Eco-Friendly Mama: Safe product recommendations with a focus on organic and Made in USA!

By Nicole Sheffer (her 1st assignment as new co-admin, and I think you’ll agree she did a superb job of gathering info for this topic!)

The Color Run; everyone has either participated or know someone that has. Images of people young and old, covered in vibrant colors, pop into my mind every time I hear about this 5k paint race. It has grown to be one of the largest participated events on the planet spanning more than fifty countries. People join in this race that celebrates health, individualism and joy. Due to its popularity some people have come to question as to the safety of the ingredients in the colors used. When asked about the ingredients of the color dust used; a common response from The Color Run people is:

“The color is a cornstarch base and is dyed with food grade dyes. It is even Gluten free. 🙂

Here is a list of the ingredients in our color: Blue Thank – FD and C Blue 1 Lake Low, Melojel Starch. Green – FD and C Blue 1 Lake Low, FD and C Yellow Lake 36-42 PCT, Melojel Starch. Pink – FD and C Red 40 Lake 36-42PCT, Melojel Starch. Yellow – FD and C Yellow 5 lake 36-42 PC, Melojel Starch. Our color has gone through extensive testing. In the Material Safety Data it says there could be some irritation since the color can form dust, but in all of the testing it states that there is nothing harmful…”

Yes, smiley face included! In fact, most instances I encountered within my research of the companies responses, lead me to believe it is a classic case of copy and paste. Most of the time regurgitated statements such as this, just make me even more inquisitive. Naturally, I needed to know more about each of these ingredients and here is what I found:

Melojel Starch, is cornstarch. It is a frequently used cooking ingredient as a thickening agent. It is a food-grade product, as that is its intended use, in food. I took the liberty of highlighting the areas of concern regarding the airborne use of it on one of its Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) here:

In my opinion, based simply on the Cornstarch Material Safety Data Sheet, is that potential inhalation of cornstarch should be avoided. Inhalation is something that is, without a doubt, happening at any of The Color Run events, or any other run that is known to toss “color” at you as you run through.

If breathing in cornstarch wasn’t enough, the colorants mixed with the cornstarch has me a bit concerned as well. I think it is important to note that most modern color additives are synthesized mainly from raw materials acquired from petroleum. I don’t know about you but most artificial colors alert me to stay away from fake foods; I personally wouldn’t want them being breathed in by myself or my children.

Let’s look closer at some of the terms used in those color ingredients and what they mean.

FD&C – Is an abbreviation of Food, Drug and Cosmetics. FD&C colors are the colors that have been certified/approved for use, by the FDA (U.S), within those stated industries. Although, the allotted amount of each varies on use and purpose.

Straight – This is a term giving to the dye that is approved for use (as stated above) before it is changed or processed into something more stable for certain purposes.

Lake – When a Straight color is transformed it is called a Lake. It is made by reacting straight dyes (FD&C Red No. 40 or FD&C Blue No.1) with precipitants and salts; aluminum can be a constituent. Due to their stability, Lakes are more commonly used as color additives for tablet coatings and within cosmetics.

If you’d like to know more about the complex role the FDA has in all this click this link.

Now on to inspect the specific colors used in the “color” of The Color Run. Note that even though all of these dyes have been approved for food use (thus, food grade), they have never been tested or studied for inhalation; nor, have they been approved by the FDA for that purpose.

Blue: The dye used in the colored dust is Blue No. 1 is also known as “brilliant blue”. As with most modern dyes Blue No. 1, was formerly a derivative of coal tar, now most producers, at present, make it from an oil base. This straight dye is then processed in the same “Lake” method mentioned above. Which means, the Blue Thank FD&C Blue 1 Lake Low used in the colored dust potentially contains aluminum particulates.

Yellow: Specifically FD&C Yellow 5 Lake is derived from coal tar. It has a rating on the EWG as a 4 which is moderately hazardous. It has this rating because it is a known neurotoxin and causes reproductive problems. Another common name for it is tartrazine (As most dyes have many names. I told you it was complex; what the FDA does!). Tartrazine is suspect in causing inflammatory responses, dermatitis, asthma and true topical allergic reactions (and possible reactions due to metabolic disorders).

