also unlikely to find any chemical preservatives, SLS, articificial dyes or artificial fragrances in the organic cotton clothing.

Cost More But ...
Unlike in the past, organic clothing including baby cotton diapers, bedding, towels and many other products are easily available online, if you can't find them in your local stores. Alright, the price of cotton clothing is higher than those made of conventional cotton, but it is definitely not prohitbitively expensive. Letting your baby wearing something that you know is comfortable, safe, good for his/her skin and health as well as environmentally friendly, will definitely worth paying for.

That's it for now.

Let's Learn & Experience Organic for Better Personal Health & Our Planet Wellness

Organic Soaps - Ecosoapia Organic Soap

While I was searching for organic soaps available in the existing market, I discovered that there were over 5000 searches on "Ecosoapia Organic Soap" on the internet.

So I decided to take a look on the Ecosoapia website, and the followings are what I have found.

Ecosoapia
21st Century Health have launched Ecosoapia in October 2006, an organic ethical hand and body wash. Its aim is to introduce to consumers with an organic liquid soap that is free from all nasty chemicals that can be found in so many soap in the market today.

Product - Organic Liquid Soap
Ecosoapia introduces a luxurious organic liquid soap that is available in 7 different fragrances:

• Almond
• Eucalyptus
• Peppermint
• Lavender
• Rose
• Tea Tree
• Unscented

The liquid soap is available in 295ml/9.98 floz bottles with pump dispensers.

This Ecosoapia organic soap is free from Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), artificial colour, fragrances, synthetic preservatives or parabens. It is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Furthermore, it is kind to your skin as it is kind to the environment.

Besides SLS (which can be found in my previous post - Potential Harmful Chemicals in Commercial Soaps), parabens is another most common chemicals that are found in conventional cleansers. Parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben or others) are chemical preservatives that allows products to have longer shelf-life. However, some studies or reports have claimed that parabens stimulate breast cancer.

Certified
Besides being approved by the Soil Association (the largest British organic body that approves over 70% of organic British produce), Ecosoapia has been awarded both the Chemical Consumer Award and Consumer Award from Allergy UK, which is important for allergy sufferers.

Contribution Back to Our Planet
The company also gives 10 percent of its profits to Irasambi, a Brazilian group working to preserve the rainforest. Not only is the product itself good for you and the environment, buying it is good for the environment as well.

Using them also makes you feel as though you are helping the environment as money from profits goes straight to helping conserve the rainforests.

Think of Buying?
It is likely that Ecosoapia products generally are not available at your local natural foods store because it is still a relatively new company.

You can order them online and of course, you will like to get better price at Ecohip, a division of 21st Century Health.

Before giving this product a try, there are points to note
- The price are usually quoted in British pound.
- Check the shipping charges and other terms and conditions.

If you have tried this product, you are welcome to post a comment here to share your experience of this product.

Let's Learn & Experience Organic for Better Personal Health & Our Planet Wellness