Natural News

Dawn Ireland, a 43 year-old vegan with “no kids, 3 cats and two allotments to organise”, grows her own herbs, fruit and vegetables, organically of course, and has made her own natural toiletries and cosmetics, avoiding chemicals, artificial ingredients and vegan, for many years. Now she’s sharing her secrets…

“I spent nearly 20 years working in offices and being bored and stifled but not knowing what else I could do,” says Dawn. “One day my sister said I should look into training in complementary therapies. I first did a basic herbalism diploma by distance learning, then a herbal horticulture and botany diploma.”

“I perfected a few handmade toiletries, had them safety tested by a lab and began selling them in my local health food shop under the trade name of Green Wych,” adds Dawn.

“I realised there were lots of people who wanted to make their own products too, so I began a series of short practical workshops teaching others how to do it. They became quite popular and I expanded them to include soap-making, toiletries, household cleaning products and basic herbal remedies.”

Soon after, Dawn discovered iridology and decided she wanted to learn more about this fascinating subject and time-honoured diagnostic tool. She searched on the internet and found a course run by Devon-based holistic therapy school Kevala.

“It was perfect as it allowed time to study at home, along with practical tutorials to fit in with existing commitments,” Dawn explained. “I had a very good teacher with a huge knowledge and admin staff always willing to help.”

Eventually, Kevala asked Dawn if she would be interested in writing a short course on Natural Product Making, similar to her workshops, but more in-depth. She did this, and after taking a basic teacher training qualification, now teaches at the college.

“The past few years of study have given me the confidence to enrol for Herbal Medicine degree,” says Dawn, who works in her local health food shop, where she is able to promote her courses. “This is something I would never have believed possible a few years ago. My advice to others considering changing careers, or wanting to start something new, is - go for it, be positive, you become what you meditate upon!”

You can find out more about Dawn’s Natural Product Making course at: http://www.kevala.co.uk

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OK, it’s not an obviously health-related question, but if you bear with me, I’m sure you’ll end up agreeing that television does have a deep impact on our wellbeing.

It’s come up as an issue because I have just discovered that the average American home has more TVs than people. One of my great heroes of health, Dr Joseph Mercola reported on his website this week that “taking into account the epidemic of obesity along with the frightening exercise debt that’s harming America’s health, it’s no surprise to me, based on data reported by Nielsen Media Research, the typical home has 2.55 people and 2.73 TV sets.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I like watching TV, even though I don’t have one at the moment. (I’m like the telly-less kid who becomes an anti-social moron when at a friend’s house – instantly attracted to the hypnotic, moving pictures in the corner of the room). But this interesting statistic inspired me to take a deeper look.

In my research, I spoke to an American acquaintance, Kathy Westphal who created www.trashyourtv.com - a website that urges you to “Trash your TV for a happier, healthier life!” She told me that the average American watches over four and a half hours of TV a day. Now as Brits, we’re sure to be catching up and I sincerely hope we never reach the complementary statistic she shared that Yanks spend only 38 minutes in “meaningful conversation with children”.

It really looks like the ‘one-eyed childminder’ could do with some careful scrutiny. The aforementioned Nielsen Media Research report tells us that the 4 hours and 35 minutes per day, up three minutes from last year, add up to 31½ hours every week - almost a second job for most people.

That works out at 5½ days per month, more than two whole months every year and by age 70 we’ll have spent over 13 years watching television!
“Aren’t there more important things you would rather be doing with this time?” asks Kathy, who holds a view supported by the TV-Turnoff Network who back an international annual TV-Turnoff Week. They claim: “television cuts into family time, harms our children’s ability to read and succeed in school, and contributes to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity.”
“On average, children in the US will spend more time in front of the television (1,023 hours) than in school this year (900 hours),” they report, adding that “Forty percent of Americans frequently or always watch television during dinner.”
US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said at the Kick Off of TV-Turnoff Week 2001, “We are raising the most overweight generation of youngsters in American history…This week is about saving lives.”
Of course it’s your choice. But where America leads, we tend to follow. It’s undoubtedly a health issue – if not physical, then mental – subjected, as you are to tens of thousands of adverts a year, let alone mind-numbing actual programming. I say no one can face that lot uninfluenced.
If you want to take action try Kathy’s “TV Free System” – TV rehab if you like. More at: https://paydotcom.com/r/6301/carlmunson/371966/

To join the debate about TV try: http://holisticlocal.co.uk/forums/topics/view/313

Searching for a deodorant recently, I was delighted to see “aluminium-free” as part of the sales blurb on one brand. It reminded me of the times I first became aware of the questionable chemicals that were, and to some extent still are, common ingredients in household personal care products and cosmetics.