Green: This Green is a combination of the Blue Thank FD&C Blue 1 Lake Low in the Blue above and FD&C Yellow Lake 36-42 PCT another Lake. Here you will find the link to a Material Safety Data Sheet from one manufacturer of that specific yellow.

Pink: I am a bit perplexed by this one. From what I can see this is a patented “lake” process of FD&C Red No. 40. This Patent is owned by Dow. FD&C Red 40 replaced FD&C Red No. 2 in 1976 and FD&C No. 3 in 1990 because both were found to be cancer causing. Here is a link to the Material safety Data sheet of straight FD&C Red No. 40 (which has also been shown to cause health problems in children).

Even though these artificial colorings are all considered relatively safe (or moderately hazardous, depending on how you see it), the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and other advocacy organizations have disputed for a lengthy time that they may, in fact, be linked to attention deficit disorder (ADD). If you or a family member has a sensitivity to any of the above mentioned ingredients in the “color”, please consider glasses/goggles, a mask, ear protection and possibly full skin coverage, depending on the severity and type of reaction.

In conclusion, I would be hard pressed to allow my child to run in a color run, as inhalation seems inevitable. Is it safe? That for me is a, no! As much as they state that they aim low on the body we have all seen the pictures of airborne color at one of these races. I am certain there have been many well-meaning, fun loving, happy runners that have fared well within these types of runs despite breathing in some of the clouds of colored dust. However, we won’t be participating without proper protection.

Some links to what I found to be well written and supportive articles regarding The Color Run.

If you’d like to know more about the complex role the FDA has in all this click this link.

Link to the CSPI “Food Dyes and the Rainbow of Risks”.

A MILLION thanks to my co-admin Jolene Marty for putting this together. We’d love to add to it with any great resources you know of. Not everything this companies offer may be made in the USA, so always double check.

Wooden ornaments (I get my kiddos one from them every year, just adore them):

Smiling Tree Toys: http://smilingtreetoys.com/collections/ornaments

Ribbons

Lion Ribbon www.lionribbon.com grosgrain, satin, velvet, wired, non-wired, twine, tulle, etc

American Ribbon www.americanribbon.com Woven, Plaids, ‘Christmasy looking’ thick décor ribbon. These are the only 2 categories that are USA Made, the rest are from overseas.

Wrapping paper/Bags/Tissue Paper/Bows

Nashville Wraps www.nashvillewraps.com Gift wrap paper, Christmas, birthday, floral, paper shopping/gift bags, curling ribbon, tissue paper, and tulle

Inside/Outside Christmas Décor

Bronners Christmas Wonderland www.bronners.com Carry Made in USA Nativity scenes, ornaments, and a few stockings. Also carry European Made items as a second choice.

Outdoor Nativity Sets www.outdoornativitysets.com Ornaments, outside décor, window décor, yard art, made in FL

The Jolly Christmas Shop

www.thejollychristmasshop.com Made in USA section of indoor décor, and ornaments.

Hanukah

USA Love List www.usalovelist.com

Has many made in USA Hanukah items such as dreidels, menorahs, cards, star of David cooking supplies, etc

Of course I need to say this: it’s always best to consult with a trusted medical professional before beginning something like this. It’s definitely not for everyone, especially if you have any underlying medical conditions. I do not.  I wouldn’t take this lightly at all, but if you have no underlying health issues you should be totally fine. ALWAYS listen to your body & if it says stop, then stop! My body said “I can do this”.

Also I will say, Purium offers a TON of resources once you buy one of their packages: online videos, FB support groups, a Naturopath on staff you can call in & talk to if you have questions. I purposefully chose not to even look at any of the materials. I didn’t want to have any preconceived notion of what I was supposed to feel like on day 2 for example. Half way through my cleanse someone sent me a chart of a roller-coaster of emotions people typically go through & asked if I felt the same. And the answer was no, not at all. Which proved my point as to why I didn’t want to get sucked into all that. I simply followed the 1 page instructional sheet that came with the package describing what I was supposed to do when, and took this one day at a time. Never did I feel like I was on a roller-coaster of doubt, anger, resentment.

