Ask Holly, Products, Recommendations

Ask Holly: What is the best Natural Deodorant?

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“You are my organic health guru. What deodorant do you use? Do you use organic? I’m thinking of switching my Mitchum to an organic one, but am weary they will leave me smelling “natural”.

Would love to hear your opinion!!”

Austin, TX

HI!
This is such a great question, and one I hear all the time. There are many reasons to ditch conventional deodorant- here are a few:

  1. According to a review published on PubMed, antiperspirant use can significantly increase absorbed aluminum. In fact, the bioavailability after single underarm antiperspirant application may be up to 0.012%. Since aluminum is widely recognized as a neurotoxin, I don’t want it in my blood stream, period.
  2. Antiperspirants work by closing the pores that release sweat under your arms which blocks one of your body’s routes for detoxification. I like to get rid of toxins any way I can- not trap them inside my body.
  3. Most conventional deodorants contain parabens. Parabens are preservatives which are used in food, pharmaceuticals and personal care products. They are xeno-estrogens which act as estrogen in our bodies. But here’s the info that gets me- An extensive study of women with breast cancer published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of Applied Technology found up to 5 different types of parabens in nearly 100 percent of all cancerous breast tumors. That says it all. I avoid parabens like the plague. Read labels and don’t use, eat, or consume anything with parabens. Especially methylparaben which was present in the tumors at the highest level.

I have tried MANY natural deodorants, and here are my favorites. They actually work!

LAVANILA The Healthy Deodorant

Kiss My Face Liquid Rock Roll-On Deodorant, Fragrance Free, 3 fl oz

I’ve also found that when I use certain soaps in the shower they cause my deodorant to, ahem,  not work as well. So I stick to a mild bar soap, and my favorite is the Weleda Calendula Soap. This soap is actually for babies, but I love using my baby’s products!

Babies, Nutrition, Prevention

Citrus Time!

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We recently harvested the tangerines we have been watching grow since February. In fact, growing our own tangerines has given me so much more appreciation for all citrus fruits. It takes FOREVER for the fruit to grow and ripen. It’s particularly hard for the little hands in my family not to pick these fruit before they are ready, and it has become a lesson in patience.

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November through April is the best time to enjoy citrus fruits- colder months are when they are naturally in season.

Before a time when all fruits were available at all times in all seasons at the grocery store, citrus fruits were only available during the winter and they were considered a special treat. My dad remembers how exciting it was to find an orange in his stocking on Christmas morning.

citrus time

One tangerine has 87% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is a powerful immune system booster, helps prevent colds, and may prevent recurrent ear infections.

No wonder they are in season during the winter!

Breastfeeding

Art in Breastfeeding

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Our family went art crawling yesterday, and my boys even took part in a few collaborative art projects.

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post image for art crawl with kids

If the point of art is to evoke emotion, my favorite piece yesterday was something I am very familiar with.

My husband took the gallery tour through all of the rooms and hallways first, and when he came out he told me “turn into the first room on your left and you’ll see an image of a little tiny chair with a video being projected onto it.”

I was intrigued- what would I find on this little chair?

My husband knows me so well, and knew I would love what I saw.

“The Early Chair” by Brooke Gassiot was the name of this installation, and it was a loop of a mother and baby, dressed in white, sitting on a white chair. It moves through phases of holding the baby, nursing the baby, and patting the baby’s back.

It was beautiful. Any breastfeeding mom knows so well those early months with a newborn when you feel completely tethered to your nursing chair.

We sometimes feel as if it’s not very beautiful at all. Especially when you’re tired, hungry, thirsty, in need of a shower, a nap, a new wardrobe, a new chair, and the list goes on.

But it is beautiful. And it is art.

Artists who depict breastfeeding, keep it coming. The more everyone is exposed to it, the more natural it will become and the more accepted and less self conscious breastfeeding moms will feel. And then hopefully we won’t have to hear ignorant comments like the one I heard from the 30 something year old guy in front of me who briefly watched the video and said, “I don’t need to see that.”

Really? Why not? No really- Why not? The more I think about it, the more I want to get on my soap box and wish I had asked him then and there. So I’ll take a deep breath and let my blood pressure simmer down. (After I heard him I made a big deal of saying loudly how beautiful and amazing the installation was. Mature? no. Did I get my point across? I hope so.)

We saw this renaissance painting earlier in the week, aptly named “Charity.”

breastfeeding in art

Thank you Jacques Blanchard for glorifying breastfeeding in the 1600s. And thank you, Brooke Gassiot for showcasing a nursing mom in 2013.

 

 

Recipes

Kid-friendly Minestrone Recipe

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When my two boys sit down to a heaping bowl of nutrient packed food for lunch and then proceed to gobble up every last bit, I hear angels sing the Hallelujah chorus.

That just happened with minestrone- full of folate, fiber, protein, lycopene, antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin A, polyphenols, etc.!

Here is a recipe for a Kid-friendly Minestrone.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion chopped
  • 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
  • 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock (or water)
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
  • 3 carrots, diced (or about 20 baby carrots if that’s what you have on hand)
  • 3 stalks of celery, sliced
  • 2 small potatoes, diced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
  • 1/4 cup chopped italian parsley
  • 1 cup uncooked pasta (shells, penne, macaroni, farfalle, or spirals)
  • 2 cups cooked cannellini beans
  • grated cheese (parmesan for adults and kids who like it, or grated cheddar for kids)

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the stock, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, carrots, celery and potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes.
  3. Add the beans, pasta, oregano, basil and parsley. Cover again and cook for 30 more minutes.
  4. Ladle into bowls and let the kids top their minestrone with cheese.
  5. Enjoy!

A few notes on the recipe:

I use a Vidalia Chop Wizard to chop my onion, garlic, carrots, celery and potato into perfect bite size pieces for kids. Baby carrots are super easy to chop this way.

A note about tomato paste- buy it in the tube so if you have any left over you can save it.

This recipe is pretty low in salt, as my kids won’t eat anything if it’s too salty. The cheese does add a nice touch of salt, but either way definitely add sea salt to taste.

I love to have my boys help me cook- they always seem to get more excited about eating food they have helped prepare. Their favorite part was snipping the fresh basil and parsley from our herb garden.