Off went the shoes, and our feet connected with the cold, grass-covered earth beneath us.  It was March 3^rd, and our Healing Touch instructor had just called a break. She said she was going outside to connect with Mother Earth, and she invited us to do the same. The entire class followed like baby ducks.

Never forgetting that early March cold, moist sensation, it was with interest I read the article posted on www.mercola.com, “Superfood Expert, David Wolfe, Shares Latest Insights on How to Stay Healthy.”

“The studies indicate we can just touch the earth with our bare feet or our bare skin; sit down on the grass, and the earth actually releases anti-inflammatory electromagnetic radiation,” David says. “This helps to draw out inflammation, in particular of your lower extremities: your feet, our ankles, knees, and hips.”

Dr. Mercola further explains, “My own understanding of this phenomenon is that it’s not caused so much by the electromagnetic radiation but rather from the transfer of free electrons from the earth; a grounding effect that is, in my understanding, one of the most potent antioxidants we know of.”

In terms of inflammation, shoes also block the beneficial electromagnetic radiation of the earth, which actually has an anti-inflammatory effect. According to David, 30 studies performed by Clint Ober over the past 12 years support this finding.

Per David, “If there is a local park or a beach nearby where you can easily get your shoes off and take a walk, this is really powerful in terms of helping you deal with inflammation of your ankles, knees, hips, and, I would say, even lower back.”

The article further explains that walking barefoot can also help ameliorate the constant irritation caused by EMFs and other types of radiation on your system from cell phones, computers and Wi-Fi on your system. By getting outside, barefoot, touching the earth, and allowing the excess charge in your body to discharge into the earth, you can alleviate some of the stress put on your system.

Per Dr. Mercola: “Walking barefoot outside and breathing fresh air are grossly neglected foundational health principles, as is having large amounts of your skin exposed to natural sunlight so you can optimize your vitamin D, which is another crucial component for treating inflammation.”

Why not kick off your shoes and try it out for yourself?

The entire day Monday was spent making all sorts of Christmas cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, peanut brittle, and toffee. When I ended up with more cookies than containers, I resorted to plastic storage bags. After reviewing the following article, maybe the storage bags were a better choice, depending upon the number on the bottom of the plastic container…

The article “Cancer from the Kitchen?” by Nicholas D. Kristof was published in The New York Times, December 6, 2009. The author attended a symposium at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, exploring whether certain common chemicals are linked to breast cancer and other ailments.

Kristof  stated, “I asked these doctors what they do in their own homes to reduce risks. They said that they avoid microwaving food in plastic or putting plastics in the dishwasher, because heat may cause chemicals to leach out. And the symposium handed out a reminder card listing ‘safer plastics’ as those marked (usually at the bottom of a container) 1, 2, 4 or 5.

It suggests that the “plastics to avoid” are those numbered 3, 6 and 7 (unless they are also marked ‘BPA-free’). Yes, the evidence is uncertain, but my weekend project is to go through containers in our house and toss out 3’s, 6’s and 7’s.”

Spooked about those numbers, I went to Google, typed in “toxic plastic,” and found the following statement on www.theconscientioushome.net :

“You’ve probably heard of Toxic plastic 3 by its other name, PVC, or Vinyl. PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) is considered by many experts to be the most dangerous, carcinogenic plastic ever created by man. It cannot be recycled. It will sit in our landfills until kingdom come, emitting carcinogenic chemicals into the air, water and soil. And despite the studies showing the incredible toxicity of this substance, the FDA approves it for use in the packaging of our food, our health care products, and our medicines.”

Not only is the “toxic plastic 3” found in plastic containers to hold our Christmas cookies, it is also found in bath products, food containers, and toys.

The sugar in all those Christmas cookies is bad enough. We might want to turn over the plastic container and look to be sure we are not storing them in a # 3, 6, or 7.

While in Athens, the words Dr. Gabhart said to me last month came back to me. We had been talking about my adrenal and thyroid lab results. I commented something like, “How in the world can this be happening?” – to which she replied, “Stress.”

Stress? I thought I was doing much better in that category. When I looked puzzled, she went on to clarify, “Not just emotional stress, stress of living in today’s environment – the stress from all the noise, toxins in our food and in our environment.” We were sitting in a Starbucks Café at the time. She said, “OK, Rosie, just freeze right now. Listen. What do you hear? Do you hear all that noise? Look at these people in here. Look how fast they are moving, talking. People 200 years ago didn’t have all that noise. They didn’t race around like we do. They didn’t breathe the air we breathe, eat the food that we eat.”

One day in Athens I was enjoying a conversation with our cab driver, a very refined, fascinating individual. Instead of our predetermined destination point, he told us of another area that we really did not want to miss. Grateful for his suggestion, I asked him to take us there.

What a beautiful area. All I had seen of Athens prior to this point was concrete on top of concrete – no greenery, just concrete buildings piled on top of each other as far as the eye could see. It was explained that the concrete was necessary because of the high earthquake area. The streets everywhere, including this location, were packed with cars and hundreds of motorcycles zooming and weaving their way along the narrowed streets. Some taxi drivers would not allow the back windows to be lowered because people are injured by extending their elbows out the window and being struck by other cars and motorcycles. I think they said there is something like 8 million people in Greece, with 4 million of them living in Athens.

