It’s flu season in North America: are you protected? This year, I’m protecting myself and my children with a visit to a homeopath.  Why? I’ve never really trusted flu vaccines: they aren’t safe for pregnant women and babies and that has always either excluded me or made me wonder about them. Plus, you don’t pass on antibodies to diseases you have been vaccinated against and while I am still nursing, I want to be able to pass on antibodies to my baby. Here is a recent article that homeopath Sonya McLeod from Little Mountain Homeopahty wrote on the flu, alternatives to vaccination, and her ..read more

Life on an island I’m a city girl. I have spent most of my life living in cities. Some of my favourite places in the world are cities. Give me a day in Chicago, Istanbul, London, Edinburg, Delhi, Montreal… these places are alive, diverse, and full of culture and interesting cuisine. So, I was as surprised as anybody when I decided to leave behind my city life in Vancouver to move to a tiny little island.  This island has fewer than 1,000 full-time residents and is two to three ferries from the nearest big city: about 8 hours. The island has no shopping centres, no restaurants in the winte ..read more

It’s school time again; and in every school bathroom in North America you can hear the “splat, splat” sound of anti-bacterial soap squirting onto the hands of school children everywhere. So, what does the science tell us about anti-bacterial products and just how bad are they for our children’s health? 1. Triclosan. Triclosan is the anti-bacterial property used in many hand soaps (76% of 395 commercial soaps examined in a recent EWG report). It is a pesticide that’s closely related to the super-toxin, dioxin, and has been linked to liver and thyroid problems and to endocrine (hormone developm ..read more

Homeopathic Remedies Camilia and pulsatilla are two homeopathic remedies recommended for teething tots. I love the ease of the Boiron Camilia unit dose squeeze pouches. Its more natural and faster to administer than infant tylenol or advil and I have had great success with its effectiveness. You can also cold brew some soothing chamomile tea to give to your child if you don’t have any homeopathic preparations on hand. Amber / Hazelwood Amber and Hazelwood necklaces/bracelettes offer relief from teething pain when they come in contact with the wearers warm skin. The Amber releases suc ..read more

Not Proven? Assume because it’s for sale, it’s safe? Don’t. In North America, when we reach for a bottle of sunscreen, buy a “safe” baby bottle, or open a box of cereal, we assume that the chemicals inside are proven safe, but many of these chemicals go from the chemists’ lab to market, untested, in a matter of weeks. The public doesn’t get to know the formulation, or even the name, of most of these chemicals. And it can take years of research for independent scientists just figure out the name and structure. Then, to study its effects, the scientists have to convince someone to fund the resea ..read more

What your mama should have told you about the dangers of sunscreen It’s that time of year again when the sun begins to shine and parents reach for the sunscreen. We are told that sunscreen will protect us from sunburn, wrinkles, and skin cancer. Yet, research now suggests that sunscreen might not do any of these things very well: instead, many of the most popular sunscreen brands might actually increase our children’s chances of getting some cancers.     BEWARE!   According to the EWG, these companies make some of the worst sunscreens, known to contain ingredients possi ..read more

Skincare Toxins to Know & Avoid We are swimming in chemicals, many that are known to negatively effect our bodies. So much so that now a newborn baby born in North America has over 100 known or suspected toxins already in his body at birth. Many of these chemicals can cause profound and lasting effect on the users–and the next generation–including IQ and neurological damage, allergies, hormonal changes, and cancers. Unfortunately, most of the chemicals used in our skincare and beauty products in North America have not undergone any human safety testing, including those ingredients commonly ..read more

And 3 ways parents can become the experts on the care of their children for today’s world Let me tell you a story. I grew up poor. American Midwest, subsidized-housing poor. Dirty needles and gunshots on the playground poor. Blocks of orange plastic stuff that was called cheese and came in boxes to your doorstep kind of poor. On the other hand, I work really hard to give my kids the best of what a North American lifestyle has to offer: we live in a nice townhouse, they attend private school, we eat organic food, use natural skincare and all the things that you might expect from the kids of The ..read more

Mama (& Papa) Brain: Better Than Ever Pregnancy Brain, Momnesia, Porridge Brain…. they are all terms that you understand all too well if you are pregnant and reading this book now. That mushy feeling and all the underlying emotions that seem to go along with it in pregnancy are real and they serve a good purpose. Mother’s grow new brains: they both grow and lose grey matter and the brains get rewired. It’s as if the brain is indeed being turned to mush with the help of all those pregnancy and postpartum hormones—including oxytocin, estrogen, and prolactin—so that it can be rewired for the ..read more

My friend N. called me yesterday to tell me she just got her period.  “What is the Green Mama approach to dealing with this?” she asked.  N. was new to green, but had already begun cloth diapering her baby, ate local foods, and had generally become curious about many things she used to take for granted.  I am always surprised when women ask me about this issue, but I shouldn’t.  It’s a big one: expensive in dollars, health effects, and waste.  Menstrual products are no little business. Women spend approximately $17 every month on tampons, panty liners, and maxi-pads ..read more