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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Why Women Should Run the USA, Free Herb/Culinary Directory, Self Sufficiency Guide




Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…


 

ISSN 2161-5543

 

A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of the individual and cannot really know freedom. – F.A. Hayek

 

 

2014 The Year of the Woman or Why Women Should Rule the Nation

 

     I’ve always had this theory that women usually make better leaders.  Given my experience growing up with the original super mom this comes as no surprise.  My mother was the neighborhood Kool-Aid mom, always ready with homemade cookies and a pitcher of that life sustaining liquid.

 

She worked a full time job too as an LPN at our local hospital and then for our family doctor.  She invented TV dinners, always repacking leftovers from big Sunday family dinners so we could reheat them if she wasn’t able to be home.

 

My mother was a product of the Great Depression and she sure knew how to squeeze a dollar from every dime would have managed our national budget better than any one of those who has been in charge during the last 25 years.

 

The Arctic blast winding its way through the country this week and news reports of families struggling to find daycare due to school closings prompted this.  There were no daycare centers or electronic babysitters when I was a kid.

 

Cultural Anthropology was my original college major and I wrote a thesis on how life changed for the worse once women were no longer stay-at-home mothers.  During WWII more and more women worked outside the home to help with the war effort.

 

Historically, women have always been the nurturers of the young in society.  During the war, extended family (grandma, a favorite aunt) became the nurturing element.  Not bad as they were family.  After the war, many women discovered they enjoyed the freedom and spending power of working outside the home so many kept on doing so, often out of necessity if the husband had been killed or injured.

 

During WWII the government began withholding income taxes from paychecks to pay for the war as a temporary measure.  They liked having all that money to spend, so this temporary measure became permanent.

 

 


 

Within a generation it was no longer a grandmother or aunt who cared for the kids and by the 1960s two-income families became the norm so we could live the ‘American Dream’ of owning a home and multiple cars.  Buying on credit became the norm too. The days of easy credit or as my Dad called it “the get it now, pay for it later, just like our government” philosophy helped fuel the go-go years of American prosperity.

 

 

  Being in debt and instant gratification became a vicious cycle and the high interest charges on credit cards made bankers very happy.  As PT Barnum once quipped, the age of the Sucker accelerated.

 

 

These cultural trends gave rise to the latch-key generation, often raised by TV and daycare.  The strong moral guidance traditionally provided by mothers was shrinking as it became a necessity to have both parents working to pay for rising taxes, a rising cost of living and the ever growing desire for more goods.

 

Studies at the time indicated single parent households boosted drug use, dependency on government, juvenile delinquency rates and other negative social behavior.  By then however, most families were trapped by high debt loads, social pressure to live beyond one’s means and overall frustration with the cost of living.  Gone were the days typified by 1950s TV shows featuring Father Knows Best, replaced by TV dinners and the Nanny State.

 

In terms of political leadership, America by the 70s didn’t have much to go on.  Nixon was a paranoid crook who took us off the gold standard and began opening ‘trade’ (debt) with China.  Female leaders such as Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher were exceptions and proved to be strong leaders. 

 

Meanwhile, women in America continued to make ends meet, raise families (often as single mothers) and eventually became the primary breadwinner in a majority of families.

 

In my humble opinion, women often make better leaders probably from the simple fact they’ve frequently had to manage households, money and budgets with far less.  Think Mother Earth or Mother Nature, a traditional role often undermined by men (examples abound in various religions where women are treated more as chattel or second class mates).

 

In so many ways I have mixed feelings 40 years after writing my original thesis but inherently feel the world might be a better place with more women in place as the primary nurturing factor as opposed to video games and daycare!  (What sparked my revisit of this was a suggestion that welfare recipients be trained to care for the children of working mothers –at a discount rate-  much like the old TVA and other Great Depression era work programs our country had).

 

  Yes, I know there are some paradoxes here and there are exceptions to every rule (not sure I’d want Mrs. Clinton or Nancy Pelosi in charge) so what do you think?

 

NOTE:  To read my Brief History of Consumerism, go here:


 

 

Some fresh goodies I’ve picked just for our readers…

 



 

Complete Guide to Self Sufficiency AND Rain Water Harvesting guide…

The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more

Useful and Free e-books from the Poor Man Survival crew!


