No Sweat!

Men perspire, women glow and we all fret about the sweat that leaves us wet and yet, we continue to bet, incorrect, that the duet of deodorant and antiperspirant on the market would offset the upset about the smell of our sweat.   Underarm cosmetics are hazardous to our health.  Most of the compounds we roll and rub into our armpits contain synthetic perfumes and toxic components that have been linked to brain and respiratory disorders as well as cancers.  Aluminum salts are central to preventing sweat and odor from discharging through our pores.  The problem is that our bodies are designed to emit fluids to control temperature.  Sweating is natural and is critical for survival. When the fatty acids and proteins in our sweat break down and bacteria get involved, the combination emits a hostile odor.  When we try to stop this natural function, we absorb and retain the toxins and cause lymph and sweat gland problems and other health complaints. 

There are natural alternatives to odor management.  Sodium hydrogen carbonate or sodium bicarbonate, the chemical composition of baking soda, is a nontoxic odor neutralizer and scrubbing agent.  Cornstarch, the starch of a corn grain, is a thickening agent and stabilizer and can help control moisture and odor.  Many have tried one or both ingredients and they do work.  However, some complain about skin irritation and excessive dryness; the lack of fragrance of the mixture; the application to the skin; or other valid reasons.   Most of the criticism can be overcome by the addition of coconut oil to bind and temper the ingredients and essential oils for fragrance. 

Recipe

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch (or substitute arrow root powder)
about 5 tablespoons extra virgin organic coconut oil

a few drops of your favorite essential oil (optional)

In a short wide mouthed glass jar, add the baking soda and cornstarch.  Mix well.  Place a few tablespoons of solid coconut oil into glass bowl.  Place that bowl into a larger bowl of warm water to melt the oil or use room temperature melted oil.  Pour 5 tablespoons of oil into the powder and stir.  Let the mixture rest.  (use any leftover oil on your skin or hair)

The mixture will solidify in cooler temperatures and liquefy in warm temperatures.   When using this mixture, I use scrape about a fingertip amount out of the jar and rub under each armpit.  The heat from your fingers will melt the oil.  You may feel slight grittiness upon application, but that grittiness dissolves as it warms on your skin.  

The Co²Soda recipe works great.  It takes me through long days at work and it has staying power through 3 karate classes on Saturday mornings.  I have no odor; no allergic reaction; and no skin irritation. 

You may find about ½ cup of poisonous commercial deodorant for about $4 to $6 or you can make the same amount of Co²Soda from edible ingredients for pennies.  

Try it out.  If you usually use an antiperspirant, give yourself time to adjust.   If you experience skin irritation, add a bit more coconut oil.  If you are allergic to any of the ingredients, try one of the dry ingredients or substitute olive oil.

Let me know if it works for you.

Loud and Wrong

The screams to cut funding to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are bothersome.  What do some folks not understand about the EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment?   The EPA is us and for us.  The EPA is the champion of clean, green and mean.  The EPA will make you wipe it up with eco-friendly stuff and smack you if you don’t come correct.   

Will those budget cutters forgo the benefits of the EPA?  California is polluted with a toxic cocktail that has scarred the lungs of many.  The Appalachia region waters are filled with the soils of the mountain tops and the Gulf of Mexico has a dead zone where fish and plants cannot survive.   Lands throughout our country are hazardous waste sites ranging from dry cleaners and gas stations to piles of rocks contaminated with metals from mining and heavy industrial use.  The EPA is responsible for protecting (at this point, recovering) the air, land and water that has been vandalized by the American corporate way of life. 

Some of the moneyed interests have so suckered the great uneducated, that the hoodwinked are now singing the company blues.  “Da, da, da, dah, dum.  I got the blues.  Da, da, da, dah, dum.   Yeah, this is America and I should be able to make as much money as I want and don’t care about anything else ‘cause it’s my money and … so be it… blues.  Da, da, da, dah, dum.  Yeah.” 

These people are ‘idjits’ and we should put them in a locked room and serve them a constant feast of foul water; noxious air; filthy furnishings; and contaminated food to contemplate while they sit there with the giant dunce cap on their corrupted craniums.  I’d bet any of them would run out crying and heaving within minutes.  Idiots!