Back then, I was shocked to find out that industrial chemicals like propylene glycol, a recognised neurotoxin known to cause contact dermatitis, kidney damage and liver abnormalities, was widely used for its moisture-carrying properties.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate too, I discovered, were popular ingredients despite being skin irritants that enhanced allergic reactions and allegedly cancer causing in the long-term - yet featured widely in shampoos, skin creams and toothpastes.

Talc too, though a naturally occurring mineral, I was told was carcinogenic when inhaled and a particular risk for women who regularly use it in the genital area, increasing the risk of ovarian cancer.

I began to understand why Toxicologist Dr. Dick Irwin reckoned that “chemicals have replaced bacteria and viruses as the main threat to health. The diseases we are beginning to see as the major causes of death in the latter part of the 1900’s and into the 21st century are diseases of chemical origin”.

Hopefully not just an out-and-out marketing ploy, I’m taking the aluminium-free selling point on the deodorant as a sign of raised consciousness and care in the personal care and cosmetics industry, given aluminium’s reported connection to Alzheimer’s disease.

When you start looking, you can see that many firms are endeavouring to literally clean up their act when it comes to suspect ingredients. Add to that the convergence of organics, aromatherapy and pampering and we’ve got a plethora of products that are not only safer to use, but also a pleasure to use and almost good enough to eat.

If however, you don’t want to put your trust in manufacturers who are primarily  focused on profits and market share, you might be interested in the work of Dawn Ireland, a local woman who teaches people how to make their own pure, natural and herbal products, which she calls “green wisdom for the modern home”.

Dawn says her information and guidance, presented as a home-study style course, “provides all you need to create your own safe and natural products”.

“You will learn how to identify chemical nasties and synthetic additives best avoided and get practical tips and recipes to set you off on a compulsive journey making a healthier home, from bathroom to kitchen and garden, and a healthier you,” she adds.

Promising safe, fragrant and health enhancing, yet efficient products, Dawn shows the way with toiletries such as bath products, facial cleansers and deodorants that avoid the aforementioned aluminium.

She also covers simple home remedies for every day minor ailments such as colds, indigestion and bruises as well as household cleaners including laundry washing liquid and disinfectants.

Whilst Dawn’s approach could be viewed as a little excessive and obsessive, growing evidence suggests that she’s right on the money. Barry Jones, author of “Home, Sweet Toxic Home” identifies one category of pollutants as most ironic - those toxins we bring into our homes ourselves.

He says that many of the products believed to improve the look, cleanliness and smell of homes can actually harm the people living there. He tells the disturbing story of how spray-can cleaning products and other microbial cleaners made a four-year-old boy exhibit behavioural problems, which completely disappeared after pure oxygen treatment.

Some experts fear these household-cleaning products may at least partially cause ADHD and other learning and behavioural disorders.

He claims that fabric dryer sheets actually put petroleum and potentially dangerous artificial fragrances on clothes, and that air fresheners also contain fragrances, which may interfere with hormone communication systems. “Read the labels,” Jones advises, “and beware that anything ending in ‘-cide’” because these long-lasting chemicals are dangerous to health.

No such worries with Dawn Ireland’s products. As well as showing us how to create safe vegetable-based soaps, she’s also showing the ladies how to create basic, non-toxic cosmetics such as lip-gloss and hair dye. For the gardeners, her tips include guidance on how to keep plants healthy avoiding chemicals including liquid feeds, anti-fungal sprays and insect repellents.

Her course, which even offers a certificate on completion can be started at any time and means you’ll never be stuck for an unusual and handcrafted gift ever again.

If you’d prefer to meet Dawn face-to-face, she’ll be taking part in a “Detox and Natural Product Making” weekend in Torquay at the end of September with colleague Samantha Flower. Anyone attending will be able to enjoy a day making their own safe, natural, eco-friendly and animal free products that can be taken home.

When it comes to anything that could be viewed as a health scare, I always favour replacing fear with taking action. Dawn is one of those wonderful activists who is taking action instead of getting stuck on a problem. She can be contacted about her Green Wisdom home study course or the weekend workshop on 01803 215678.

Further information on toxic chemicals in personal care products can be found in “Drop-dead Gorgeous” by Kim Erikson and “The Safe Shoppers Bible” by David Steinman and Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.

A quick reference guide can be found online at: www.lesstoxicguide.ca