I will start by saying I never thought I’d do anything like this. And it’s not something I ever needed to do in my 20’s. As most of us know who are now in our 30’s or beyond, it gets more difficult to keep our bodies slim as we age, even if we are active. I had both my kiddos in my early 30’s, and am now just about to celebrate my 36^th B-day with a 2 & 4 year old. Having recently weaned my 2 year old I felt great about finally being able to focus on myself a little more and decided it was time to take off the spare tire I have around my mid-section. While I know proper diet & exercise is the best weight loss routine, I really wanted to jump start that & re-set my metabolism, then follow-up with the proven & known methods for weight loss & maintenance. While we eat a mostly organic diet, I’d fallen victim to more & more organic, processed, convenience foods. There are more & more of them available as the organic market booms. As a busy Mom, it’s easy to fill the cart with crackers, Mac & Cheese, pre-made this & that. Even when organic, it’s still best to make as much from scratch as possible, and stick with whole foods, and I had kind of gotten away from that. And, sugar is still sugar, even when organic. Organic ice cream, organic cookies, organic French Silk pie, the list goes on & on. So analyzing my diet & adjusting it back to where I know it needs to be is the main overhaul. And while I am active, I don’t get enough regular, decent exercise & that is part of my issue. I used to be an avid walker with my doggies, pre-children. Now, with kiddos who don’t like to be pushed in a stroller, but like to walk themselves, it takes us an hour to walk ½ mile because we’re on an adventure & lollygag. I just scored a great bike at a garage sale so look forward to working that into my new routine.

So, I knew I wanted to take some quick weight off while I worked at slimming down the rest on my own, and had been seeing Purium pop up more & more in circles of people I trust. There are a few fellow Poofy Guides who are also Purium Reps, with the motto: Poofy for the outside, Purium for the inside. And indeed, seeing that USDA certified organic label on my daily shake gave me peace of mind. It’s made with 30+ Organic ingredients!! Not everything they offer is certified organic, but a whole lot of them are. I’ve not compared it to the very popular Weight Watchers shakes, but I can only imagine the ingredients in those are less than healthy. I bought the products and they sat around for about a month, as I was still nursing my 2 year old & knew I had to wean her before doing a cleanse like this. Your fat stores toxins, and you don’t want to pass those on to your nursling as they break down from your fat. My sudden need to wean her was spurred by the need for some major dental work. I opted for conscious sedation for the work, for a variety of reasons, but needed to wean her prior to that, which I did in 3 days away from home, it went very well. Then I had the dental work done, and perfect timing: I had a temporary crown on each side of my mouth, making it difficult to chew anything hard as I needed to be very careful not to damage them. So, what better time for a liquid diet? Thus my journey began. And I didn’t realize it until 5 days later, that I began my journey on the Autumn Equinox, and day 5 was the Lunar Eclipse/Blood moon. When I read the astrology of the Blood Moon, I realized how perfect it was to be doing this at this time in my life, without even planning it!

What does the Purium 10 day Cleanse involve? I will say this: if you are adverse to swallowing pills, this may not be for you, it involves taking a total of 22 pills daily (not horse pills, but not tiny either).

As soon as you get up: 5 Super Aminos, 1 Super Lyte & your flex snack (any fruit or veggie except starchy ones, if cooking use coconut oil & Himalayan salt which is delicious & both things I normally use), with 18oz of water.

2 hours later your shake & 2 Super Cleanse tabs.

And you alternate these back & forth at 2 hour intervals for a total of 3 rounds of the Aminos/Lytes w/ 3 snacks, and 3 shakes. Honestly, it felt like quite a chore the 1^st couple days. I’d consult my schedule & it felt like it was always time to take the next thing. But by day 5 I got into the groove of it & it wasn’t too big of a deal. I did ask my super knowledgeable contact, Jodi, about skipping the evening shake, which I did twice due to a time crunch & not wanting any more liquid before bed (you have to pee, a LOT, that’s how you cleanse) and this is what she said: “It’s not ideal to skip it, but not bad, per se. The reason you are eating so often is that is what re-sets your metabolism. By eating so often the body knows it’s not starving and so it doesn’t slow down the metabolism like it would with a typical diet.”