The streets in this area were lined with trees, including orange trees loaded with fruit. Outdoor cafes lined all the sidewalks for blocks and blocks. It was about noon, and Dave and I were getting hungry, so we stopped and looked at the menus at each outdoor cafe that we passed. What a total surprise to find that the menu only displayed drinks – mostly a variety of coffee drinks and no food.

How can this be? It is noon. All the cafes were bursting with people. Though outside, the noise level from all the conversations were deafening. Without exception, everybody had a coffee drink of some sort, and greater than 50% were smoking. After a while we figured out that the noon time is the “coffee break” time, with lunch coming mid afternoon. No one eats the evening meal till after 7:30 in the evening, and that is way early. Many restaurants don’t even open till then.

The number of people who smoked cigarettes came as a complete shock. There are no smoking restrictions. One day we made the mistake of choosing a corner table in a pizza shop with no ventilation. Four people came in and inundated us with smoke.

On our last day in Athens, after several days of seeing everyone everywhere walking around with a tan colored ice drink in a tall clear plastic cup, I asked someone what the drink was. It is some sort of special iced coffee drink. We stopped to get one. Dave consumed most of it. I only took a couple sips because I am not a big fan of coffee. Before long he started complaining of how he felt.

A few hours later, we went to a beautiful outdoor café for lunch. I was so intrigued by the popularity of the ice cream coffee drinks, that I ordered one – against Dave’s advice. He was still reeling from his iced drink from a few hours earlier. Very sensitive to caffeine, I told him I would sip it slowly. I did – in the next 1 ½ hours I had only sipped half of it. Before long I began to feel very weird, like something bad was happening to me internally. It was a little scary. I just kept breathing deep, praying for it to go away. Oh my gosh, that coffee is strong – even though half the cup was full of ice cream! I did not sleep one wink that night. I had recently learned that caffeine stays in our system for 20 hours. I had a lot of time to reflect on that statement as I lay awake.

Just imagine what we are doing to our bodies with all the hustle and bustle, noise, and toxic substances that we consume. The more stress we experience, the more the need for stimulants to keep us going.  You are right, Dr. Gabhart. Today’s environment is very different from 200 years ago. As I cast my eyes upward to view the Acropolis and Parthenon, majestically towering over the city, I found myself repeatedly thinking, I wonder what Socrates and Plato would say if they could only see us now?

Today I am still reflecting on all I read yesterday in the chapter “Environmental Toxins = Hormone Havoc” in the book Hypothyroidism Type 2.  Dr. Starr devoted 39 pages to the topic of environmental toxins.  He states, “About 70,000 new synthetic chemicals were introduced into our environment during the twentieth century. Three-quarters of the 20 most toxic chemical pollutants are known to be poisonous to our nervous systems.”

We breathe in toxins through a variety of sources, many of which we might not think about. We commonly think about industrial and auto pollution. However, some pollutants are closer to home.   

As I am working on editing my own manuscript this morning, I am reflecting on an incident that occurred a few weeks ago in my Yoga class. The room was filled with women…and also filled with the heavy scent of perfume. I moved my matt way to the corner of the room, but the strong scent of the perfume could not be squelched.

Since oxygen is carried in the blood, the more we exercised, the faster we inhaled the toxic fumes. I could literally see the “VOCs” (volatile organic compounds) being carried to the far reaches of our trillions of body cells as the instructor encouraged us repeatedly to “breathe deeply.” No wonder that within a few minutes I experienced a headache. Wonder what else was going on at trillions of body cell receptor sites that I could not see?

Instead of focusing on my Yoga, my mind took me to the seminar I had attended a couple years ago.  The speaker, a chemist, taught us about VOCs.  In fact, she donned her suit and mask that she was required to wear at her company, which looked like an astronaut suit to me. I’ll never forget her comment, “We are heavily monitored at our company. If VOCs are found in our environment, our company is writing checks,” (i.e., paying fines). She then went on to teach us about the unregulated perfume industry and the amount of VOCs polluting the environment from the perfume that we breathe in on a daily basis – our own and that of everyone else around us.

A few years ago when I first learned about how the skin, our largest body organ, absorbs everything applied to it, traveling to our body organs within seconds, I stopped the practice of spraying perfume directly on my neck. I thought I would really be smart – I started spraying it on my clothes. It never occurred to me that I was applying a toxin with continuous delivery to my lungs-and everyone else around me- throughout the entire day.

My mind then took me to a nurse I used to work with. She threw a complete fit and was quite obnoxious if she smelled any perfume on anyone within her immediate vicinity. Everyone made fun of her behind her back. Wow, now I wince when I realize that she was spot on.

At the end of the Yoga class, I asked the instructor if I could take a couple of minutes to do a little impromptu seminar for anyone who wanted to stay. I was grateful that everyone stayed. I discussed all the things I mentioned in this article. I was grateful when a respiratory therapist spoke up, heartily agreeing with “every word you said.”

I encourage you to pay close attention to what you are inhaling in your environment. Air fresheners do not “freshen” the air. Note the smells at the nail salon, or the smells coming from under the plastic when you pick your clothes up at the dry cleaners. On a side note, though they seem hard, nails are porous and able to absorb whatever is applied to them.

Look for healthy alternatives.  For example, a better choice than perfume is pure essential oils or aromatherapy containing pure essential oils, such as can be obtained from the company Young Living. A better choice is to remove the plastic and air out the clothes in the garage. When given a choice, opt out for the clean air and materials provided by Mother Nature.