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The relationship and attachment that animal lovers have with their pets is often extremely difficult for non-animal lovers to comprehend. They often cannot see that each animal has its own distinct characteristics and personality. They miss out on the joy, love, frustration and bond that is so much a part of the relationship and responsibility that goes with being a pet owner.

Having a pet is a great leveller, they are no respecter of persons or status - having a dog jump up and welcome someone with enthusiasm, or a cat weave in and out of someones' ankles is often a great ice breaker. Many people will react positively and bend down to stroke Fido or Tiddles. Even pet birds and fish will attract attention and interest. They make a house feel more like a home and are something that we have to consider when we are making plans and arrangements. They become part of our mental check list of important concerns and responsibilities almost without our realising it.

So when we have had that lovely creature as a part of our lives for some time, it is devastating when they become unwell or unable to cope with dignity. Sometimes we may not know their history, where they came from. how they had been treated. All my animals have been strays. My cats have all turned up at my house and moved in, sometimes creating havoc at the outset. I remember one special day when a little feral mum had her kittens in my porch while I stroked her head. They moved in the same day. Likewise, my dogs. One was found on the motorway with some broken string round her neck, in a very bad condition. So, as with many people, I take these animals to the vets, get them checked over, vaccinated, neutered and then treat them like royalty.

How do we decide when to let them go ? Sometimes the decision is taken out of our hands and they die peacefully at home or at the vets. Other times the animal is maybe distressed or in pain and we have to make that decision for them. One of my cats disappeared and I searched for her for days without ever finding out what happened to her. Another cat was diagnosed with a terminal illness, but it was clear that he was not ready to go and he lived happily for another nine months on sliced chicken breasts until he eventually took a turn for the worse and I let him go. All are buried in my garden, marked with engraved headstones.

This brings us to the next stage in the cycle. Getting over the loss of a family pet, a special part of the family is tough and there is a natural grieving process to be dealt with. In a family with children, it may be their first experience of death, and it is often their first experience of the death of a loved close playmate. Grandparents can appear to be very old to children, loved but a little distant. Sometimes their death can be a little abstract. Often a pet has been an important part of their daily routine and may have been with them their whole life, playing, comforting, sharing secrets, perhaps a major companion.

So it is often helpful to let children decide if they want to be involved in some of the decisions that are to be taken, especially if there is to be a burial or a little ritual or prayer to signify the death. This will help the child to grieve and come to terms with what has happened. Talking about what has happened is important too. To acknowledge that something important and significant has taken place shows respect for the part that the animal has had in their young life. It is also a way of introducing and teaching children about lifes' cycle, an important lesson for them to learn.

Allowing children to talk about their pet, telling stories about their time together, encouraging them to grieve, answering their questions, remembering with affection and acknowledging how they feel is an important part of enabling a young person to understand about death in a natural accepting way. That is a healthy way to cope with something that they will come across at different times throughout their life.

Susan Leigh, Counsellor and Hypnotherapist
http://www.lifestyletherapy.net/





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I am really concerned that this popular brand of baby powder, promoted by many OB health professionals and advertised as a household staple for moms, is still formulated with two potentially harmful ingredients, talc and fragrance! The information below about the risks of talc comes from The Cancer Prevention Coalition website. You can read more about the risks of synthetic fragrances in my Healthy Moms article Is Your Favorite Fragrance Making You Sick? Be aware that talc is also an ingredient in many cosmetics and body powders.

Check out the easy recipe at the bottom of this post to make your own safe and economical baby or body powder using pure cornstarch and therapeutic essential oils.

Risks of Talcum Powder

Q. What is talc?

A. Talc is a mineral, produced by the mining of talc rocks and then processed by crushing, drying and milling. Processing eliminates a number of trace minerals from the talc, but does not separate minute fibers which are very similar to asbestos.

