Great Resource! www.vitacost.com

A dear friend and I were talking about health "stuff" this afternoon and I was telling her about this website that my mother-in-law showed me. You know, we live in a time when there are so many chemicals in our food, cleaning products, detergents, soaps, shampoos, makeup, and even toothpaste! Some folks think that it is crazy to be so concerned about this stuff but if you started researching what we are consuming and absorbing on a regular basis you might get concerned as well!

Consider the fact that once something is on your skin it only takes 15 minutes for it to be in your liver. If you are using dishwasher detergent that can kill a baby if he ingests it, cleaning products that warn you to use gloves and not get in in your eyes (and yet we breath it and touch the surfaces that have just been cleaned with it), lotions, shampoos, makeup, etc... that have all kinds of unhealthy chemicals in them, what do you think our bodies are dealing with all the time even though they are always fighting all of the germs around us?! I was in the hair salon asking them what I could use for shampoo to fight the hard water here at our apartment (because it was doing nasty things to my hair.) They recommended one product but when I looked at the back it said to apply with gloves. I just couldn't bring myself to put something on my head (which is ever so close to my brain!) that I can't touch with my hands! Call me crazy if you want, but I really think that a lot of our cancer and such these days has a great deal to do with all of the junk that we are putting on and around our bodies everyday without even thinking about it.

So over this first year and a half our our marriage Justin and I have gradually been switching over all of our soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, cleaning products, laundry detergent, and such to natural alternatives. It takes time because they are a little more expensive, but if you do it gradually and shop around you can find decent prices. I have actually found that Wal-Mart has started carrying a lot more options as well and are sometimes cheaper than the health food stores.

Anyway, this website that I have been using has great prices and is almost always cheaper, sometimes by quite a bit. I have started looking for everything that I use and have been amazed at all that I have found. So without further ado, here is the website and a list of some of the things that I have found on there. Hope this is a blessing to you!

Products I have found:
Avalon Organics (I love their shampoo! It is not as runny as a lot of natural shampoos are.)
Clean Well hand sanitizer
Giovanni (This brand seems to have the most options when it comes to hair products here are the ones that I have tried and liked: shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, hair mousse, finishing hair mist, frizz control.)
Jason
Alba (great sunscreen and tanning lotion)
Bug spray (we use the Quantum Buzz Away)
Seventh Generation (laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, dish soap)
Tom's of Maine (deodorant, toothpaste, floss, bar soap)
Hand soap (there are lots of brands)
Baby shampoo (They have several organic options that are so much cheaper! I just bought the

Rainbow Research Baby Oh Baby® Organic Herbal Shampoo, but haven't tried it yet.)
Liquid Stevia (a natural sweetener and great in plain yogurt if you want to avoid the sugar)
Burt's Bees (I like their chapstick and lipstick)
Air Scense (natural air freshener spray)
Spry gum (My favorite gum alternative. The only regular gum that I have found without *aspartame is bubble gum and I'm just not a big bubble gum person. With the Spry gum you are also not dealing with the sugar in your teeth. It tastes great although it doesn't last as long as regular gum.)

www.vitacost.com

* aspartame is really, REALLY bad for you. More to come later...