Environmental Working Group

Down on the Farm

Posted on by akiwifreund

I have had so much fun being exposed to so many products as part of the Chronic Illness Bloggers network and I’ve been able to give my honest opinion, including this one for the Fay Farm Rejuvenation Lotion. Please note that I received it as a gift and the opinions that I state about this product are my own and are in no way influenced by the company.

First, I’m a good candidate for this product because boy, have I got issues. I’m hanging out in bed for about 20-22 hours every day because when I’m upright, CSF tends to pool around my brain stem, and the pressure is mighty uncomfortable. However, laying in bed for so long comes with its own problems. My fibromyalgia is singing the blues – especially now that in the state of Minnesota and while the sweet corn is growing like crazy, humidity is at its worst (check out this scientific discovery regarding how corn is actually adding to our humidity in this state here).

For about three years I also laid on my left shoulder because all of my shunt surgeries were done medially and on the right side, so my left shoulder has a pretty nasty impingement that hasn’t cleared up with 6 months of physical therapy for the third time. At this point I’m up for trying just about anything to feel better, including sacrificing a chicken and dancing around a fire.

So I’ve got pain all over, and I’ve got this crazy pain in my left shoulder. I’m always looking for ways to take away the pain. The Fay Farm Rejuvenation CBD Lotion is formulated specifically to relieve joint and muscle pain because it contains 200 mg of CBD (cannabidiol) – a product of hemp. I’m not going to get deep into the MJ/hemp debate; however, I’m going to say that I was a legal, card-carrying medical marijuana user while I was a patient in Arizona and my doctors were completely stumped about my horrible allergy to my shunt materials. I went the route of medical marijuana to try to control some of the pain and I learned about CBDs and how they are extracted from hemp plants at certain temperatures much different from THC, and also are not “psychoactive” like THC. In other words, CBDs are pain killers but they are not going to make you high.

Here’s what the lovely bottle of The Fay Farm Rejuvenation Lotion looks like (and you can tell I’ve used it):
2016-08-03 16.52.57
Here’s what it looks like straight out of the bottle, it has a slight green hue:
2016-08-03 16.53.23

Fay Farm recommends that this lotion be used for any body parts where fast absorption is desired. I agree! This is a lotion that is non-greasy and absorbs quickly; the base includes hemp oil, apricot oil, grape seed oil, apricot kernel oil, white sesame oil and jojoba oil, and you would think that with the combination of all of those oils that it would be, well, oily, but it’s not. When I apply a dime-sized squirt to my bad shoulder, it only takes about five circles before it’s absorbed.

It’s not just my shoulder that needs attention. Sometimes the tendons at the outside of my knees become tender. Don’t ask me why – I have a lot of theories but I’m sure I’ll never know the real reason. But I’ve been putting some of the Rejuvenation Lotion there too. And of course if I’ve had to do a lot of walking and standing because of physical therapy, I’ll put the lotion on my feet when I get home. Every once in a while I’ll put the lotion on the tendons that lead to the base of my skull (pretty easy for me to do since I am completely bald – no hair to contend with).

The company has described the scent as a decadent vanilla with a hint of camphor. I’m pretty sensitive to scent, and honestly, I don’t know if I would describe it that way. To me, it smells more “green” than anything and I don’t smell vanilla at all. In any case, it’s not a strong scent and should not overwhelm any of its wearers. Also, this lotion should not replace a good ol’ moisturizing lotion – keep using that chemical-free daily moisturizing lotion (trust me, look up ingredients and products on the Environmental Working Group database: Skin Deep) and get smarter about what you are putting in/on your body.

How effective is it? I would describe this lotion as being gentle and subtle. In other words, the relief I felt was not sudden and shocking; it was more like, “Oh, that part isn’t hurting right now.” It seemed like the effects lasted for about two-three hours. Because I got relief from it, I have continued to use it. It’s that simple. The chickens are safe for now.

Feel free to check out all of their products through the Canna Treehouse website.

If you are interested in this product in particular, you can visit this page directly.

Buying Cruelty Free: Physician’s Formula

Posted on by akiwifreund

Source: Buying Cruelty Free: Physician’s Formula

Well, my psychic powers have been in full force for the last week. Prime example: I wrote my “Bee’s Knees” piece before I read this one, which also talks about making conscientious purchases, including makeup products. I hope we continue the momentum.