Q. What kinds of consumer products contain talc?

A. Talc is found in a wide variety of consumer products ranging from home and garden pesticides to antacids. However, the products most widely used and that pose the most serious health risks are body powders Talc is the main ingredient in baby powder, medicated powders, perfumed powders and designer perfumed body powders. Because talc is resistant to moisture, it is also used by the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture medications and is a listed ingredient of some antacids. Talc is the principal ingredient home and garden pesticides and flea and tick powders. Talc is used in smaller quantities in deodorants, chalk, crayons, textiles, soap, insulating materials, paints, asphalt filler, paper, and in food processing.

Q. Why is talc harmful?

A. Talc is closely related to the potent carcinogen asbestos. Talc particles have been shown to cause tumors in the ovaries and lungs of cancer victims. For the last 30 years, scientists have closely scrutinized talc particles and found dangerous similarities to asbestos. Responding to this evidence in 1973, the FDA drafted a resolution that would limit the amount of asbestos-like fibers in cosmetic grade talc. However, no ruling has ever been made and today, cosmetic grade talc remains non-regulated by the federal government. This inaction ignores a 1993 National Toxicology Program report which found that cosmetic grade talc, without any asbestos-like fibers, caused tumors in animal subjects.1 Clearly with or without asbestos-like fibers, cosmetic grade talcum powder is a carcinogen.

Q. What kind of exposure is dangerous?

A. Talc is toxic. Talc particles cause tumors in human ovaries and lungs. Numerous studies have shown a strong link between frequent use of talc in the female genital area and ovarian cancer. Talc particles are able to move through the reproductive system and become imbedded in the lining of the ovary. Researchers have found talc particles in ovarian tumors and have found that women with ovarian cancer have used talcum powder in their genital area more frequently than healthy women.2
Talc poses a health risk when exposed to the lungs. Talc miners have shown higher rates of lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses from exposure to industrial grade talc, which contains dangerous silica and asbestos. The common household hazard posed by talc is inhalation of baby powder by infants. Since the early 1980s, records show that several thousand infants each year have died or become seriously ill following accidental inhalation of baby powder.3

Q. What about infants?

A. Talc is used on babies because it absorbs unpleasant moisture. Clearly, dusting with talcum powder endangers an infant's lungs at the prospect of inhalation. Exposing children to this carcinogen is unnecessary and dangerous.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE:
1. Do not buy or use products containing talc. It is especially important that women not apply talc to underwear or sanitary pads.
2. Contact your pediatrician and/or local hospital and find out if they have a policy regarding talc use and infants.
3. Write to the FDA and express your concern that a proven carcinogen has remained unregulated while millions of people are unknowingly exposed.

References:
1.National Toxicology Program. "Toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of talc (GAS No 14807-96-6) in F344/N rats and B6C3F, mice (Inhalation studies)." Technical Report Series No. 421. September 1993.
2. Harlow BL, Cramer DW, Bell DA, Welch WR. "Perineal exposure to talc and ovarian cancer risk." Obstetrics & Gynecology, 80: 19-26, 1992.
3. Hollinger MA. "Pulmonary toxicity of inhaled and intravenous talc." Toxicology Letters, 52:121-127, 1990.

Be Well,

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Today I was talking with a friend. He was saying how many of his childrens' early life experiences he had missed because he had had to work away from home for much of the time. Now he is a self-employed photographer. He produces stunning shots, especially of children and family groups. He often moves people to tears because of his ability to really capture the essence of his subjects. I suggested to him that this is in part due to his appreciation of the importance of his pictures to the families he is photographing. He knows how special those images are.

As a Counsellor and Hypnotherapist I have had clients who have had cossetted childhoods, where everything was perfect. There was no disharmony at home, school was wonderful with many friends and good academic results. Everything was great until they got their first serious rejection from an important relationship or there was conflict in a work environment or somebody was especially awful to them. These people had to seek out help because they were under-resourced. They had no skills to handle negative experiences and found it hard to cope.

