Question from Laura

After 8 months of breathing problems from the dish soap my mother uses she switched to Ecover. Even though I’m not at the house much anymore she is still using it. But it dries her hands. I think if a product removes dirt from dishes it’s going to remove natural oil from skin.

Do you have any suggestions other than using gloves? Also Ecover doesn’t get rid of tea stains. Does any detergent, or does one just need to use baking soda? I don’t mind the extra steps, but some people aren’t ready for that yet.

Debra’s Answer

Personally, at the moment I’m using Dr. Bronner Magic Soap (peppermint) to wash my dishes,

Readers, your recommendations?

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Question from Marie

I have come across a natural salt called “realsalt”. It’s very good, and is supposed to be 100% natural. I buy it in bulk, from a health food store, but not all health food stores carry it. You can also buy it directly from their website.

This is from their website:

“Long before the earth knew pollutants of any kind, a huge, ancient sea covered what is now North America. Pure, natural salt was the main ingredient of this sea, and over millions of years, the water in the sea evaporated, leaving the salt in undisturbed deposits. At some point during the earth’s Jurassic era, a range of volcanoes erupted around the ancient sea bed, sealing the salt with thick volcanic ash, protecting these precious deposits against the pollution that man would eventually introduce into the environment. Near the small town of Redmond, in central Utah, approximately 200 miles south of Salt Lake City, we carefully extract this salt from deep within the earth, and bring it to you in its pure, natural state–without any additives, chemicals, or heat processing. This is RealSalt®, full of flavor and natural goodness–the way salt was meant to be savored!”

It even contains Iodine, which, for me is essential, because of Thyroid problems.

What do you think about it?

Their website is: realsalt.com

Debra’s Answer

There’s much that can be said about salt, in fact, I’m working on a little book on the subject, but for the moment, this description of salt looks fine to me.

Personally, I use “The Original” Himalayan Crystal Salt, which is also from an ancient sea, but is completely mined and processed by hand to retain it’s energetic qualities. It has also been studied in Europe and found to have health benefits not found in table salt.

The Real Salt website says that it is “hand-selected” but that’s all. I don’t know how it has been processed.

Like anything else, there are degrees of good salt and bad salt. Refined sodium chloride table salt is the worst. Real Salt is certainly better as a whole, natural salt. Based on the information I have, I’d still put “The Original” Himalayan Crystal Salt at the top of the list.

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Question from Pram

Non Toxic Finish For Wooden Spoons Good to be here – I hope someone can help with this one. I am looking for a non-scented starch for cloth. A friend needs to sew with very slippery silk and it is much easier if the fabric is lightly starched first. But all starches have chemical smells added. Non Toxic Finish For Wooden Spoons Any non-scented starch out there? Non Toxic Finish For Wooden Spoons Thanks very much! Non Toxic Finish For Wooden Spoons May All Be Well

Debra’s Answer

Non Toxic Finish For Wooden Spoons Years ago I researched laundry starch and found out it was basically scented cornstarch. So I would try mixing cornstarch (or some other starch if you are allergic to corn) with water and spraying it on. Non Toxic Finish For Wooden Spoons Readers, any other suggestions?

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Question from Joan Christensen

Dear Debra,

I can not find any information on Pears glycerin soaps, how beneficial or harmful it is to use them. I am confused about glycerin. Should I avoid glycerin soaps such as Pears?

Debra’s Answer

I went to the website for Pears Soap, which says it is a natural soap that has been made for almost 200 years. “It contains high quality skincare ingredients like glycerin and natural oils. Pears Soap is especially made to take care of even sensitive and delicate skin, cleansing thoroughly, yet gently and rinsing clean.It is hypo-allergenic, contains a mild cleansing formula and no colorants.”

However, they don’t give any ingredient and their Contact Us page was “not found” so I can’t tell you anything about the ingredients.

If you go to a store and look on the label, and post the ingredients here, I’ll comment on them.

Glycerin itself is fine to use. It is actually created by the soapmaking process. Industrially, it is usually skimmed off and used in lotions and the soap is sold without it. Most handmade soaps contain their natural glycerin because it is not removed.

There’s no need to avoid glycerin soaps, but watch out for the fragrances and other ingredients which might be added.

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Question from DAVE

My wife and I keep hand sanitizer in the car which we use time to time to clean our kids’ hands.

My six year then told me yesterday that she is asked to use hand sanitizer, what she calls “magic soap”, everyday at school to clean up after recess. Her friend uses it to clean her desk!

My question is whether this level of exposure over time poses any risk to my kids from the chemicals in hand sanitzer?

Debra’s Answer

There is a whole discussion on this blog about hand sanitizer at Q&A: Earth-Friendly Hand Sanitizer. I wouldn’t suggest having children use regular hand sanitizer on a daily basis as it contains alcohol from a petrochemical source to kill germs.

I just found a 100% natural hand santizer the other day in my local natural food store that does not contain alcohol and is safe for children. It’s called Clean Well Hand Sanitizer. The active germ-killing agent is Ingenium(tm), a patented blend of organically-grown essential oils, including thyme. It meets the EPA and FDA standards for germ-killing efficacy.

If it is required for your child to use a hand santizer, perhaps you could suggest a safer, natural hand sanitizer, such as Clean Well or one of the ones mentioned in the earlier post.

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Question from Joan

Hi Debra,

I have another question about a maker. There is a maker called Sensatia (www.sensatia.com) from Bali, Indonesia. Could you tell me if you would recommend products from that company?

Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

Looks good to me. I like that they list all their ingredients and even show pictures of the soap being made. These are definately “all natural” products.

The only thing for me, though, is that while they say they use organic ingredients, on the ingredients lists they don’t specify which are organic. It’s also not clear if they are 100% organic. It also doesn’t say they are certified organic. So these are my reservations.

I want to be clear that, personally, I am looking for the most organic products possible, so I’m pretty picky. But there is a whole spectrum of products that are better than the worst, most toxic, unhealthy products, and it’s better to use any one of those “better” products than the worst products.

These seem to be “much better” than most. They may even be exquisite. But all I have to go on is how they present themselves in their own website description.

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Question from Joan Christensen

Hi Debra,

Could you recommend to me some choices for natural toothpaste?

I found some with Nature’s Gate called Nature’s Gate Organics Peppermint Whitening Toothpast with Flouride 5 oz. for $6.99. Also comes in Raspberry flavor. Do you recommend Nature’s Gate products?

I did not see this company in you list.

Thank you.

Debra’s Answer

If you haven’t already, I suggest you read the post on this blog Q&A: Tooth Soap, which talks a lot about toothpaste and other methods of cleaning teeth as well.

Just because a company is not listed on Debra’s List doesn’t mean it’s not a good company. I have many websites waiting to be added, as I only have so many hours in the day… 🙂

That said, I just took a look at the Nature’s Gate website and right away there was a “red flag”–the statement “blending nature and science to benefit you and the Earth”. This generally means that the products are not 100% natural. That “sciene” part usually indicates the presence of man-made artificial ingredients.

Now I want to say some things here about these products, but I don’t want it to sound like I am picking on Nature’s Gate. These points apply to many so-called “natural” products.

You asked about toothpaste. I looked at the ingredients for Creme de Peppermint Natural Toothpaste, which is fluoride-free and contains baking soda. Both good. Also some natural flavorings, some herbal extracts, and sodium lauryl sulfate. Now sodium lauryl sulfate is one of those not-quite-natural ingredients that comes from a natural source, but is processed with chemicals. So it’s not, per se, 100% natural, but is considered natural by the natural product industry because it’s source is a plant ingredient. It’s about like adding pesticides to a plant, which is still considered natural to the natural products industry. Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS) is no longer considered safe and is being removed from many natural product formulations now. So, no, I wouldn’t put this toothpaste on Debra’s List. The best ingredient in this toothpaste is baking soda, so why not just brush your teeth with baking soda?

I also took a look at their new “organics” line. Now, if you look at the organic bodycare products on Debra’s List, you’ll find that most of the ingredients are organically grown. Nature’s Gate “Organics” Lavender & Aloe Nourishing Conditioner for All Hair Types has only one organic ingredient…the lavender. The rest are those not-quite-natural “science” ingredients.

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Question from kitti

Hey thanks for putting up this excellent site – its just about the only one I’ve been able to find so far on homemade sweeteners. I’ve got low blood sugar, so i’m looking for an inexpensive sugar-alternative, to help me regulate that.

I’d like to learn to make Rice syrup, without the glucose (barley), but I’m not sure if its a good process for a home cook? Apparently the Japanese used to use Koji enzymes (which i think they also use in sake) which is some kind of mold(?) that breaks down the sugars. Unfortunately I havn’t found alot of good information on this subject as of yet. I like the idea of Rice syrup because its a complex sugar which breaks down more effectively than white sugar.

Your apple syrup recipe looks awesome – easy and inexpensive! But what is its shelf life? Should you keep it in the fridge or is it safe to store in a pantry? And (assuming one buys an apple concentrate without added sugar) how much better is this stuff than white sugar/fructose corn syrups?

I suppose you could make the same stuff with any other concentrated fruit juice?

If you know of any other good recipes or references I can look into, please post it.

Keep up the great work!!

Debra’s Answer

I think that making rice syrup is probably a long and laborious process–not that one shouldn’t do long and laborous processes, but it probably requires some “art” as well.

Apple syrup is easy to make. I don’t know the shelf life. I would keep it in the fridge. I’ve kept some in the fridge for weeks (like over a month) and it was fine. I would probably make an amount you would use in a month, not gallons.

You could make fruit syrup with any fruit juice. You could even start with fresh fruit juice instead of concentrate, it would just take longer to cook down.

Apple syrup is the only natural syrup I know of that a home cook could make. I suppose if you had access to maple sap you could boil that down, or you could evaporate cane juice if you had a sugar cane press and access to fresh sugar cane.

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If you don’t live in San Francisco, where plastic grocery bags have been banned, you may still be facing that choice of paper or plastic at the checkout.

Personally, I bring my own canvas bag, or opt for paper. The inherently biodegradable paper bags get reused as garbage bags.

If you do have some plastic bags lying around or have a steady stream of them coming in, here’s a great resource for info about plastic bags, suggestions on how to reduce and reuse them, and where to recycle them (if your local store doesn’t already collect them back).

21st Century Citizen: 25 Resources to reduce, recycle and reuse plastic grocery bags

Speaking of bags, here’s a tip for upcoming holiday gift wrap. Yesterday I was talking with a reporter for a story about “Green Christmas” and we were talking about giving reusable bags as holiday gifts. She remarked that many of the big stores are now selling their own reusable bags with their logo on them. She had already purchased her husband’s Christmas gift at Home Depot and will be wrapping it in their reusable bag with the Home Depot logo. A great idea for reusable gift wrap.