Final step of the day is tart cherry juice. I could go into the many benefits of this, but will let you do your own research on that, in an effort to not make this note too lengthy. I noticed it didn’t have the USDA organic seal on it that the shake does, so was curious as a Google search does bring back organic tart cherry juice, here’s what Jodi said about that, and she sent me links to the reports she mentions: “The cherry juice is wild crafted, which makes it more nutritious. They looked into only getting it from organic farms and it greatly reduced the ORAC value, so they decided to stick with wild crafted because it made a better, healthier product. I do have purity data on it—they guarantee it to be free of pesticides”.

Prepping for it: 3 days prior to beginning you need to eliminate meat, dairy, bread, caffeine, processed foods. I did pretty darn good with this, did have a piece of pizza at a friend’s birthday party. I weaned off of coffee by drinking a smaller cup each day for 3 days prior to quitting cold turkey. What did I eat in these 3 days? A meatless stir-fry which I ate for leftovers the following day as well, split pea soup one night, and fruits & veggies for snacks throughout the day.

Then, it’s time for the journey to begin! Here are my notes. Again, I don’t want to tell you how you should feel, this is an individual journey for everyone, but these are my thoughts & a few things to prep you for.

Day 1: apple for lunch, broccoli w/ coconut oil & Himalayan salt for dinner. Time crunch, cut out 3^rd shake. Need to be prepared when I leave home & take either the shake or aminos/super lyte with me in case I’m out longer than expected which happened today. Also, had a moment of weakness, dinner smelled so good & I took 1 bite of a taco the rest of the family was having for dinner. Took quite a while to get shakes down. They’re not bad, it’s just a whole new experience & my body isn’t able to pound them down. It really feels like you’re constantly taking/drinking something, but I know I’ll get into the groove of it.

Day 2: Same as day 1, apple & broccoli (mainly because it’s apple season here & we have tons of them as well as broccoli from the garden). I’m not really a breakfast eater, at least not right when I get up which is when you need to have your 1^st flex snack. So I skipped the morning flex snack the 1^st two days, I will not be doing that anymore, will make sure to eat a piece of fruit at least, as I only get 3 flex snacks/day. One super cool thing is my 2 year old has been cozying up to me while I eat my broccoli saying “like, like”, and sharing it with me. Yet another example that we have to set good examples for them & they will follow. So now she shares my broccoli with me, I will be making twice as much going forward (1/2C is the recommended serving size). The shakes are MUCH better iced, and the 1^st day I did 18oz of water (instructions are 12-18), now I’m doing 12 oz of water + quite a bit of ice, which as it melts ends up being about 16 oz of drink.

Day 3: orange for breakfast, broccoli for lunch, kale for dinner flex snacks. The broccoli is very satisfying, tempted to eat it 3 times/day but need some variety. I like slicing the apple up into small slices, it give you a small bowl full, and I enjoy taking my time eating it while chewing it up very thoroughly, it leaves me satisfied. Shakes going down better, getting into the groove of this. Only complaint, last night when I went to bed I realized I was super achy. I tossed & turned for hours & finally got up & took a couple ibuprofen (not preferred on an empty stomach, but needed some sleep.) The ache was comparable to how my hips & pelvis felt post-partum for a while. I contacted my super knowledgeable consultant & she said this: “Achiness usually implies liver imbalance, which is normal with a cleanse. More water and a bit more salt would probably help. If it gets worse instead of better than you can take some milk thistle to help your body make more gluathione. Glutathione is the main anti-oxidant the body uses to detox itself, and you may just need a bit of a boost.” Spent the evening with friends/family at a local carnival celebrating my town’s Apple Festival. Watched everyone chow down on corndogs, cheesy fries, funnel cakes. Drank my shake & wasn’t even tempted to take 1 bite of the fried goods.

Day 4: Weighed myself this morning & down 3# in 3 days. Had a pear breakfast, watermelon lunch, kale dinner. Achiness again when I laid down, had to take ibuprofen again to get sleep. Went grocery shopping & had no problem getting what I needed for myself & the family without feeling weak. It feels so great to exercise self-control & just say no thank you when food is offered sometimes. I walked into the food co-op & the free sample of the day was organic French Silk pie. Normally I’d grab a sample for sure, because I’ve had it before & know it’s delish. But as I just said, I’ve had it before, why do I need to sample it? I walked right buy it & stocked up on fresh fruits & veggies for the week & felt great. Went to a cookout at my Mom’s house & the smell of grilled steak & onions which they turned into burritos definitely made my mouth water. It smelled sooooo good. As have all dinners I’ve made for my family while not eating them myself. But I keep telling myself: it’s 10 days, I can enjoy a burrito again, this is temporary & I’m only cheating myself if I give in.