The truth is, life is not always fair and we have to learn to take that in our stride and find ways to protect ourselves and recover. At some point we will all get rejected, disappointed, let down. Sometimes we will work really hard and yet still fail to achieve our goal. There are no guarantees about winning. The skill is in not necessarily taking it personally. That and learning to adapt, adjust, regroup and start again, having learned what does not work and appreciating the experience of trying.

Negative experiences teach us that everything in life is not always about us. Other people form part of the equation. We need to learn to see things from the other persons' point of view and appreciate that their perspective may not be the same as ours, sometimes for reasons that we do not understand. Accommodating and tolerating that viewpoint is something that is learnt over time.

Empathy is also about being able to appreciate how someone else feels about a situation, even when we have not had exactly the same experience ourselves. So we may not have experienced death, divorce, redundancy in the same way that our friend has, but we can relate to their sense of loss and grief because we have felt that way in another type of situation. We recognise their emotions and can support them through their difficult times. This helps us in becoming more rounded as a human being.

Perspective and positive attitude are the two main strategies for a healthy recovery. The darkest experiences can ultimately teach us about valuing what is good, about making the most of everyday, about seizing the good opportunities and chances that come our way. Sometimes we may have to take time out to lick our wounds for a while, but then the time comes to resume telling ourselves that life is for living and that once again we should pick ourselves up and start taking some steps in life.

Tough times teach us so much. We often find hidden strengths that we never even suspected we had. They will often introduce us to new friends and allies: we learn how caring many people can be; we learn to open ourselves up to other people and trust again, because often we may well have had a need for their help, support or counsel; and we learn to really appreciate the good things in life that 'cossetted' people may well take for granted.

Susan Leigh, Counsellor and Hypnotherapist
www.lifestyletherapy.net







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CJ's first Mum Mum

Or should I call it "Yum Yum!"


I got the kids those new Danimals. The ones that the Sprouse boys are advertising on TV.


Snack time is so much fun!


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Today on Facebook, I stumbled upon this idea in a note from fitness trainer Tony Horton (creator of P90X). He is a stickler for eating right. We all know that the foods that you eat are going to play a really big role in whether you get a flat stomach or not. Tony says the one simple food tip for a flat stomach is to count your ingredients, not calories. This is a new one that I've never heard, but it makes a lot of sense.

The goal is to eat single ingredient foods or foods with as few ingredients as possible. Foods like eggs, oatmeal, nuts, berries, apples, spinach, chicken, salmon, sweet potatoes, etc. If you eat mainly these foods, you will naturally stay fuller and there won't be any need to count calories.

Tony asks, "Wanna take it one step further? Keep an ingredient log, not a food log." If you're eating the foods above, your ingredient log IS your food log, right? But suppose you ate some Smart Start cereal and some Reduced Fat Wheat Thins as an example, your ingredient list would look something like this:

RICE, WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, SUGAR, OAT CLUSTERS (SUGAR, TOASTED OATS [ROLLED OATS, SUGAR, CANOLA OIL WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS, MOLASSES, HONEY, BHT FOR FRESHNESS, SOY LECITHIN], WHEAT FLAKES, CRISP RICE [RICE, SUGAR, MALT, SALT], CORN SYRUP, POLYDEXTROSE, HONEY, CINNAMON, BHT [PRESERVATIVE], ARTIFICIAL VANILLA FLAVOR), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SALT, HONEY, MALT FLAVORING, ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE (VITAMIN E), NIACINAMIDE, ZINC OXIDE, REDUCED IRON, SODIUM ASCORBATE AND ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, YELLOW #5, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), BHT (PRESERVATIVE), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, FOLIC ACID, BETA CAROTENE (A SOURCE OF VITAMIN A), VITAMIN B12 AND VITAMIN D.WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, CORNSTARCH, MALT SYRUP (FROM BARLEY AND CORN), INVERT SUGAR, MONOGLYCERIDES, SALT, VEGETABLE COLOR (ANNATTO EXTRACT, TURMERIC OLEORESIN). CONTAINS: WHEAT. BHT ADDED TO PACKAGING MATERIAL TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS, etc.

