EiR Blog

I thought for my main blog entry this week I'd discuss a subject that has for the past 10 years or so had a major impact on my ability to cope with daily life and plan for events in the future - the daily and seasonal fluctuations in the appearance and severity of my symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, environmental illness, and related conditions. I'll also talk about what I have done to adapt and minimise their impact.   Daily Fluctuations First I ought to explain that the body varies its biological processes such as hormone production throughout the day and night to allow for periods of activity and rest (i.e sleep) and this is known as the circadian rhythm. For example in the morning secretion of the adrenal hormone cortisol increases, as does activity of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, and this makes us feel awake and full of energy so we're prepared to...

What is body odor? What makes someone smell clean? In our society, we equate a perfume-y, fragranced smell with clean and normal body odor as dirty. My boyfriend has not washed with soap in five years. He was nervous when we first met that I would think he smelled bad. On the contrary, I actually really loved his smell. That's because his diet is pure and he has minimal exposure to toxins in personal care and other types of products. So there is no bad smelly stuff to sweat out. Just normal human smell. I much prefer it to nasty chemicals in fragrances that are just masking over dirt. If you smell bad enough to want to use perfume, take a good look at your diet and lifestyle and start cleaning those up before you reach for the carcinogenic chemicals in fragranced products.   reposted from http://planetthrive.com/members/blog/earthwalker ...

A study that hit the news this past week has caused a bit of a stir in the fragrance industry. Researcher Anne C. Steinemann, PhD, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs at the University of Washington, Seattle, revealed that common fragranced products such as laundry detergent/fabric softeners and air fresheners emit dozens of different chemicals, some of which are regulated as toxic or hazardous under US law. Not only that but NONE of these chemicals appear on the labels of such products so consumers are completely in the dark about the toxins they may be filling their homes with. Under US law (and in many other countries outside Europe) there is no requirement for manufacturers of fragranced products to list all of the chemicals in a particular product, even if an ingredient if officially classed as hazardous. All manufacturers need to do in such cases is put a warning label on the...

Yesterday I reported on a group of students at Stanislaus State College, California, who are campaigning for a campus ban on fragrances. That story can be read here:

Student Group Pushes for Fragrance Ban on College Campus

As I mentioned in that story,