Flouride - Friend or Foe?

After detoxing my deodorant, beauty regime, and diet, I thought I’d go one step further and detox my toothpaste. Apparently fluoride (found in most commercial toothpastes) has some pretty nasty side effects, and sits in between lead and arsenic in terms of toxicity. According to Fluoride Action Network, fluoride is linked to arthritis, bone fracture, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, endocrine disruption, gastrointestinal effects, hypersensitivity, kidney disease, male fertility and thyroid disease ... just to name a few! In the US, the FDA has recently required labelling of toothpaste to read ''Warning: Keep out of the reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional assistance or contact a Poison Control Center immediately.''

With this in mind, I set out to find a “natural” toothpaste, free from fluoride. I had heard good things about Jason Sea Fresh toothpaste and found a handy travel size at my local WholeFoods. Side note: travel size or miniature is always best when trying a new “green” product, because sometimes the product ... *ahem* ... *uh* ... *cough* ... there’s no way to put this delicately; sometimes the product just sucks.

Which leads me back to Jason Sea Fresh toothpaste. I really don’t know where to start with this one...

The toothpaste is the colour of polyfilla, which (probably because of my conditioning) put me off right from the start. It looked slightly dirty - the colour of tofu remnants left in the container after you remove the main block. But it smelled minty, so on the brush it went. I suppose that was my first mistake. The texture, similarly, left something to be desired. Instead of the usual foamy gel that cleans every nook and cranny and removes dirt and plaque, I thought I had accidentally mixed up cold cream, baking soda and tofu (yes, this image will come up again),  and put that in my mouth instead of the natural toothpaste ... but of course, I had not. That would be crazy. 

And then we get to the taste...

Peppermint essential oil, spirulina, baking soda, the bottom of a lake. It was horrible. And unlike the fresh feeling you get from commercial, fluoride-laden toothpastes (you know, the feeling that you WANT to linger?), this one stays with you like a bad rash or that annoying telemarketer who just won’t let you get off the phone. After brushing, I had a strong desire to a) scrape off my tongue, b) brush my teeth again with regular toothpaste and c) go camping and not wash my hair for a few days. Hmm ... must have been the “bottom of the lake” flavour.

I thought perhaps it would just take a little getting used to, so I tried it a couple more times, but unlike the organic apple which looks weird but tastes amazing, repeated use of this stuff garnered no better results. Despite the difference in ingredients (I can actually pronounce and understand MOST of the Jason ingredients compared to my normal Sensodyne Multi-Action ... I mean, what the heck is PEG-6 anyway?!?!??), this is not a change I am able to make. If I wanted to feel like I’d just eaten tofu, peppermint oil and algae ... well, I’d just eat tofu, peppermint oil and algae. But I won’t – that’s gross. And I’m sad to say, so is this toothpaste.

I will continue to search out a viable alternative, but until then, fluoride, you remain my friend.

GG Rating – Good for Hardcore Hippies

 

Jason Sea Fresh Ingredients: Calcium Carbonate, Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil, Carrageenan, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (1) , Aphanizomenon Flos-Aquae Powder, Bambusa Arundinacea Stem Powder, Carum Petroselinum (Parsley) Extract , Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Perilla Ocymoides Seed Extract, Stevia, Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract, Silica, Sodium Bicarbonate

Sensodyne Multi Action Ingredients: Aqua, Soribital, Glycerin, Hydrated Silica, Pottasium Nitrate, PEG-6, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Isopentane, Aroma, Cocamidopropyl Betain, Xanthan Gum, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan), Sodium Flouride, Sodium Saccharin, Sucralose, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, CI 42090.

The Delicious Detox

On a quest to start each new year right, I often follow a detox or weight loss plan during the month of January ... after my birthday, of course – what’s a celebration without a glass (or bottle) of champagne? After the excesses of Christmas, I find it’s a good way to get my body and mind back on track and to get rid of the Christmas pudding that has settled on my hips. Sometimes it’s a hard core diet (thank you in 2012 and 2011 to Dr Dukan), and other times it’s just a conscious effort to eat more healthily, cutting out alcohol, desserts and processed foods. This year, I decided to follow a plan that appears to be hardcore, but in reality has been the easiest detox that I’ve ever done! Because of my two year obsession with My New Roots (the most amazing, healthy and delicious collection of recipes that you will ever find), I looked to Sarah Britton for advice. Last year she published the first week of a three week cleanse for Whole Living magazine, and the entire plan (the second and third weeks written by other experts) is online. 

The first week of the plan consists primarily of fruits and vegetables, with a few nuts, seeds and plant oils thrown in on the side. I was dubious, because I eat a lot, and I never find that fruits and vegetables sustain me long enough during the day; I need some proteins, some legumes or grains to really hold me over. I also usually get bored of just fruits and vegetables. Eating the same thing again and again in a week without varying the flavours and textures is just boring, which usually leads to the inevitable disappointing, guilt-ridden fall from the wagon. 

Well, I am a convert. After one week, I was totally sold. The plan does not limit the amount of food you eat (and although I am well aware that I am eating more than the suggested serving size, can you really ever eat TOO many vegetables?). There is also a list of recipes for recommended snacks, and I have been snacking on carrot sticks with minty pea dip, fruit and nut balls, toasted trail mix, medjool dates and herbal tea between meals – but only when I am truly hungry. And I have felt satisfied. So satisfied, in fact, that these are recipes I will make again, detox or not. Varied flavours, textures and ingredients! And the colours ... each meal was a rainbow that would delight leprechauns around the world. I haven’t felt like I am missing out on “normal” food because the recipes are so easy and delicious! Side note – when I did have a tiny taste of my husband’s parsnip soup one night at a restaurant with friends, all I could taste was salt, sugar and the tiny wheels of a processing machine. My palate had changed to appreciate natural flavours, natural colours and food the way that nature intended; and I liked it! In fact, I liked the plan SO much that I decided to follow it for another week, and I’m pleased to say that I have not even been tempted to fall from grace (I have varied some of the recipes, mixing and matching the ingredients from one recipe with another, because, let’s face it, even if it is delicious, there are only so many nights in one week that you can eat roasted beetroot and garlic soup for dinner).

And of all the diets/detoxes I’ve done – this one has got to be the easiest and cheapest. There isn’t much work (aside from peeling and chopping) in throwing a few things in the Vita-mix and watching them swirl into a medley of colourful, well-blended smoothie, or watching the food processor slice and dice cabbage, onions and kale like the karate kid. As well, vegetables are cheap! No crazy all-protein days which require three to four types of meat (and all that cooking!). Toss some veggies in a machine, watch them blend, season with a delicious dressing and eat!

So after ten days, how do I feel? I have lost weight, I have lots of energy (except for perhaps the first day or two), I have not yet had the dreaded diet headache (thank you again, Dr Dukan), I no longer crave chocolate at 4pm, and I can subsist on a simple (yet tasty!) fruit and veggiesmoothie until 1pm (unheard of for me, as my friends or colleagues will tell you).  I’ll say it again: this has to be the easiest and most satisfying detox I have ever been on.

So here’s to keeping New Year’s resolutions, ridding oneself of excess, and a happier mind, body and heart. 2013 looks to be the healthiest one yet...

GG Rating - Good for Flaxseed Fanatics