 

 

 
 
 
 
 


From soothing aloe to spicy horseradish, subtle-sweet marjoram to savory thyme, discover the exceptional flavors and gentle healing capabilities of more than 40 of the plant kingdom’s finest here in the Mother Earth News Directory of Culinary and Medicinal Herbs.

 Find more easy and useful DIY tips and recipes at our Homemade tab.


 

 

Can homemade frozen biscuits replace the refrigerated dough version?
read more here

 

 

Gift Card Alert!

Don’t use Craigslist to sell gift cards you don’t want.  Scammers are targeting folks here.  Instead, use sites like CardPool.com or GiftCardZen.com

 

Forgotten Books

Forgotten Books is a site that offers a way to discover books. They offer a Free Book a Day, and cover many areas of interest. They also support many formats like iPad, Android, Windows Tablet, Kindle, .PDF, their own reader, and the opportunity to read online.

The Free account level allows you to view up 85% of the books as viewable, and if you opted for the Free Book of the Day that will be 100% viewable


 

 
Dehydrator recipes and resources
read more here

 

How to torment telemarketers

Blasting an air horn, putting the telemarketers on a lengthy hold, boring them with sob stories — readers respond in force to a request for ideas on combating 'Rachel from cardholder services.


 

 

The Poor Man has been educating Americans about the systematic plundering of their resources and way of life and what they can do about it since 1999.               

Encourage your fellow Americans to wake up and smell the country. Share our resources!


 

 

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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The End is Near and it will be a Scream



Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…


 

ISSN 2161-5543

Tonight’s the annual propaganda speech made by Obama AKA: The State of the Disunion.  He’ll not be able to justify his failures to accomplish anything meaningful and he’ll defend his rape of the Constitution via the NSA, the un-Patriot Act, the PRISM program, etc. while blaming every ill the nation has on the Republicans. Shifting blame is a political art form, political propaganda at its finest and the unwashed masses and gullible swallow it every time!

 

 

   Because of their contempt of its citizens, the Bill of Rights and the childlike mentality of so many US politicians, our nation is self destructing.  The Washington-Wall Street Cartel will continue to ruin every aspect of our lives while denigrating the Constitution and our Bill of Rights or as our founders said “Moral & astute men are necessary for America to survive.”

 

"The big thieves hang the little ones."
-- Czech Proverb

 
 

Have You Ever Thought To Yourself, "It's ALL Bullcrap!” Or, How Much Does it Cost to be a Slave?

 

Nickel and Dimed in America…the war on the middle class:

 

For decades, Americans have been taught to: "Be patriotic... be a good law-abiding citizen... go to college... get a good job... climb the corporate ladder... mortgage debt is 'good' debt... your credit score is very important... pay your taxes... trust authority figures..."

 

But where has playing by those "rules" gotten you? There is a war being waged on Middle Class Americans…by the Washington-Wall Street Cartel.

 

The government (and corporate America) nickel and dime us to death with hidden fees, surcharges and taxes – in fact, I can’t think of much we’re not taxed on. 

 

In Washington, in your state government and for local bureau- rats, fat-cat CEOs of Corporate America, a powerful few are always finding ways to win at your expense.  Look at all the fees (taxes) on your cell phone bill, cable bill, utility bills to see you are being financially raped.

 

 

Why Everything the Government Touches Becomes More Expensive

 

Less Government Equals More Freedom

 

   Many of you know I recently moved back to MI because of family obligations.  I’ve been forced to stay because of health and other challenges.  We keep experiencing sticker-shock  from local and state governments, meaning everything in MI costs more.

 

Michigan is surrounded by water.  It has the largest repository of fresh water on the entire planet, yet our water bill, run by the city, is now 100% more than what I pay in the desert of Arizona.  We just had an unannounced rate hike and they’re predicting another.

 

Water in our little town is delivered from Detroit, a city well known for its greed, incompetence, and crooked politicians.

 

We’ve cut our water usage to the bone here.  We have no livestock to water.  We stopped washing our car.  We’ve installed water miser taps.  We drink bottled water, but its cost continues to rise with no end in sight.

 

At our little cabin hideaway, we’re forced to pay $140 annually for trash service that we don’t use or want.  We figure someone’s brother-in-law is getting paid off for some political favors.  But then again, we’ve learned the township is run by a communist politburo which dictates everything about your property but doesn’t tell you about it until after the fact (they don’t have a website explaining their rules, we’re just supposed to know).

