Art | Resources
Salts of the 7 Seas
A whole website dedicated to the best of the basic seasonings salt and pepper. Unusual sea salts and blends plus peppercorns. Samplers allow you to learn about salts and peppercorns and choose your favorites. “Salts of the 7 Seas was founded to bring the beautiful and healthy world of whole mineral, all natural sea salts to people everywhere who love to cook and eat. Produced in exacting standards with attention to purity, wholesomeness and respect for the environment.”
Leaves & Flowers
A beautiful and unique selection of handcrafted herbal infusions and premium small batch teas. “Our inspiration comes from the plants themselves – the mythology of their medicine, their potent leaves, delicate flowers, and the intoxicating aroma and flavor they release when infused. At its conception, Leaves and Flowers established a close community of local farms who provide us with exceptional herbs for our herbal infusions. Our accompanying tea collection is sourced similarly to our herbal ingredients, with an ever-changing selection procured from small tea farms in regions of China, Japan and Africa. These farms have been implementing sustainable farming practices for generations, and provide us with teas of extraordinary quality and flavor. We feel fortunate to collaborate with farmers who live in such close relationship with the land. Our farms are either certified organic or apply sustainable farming practices. No chemicals or pesticides are used in the cultivation of our herbs or teas.”
Wild Zora
Snack bars made from 100% natural meats and organic vegetables that are minimally processed. “We make for you only real food that we give to our own children, family and friends.”
Ora Organic
Plant-based supplements made from real whole organic food—and they are designed to taste great too. “We wanted to make the supplement experience enjoyable (not just tolerable), so we brought on an in-house Chef to make our products taste great. No more giant horse sized capsules or pinching your nose to down something that tastes like a handful of dirt and grass.” Just a small collection now of multivitamins, protein, probiotics and omega-3s, but I love the concept of supplements actually being foods that taste good! And they do! I’ve tried them.
SaltRox
A pink Himalayan salt cooking plate, manufactured to the safe for cooking, grilling, and baking. This plate enhances and seasons your food with before and during the cooking process. No need for cookware—you heat the slab of salt and cook food directly on it.
Curio Spice Co.
Organic spices and exotic spice blends from around the world and the USA. Spices are sourced direct from origin whenever possible, “with the highest standards in organic and fair trade agriculture. Sourcing from origin highlights the “terroir” of spices from specific regions (just like wine), adding edible luxury, creativity and intense flavor to food, cocktails and more. Simultaneously, Curio’s dedication to direct sourcing and the highest standards in sustainability allow for a premium product and improved farmer livelihoods.”
Millions of Children Around the World Breathe Highly Toxic Air
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a report last week that shows more than 300 million children around the world are exposed to outdoor air pollution at least six times the level considered to be safe by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Clear the Air for Children is a 100-page report that shows the sources of outdoor air pollution, the impact of air pollution on the health of children, the unique vulnerabilities of children, how to protect children from air pollution.
Though the greatest numbers of children affected by the worst air quality is in India, Asia and north Africa, these same pollutants are found in indoor and outdoor air here in the United States and affect our children’s health in the same ways. And our own health as well.
UNICEF: Clear the Air For Children
THE NEW YORK TIMES: 300 Million Children Breathe Highly Toxic Air, Unicef Reports
Satellite image of areas in the United State with excessive particulate pollution in outdoor air.
Air Pollution Affects the Stock Market…And Other Human Activities
According to a new study from researchers at the University of Ottawa and Columbia University, when outdoor air pollution levels rise in Manhattan, stock prices fall.
The study tracked the S&P 500 index, the most widely cited New York Stock Exchange benchmark, over a 15-year period and compared its returns with hourly measures of fine particulate matter in lower Manhattan, where the NYSE is based.
The one standard deviation increase in air pollution decreases returns by 11.9 percent, or what the researchers deemed a “substantial effect on daily NYSE returns.”
“We hypothesize that pollution decreases the risk attitudes of investors via short-term changes in brain and/or physical health.”
CBS MONEY WATCH: Why Investors May Want to Keep Tabs on Air Pollution
New Study Finds Air Pollution a Risk Even for Young Healthy Adults
In the past it was thought that children and elderly people were at greatest risk for heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.
But a new study suggests that even healthy people in their twenties are being harmed by particles found in air pollution.
In the new study, a group of 72 people with an average age of 23, from the city of Provo in Utah, provided blood samples during the winters of 2013, 2014 and 2015. When air pollution rose, the scientists found that the number of fragments of dead cells in their bloodstream increased.
One researcher said there appeared to be a significant effect on the health of young adults. “ These findings suggest that living in a polluted environment could promote the development of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke more pervasively and at an earlier stage than previously thought.”
“Although we have known for some time that air pollution can trigger heart attacks or strokes in susceptible, high-risk individuals, the finding that it could also affect even seemingly healthy individuals suggests that increased levels of air pollution are of concern to all of us, not just the sick or the elderly.”
INDEPENDENT: Air pollution damages arteries of even healthy young adults, new study shows
VOCs and Heavy Metals Found in Halloween Face Paints
The Breast Cancer Fund has a new report on toxic chemicals in make-up marketed to kids, including make-up used for Halloween.
I know I’m a day late for this Halloween, but all this is good to know for next Halloween and any time of year that face painting comes to mind.
Pretty Scary 2 goes beyond looking a labels and had kid’s cosmetics lab tested.
Here are some of the chemicals they found:
Seven different VOCs were found, four having the potential to lead to serious long-term health care effects:
- Toluene, a reproductive toxicant
- Styrene, a probable carcinogen and endocrine disruption compound
- Ethylbenzene, a possible carcinogen
- Vinyl acetate, another possible carcinogen
In addition they found
- fragrances
- heavy metals lead, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium
- toluene
- parabens
- formaldehyde
- ethoxylated ingredients
This comprehensive report covers insufficient regulations, what you can find on the label and what thy cab’t, and much more.
After reading this I went searching for safe face paints. After reading some descriptions of so-called “nontoxic” and “natural” face paints I decided this needed more research before I could recommend them.
But I will give you a link to How To Make Face Paint With Natural Ingredients, which is what I would do for face paint.
Face painting is fun! Just use a safe face paint.
BREAST CANCER FUND: Pretty Scary 2
