That's Fit

British celebrity chef and TV presenter, Antony Worrall Thompson, discussed organic salads in a recent magazine article. Sounds great, right? It would be, if one of the ingredients he recommended wasn't toxic.

Worrall Thompson has a passion for organic foods and meant to recommend using fat hen, a vitamin-C rich, edible weed that is plentiful in the UK. Fat hen would be a fine addition to salads, though it is quite high in nitrates. Instead of the relatively harmless fat hen, Worrall Thompson mistakenly recommended henbane -- a toxic plant that can cause vomiting, hallucinations, convulsions, and (in extreme cases) death.

Oops! Sounds like a salad you definitely DON'T want to eat. The magazine, Healthy & Organic Living, printed a warning to its readers. Worrall Thompson apologized for his error.

Dreaming of a lobster feast? If so and you make good on your dreams, you'll want to steer clear of lobster tomalley.

Maine officials are recommending consumers avoid eating tomalley after tests revealed high levels of toxins in some lobsters. Lobster meat is perfectly safe. It's the tomalley, a soft green substance found in the body of the lobster, that poses a risk.

Apparently, high levels of toxic algae known as red tide have been found along Maine's coast this summer, causing all sorts of problems. Regardless, the FDA has long advised consumers to not eat tomalley, which is considered a delicacy to some.

The Environmental Health Perspectives journal recently published a paper claiming that certain ingredients in sunscreen are killing coral reefs. National Geographic, among others, picked up on it, and now beach-goers the world over are worried that the sunscreen they use to protect their skin is damaging coral reefs.

The Beauty Brains were asked about this last week, and they broke the issue down into an easy-to-understand format, explaining exactly what the concern was (certain chemicals found in sunscreen can cause bleaching in the reefs). The fact is that, yes, there are chemicals found in sunscreens that are detrimental to the environment, but the quantities listed in the paper failed to take a number of factors into account, such as those same chemicals being present in pollution as well as in sunscreen.

Their final opinion was that sunscreen use is not likely as big a culprit in the death of coral reefs as the paper indicates. However, if you're concerned because you swim near reefs (or just because you don't want to use sunscreen that could be damaging to the environment), you can look for natural sunscreens, or look out for the ingredients The Beauty Brains list as problematic.

My family of four walked into a North Carolina Cracker Barrel not long ago, fresh out of our mini-van after logging more than 500 miles on the road. We'd almost reached our destination at the time of our stop but needed to stretch our legs and put something healthy in our bellies so we could happily complete our Florida-to-Virginia trek. Now I'm not sure what the Cracker Barrel offers in the way of health food, but I'm pretty sure we wouldn't found some sort of salad on the menu. Without creamy dressing, it would have done us adults well. For the kids, sandwiches would have worked.

We didn't eat at the Cracker Barrel for two reasons. First, we weren't prepared for the long wait. Second, the hostess asked us upon checking in, "Smoking or Non-Smoking?"

"Are you kidding me?" I thought. Spoiled by the public smoking ban in my sunshine state, I'd completely forgotten other states still allow smokers to light up in eating establishments. My kids, ages six and four, have never dined with smoke swirling around their heads. There is not a first time for everything -- as long as I'm in charge, my kids will never fall prey to such a toxic environment. So we walked out of the Cracker Barrel and headed across the street to McDonald's. Another toxic environment, you might be thinking. You'd be right. But we did the best we could with the evils facing us. Sitting bundled up in our winter coats to avoid the indoor smell of grease and to keep the same odor out of our vehicle, I ate an Asian Chicken salad -- no dressing -- and my hubby ate fruit we'd brought along for the ride. Our boys ate plain hamburgers and a few chicken nuggets, some fries, and flavored water from the car. Not my ideal scenario. But we made good on it as soon as we got to a local grocery store. And we packed some nutritious meals for our trip home.

It's like watching a car crash in slow motion--horrifying, yet strangely fascinating. Yes, folks, I'm talking about Britney Spears, the head-shaving, red-light-running tabloid queen who has been the subject of way too much scrutiny lately. But could her diet be to blame for all the mishaps of the last few years? Sounds preposterous.

Not so fast. According to Dr. Timothy Brantley, her addiction is to blame. Her addiction to sugar, that is. She's on a virtual roller coaster of sugar highs and lows, which are only fueled by her other staple foods, caffeine and fast food. Her improper nutrition has thrown her hormones out of whack and her erratic behaviour is a result of becoming hyper from sugar, according to this article.

If you ask me, this point of view has some merit, but I think it's much more complex than eating habits. What are your thoughts?

Here's a holiday tip some readers may have heard about: Don't eat the mistletoe! Actually, that tip should be geared toward your children, but the context still stands. Have you ever seen one of those fliers that warn to keep it out of reach of kids and pets? This idea is where it came from.

The thinking was that mistletoe was toxic and could be deadly if ingested. Pretty scary proposition if you host holiday parties with lots of decorations. So is it true?

Actually, some good news is that mistletoe is not lethal. The claims were not unfounded, however, because mistletoe does contain viscotoxins. Those bad boys can cause an upset stomach or even a slowed heartbeat (watch out for the berries). So don't go mixing in mistletoe with a seasonal stew, but should someone you know accidentally eat it, don't panic! Just call your nearest poison control center.

There will be a shortage of toys this coming holiday season due to underestimated demand and the whole toy recall thing -- you know, because of the lead paint and toxic plastic used in the production of some children's play things. "Say it isn't so," you might be saying. Me? I say this is the best news I've heard in a while.

I'm always looking for excuses to not buy toys. We already have a house full and in my opinion, they are a grand waste of money. Most toys, with the exception of imagination-builders like blocks, puzzles, and games, have a shelf life of a few hours for my two guys. I can't begin to list off all the trinkets we've brought home that ended up swiftly stuffed into some toy bin without a second thought. So yes, I like that the toys shelves may be a little bare this year. "See kids, no toys, sorry."

Now don't think I'm a Grinchy old mom or anything. I love presenting my kids with gifts that make them happy, and Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. Learning about this trouble with toys just gives me more motivation to be creative, to purchase items for my kids that have a little more staying power and really matter in the long run. I'm thinking physical fitness here. Just imagine the possibilities.

Menstrual toxic shock syndrome is fatal for women everywhere, although the death rates from it are low compared to other conditions. But, with TSS, it may be easily preventable in many cases if a new kind of tampon makes its way to market.

On the new tampon design, a fiber layer called glycerol monolaurate (GML) was found to reduce the production of a toxin that directly leads to most cases of TSS. GML is already used in many food products.

In recent research, the new fiber coating not only did away with toxin production, but promoted vaginal health, as it created an environment in the vaginal area where there is a balance of protective bacteria.

Actually, they are. Green potatoes contain a toxic substance called solanine that nature intended as a defense against insects, but unfortunately it's also effective against humans and can cause nausea, headaches, and neurological problems if eaten in large enough quantities. Generally speaking the average adult would need to eat an entire large (16 oz) fully green potato in order to notice any symptoms, so although it is there the threat isn't that large. Solanine develops in potatoes when they are exposed to light and warm temperatures, so you can easily avoid the issue by storing your spuds in a cool dark place, and by cutting off any green spots before you eat them.

I once had a friend who liked that "new car smell" so much he actually found an air freshener scented like it and put it in his old beater car. He loved it. But have you ever thought about why new cars smell the way they do? And they usually smell that way for weeks, if not months to a year or more (depending on how many fast food meals and to-go coffees you spill!). Unfortunately, it's due to chemicals used during the manufacturing process like bromine, chlorine, and even lead that give off harmful fumes for up to 3 years.

Suggestions for limiting your exposure include avoiding sunny parking spots whenever you can, using a screen on the windshield when you park, and then letting the car air out before you get in. Click here for a listing of the 10 worst cars tested, and the 10 best.

Toxic shock syndrome is a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection that has been most often associated with the use of super absorbent tampons and occasionally with the use of contraceptive sponges. While the infection often occurs in menstruating women, it can also affect men, children and post menopausal women. Other risk factors for toxic shock syndrome include skin wounds and surgery. Signs and symptoms of toxic shock syndrome develop suddenly, and the disease can be fatal.

Can your child develop Toxic Shock Syndrome? Yes they can. A related infection, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, or STSS, is caused by streptococcus bacteria. Most often STSS appears after streptococcus bacteria have invaded areas of injured skin, such as cuts and scrapes, surgical wounds, and even chickenpox blisters.

Sign of Toxic Shock Syndrome are signs of shock, cold hands and feet, a pulse that is fast and weak, confusion or other mental changes, their skin is pale and moist, shortness of breath or abnormally fast breathing, a fever, a rash that looks like sunburn, nausea and vomiting and watery diarrhea, decreased urination, and confusion or other mental changes.

Call your child's doctor or get them to an emergency quickly if they have these symptoms because the sooner they get attention the quicker they recover. Men can develop this infection also. Keeping your child's hands washed is a good way to fight the bacteria that can cause and spread this illness.

When dealing with illness, be it a simple cold or something major, one of the best things you can do is pay attention to your body and take care of yourself. This article relates health to a straight line, and then goes with the idea that there are 3 steps to take to get yourself down that line to a place of wellness.

Whether you buy into the idea that these steps can really "cure" you or not, the advice is still good -- it never hurt anybody to reduce toxins and add antioxidants, and it certainly won't make anything worse to reduce some stress in your life.

In my recent move to Virginia, we found an older home to move into that was built in the early 1900's. We love the spacious rooms, hardwood floors, and stone architecture. But one problem we have had is keeping control of a roach population due to a damp basement and lots of leaves and foliage around the house. I hate putting out toxic chemicals because of our family dogs and birds and also our health. I try to use as many natural cleaning and organic products as possible. Cleaning thoroughly of course usually takes care of the situation and maintaining a safe and healthy way to store outside and inside trash usually helps cut down the amount of nesting roaches. But it seemed like they were here to stay and were fine with sharing the space with us as the new dwellers in the home.

In a conversation with my 93 year old grandmother a few days ago, she mentioned that she always kept bay leaves out in her cabinets to keep roaches away. I wondered if this was one of those old wives tales or a myth so decided to do some research on the subject and found out several websites that recommended putting bay leaves out to keep away roaches. At a few dollars a box for bay leaves it is well worth a try to keep harmful chemicals out of my house. It makes my cabinets and trash areas smell nice too.