 

Our auto insurance is 110% more in Michigan and we only brought one vehicle with us.

 

The government here likes to ‘double-dip’ in order to extract more cash from its slaves.  Purchases of donated, used goods in MI are taxed again at thrift stores (Not so in AZ) and no matter how many times a used car is sold, it’s taxed again.  Even if you lease a vehicle (it’s not a purchase) you still pay a ‘sales’ tax.  I hear they do this in other states too.

 

These high costs represent a fraction of how the cost of living is higher here due to government greed and incompetence and a microcosm of how the little guy throughout the country is getting screwed. 

 

The Washington-Wall Street Cartel has been driving down private sector middle class jobs and benefits for more than 20 years. My studies have shown most Americans haven't had a real raise in more than 25 years while the cost of living (government figures do not reflect inflation since it fails to account for key areas such as energy, health and food costs) has risen. Government, for instance, now nickel and dimes everyone with added fees and costs yet delivers poorer service (think lack of road maintenance as an example).

 

Politicians never met a tax or surcharge they didn’t like.

 

Think back to when politicians told everyone that mandatory no-fault auto insurance would lower premiums.  Costs went up.

 

Think about when mandatory seat-belt use became law.  Politicians told us it was for our own good, think of the children.  We had no choice in the matter and fines quickly jumped from an average of $25 to $65.  In reality, it was just another way for politicians to extract money from citizens.

 

Scroll to the bottom of this article to get a small sampling of all the taxes extracted from citizens:

 

Hell, look at what we pay in fuel taxes per gallon, around 42 cents a gallon is the average…more than a gallon of gas cost when I was in college and they still can’t maintain the roads.

 

Not long ago, we dumped all of our land lines and contract cell phones in favor of pre-paid cell phones.  That saved us about $400 annually in ‘government fees and taxes.’

 

Americans are nickel and dimed by their government on almost everything.  The worst examples include so-called ‘sin-taxes.’  Nearly 40% of the cost of a bottle of liquor goes to feed the tax man (we nearly had another Revolution over alcohol taxes during the Whiskey Rebellion).

 

Meanwhile, Americans shell out money for hidden taxes every year…airport ticket taxes, hotel and car rental fees, animal license fees, bike taxes, sales taxes, entertainment/event and ticket fees, and the list continues on, and on, and on.

 

(Some states manage to get along without an income tax – Delaware and a few other states have no sales tax either:  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/states-with-no-income-tax-181920465.html)

 

  Not many years ago all the states got together with a group of legal eagles to sue Big Tobacco.  The public was promised the proceeds would benefit children’s education.  After all the greed and finger-pointing was finished, most of the lawyers became millionaires and retired. 

 

Only one state lived up to its promise of helping the children.  All 49 of the other states took the legal ransom cash and put it in the general fund or other pet project and all the millions were gone in a heartbeat proving once again that old adage of White Man Speaks with Forked Tongue.

 

Even though this writer and many others had forewarned the public, we’re all getting hit with another government mandated bill that is already costing everyone more money than promised – Obamacare!

 

In the last decade we’ve lost about 10% of our middle class thanks to policies and tax schemes created by the Washington-Wall Street Cartel.  By the mid-1980s, General Electric led the way in the practice of off-shoring US jobs while nearly all of corporate American began cutting wages, benefits, pensions AND corporations pay less taxes than in the 50s and 60s, leaving it up to the Middle Class to shoulder a larger portion of federal revenues.

 

I warned America back then in my syndicated business column that Burger flippers can’t afford $40K cars.  When the Wall Street Journal printed that piece, I got letters telling me I was nuts, it was good for America!

 

The one area of employment that continued to pay better than average wages and benefits were government and/or related jobs (teachers, firemen, police, municipal workers) but now there are fewer private sector jobs left to pay the taxes which supports these occupations.

(Why do you think politicians continue running so often for any political office that is open – the benefits and perks are simply astounding compared to the private sector).

 

Government is a mirror of consumer products today…get less, pay more.  Your dollar is worth less due to another form of government theft – inflation. 

 

So in the final analysis, it’s become a vicious cycle.  As fewer US jobs support government workers, governments find new ways to gouge the public and as the rest of us have learned, government is a racket and the ‘G’ in government stands for that:  Gouge the Public!

