no more super yeast
Okey Dokey, now this may seem like a really odd first post, but I am pretty sure this was the first move I made into the world of living more cleanly and green.
Let's talk tampons - and the importance of using organic non-chlorinated GMO-free cotton ones.
I think this is one of the most important things we can do, and it's an easy switch. About 10 years ago I started seeing miracle shiatsu massager and knower of all things green, Lisa Hish (if you are lucky enough to live in the Chicago area go to her) who said she would eat a tenderized, hormone pumped, cage raised steak before she would use a non-organic tampon. Here's why... mass-marketed tampons use genetically modified cotton (which has been sprayed with pesticides and herbicides) and are also bleached to make the fibers whiter. A by-product of the bleaching process is dioxin, which is extremely harmful to our health and reproductive systems even in small doses. Multiply that by the number of tampons you use in a month... year... lifetime... it adds up. Check out this article which says it all a bit more scientifically that I do:
Another reason I know this to be so important is this; and yes, this is a bit embarrassing for us all, but in the interest of saving the world here goes:
A few months ago, I found myself in a rather unfortunate predicament which one might call a teeny tiny yeast infection. Committed to not putting any drugs (other than coffeeee) into my body, I was determined to not go the GET ME TO THE DRUG STORE NOW route. And I came across this really funny, really informative website about how to heal yourself naturally from these things, and all the reasons why you MUST. Of course the site is down right now or I'd post it here, but one of the many reasons (other than OTC solutions are full of harmful chemicals) is that like using anti-bacterials, using anti-fungals creates fucking super yeasts that are harder and harder to kill. So I used a lovely little garlic remedy that you can find online or feel free to ask me about...
The moral of the story is this: About 3 minutes after using my little garlic clove, I started to TASTE garlic... everything you put anywhere in your body goes everywhere immediately... just because you can't taste your dioxin tampons, Monistat 479 creams, and blue razberry flavored Trojans (I guess the whole point though is to taste these, right?) doesn't mean they aren't coursing through your bloodstream.
Organic tampons are about twice the price however & the only place I have found them cheaper is Trader Joe's. They only have one kind and size (Organic Essentials regular) but you can also buy other kinds from Amazon and Drugstore.com in bulk which makes them more affordable. With all the money you save treating yeast infections with garlic however... it's a wash!
Godspeed sisters.