Day 5: apple breakfast, broccoli lunch, carrot dinner. Achiness gone thankfully, was on the go all day & slept great with no pain in my hips, so that just lasted for 2 nights & I know my liver was doing what it was supposed to do! Made it through a parade without even being tempted to eat a piece of candy, and another pizza party without being tempted to take a bite.  I’m feeling really, really great about being ½ way there.

Day 6: Weighed myself this morning, down 5# in 5 days! Peach breakfast, broccoli lunch, oven roasted carrot dinner (on the slightly starchy side I know, but we have a bunch of them fresh from a friends garden & I was making them for the family so that’s what I had as well, soooo goooooood). Going very well, feeling good, feeling happy & proud of myself.

Day 7: apple breakfast, sauerkraut lunch, broccoli dinner. Definitely in the rhythm of popping the pills & doing the drinks. No complaints, feel like I could keep doing this longer than 10 days. The smell of food is not nearly as mouth-watering as it was during the 1^st 3-4 days or so. Easy Street from here on out.

Day 8: grapes, sauerkraut, kale. Cooked BLT’s as part of my family’s dinner, and the fact that I could resist a piece of bacon accidently falling into my mouth made me realize how far I’d come since the 1^st few days. I wasn’t even tempted!

Day 9: 2/2 sedation dentist appts, couldn’t eat or drink anything beforehand, and was totally numb & groggy afterwards. I had, 1/2 C applesauce a couple hours after the appt & took a 4 hour nap. Didn’t feel hungry at all in the evening so didn’t have a shake or anything else. Am going to add a day 11 since I have enough supplies to do so. Note:  I cleared it with my dentist 1st to make sure it was ok with her. She asked me to send all ingredient lists to her & she doubled checked them for possible interactions with the triazolam I would be taking with her. When filling out a questionare at one point I remember it asking if I was taking any certain herbs which I wasn’t, but for all I knew they were in the Purium shake. She gave me the green light, otherwise I would’ve waited until after my final dentist visit this week & just have started a couple days ago.

Day 10: applesauce, broccoli, kale. Starting to think about what I’m going to eat when it’s time, and there is nothing really that I’m dying for.  Cheesy, gooey pizza keeps popping into my mind, especially since I had to abstain during 2 pizza parties in the last 10 days. We just picked up 10 whole chickens from local Amish folk today, so I’m going to make a huge batch of my favorite soup: chicken w/ as many veggies as possible. It will have: kale, spinach, leeks, onion, garlic, tomato, zucchini, red bell pepper, lima beans, corn & a few other things I’m sure. I LOVE making super hearty soup, and it’s that time of year. I break it down into smaller batches & most will go in the freezer, and then I’ll add wild rice to a batch, noodles to the next, dumplings maybe, I like to switch it up. I’m really looking forward to this on Sunday, my 1^st day off the cleanse, I think it’ll be the perfect 1^st meal!

Day 11: Weighed in at 9# down this morning. Very happy with that! Pineapple breakfast and then decided to go ahead & have a homemade muffin for lunch. I was going to hold off making them until later today but after I returned from shopping with the missing ingredients the kiddos were super eager to make them so we did & once they got out of the oven I told myself: it’s OKAY! I’ve made it this far, it’s my last day, I have nothing more to prove to myself, enjoy that muffin. They turned out sooooo goooood: No sugar, no oil, oatbran banana apple muffins with almond slices, dried cranberries and a few dark chocolate chips. One thing I kept thinking about while doing this cleanse is my love for baked goods, and how they’re really not good for you, so much sugar & fat. I just purchased a Pampered Chef stone muffin pan after wanting one a long time, and thus ditching my last non-stick cookware in my entire kitchen. Then I was left thinking: will I ever use it. How can I enjoy banana break, zucchini break, muffins when they’re really not healthy? Well, make them healthier! As we know the internet is full of recipes of all sorts, so find a low/no sugar recipe! We’re big oatbran fans, so I googled “no sugar oatbran banana muffins” and viola: http://www.food.com/recipeprint.do?rid=515013. They were good warm from the oven, but REALLY good the next morning with my cup of coffee. The apples moistened them up & I really, really liked them, they turned out just perfect! Finished out the day with my last shake.