 

 

Wall Street adviser: Actual unemployment is 37.2%, 'misery index' worst in 40 years

Don't believe the happy talk coming out of the White House, Federal Reserve and Treasury Department when it comes to the real unemployment rate and the true “Misery Index.” Because, according to an influential Wall Street advisor, the figures are a fraud.

In a memo to clients provided to Secrets, David John Marotta calculates the actual unemployment rate of those not working at a sky-high 37.2 percent, not the 6.7 percent advertised by the Fed, and the Misery Index at over 14, not the 8 claimed by the government.

Marotta, who recently advised those worried about an imploding economy to get a gun, said that the government isn't being honest in how it calculates those out of the workforce or inflation, the two numbers used to get the Misery Index figure.

Look at some of the facts and figures:

  • In 2001, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States accounted for 31.8% of all global economic activity. Today, it's only 22%.

  • In 1988, the Economist determined the United States was the No. 1 place to be born. Today, the U.S. is tied for 16th!

  • The U.S. government borrows more than half of every dollar it spends.

  • Over 46 million Americans are on food stamps — and one out of four are children.

  • Nearly HALF of all Americans live in a home that receives direct benefits from the federal government.

  • The value of the U.S. dollar has declined 96% since the Federal Reserve was created.

  • One in four U.S. workers makes less than $10.00 per hour.

  • The suicide rate in the U.S. has more than doubled since 2000 — and there are twice as many suicides as homicides.

  • More than 33% of Americans are obese.

  • The use of antidepressants has increased 400% in the last two decades alone!

You don't need a degree from Harvard or Yale to know what this Fourth Turning feels like.

It doesn't matter if you're in the boardroom... the workroom... or the bathroom... you can easily feel what this crisis has done.

 

And you know America is in trouble — at least for the time being.

Even if you couldn't put your finger on what's wrong, you know this crisis is bigger than an ailing economy.

 

It's bigger than Washington's out-of-control spending and the Federal Reserve's insistence on printing new money to cover up the debt addiction.

 

It's bigger than fat cat Fortune 500 executives and their bailout buddies in Congress.

And it's even bigger than greedy Wall Street bankers that nearly burned our financial system to the ground.

 

The Working Poor

U.S. personal wealth is at a record high. But so is the number of those with jobs that still struggle to make ends meet.

 

We've already seen mass protests by fast food workers. And we've seen the beginnings of a populist response to raise the minimum wage. This will all continue.

 

And it's not just unskilled workers who are at risk.

 

With companies increasingly using contract work to avoid providing retirement, health, and other benefits... increasing costs and debt making it virtually impossible to save... and recent college graduates unable to find the work they studied for...

 

Millions of people are increasingly moving to the “underemployed” category.

Indeed, nearly half the requests for emergency assistance to stave off hunger and homelessness come from people with full-time jobs.

 

Despite high unemployment rates, 141 million Americans shopped on Black Friday – nearly half of our population!  The average amount spent was $407, putting each of them $4,878 in deeper credit card debt.  Our nation’s out-of-control spending will shackle our children with debt and adults don’t seem to know better or do not care.  We seem to be stupid and blind to the fact that we are turning ourselves into future debt slaves.

Funny Money.  We now finance much of our own debt.  We (or I should say the non-government group called the Fed, made up of bankers holding America hostage) print trillions of dollars to finance our addiction to spending which is why inflation will get even worse and our dollar will become worthless!



How much longer will we be able to keep our nation on life support?

Middle Class Still Being Squeezed

This has been the mainstay of reporting by the Poor Man Survivor since 1999…

Despite Obama's focus on the middle class, the improvement so far has largely benefited corporations and the ultra-rich.

Whether you blame Obama or a dysfunctional Congress, either way the recovery is hardly a middle-class success story.

1. Workers are taking home their smallest slice of U.S. income on record: At around $15.8 trillion a year, the United States produces more in annual economic output than ever before, but it's not the worker that's benefiting. Instead, corporate profits now account for their largest slice of that pie on record, whereas the slice for workers has been steadily declining.

2. Inequality has widened: The recovery has been good to families earning more than $394,000 a year, but the other 99% of Americans have barely felt it. The richest 1% of American families have captured 95% of the income gains in the recovery period spanning 2009 to 2012, according to economists at the forefront of income inequality research, Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez.

