toxicity - pesticides, herbicides and insecticides - Blackherbals.com

Continued from page 89 – Home Pesticides Could Make YouFatProtect yourself and your blood sugar levels by takinga few steps to limit your exposure:• Get a water filter. Standard faucet-mount or pitcherfilters that use carbon or charcoal are sufficient to remove2,4-D from your water. There's some evidence that theyalso remove pharmaceuticals, such as fibrates, althoughtheir effectiveness on those compounds isn't fully knownat this point.• Switch to organic lawn care. Weed control doesn'trequire dousing your grass with pesticides. In fact, yourweeds are probably trying to tell you about a problemyou can fix without toxic chemicals. For instance, cloveris a sign that your lawn is too low in nitrogen, and browngrass means you're mowing too much, not that it needsmore fertilizer. For other organic solutions, check out ourstory on chemical-free fixes for common lawn problems.http://www.rodale.com/dangers-pesticides?☻☻☻☻☻☻Natural Pesticide AlternativesNatural pesticide alternatives. Realize the hazardsassociated with the use of Pesticides. Learn about naturalalternatives to pest control that really work.Pest control is an ongoing problem for all of us. Foryears, we have depended on the use of pesticides toeliminate unwanted pest. Pesticides are harmfulchemicals that have been linked to illness and disease.Think about it, each time you use a pesticide, some of itwill be consumed by you. When we spray a pesticide,small particles are released in the air, making their way toour lungs. When farmers spray crops, the pesticides enterthe soil and water. We eat plants that grow in this soil.We eat the fish that live in the waters, and the animalsthat feed from the plants and drink from polluted lakesand streams. Health and environmental professionals areconcerned with the long term effects of pesticide use.Many forms of illness long term effects of pesticide use.Many forms of illness and disease are linked topesticides, including cancer. There are some naturalalternatives to the use of pest control. If these are used ona continuous basis, they can be very effective for thehome. Here are a few suggestions:1. Cockroaches: These have to be the worst. Don't youhate opening the cabinet and seeing several cockroachesscurrying across your dishes? For me, this results in aninstant' "LOSS OF APPETITE"! These little devilsscamper, hurriedly throughout our home, infesting everything they touch. What's frightening, is seeing little tinybabies, then you know they are reproducing, multiplying,and taking up homestead in your home. They couldeasily be labeled, the peskiest pest of all. The key is toblock the cockroach's point of entry. Prepare your homeagainst cockroach invasion. Fill in all cracks aroundbaseboards, cabinets, shelves, sinks, bathtubs, and inpipes. Sprinkle Borax around each point of entry. Boraxis a crystalline salt used to manufacture detergents andsoaps. It is also used as a water softener and mildantiseptic. Borax has been proven to be very effectiveagainst cockroaches.2. Ants: It should not be difficult to locate the ants' pointof entry. They will be in a line formation, resembling anarmy of soldiers marching off to war. These little soldiersare dedicated, hard working, and find their strength ingreat numbers. They are persistent, but can be forced toturn and retreat. You have several options of combatweapons to use. Try sprinkling talcum powder in the areaof entry; you can also use cayenne pepper, damp coffeegrounds, bone meal, charcoal, or chalk. Another strategyis to squeeze lemon juice in this area, and leave thelemon peeling behind. Ants may have the reputation ofbeing honorable soldiers, but watch them turn and flee.Oh the shame, of leaving your fellow soldiers on thebattle field to die alone. But don't you feel proud. Youhave accepted the challenge, defeated the enemy, and justthink you didn't even have to engage in chemicalwarfare.3. Flies: There's nothing more refreshing then awakeningto a bright, sunny, morning, flinging open the windows,and smelling the crisp, morning air. A perfect day for afamily picnic, and the favorite time for the fly to take tothe air and explore. A fly simply cannot resist an open,sunny, window. Before you get the coffee brewing andthe bacon frying, you have a kitchen full of flies, landingon every utensil and morsel of food they can find. Whatdo you do? You pull out the trusty, old, fly swat and goabout the kitchen swatting frantically, in a fit of fury. Bythe time the husband and the kids awaken, you are as illand short-tempered as a hornet. Hence, the ruining of aperfect day. This could all have been avoided by justkeeping the windows closed. Another trick is to tryhoney on yellow paper. The fly will be attracted to thehoney, land and stick, never to fly again. So, hang upyour fly swat, keep the windows closed, try a littlehoney, and greet your family with a smile each new day.4. Ticks and Fleas: Ticks and fleas usually enter thehome, by way of the family pet. A pet loves and shouldbe able to spend time in the home, interacting with thefamily. Ticks and fleas can make your pet miserable, andare certainly unwanted in the home environment.Continued on page 9190-- Traditional African Clinic July 2013