Imagine your hair with a hint of green coloring, sticky tar coating your once luscious locks.  Take a deep breath and then choke on it.  Tears run down your cheek speckled with the soot that burns your eyes.   Your tummy aches because your insides are dissolving.  “That’s alright, now,” says the corporate chief wearing the gas mask.  He walks on by and you turn around and stare at the hole in the back of his head with a murky sauce dripping onto his broad shoulders.   You shake your head, “Damn, I miss the EPA.”   

Thanks: publicdomainpictures.net

Natural Man - Leading by Example

Upper Marlboro, Maryland.  Grandmaster Collins S. Johnson, with over 40 years in the martial arts, is a world certified black belt in Korean, Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, Okinawan Weapons, Forms and Self Defense and founded the Johnson Martial Arts Center in 1980.  Grandmaster Johnson was inducted into the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame and Grandmaster Y. K. Kim's Martial Art World Hall of Fame. 

Grandmaster Johnson enjoys optimal health; fine physical condition; and displays strength, flexibility and agility on a daily basis, leading his family, peers and clients by example.  I am pleased to share his knowledge and wisdom.

Grandmaster Johnson, you are always on the go with your work, family and support in the community.  How do you manage to maintain your health and fitness level with your schedule?

Close adherence to naturopathic intake and the latest scientific information for enhancing the physiological, emotional and mental.  I take 15 or 20 minute naps at least once within a 24-hour period and sleep at night about 6 to 7 hours.  I hardly sleep in, even when I could.  I get up at 6:30 am and the naps do it for me.  I have people training all day and night, so those naps make a difference for me.

How have you helped clients with conditions caused by diet and lack of activity?

I bring them the most up to date scientific information primarily on the naturopathic side, because I try to stay away from the pharmaceuticals as much as I can.  Also, a variety of choices for physical activity such as laps swimming for an hour; biking; weight training and any other aerobic type of activity that they can be involved in, that they like.  I steer them away from all sugars, starches, processed foods and more towards fruits, vegetables and some meats.

Where does your family shop for food?  What is your favorite food or dish?  How often do you indulge?  We shop at BJs, Giant, Whole Foods, and Mom’s Organic Market.  Mostly vegetables and fruits of all kinds; oranges, strawberries, and blueberries.  We rotate around those religiously.  We eat the berries, grapes, bananas, pears, and apples.  I love cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon; those are my top choices.  We also buy all the green vegetables and carrots.  My favorites:  salmon is number one.  I really like scrambled eggs and the fish category:  perch, scrod, and tilapia.  I used to like tuna fish, but with all the mercury, not much anymore.  For meat, pretty much ground turkey and turkey meat products because it is light on the system.  I eat fish at least three times a week, salmon twice.

What is your frustration level with lack of fitness in our community?  What words of encouragement can you offer?  The obvious is ignoring the information that is so publicized regarding negative intake.  People are still rolling up to things that are harmful.  It is the quality of life.  If you could recondition people on the intake, you could get results sooner and they would probably be a lot happier.  The doctors might not be so happy, but it would be so much better than kids weighing 190 pounds at 10 years old.  I have never seen so many morbidly obese people in my life than recently.

For me, the key is to start slowly; every week have only one day to indulge and the rest of the week, cut back on the negative intake: processed foods and sugar.  No one needs to eat anything with high fructose corn syrup and dehydrogenated oils.  Diabetes is so prevalent because of 150 pounds of sugar yearly intake versus 30 pounds years ago.  Also, people gulping food instead of chewing it; chomp, chomp, chomp, gulp.  We need to masticate the food in order to keep our organs from working so hard in digestion.  We are overworking the pancreas.  Also, the quantity, we eat too much.

Age is a number and not an excuse.  You have trained clients from ages 2 to deep in the 70’s.  What has been your greatest age range challenge and why?

I would have to say those in the 40-50 age bracket because they are so set in what they want to do.  They find it difficult to change their ways relative to intake.  They want the results, but don’t want to change. 

What are some of the things you choose not do in order to maintain vitality? 

I don’t smoke or drink alcohol, hard liquor or beer, but will have a glass of red wine on occasion a few times a week, because it has so much more benefit for the body.  No drugs.  I don’t hang out in clubs and if out, I’m home by twelve on special occasions.  I could never get into late night hanging out.  I prefer to be quiet at home relaxing and trying to analyze the previous days or weeks and figure out how things could be better the next few days or weeks.

Black Organic is grateful for your efforts to enhance health education and the well-being of the public.  Thank you, Sir. 

You can find Grandmaster Johnson at:

http://johnsonmartialartsfitness.com/