Meanwhile, income for the median American family has barely budged in recent years.

3. The job market still faces a gaping hole: From the job market's peak in early 2008 to its bottom in 2010, the U.S. economy lost 8.7 million jobs – More at:


 

Find a state which has no income tax…


 

 

The End is Near and It’s Going to be a Scream!

America going broke and defaulting may be the best thing that has ever happened.

 

Armchair Preppers and others may actually wake up and realize all of the problems that our corrupt Washington-Wall Street Cartel have caused and may do something about it.

 
We don’t need another election, We need another revolution!

SIDEBAR:


 Increasingly, and openly, ordinary Americans are committing a legal act that some police nonetheless regard as among the most heinous of all offences: it's called contempt of cop. It's otherwise known as asserting your constitutional rights. Citizens, feeling empowered, are pointing smartphones, rather than just an accusing finger, at abusive...

 


 

COMMENT: Most taxes we pay today did not exist 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world, had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.  What the hell happened?

Not one of the Wall Street pirates who crashed the economy in 2008 has gone to jail…yet, our system throws little guys in prison all the time for petty ‘crimes.’

Everyone should watch the old 1976 TV movie Network or V for Vendetta because we’re ALL Mad as Hell and We Shouldn’t Take it Anymore!

 

The Poor Man has been educating Americans about the systematic plundering of their resources and way of life and what they can do about it since 1999.               

Encourage your fellow Americans to wake up and smell the country. Share our resources!


 

DON’T THINK, DON’T QUESTION, JUST OBEY

…from our series:

America’s War on the Little Guy
 
 
 

 

You can support our efforts by making a purchase!

A bargain isn't a bargain unless it's something you need…

You’ll find more than 100 useful items – Updated weekly

www.OurGreatBargains.com

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Safe Fuel Storage Tips, Natural Dental Care, More





 

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…


 

ISSN 2161-5543

 

"For who can endure a doctrine which would allow only dentists
to say whether our teeth were aching,
only cobblers to say whether our shoes hurt us, and
only governments to tell us whether we were being well governed?"
-- C. S. Lewis

 
 
 
 
 

Safe Fuel Storage Tips

 

   During the recent days long power outages and ice storms we experienced, my generator got quite the workout and we were unable to leave our compound for any reason.  Thankfully, we had plenty of fuel stored to run our generator…

 

Having fuel on hand can give you the means to stay warm and comfortable, to prepare a hot meal, and even to sterilize water should the need arise. It can also give you the means to escape a bad situation.


Improperly stored fuel can become a safety hazard. And, many types of fuel, including gasoline, lose stability over time, making them difficult to ignite. That means that even if you store your fuel safely, if you don't take proper steps to ensure its long-term stability, you could just be storing canisters of useless liquid – liquid that will let you down when you need it most.

 

Avoid Fuel Storage Safety Hazards


You should not store fuel in your home or attached garage. If it does ignite, having it that close to your living space presents an obvious problem. Instead, store your fuel some distance from your home in a well-ventilated shed. Storing your fuel in an outbuilding of some sort helps to protect it from heating up due to direct sun exposure and from moisture due to weather conditions. By preventing solar heating, you slow the evaporation process. And by protecting your fuel stores from moisture, you help ensure your fuel isn't contaminated with water.
 

Keep a fire extinguisher near your fuel tanks. If you run electrical wires in the outbuilding that you're using for storage, make sure the wiring is in a sealed conduit. The last thing you want is for fuel vapors to come in contact with an electric spark. That would be the end of your fuel stores and your outbuilding!
 

Make sure you always store fuel in a container designed for it. Gasoline, for example is corrosive to many plastics. Storing gasoline in a plastic drum that hasn't been rated for fuel storage will destroy the drum and render the gas useless.
 

If you're storing more than one type of fuel, make sure you have a system for keeping track of which is which. You don't want to accidentally use gasoline in a diesel engine or to run a propane or kerosene stove!  More at:
 
http://www.poormansurvival.com/Pages/guestcolumn.aspx

 

NOTE:  I keep a fire extinguisher near every area that I work…kitchen, basement, laundry room, garage.

 

Grease and grime dissolve away with one good wipe-down of WD-40

On the surface of our stovetop.  Restores the shine and works on gummy spots.

