Why Would Dr Mercola Cite Wool?

Here's the final conclusion in Dr Mercola's The Mattress That Plays Havoc With Your Hormones article that I referred to in my Heal Your Home post a couple of days ago.  It reads as follows:

You spend from six to nine hours every night with your face in close proximity to your mattress, breathing in these chemicals. Your children spend even longer sleeping, with their faces even closer to the mattress surface. And if your children jump on the bed, or you bounce on your mattress, even more of these toxins can be released into the air. For this reason, look for a chemical-free, organic or 100% wool mattress for your child.

As for the rest of the house, PBDEs are widespread in:

• Carpets
  
• Textiles
  
• Polyurethane foam furnishings
  
• Motor vehicles

They outgas into your home regularly and are commonly found in household dust, where they can be inhaled. Again, since they are persistent environmental pollutants, PBDEs are also found in various foods, including wild fish and the most "pure" food of all, breast milk.

And, being Dr Mercola, he gives us a REAL solution - "Look for a chemical-free, organic or 100% wool mattress for your child".  And I am going to add to that - any members of your family who are specially at risk, eg your elderly.  Plus make it your aim to get your whole family off sleeping on toxic mattresses as soon as possible.

So you ask, "Why wool?"

And you are probably thinking that living in New Zealand, 'OF COURSE' I would be in favor of wool.  Ha, there's a whole lot more to it than that. Here are a few reasons why Dr Mercola would have chosen wool:

• Wool is 100% natural (provided no-one's 'improved' it by adding any man-made fibres, chemicals etc);
  
• Wool resists fire - wool does not catch fire or burn readily;
  
• Wool is the warmest fibre you can have close to you.  I'm a long-term high-country hiker, and I know from experience that the best thing you can have next to your skin in bad weather is 100% wool.  Even if it gets soaking wet in really cold conditions, wool will keep you warm.

Some people with sensitive skins may find wool next to the skin a bit 'scratchy' (usually due to an allergic condition NOT caused by the wool itself), but once it has been properly processed (as in 'chemical-free') and made into a mattress, you won't have the actual wool next to your skin anyway.

Do more than just think about it.

Take Control - and have a great day!

Patricia

Heal Your Home

For anyone taking care of a loved one, information that helps the patient and the carer is always of key importance.  Here's something that you should be aware of.

I got a very interesting email from Dr Mercola this morning that's going to send me out today on a mission I've had in mind for a few months but not yet got down to - searching out a new, non-plastic electric jug for my kitchen.  I don't like the association of heat, plastic and food, and the information that's just come to light has put some urgency on the sneaking feeling I've had for awhile that somehow I need to find an 'old-fashioned' metal electric hot water jug.

Toxins in Mattresses?

The article I'm talking about isn't just about electric jugs - there's a whole lot more to it than that, including your mattress - and your patient's mattress, for that matter.

It has now been estimated that 97% of Americans have significant levels of a toxic chemical group called PBDEs in their blood.   It can alter calcium signalling in the brain which affects learning and memory. It's found in 80% of 12 common household products, mattresses being one of the main ones.

With regard to elderly alzheimers patients, I think this information needs taking on board.  As people age, calcium levels in the blood tend to drop anyway.  With the involvement of calcium in learning, memory, cognition and sleep (not to mention fragile bones), this new information is well worth the carer's attention.  Could some cranky behaviors (as in kids) boil down at least in part to lack of alkalinizing calcium in the blood??

My old mattress suddenly starts to look more appealing!  At least it's not made of polyurethane foam... Go check out The Mattress That Plays Havoc With Your Hormones.  This isn't only for your patient - it's important for anyone with kids, or a pregnancy in  the family.  And ask yourself how often in a day you boil up that plastic jug and then ingest the contents.


Take Control - and have a great day!

Patricia