17Dec 2019 by Angela Cummings

Radio Interview with ARBICO Organics

Blog, Food, Podcast
Want tips for keeping your organic food, organic? Listen to my radio interview with ARBICO Organics, out of Arizona. Topics include: What health benefits did I experience when creating an organic and chemical-free household? What type of gardening and pest control can you use? What type of cookware do you use in order to keep organic food chemical-free (and organic)?  Listen to the interview by clicking the play arrow below.
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27Feb 2019 by Angela Cummings
Which Pots & Pans are Toxic & Nontoxic on the Stovetop?

Which Pots & Pans are Toxic & Nontoxic on the Stovetop?

Blog, Food, Household Items
Do you faithfully buy organic food, but then ruin it by cooking with toxic pots and pans? Chemicals and heavy metals from stove-wear can leach into our healthy food, making it less healthy. However, healthy options are readily available. You have to know what to look for. Want to know which pots and pans are toxic and which are nontoxic? Read on! 6 Types of Pots & Pans for the Stovetop: Toxic and Nontoxic 1.Ceramic Coated Pots and pans that are ceramic-coated only have a thin layer of ceramic on the cooking surface, vs. made of ceramic all the way through. The rest of the pan is made of metal (stainless steel, copper, aluminum). The coatings may contain chemical finishes and nanoparticles, which has raised health concerns and is being…
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20Dec 2018 by Angela Cummings
5 Ways Food Affects Immune System Health (during the holidays)

5 Ways Food Affects Immune System Health (during the holidays)

Blog, Food, Health
Are your holidays filled with jolly parties, delicious food, and adult drinks? We have so much fun when we’re feeling good! But the strain on our digestive system can cause our immune systems to dysfunction, leading to illness. Learn how food can affect immune system health. 5 Ways Food Affects the Immune System & Health 1.Slow digestion. If eating too late at night, too close to bed time, can slow digestive system down and lead to a sleepless night (and heartburn!). Lack of sleep can cause inflammation that burdens the immune system, and could lead to illness. 2. Leaky gut.  Overeating processed food during the holidays is almost a given. The holiday season is filled with parties, food, get-togethers, and food… and then more food. When we overeat processed food, our…
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01Nov 2018 by Angela Cummings
10 Ways Food is Healthier from Organic CSAs (& How to Sign Up Now)

10 Ways Food is Healthier from Organic CSAs (& How to Sign Up Now)

Blog, Food
November is the time to start watching for organic CSA (community supported agriculture) membership sign-up!  It only happens once a year. Organic CSAs are a great way to choose organic, chemical-free, annnnnd fresh foods. Read on to learn other great health benefits and how to sign up for an organic CSA. 10 Ways Organic CSA Food is Healthier By choosing a certified organic CSA, you’re choosing food that is free from chemicals in plastic packaging, growing (including non-GMO seeds and pesticides), and production. Here are 10 ways organic CSA foods are healthier! Freshest of fresh. Picked from the ground, rinsed off, and placed into your CSA box for pick up. That’s almost as fresh as you can get. Mold minimized. Eating fresh food can minimize exposure to molded foods. As…
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24Oct 2018 by Angela Cummings
Sugar Free Diet: How it Affects Digestive Health

Sugar Free Diet: How it Affects Digestive Health

Blog, Food
Want your digestive system to function better? Try creating a sugar free and sweetener free diet! One that is free of natural and artificial sweeteners may reduce sugar levels and man-made chemicals in your food. What’s Harmful about Natural Sugar? Natural sugar can still be a processed or refined sugar. It simply has a natural ingredient as the base. Some manufacturers call their sweeteners "natural" even though they're processed or refined. Stevia preparations are one example. And some artificial sweeteners are derived from naturally occurring substances — sucralose comes from sugar.-Mayo Clinic, Nutrition and Healthy Eating Too much natural sugar and artificial sweeteners may affect our digestive system, leading to diabetes, immune system illnesses, inflammation, and other health conditions. In addition, natural sugar and artificial sugar are processed by the…
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28Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
What type of plastic is nontoxic?

What type of plastic is nontoxic?

Blog, Food
Can we buy nontoxic plastic? Getting plastics out of our homes and environment can be a trick. Plastics are all around us. Whether it’s our food packaging, dishes and cups, or food storage containers, plastic plays a huge role in our lives. We might look for nontoxic plastics instead of getting rid of plastics altogether. Let’s find out if that’s possible. What is plastic made of? Oil and chemicals. Crude oil (oil from the earth) is refined. Part of that refined oil is used as oil in our car engines. It’s refined again (or more) to become gasoline that fuels our cars. It’s refined further to become a key ingredient in plastic. The refined oil is mixed with a variety of man-made chemicals, to become plastic. BPA is one of…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
Could your food allergy actually be a pesticide allergy?

Could your food allergy actually be a pesticide allergy?

Blog, Food
Do you have food allergies? I used to have SO.many. food allergies (the non-life threatening kind). Traditional allergy testing would turn my back fire-engine red. Fruits and vegetables were the primary cause. Or, so I thought. Today, I can eat nearly all fruits and vegetables. As long as they’re organic. My body was doing its job, protecting me from harmful chemicals such as pesticides. In the process it associated food with chemical and attacked both. It took time to undo this association. When I started re-introducing foods and eating 100% organic, I felt much better. I stopped having allergic reactions to strawberries, blueberries, lettuce, spinach, carrots and nearly all other produce. What a relief that was. I had more food options at parties and restaurants. My mouth was free of itchyness and…
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04Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings

How to Pick Organic Strawberries & Why We Love Them

Blog, Food
Are you a strawberry lover? One of my good friends is a strawberry lover and sent me a text message asking if I knew where to find the best organic strawberries. She was asking because strawberries are the #1 food on the Dirty Dozen list. Do you know about this list? It’s created and published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit company that has our consumer health in mind. Each year they publish the Dirty Dozen, a list of fruits and veggies that have been tested and found to have the highest amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, insecticides – chemicals used while growing our food. We certainly don’t want these babies ending up in our desserts! Check out these 5 ways chemicals get into our food. Why is this so important? When we…
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03Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
5 Ways To Get Rid of Chemicals in Your Food

5 Ways To Get Rid of Chemicals in Your Food

Blog, Food
82% of households in the United States bought organic food in 2017.[1] Are you one of them? Chances are you are concerned about pesticides found in majority of our food supply.[2]  That seems to be a concern of most organic food buyers. What about artificial sweeteners, plastics and packaging - all of which are added to or can leach chemicals into our food supply? Are you concerned about those, too? There are actually 5 main ways that chemicals get into our food and drink.[3] 5 Ways Chemicals Get Into Our Food Food can have chemicals added during the growing process, manufacturing process, packaging, transportation and when in stores.[4] Here’s more info on each: 1. Growing Process Growing refers to everything it takes to grow food. What’s put into the soil,…
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03Sep 2018 by Angela Cummings
What do YOU Consider “Healthy”?

What do YOU Consider “Healthy”?

Blog, Food
Do you consider “healthy” as eating veggies or non-processed foods, and exercising? I do! Does your definition include pesticide-free or eating organic? What about chemical-free clothes, soaps, and dishes? Do those fit into your definition of healthy? You may be living a toxic lifestyle and not even know it. I certainly didn’t. Until it affected my health in a way that I could not ignore. The food, clothing, household items, personal care products, and building materials that I was buying were affecting my health in ways I would have never imagined. I discovered, though, that there are ways to easily live an organic chemical-free lifestyle by making a few simple changes. The first step is to become aware of *truly* what is in the products you are buying. I’m not…
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