The Bee’s Knees

Posted on by akiwifreund

I’m watching “Morgan Spurlock: Inside Man” on Netflix, and as always, he puts together thoughtful pieces about the things we should be concerned about as humans and consumers. I mean, I really enjoyed the episode from Season 3, “Morgan the Matchmaker” because, duh, dating; but there are others that really speak to my sense of responsibility to the earth and to other humans.

For instance, also from Season 3, Morgan explores trash in Episode 6, “United States of Trash.” I try not to create loads of trash. I recycle tons of stuff. But as careful as I try to be, I still generate the equivalent of a Walgreen’s plastic shopping bag of trash every week. I learned something new. Specifically, you can take those glass jars with the metal closures and rubber ring around the lid for a tighter seal to the grocery store with you and have the meat department deposit the meat IN THERE instead of packaging it, even if it’s “just” the paper. Guess what? There’s also less of a chance of cross contamination if it’s in the sealed glass jar rather than in the paper (which you might insist on wrapping in another plastic bag). Also, if you wash your glass jars in food safe dish soap, you aren’t going to pick up chemicals (like you do in containers that are half or all plastic). What amazed me the most was that the family of 4 saved 40% off of their monthly grocery bill by bringing their own containers.
I can no longer drive and stash my reusable bags in my car, but I still make it a point to bring them with me when I do my own shopping. Any time we can leave a little less plastic in the world is best, but even I know I must get better about my own consumption.

Season 3, Episode 7 is “Honey Bee-Ware.” I remember when the big study was put out about how scientists were really excited about figuring out why hives were dying out in great numbers, and they firmly believed it was the result of these little mites that were invading the bodies of the bees and then effectively decapitating them. Something about zombie bees, blah blah blah.

Really, the concern should have been focused on pesticides and herbicides. Morgan interviewed a Harvard researcher who had indisputable proof that the deaths were related to the use of (trace) amounts of neonicotinoids. The popular product “Roundup” has glyphosate, also known to cause just as many problems after being researched. When the European Union found out about the results, they immediately banned those chemicals.

The problem with the U.S. is that we allow ourselves to be guinea pigs for everything – food, cosmetics, cleaning products. We assume that our responsibility and our concern falls only within the U.S. borders, and we’ll take care of “it” later after a number of decades have passed and we suddenly have a large percentage of the population sporting eyeballs from their ears or some weirdness like that. But our trash is in the world’s oceans. We eat poisoned food, use 110 chemicals a day in cosmetics ranging from toothpaste to eyeliner to soap, and we leave smears of chemicals around our kitchens and bathrooms that we would never dream of putting in our mouths, but that’s where they end up anyway.

I mean, think about it: Would you put that Chlorox wet wipe in your mouth and suck on it like a pacifier? I’m guessing not, but somehow you have convinced yourself that it’s safe putting it on every surface you can find. Nothing is really clean unless it’s been passed over by harsh chemicals, right?

<sigh> This brings up the whole discussion about superbugs, but I’m going to think about that one a little longer before I cover it.

My new diet to combat my Lyme bacterial infestation has to be all organic (no chemicals, hormones, artificial anything), and I can’t have any dairy, gluten, soy or sugar. The “Honey, Bee-Ware” episode reminded me that there is a non-profit group in the U.S. that is trying to counteract the stupidity of the FDA and EPA and make us smarter consumers. Now that I think of it, I like the idea of not dipping my apples in a bowl of Roundup before chowing down on them. I try to buy organic when I can. I have already changed all of my cleaning products to be environmentally-friendly, and 90% of my cosmetics have been changed as well (I just have one eyeliner that I have a hard time giving up just because it’s the only one for me that doesn’t smudge, which is important to me because it makes up for the eyelashes I’m missing).

I made these changes about eight years ago after I wrote a paper and gave a presentation on the Environmental Working Group‘s database “Skin Deep” (http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/). I still have a hard time convincing people that they can find great stuff for their teeth and skin and hair that isn’t going to give them cancer or screw up their hormones, but I keep trying.

I was thrilled to see EWG add a cleaning database about four years ago: http://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners

Lastly, EWG has a handful of databases dealing with food issues. Think of it as an adventure to be the best you can be, like you’re in the food army or something. http://www.ewg.org/foodscores
http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/
http://www.ewg.org/research/ewg-s-dirty-dozen-guide-food-additives