Not a pretty picture, is it? Now, I know it's not easy to eat whole foods all the time, but let's try out best together. Tony gave me a good reminder, as a former Reduced Fat Wheat Thin eater myself. I think I'll go grab an apple instead.

All the best in health and fitness,
- Coach Jenn of PersonalFitCoach.com and Team Beachbody

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Life Supplemented.org, a consumer wellness campaign focused on helping you create a healthier lifestyle through the three pillars of health: healthy diet, supplements and exercise is on the final week of their America's Wellness Challenge Sweepstakes. All you need to do is fill out their online form and complete the Wellness Scorecard.


Do you take good care of yourself but have wondered how "well" you really are? The Wellness Scorecard, designed by a team of doctors and health professionals asks participants questions regarding diet, physical activity and supplement use. The questions are simple, strait to the point and only require a few minutes of your time to answer.

Life Supplemented believes that everyone should follow the three pillars of health, maintaining a healthy diet, exercise and taking dietary supplements. Dietary supplements give us energy, boost our immune system and fill in the nutritional gaps that we don't always get from our diet. Everyone from birth to the elderly should take vitamins and supplements as a part of their every day routine. Even if you believe you are eating all the right foods you should still take a dietary supplement every day.

Seventy-two percent of physicians surveyed by Life Supplemented.org personally use dietary supplements. A majority of them believe that it helps with their overall wellness. Eighty-five percent of those that take supplements recommend it to their patients. Do you take a multivitamin or other supplement? Do you think you are smart when it comes to vitamins and supplements? I challenge you to take the supplement quiz and see how much you really know.

The America's Wellness Challenge Sweepstakes ends on February 28, 2010. You have less than a week to take the Wellness Scorecard and enter in the contest. How well do you think you are?

For every consumer who enters America's wellness Challenge, and takes the free on-line tool My Wellness Scorecard, the "Life...supplemented" campaign will donate one dollar (up to $10,000.00) to Vitamin Angels.

"Our goal is to provide malnourished children across the globe with the vital nutrients they desperately need for good health," said Howard Schiffer, president & founder of Vitamin Angels. "Vitamins save lives-this donation from the ‘Life...supplemented' program will help us continue our mission of bringing important vitamins to impoverished children so they have an opportunity to lead more productive lives. Projects such as Operation 20/20, which seeks to reduce child and infant mortality rates, and Thrive to Five, which provides children and mothers with the essential nutrients needed for optimal physical and cognitive development, will certainly benefit from this generous contribution."

Thank you for sharing this! There's nothing I dislike more than seeing a kid with green snot dripping from his nose with bags under his eyes due to being up all night hacking up a lung in my kids' classroom! I'm always shocked at how some parents have no problem sending their kids to school in that kind of condition!

Great giveaway!!!

Congratulations Helene. I will be in contact with you to claim your prize.

I almost forgot there are two more winners.

The next one is comment number 32 kathy pease said...
February 21, 2010 5:47 PM

Thank you for the Great giveaway please count me in :)

The last winner is comment number 18

debsweeps4 said...

It's a good idea to have medicine on hand before your child gets sick, so you don't have to run to the store when your child is sick. debsweeps4@yahoo.com

Congratulations! I will be in touch with all of you to claim your prize.

Breathable Baby Crib Bumper Pads Giveaway (ends 4/1)

Breathable Baby Crib Bumpers are the safer alternative to regular bumper pads. This is a part of the Healthy Moms Favorite Things Giveaways. Our Favorite Things Giveaways are not run by a second party sponsor. This is an item that our editor purchased for her baby, loved it and will give one as a special thank you gift to a loyal reader.

Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken Giveaway (ends 3/28)

3 lucky Healthy Moms readers will receive a coupon for one free Grilled and Ready product from Tyson. (a $9.99 value)

Human Body Detectives Giveaway (ends 3/21)

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