Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘anti-bacterial’

Clean, Fresh, De-Fungified, And Smelling Good

Posted by terrepruitt on September 10, 2015

So I bet you have seen multiple posts or articles about cleaning with vinegar.  It is a disinfectant, an anti-bacterial, and an anti-fungal.  Some articles say white vinegar is good enough some say you have to use unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar.  You may have also read about our recent situation in which we had an invader in the form of the fungus called ringworm.  Well, a quick summary, we got two one year old kitties who had ringworm.  Thankfully this was suspected the first week they were here so their contamination of the house was kept to a bare minimum.  But I still wanted to disinfect everything I could.  Since animals were involved I wanted to use non-toxic products.  I also employed the use of two other products.  I am going to keep all three of these products in my arsenal of cleaning supplies.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia at the San Jose Community Centers, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex City of San Jose, San Jose Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia TechniqueSo as I said, I used vinegar on many, many, many things.  I really don’t care for the smell, but it is safe for all types of surfaces and can be ingested by cats.

The second product is simply diluted bleach.  One part bleach for ten parts water.  While bleach isn’t something ingestible, it does a great job of cleaning.  I used it on every surface that could tolerate it.  So not as many as the vinegar.  I used the bleach more for things that were on my shelves so they were taken out of the room and the cats didn’t even have access to them.  I also very much like the smell of bleach.  It makes me feel as if things are clean.

In my search for things non-toxic I came across EarthScents.  The product description said:

The product description said:
–Use Terra Firma anti-fungal, natural all purpose cleaner to clean all hard surfaces. No harsh chemicals or synthetic fragrances.
–Aromatherapy scents
–100% natural, earth friendly, bio-degradable, septic safe, and safe for people, pets, and the planet.
–Ideal for those who are allergy prone, sensitive to chemical cleaners, or for those who are concerned about the variety and mixture of harsh chemicals used in their home and around their family.

Its ingredients are:  Purified water, tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract, glycerin, and rosemary therapeutic essential oil.

It smells great.  I bought the Rosemary scent.  I didn’t use it as much as the vinegar because it says it can’t be used on wood, so I used the vinegar.  But this cleaner is GREAT on mirrors.  I am considering purchasing it just to clean windows and mirrors.  It is great.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia at the San Jose Community Centers, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex City of San Jose, San Jose Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia TechniqueOh and another mention that I discovered during our situation is Pure Citrus.  We had two cats locked in one room for almost 40 days.  During that period there were a couple of hot spells.  So lets just say that it got kind of smelly in there, so I wanted an air freshener that I wouldn’t be afraid of landing on things and being sprayed around the cats.  So I found this product on Amazon.  I really like it.  I purchased “Orange Air Freshener”.  It smells like oranges.  The ingredients listed say, “Pure Citrus contains 100% natural, delightfully fragrant oils found in fresh oranges.”  Since I liked the product so much I took a chance and bought a different scent, the Lavender Air Freshener.  WOW!  I really like it!  So, if you are ever in the market for an air freshener, I would recommend Pure Citrus, the Orange Air Freshener and the Lavender Air Freshener.  I don’t know about any of the other scents.

So, I believe that vinegar, the bleach dilute, and the Spray fresh helped me get our house fungus free.  At least I feel like these products cleaned it up!  And with the air freshener it smells really nice.

What do you use to clean your house?  What do you use to make it smell nice?

Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Fennel Another One Of THOSE Foods

Posted by terrepruitt on November 17, 2012

As you may have read, I recently received fennel in my organic produce box that I have delivered.  I was excited because I have heard of fennel, but never cooked with it.  I think I might not have even realized that I have had some before.  As I am thinking about it, I bet I had it put on my plate at a restaurant and assumed it was onion and didn’t eat it.  It looks like onion to me although it does not have an onion flavor at all.  The information I am seeing is that it is compared to anise.  Fennel is an herb that is used both as a flavor and a vegetable.  The bottom portion, the bulb is eaten as a vegetable.  It is related to carrots, parsley, dill, and coriander as it is a member of the family Apiaceae (formerly the Umbelliferae).  Its fronds remind me of the greenery on carrots, so it doesn’t surprise me that they are related.  Fennel is vegetation of which all of it can be eaten, the bulb, stalk, leaves, and seeds (I know I’ve had the seeds).  According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, this plant contains a unique combination of phytonutrients.

There is one, anethole, that has shown in animal studies to help with the reduction of inflammation and help prevent cancer.  Now, I have stated over and over that chronic inflammation is the body is not good.  Inflammation is an immune response in the body so having the body be in battle mode all the time is not a good thing.  The American lifestyle with its high stress and the average Western Diet which is full of food stuffs have been shown to CAUSE inflammation.  Having herbs and vegetables that can be easily added to the diet and might help with a chronic condition sounds good to me.  Anethole has also been found to have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties according to Nutrition You Can.

Fennel also has vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.  Vitamin C is the antioxidant that helps fight against free radicals, the things, that in excess, can cause damage in the body.  Potassium is the electrolyte that is essential for the proper functioning of the heart, kidneys, muscles, nerves, and digestive system.  And dietary fiber is necessary to help with digestion and elimination, which when both are properly working systems tend to signify health.Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba

USDA National Nutrient database states the Nutrient value 1 cup of sliced fennel is as follows:

Energy kcal  27
Protein 1.08 g
Total lipid (fat)  0.17 g
Carbohydrate 6.35 g
Fiber, total dietary  2.7 g

Calcium, Ca mg 43 mg
Iron, Fe  0.64 mg
Magnesium 15 mg
Phosphorus, P 44 mg
Potassium, K 360 mg
Sodium, Na 45 mg

Vitamin C 10.4 mg
Vitamin A 117 AU

I am interested in foods that can help with chronic inflammation, I would like to have more of them in my diet.  At the same time I am interested in reducing the foods in my diet that cause inflammation.  How about you?  Are you interested in foods that might help with chronic inflammation?  Do you think you could add fennel to your diet?

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »