Clean Up Your Act!

How many decades has it been since President Richard Nixon declared war on cancer? Nearly four. Yet in spite of that, while the number of deaths from heart disease has dropped dramatically during those years, cancer death figures in America remain pretty much the same. Why?

One school of thought holds that environmental toxins are largely to blame. We are surrounded by enormous amounts of chemicals these days, in everything from food and drink to home furnishings, automobiles, clothing, and, of course, our air and water. Unfortunately, other than choosing organic food and purified water, it’s tricky to eliminate or avoid these substances. That’s why I was so excited to find this guide – “Alternative Household Product Recipes” – at the Los Angeles Department of Public Works (LADPW) website.

We can all do ourselves HUGE favors by not using toxic cleaning products in our homes and on our bodies. Plenty of the ingredients in common household products are known cancer-causing agents, and many are banned in other countries. (For more on this, get a copy of The Safe Shoppers Bible by David Steinman and Samuel Epstein, M.D. (Macmillan, 1995) – a very thoroughly researched book with tons of information.)

If you’ve ever tried to shop for the non-toxic variety, though, you may have noticed that they are not inexpensive. Some people are willing to pay the price to avoid the chemical soup that goes into most of these cleansers, but for others that’s out of the question.

So why not make your own? You’ll find non-toxic solutions to everything from window cleaners and drain openers to spot removers and hair shampoo in the Alternative Household Product Recipes. Print out the nine-page document and refer to it whenever you have a cleaning chore, garden dilemma (pesticides and herbicides are major sources of toxins), or cosmetic crisis (so much of what’s in beauty products is anything but pretty). With a few spray bottles, some baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice and a handful of other fairly common substances, you can create your own products. Bonus: they’ll be earth-, animal and human-friendly.

Answers to Questions about Health and Aging

For some basic, unbiased information on health issues facing us as we grow older, here's a good place to start. The National Institute on Aging (part of the federal government's National Institutes of Health) has a special website devoted exclusively to age-related health topics. The newest section is on depression, a problem that plagues millions of older individuals and often goes untreated.
The site has several user-friendly features, including adjustable text size, a sound option and your choice of dark or light background. They also have links to information on the Medicare prescription drug plan, but don't go so far as to claim to be able to make sense of it. Clearly, that's an impossible dream. Just in case you missed the story a few months ago, Mike Leavitt, the director of Health and Human Services, the agency that is in large part responsible for the plan, discovered that he'd signed his parents up for the wrong program. So if you're feeling bewildered by the Medicare Prescription Drug offerings, you have plenty of company!

Alzheimer’s is such an awful disease. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. With the Baby Boom generation now approaching retirement age, experts are predicting a tremendous increase in the numbers of people with Alzheimer’s. About four million people are currently suffering with the disease, but that figure could soar to four or more times that many in the coming years. There’s no cure, and no housing for that many patients, who require a great deal of attention and care.

How the situation will play out is anyone’s guess. At this point, the only silver lining is at the Alzheimer’s Prevention Foundation International (APFI) in Tucson, Arizona. Established by Dharma Singh Khalsa, M..D., the APFI is leading the way in cutting edge solutions for preventing Alzheimer’s. I encourage anyone who is concerned about minimizing the risk of developing this dreaded disease – or who wants to help a loved one who may be dealing with it -- to visit the website, read the four recommendations and follow them carefully. There’s nothing particularly challenging, difficult or costly about them, and no one is selling anything. I’m planning on interviewing Dr. Khalsa in the near future, so check back in a week or so to see if our Q and A has been posted.

Dad is Gone

My apologies to anyone who may have been checking this blog for updates and found none. After becoming dehydrated at an assisted living facility, my father spent several weeks in the hospital, much of it in intensive care. When it looked like he had stabilized, he was moved to a nursing home. Although the care there was far better than either of the assisted livings he'd been in, he took a turn for the worst in mid-December. On Christmas evening, he passed away. Here's his obituary, from the South Bend Tribune, which I wrote. I didn't realize how limited words are until I had to sum up the lives of my parents, two of the most extraordinary and wonderful people who ever lived. I didn't come close to doing either of them justice.


December 29. 2006 6:59AM

Robert L. Moneysmith

May 12, 1918 - Dec. 25, 2006

NILES - Robert L. Moneysmith, 88, of Isaac McCoy Drive, Niles, Michigan, died of natural causes at 7:38 p.m. Monday, Dec. 25, in Cass County Medical Care Facility, Cassopolis, Michigan.

Robert was born May 12, 1918, in Niles, to William and Louise (Carpenter) Moneysmith, the oldest of five children.

He attended Niles High School where he excelled at science and biology in particular. After graduation in 1936 he was offered a full scholarship to Michigan State University to study veterinary, but turned it down to stay at home and help his family.

At the outbreak of World War II, Robert joined the Army where he spent four-plus years and rose through the ranks to become sergeant. While stationed in Germany, he met the love of his life, Fenia Kryll, a Polish refugee, and the two married on April 24, 1946, in Mannheim, Germany. After Robert's honorable discharge, the young couple returned to Niles and began their new life together in a small home on ten wooded acres on Philip Road.

Over the years Robert's carpentry skills transformed the simple cottage into a three-bedroom home for his family, even while he worked full-time for the U.S. Post Office, rising to the position of supervisor. Robert displayed his devotion to his family on a daily basis, always putting their needs before his own, selflessly and without complaint. A quiet and private person with a quick wit and delightful sense of humor, he spent the time others would use for vacation working in the family's garden or on home-improvement projects.

In 1972 Robert retired from the Post Office after 22 years of service. Although he worked for several years in construction for a local builder, after retirement Robert spent most of his time with his beloved grandchildren or tending to his trees, birds, and animals on his property. To him, hunting season was the least favorite time of the year, simply because he did not like to see the animals harmed.

Patient, kind and always considerate of others, Robert as well as Fenia, who preceded him in death in 2005, will be deeply missed by their family.

Survivors include a brother, William Moneysmith, and a sister, Jean Mather, both of Niles; two daughters, Marcia (Ron) Hunt of Niles and Marie Moneysmith (Thomas Martin) of Beverly Hill, CA; three grandchildren, Jennifer Hunt and Kelly (Geza) Bruckner, and Robert Andrew Martin; and two great-grandchildren, Alex Hunt and Kyle Bruckner.

A private family service will be held today, December 29, 2006, in the Halbritter Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Wesley United Methodist Church in Niles or to the Alzheimer's Association.