How much tuna is safe to eat?

Just came across a cool tool over at the Environmental Working Group's site.  You enter in your weight (in pounds) and it tells you how much tuna -- albacore, light -- it's safe for you to eat each week.

EWG Tuna Calculator

Very useful.   Enjoy!

Product Review: Avalon Organics "Vitamin C Vitality Facial Serum"

After yesterday's eye-opening expedition down facial moisturizing product lane, I thought it was long past time for me to review some of my other daily-use applications.

Today's product review is for Avalon Organics "Vitamin C Vitality Facial Serum" from their "Vitamin C" product line. It's a serum I use fresh out of the shower and under my other face moisturizer on a daily basis.



Feels great going on, and I find it's good for making those dark circles under my eyes less prominent - especially in combination with one of Avalon Organics' other face creams in the Vitamin C line. Plus, unlike products in the lavender line, it doesn't tend to make me break out - a definite plus.

So here is the catch: the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety database gives it a 6/10, or "moderate hazard" rating.

What I'm trying to figure out is why, given that the highest warning number for any of the ingredients listed on their site is a "4".

Curious to find out more? You can go here to see the rating on the site. See if you can figure out why they're slamming this product, because I'm stumped.

Product Review: Avalon Organics Co-Q10 Wrinkle Defense Cream

Sometimes I feel like finding and using a good quality cosmetic product is a losing battle.

A couple of nights ago, while waiting for a prescription to be filled at Shoppers Drug Mart, I came across a face cream by Avalon that I’ve been wanting to try.  It regularly runs at more than $20-$25 per unit, even at my favourite lower-priced health food store; Shoppers was selling it off for $16.99.  So what the heck.  I got it.

Today (filed under the heading “why do I do this to myself??”) I checked on its rating in the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database online.  A rating of 4 – “moderate hazard”.

Although a breakdown of the individual ingredients show none at a high hazard level – most of the ingredients are at a low level, in fact – the kinds of hazards cover the complete list: cancer developmental/ reproductive toxicity, “violations, restrictions & warnings”, allergies/immunotoxicity, as well as “Other concerns for ingredients used in this product: Neurotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Miscellaneous,Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards”.

I suppose it could be worse. 

In case you also picked it up, here are the key ingredients to be concerned about:

  

For more information on this product from the Avalon Organics web site, go here.

To see the complete product review breakdown on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database (online) site, go here.

Experiment: Changing Supplements

According to several sources I've read about, adequate vitamin D ingestion can help support your immune system.  I tested as being pretty low on vitamin D so I started taking supplements of 1000 IU of D3 per day, which I increased (based on feedback from my naturopath) to 2000 IU per day.

In addition to this, I have stopped using hand sanitizer.  In fact, the last bug I caught was after using hand sanitizer so it occurred to me that it might be removing good bacteria as well as the bad stuff.

So here is my experiment:

1.  2000 IU of vitamin D3, in supplement form, per day.  (In case you're curious, I'm taking this SISU brand product)

2.  Hand washing.  I wash my hands almost as soon as I get home and before I start to work with food or do anything, really.  Back and front, using a natural soap if I can (it usually ends up being the fruit and vegetable wash liquid).

3.  Switched brands of vitamin C to the SISU brand as well -- I suspected that the Genestra product (C-1000 with bioflavinoids) I've been using for years was no longer quite doing the trick. One a day (1000 mg) of vitamin C.  This one has Ester C.

4.  Ran out of my normal calcium, so I started using the SISU brand of that as well.  It's a coincidence -- honest!  I'm taking 4 pills (2 with lunch and 2 in the evening) per day.

5.  My usual B-12 folic acid supplement in the morning when I remember to take it.  That one isn't SISU -- at least not right now!

OH!  I just remembered one other change I've made ... I'm drinking boiled water from the kettle at work rather than using (and re-using) either my stainless steel water bottle or plastic bottles.

Let's see how it goes ... fingers crossed ...