1^st day back to “normal”: cup of coffee (~6oz, not a huge mug, just like my one, hot, strong cup!) & one of the delicious muffins I made yesterday for breakfast. I wanted to take advantage of my caffeine surge to go for a bike ride, but once I hopped on it I realized something was out of whack with it, so it’s going in for a tune-up this week. I’m finishing up these notes to share & heading out on a walk, without the kids so I can actually get some exercise out of it. The soup is simmering for this evenings meal, all is well in our house J

Reflection: I anticipated missing coffee terribly, and even possibly cheating and having a tiny amount, even a shot glass full. But I really didn’t miss it at all. Will I go back to my 1 cup/morning, yes, I do love it & do believe it has benefits if not over-consumed. But I was very pleasantly surprised that smelling my Hubby’s morning brew did not affect me whatsoever. Also very happy I did not have a single headache through this detox process. If I had to pick one thing I missed the most, I would have to say cheese. We live in WI & while I don’t drink any milk, I really do love cheese. As I mentioned above I went to 2 pizza parties during the 14 days of the prep for the cleanse through the end, and something about that gooey, hot, cheesiness of the pizza does make my mouth water. My Hubby recently had a cholesterol check (and I need to do the same) and was borderline elevated, enough to make him give up cheese & butter completely, he went cold turkey! But the kiddos & I still enjoy cheese, I loooove grilled cheese with fried onion, a slice of tomato, and a smear of pesto. Or sometimes we’ll have cheese & mayo w/ lettuce or sprouts & mustard for a quick lunch sandwich. Or refried bean & cheese quesadillas with salsa & avocado. You get the idea, cheese is kinda a staple for me. So that was missed, but again, it was 2 weeks total, it’s doable, I will have cheese in my life again!

The most common thing I heard when I told people I was doing this is: Aren’t you starving? My Mom must’ve asked me that 5 times or more. And the answer was always no. I could not have made it if I were starving the entire time. Hungry at times, yes. But then it’d be time for my next shake or flex snack & I’d feel satisfied again.

Phew: 220 pills, 28 shakes and somewhere around 960 ounces of water in 10 days! And 9# gone! Now to keep taking more off with exercise, portion control, and more whole foods, less processed ones!

Summary:

Be prepared for some achiness for a couple days.

Be prepared to pee A LOT.

Be prepared for food to smell really, really good for 3-4 days.

Be prepared to be able to handle this for 10 days, and jump start the weight loss you desire, while re-setting your metabolism & giving your body a great cleanse.

Be prepared to feel great about your willpower.

Be prepared to smile big when those pants that were a tad too tight now fit you perfectly 🙂

Will I do this again? Yes, I believe I will. Maybe even quarterly or semi-annually. I love that I did it during the equinox, and think that would be a great tradition to keep going! Also, I still have maybe 1/4 of the container of the shake left, so plan to keep that handy for a quick lunch, which will help fill me up when I’m starving & maybe tempted to grab something less than healthy.

UPDATE: 3 months after this experience I’ve kept the 9# off & lost 5# more. I will be doing another 10 days soon!

VERY few earn the right to use this label. I choose to support those who do, will you? And I’m not talking about your small  Mom & Pop soap-maker down the road, I choose to support them often too. I’m talking about the mega, multi-million dollar corporations who are working hard to gain the trust & support of the organic-minded crowd, yet go out of there way to bash the certification process as “too costly and laborious”. No, they will not get a dollar from me! These are the companies I choose to support with my hard earned dollars: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/product-reviews/safe-products/

If you’d like to work from home representing a line that offers more USDA certified organic products than any other out there (to my knowledge), please check out what Poofy Organics has to offer: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/buying-clubdeomy-poofy-organics/ready-to-work-from-home-join-team-eco-poofy-usa/