Tag Archives: health

To Spray Or Not To Spray

Picture of a well manicured lawn.

This kind of professional grooming requires a lot of time and engergy. Photo credit: AdamKR

Imagine moving into your first house as a new home owner. The subject of lawn care comes up in one of your early conversations. The neighbor informs you that “your yard” is a mess due to the previous owner’s lax standards.

He then goes onto tell you in painstaking detail about how he started his lawn from sod of the finest Kentucky blue grass. He gleefully informs you about the service providers he employees to care for his lawn. One person to spray chemicals to kill weeds. Another person to mow his lawn once with the bagger off and a second time with the bagger on.

I found myself in this exact situation. As you might imagine, I take a much different approach to taking care of my lawn. I see it as a chore and my views are more in line with Paul Wheaton’s approach to lawn care.

Not Watering The Lawn Conserves Water

I never water my grass because I view it as a waste of water. Watering also makes the grass grow faster requiring more mowing. I take advantage of the mature trees on my property to provide shade and keep the lawn from burning.

Forage For Pollinators

Picture of clover in a lawn.

Opting out of herbicide encourages flowers in a lawn. Photo credit: woodleywonderworks

I enjoy seeing honey bees and other native pollinators visiting flowers such as dandelions that others consider weeds in my yard. Reduced variety of forage will have a negative impact on honey bee colony health.

When I had to reseed a section of my yard, I used a mix that included clover. The clover will attract rabbits and other wildlife. I have also found more than one four leaf clover in my yard.

Herbicides Introduce Toxic Chemicals Into The Environment

Have you ever gone to the garden section of a retailer during the spring and noticed that chemical smell in the air? That smell is coming from the off gassing of the bags of lawn chemicals being offered for sale. The smell is a warning sign that the chemicals are placing a heavy load on your liver in order to deal with the toxicity.

Have you ever noticed the sign on someone’s lawn after it has been hosed down with toxic chemicals warning you to stay off the lawn? I don’t think the aesthetic benefits of using herbicides on a lawn outweigh the addition of chemicals into the environment.

Conclusion

Consider your lawn care practices carefully. What is the purpose of the actions you take? Are you simply caving to peer pressure from your neighbors? If you use chemicals on your lawn, do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages? Why not opt out of spraying dangerous chemicals in your own back yard?

How I Lost Ten Pounds by Eliminating One Chemical From My Diet

Photo of cola

Cola Contains Large Amounts Of High Fructose Corn Syrup Photo Credit: carterse

I was using a dangerous chemical two times a day almost every day for years. My body was starting to show the effects. It seemed that I was regularly having to buy new pants with ever increasing waist bands to accommodate my expanding belly.

The chemical was and is being produced in large quantities in factories across the U.S. The purveyors make high profit margins selling the substance. The name of this chemical compound is high fructose corn syrup, or HFCS for short. I was ingesting it in the form of soda pop.

As I learned more about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, I decided I had to break my habit. I gradually began to drink unsweetened beverages with my meals. I found it hard to quit cold turkey. Slowly but surely, I reduced my intake. After a few weeks, I no longer felt an urge to drink sweetened cola, but chose water or iced tea instead.

By eliminating these empty calories from my diet, I noticed a reversal in the trend line of my weight. I gradually lost ten pounds and my waist line stabilized. As I found out, there are other very good reasons to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from your diet.

These reasons have to do with the fact that despite marketing claims to the contrary, high fructose corn syrup is not like sugar. It is not natural. It occurs at a much lower concentration in natural foods such as fruits.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is Metabolized by the Liver

“The medical profession thinks fructose is better for diabetics than sugar,” says Dr. Field, “but every cell in the body can metabolize glucose. However, all fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of the rats on the high fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic.” source

The marketer’s claims do not stand up to scrutiny. High fructose corn syrup is different. It attacks your liver.

To make matters worse, when combined with copper deficiency, the ingestion of high fructose corn syrup can lead to infertility.

High Fructose Corn Syrup: Made From Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

There have not been sufficient long term studies to prove the safety of GMO crops. It is prudent to avoid GMO food and reduce the amount consumed where possible. Corn is one of the most widely genetically modified crops being grown today. When you ingest HFCS, you are also consuming GMOs.

Conclusion

High fructose corn syrup can lead to excessive weight gain, damage your liver, lead to infertility and introduce the risks of eating GMO food. It is best to avoid it by eliminating it from your diet. Incorporating liver into your diet can boost your copper levels thereby increasing your fertility.

Do you think high fructose corn syrup is the same as any other sugar? Or do you take steps to avoid it? Let me know what you think in the comments section.