There’s a valid reason why each and every household cleaning product is branded “Keep Away from Children.” However, research has shown that children aren’t the only ones susceptible – animals, plants, infants, the sick and the elderly, and even to healthy members of the household are also effected.

There are thousands of different types of cleaners being bought all over the country everyday. Even though we all know they are made from chemicals and potential toxic substances, we don’t recognize the threat that it poses as a major health hazard inside the home. From floor polish to detergents to window wipe solutions, they come in many form, uses and brands. But they all have one thing in common: the toxins from chemicals are poisonous to virtually every living being.

THE THREAT
More often than not, consumers of the cleaning products do not know what they have in their hands. It’s not that they don’t check the ingredients, because some do, but the fact that there are chemicals and toxic mixtures that they are not familiar with and thus may use it despite the bad thing it poses. Whether it is wiping cleaners to make their furniture glossy and shiny, spraying the room with odor-absorbent aerosol, or use it on their dishes to clean the utensils, all of the members of the household are at risk.

The mid to late 1990’s was the time where an astounding number of children ages 3-6 years old were prone to poisoning, where all of these cases were due to household chemicals that had been ingested by the child. The sad thing about these occurrences is that it does not simply cause temporary hospitalization, but resulted in more complications inside the child’s body.

WHAT TO AVOID
It was around the same time that studies proved the ill effects of bleach. Then and now, bleach is a very common household cleaner used daily, weekly, or monthly in all and every part of the house. This study directly proved that bleach usage heightened the risk for women to develop breast cancer, as well as other malignant diseases. Bleach has also a negative impact on children, causing behavior disabilities and illnesses.

In all common cleaning products, there are chemical mixtures like EGBE or 2-Butoxyethanol that upon frequent one can suffer from extreme headaches and irritation of the nose and eyes. A deeper look into these kinds of hidden chemical in household products reveals that it causes major damage in the organs and more. Lab animals exposed to this mixture have indicated a potential high-risk for testicular damage and defects in fertility.

One of the experts when it comes to hazardous air pollutants is Mr. William Nazaroff of UC Berkley’s Energy and Resources Group. He has conducted a thorough study of EGBE and has stated that people using products with this chemical have 12 times the exposure than what they should, which is obviously not good.
Another ingredient common to household cleaners is glycol. The colorless substance with the sweet smell seems like a favorite for manufacturers for their cleaning products. From aerosols, to room fragrance and even to fruity-smelling all purpose cleaners. Again, this product has been proven to be harmful to animals and humans upon frequent exposure.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Here are a few things you can to limit the toxins in your household:

1. Check labels! There’s no going around this one. Aside from that, do research about specific manufacturers and their stand on wholesome cleaners with lesser toxic chemical substances in their products. Checking to see if they are complying with the department standards helps a lot, too.

2. Use only those labeled (and those which are truly) environmentally-friendly products. Green and earth-friendly products may include, but are not limited to, fragrance-free cleaners, plant oil-based ingredients.

3. Rely on your D-I-Y! Nothing wrong with making cleaners on your own. Using available ingredients right in your kitchen will help you in the assurance that you know what you’re putting in your own cleaners!

Recent trends have put sugar on the chopping block and it’s not looking good. We’ve all been reared to stay away from sugar, but we keep coming back for it anyway because it’s an important ingredient to the food that we eat. Over the years, we’ve learned how sugar affects the body in several negative ways; these include obesity and decay of tooth enamel, as well as more severe illnesses like diabetes and premature aging. In the US alone, we consume around 150 – 200 pounds of sugar each year. From milkshakes to doughnuts, cakes, candies, soda, and even to the most basic items like bread, milk, and the like, sugar seems out to get all of us.

Sugar Alternatives
There are many “sugar alternatives” in the market today, and most are produced with a lower calorie count than sugar. As a substitute, they do provide almost the same function as a normal sugar. The only downside is that these sugar alternatives remain “artificial”. These sugar alternatives simply aren’t the wholesome sweeteners that the health-conscious people are looking for, as these products are highly-processed and contain aspartame and are high in fructose content.

There’s one alternative that health buffs have been buzzing about recently. Finally, a natural alternative to sugar AND those artificial substitutes has been named. “Stevia” is an herb that is native to South and Central America, and most of the related literature point specifically to both Brazil and Paraguay. There are even those that reveal Japan is also using this herb for their food preparation. Though this is a recent discovery in our shores, it has been used as a sweetening agent for a long time, especially for the people where the herb originates.

Low-Carb, Low-Sugar, No Calories!
Stevia is an extremely sweet substance and it boast being 300 times sweeter than sugar itself. It’s no wonder that the natives refer it as “sweet-leaf” or “sugar-leaf”! Because of its quality, Stevia is rising in popularity, and is being propelled even more into fame spearheaded by companies and groups who want a low-carb, low-sugar, no-calorie sugar substitute for their health products.

Research has shown benefits of using Stevia instead of sugar or other artificial sweeteners in the market. It may just be the solution to anti-obesity, blood glucose problems, and most of all is heaven-sent to people on a calorie and carbohydrate controlled diet. There are also recent studies that display result on how using stevia can help people who have Type 2 Diabetes.

What’s In It
This truly natural and healthy sugar substitute owes its extreme sweetness to its stevioside molecular composition where you can find both glucose and steviol, along with rebaudioside compounds. The natural taste of stevia has a different flavor to normal sugar, or artifical sweeteners for that matter. It’s “almost-sugary” because though it’s sweeter than sugar, there’s a slight aftertaste which you may have to acquire to truly appreciate. In other countries, stevia extracts are currently being used to sweeten food: used in sweet soy sauce, diet Coke or Coke Zero-Sugar, Vitamin Water, as well as other products. Morning cups of coffees are being made using stevia as sweetners, or used to sweeten a particular low-calorie snack.

It is not hard to incorporate stevia, especially knowing its natural, healthy benefits compared to using other sweeteners. Stevia might be the very thing that will help us stop denying ourselves of our sweet-food cravings soon!