 

 

Make Money Upcycling
"Upcycling" is what you do when you're converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality. What if you could make money upcycling? Today, many folks have to supplement their incomes, but have little money to invest in raw materials or goods to be sold. Clever ones upcycle by finding cheap or free items they can then sell for profit. Read more.

 

 

With the dozen plus prescriptions I take due to open heart surgery, my gums have suffered and now I spend time and money visiting our wonderful dentist and oral surgeon remedying my gum loss.  I make my own oral rinse which has proved very helpful.  To every half bottle of antiseptic mouthwash, I add a several drops of hydrogen peroxide and tea tree oil. 

 

Natural Dental Care

From Mother Earth Living, by Amy Mayfield

 

When it comes to healthy teeth and gums, keep one word in mind: prevention. Because many dental problems are the result of gum disease, focus on keeping your gums healthy with natural dental care.

 

An estimated 75 percent of Americans have some form of gum or periodontal disease, according to the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. Regular dental visits (every six months is recommended for most) can treat the disease at its earliest stages, keeping your teeth healthy — and helping you spend less time in the dentist’s chair.

 

Helpful Herbs

Plaque, the main cause of tooth decay and gum disease, starts building up about 20 minutes after eating. The first steps in reducing plaque buildup and maintaining oral health are basic care: Brush your teeth at least twice daily with a soft-bristled toothbrush and floss under the gumline once a day.

 

Used in combination with good basic dental care, healing herbs can bolster oral health. Herbalist Christopher Hobbs recommends taking diluted bloodroot tincture to protect teeth and gums against oral bacteria. Myrrh tincture helps strengthen gums and combat tooth and gum infections, and echinacea tincture helps the body fight oral bacteria, he says. Take tinctures of these herbs daily, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

 

Aloe vera gel, a powerful anti-inflammatory and antibacterial healer, can help treat gum inflammation. Apply a small amount of aloe gel to the affected area several times daily, says Laurel Vukovic, an Ashland, Ore.-based author and herbalist.

 

Vukovic also recommends neem, an herb with antimicrobial properties that can help strengthen gums and prevent plaque. Neem is found in some natural toothpastes and mouthwashes.

 

Finally, green tea is another potent herbal remedy. In addition to its antioxidant and other health benefits, green tea’s polyphenol compounds may inhibit the growth of oral bacteria. Drink two to three cups daily.

 

Supplements to Try

Supplements can also be good for oral health. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may improve circulation to the gums and help prevent gum disease. It’s also a powerful antioxidant. Take 60 to 100 milligrams (mg) daily in capsule form.

 

A deficiency of vitamin C can cause gum disease, loose teeth and tooth loss. Researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute suggest the current recommended dietary allowance (75 mg for women, 90 mg for men) be increased to 200 mg. But choose supplements you swallow instead of chewable vitamin C tablets, as ascorbic acid can erode tooth enamel.

 

Also make sure you’re getting 1,000 mg or more of calcium daily (either from your diet or in supplements). Calcium is necessary for building and maintaining healthy teeth, and if blood levels of calcium fall, the body draws calcium stores from the jaw, which can result in tooth loss. Combined with calcium, magnesium also helps keep teeth and bones strong. Aim for 400 mg per day.

 

Toothpaste Tips

Ever wonder what’s in your toothpaste? Most contain mild abrasives such as calcium carbonate or hydrated aluminum oxides; fluoride to strengthen tooth enamel; humectants such as propylene or glycol to prevent water loss in the toothpaste; flavoring agents such as saccharin or other sweeteners that do not promote tooth decay; thickening agents; and detergents such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) to create foaming, according to the American Dental Association. While these ingredients may not be overly dangerous, most holistic dentists suggest avoiding them. A study at the University of Oslo, Norway, showed a link between toothpastes that contain SLS and recurrent aphthous ulcers (more commonly known as canker sores). Fluoride remains a controversial ingredient that, when used in excess, may make developing teeth more brittle and may be linked to immune dysfunction and other diseases.

 

Excerpted from Mother Earth Living. To read more articles from Mother Earth Living, please visit www.MotherEarthLiving.com or call (800) 340-5846 to subscribe. © 2013 by Ogden Publications Inc.



 

Find more easy and useful DIY tips and recipes at our Homemade tab at www.PoorManSurvival.com

 

                                               

Encourage your fellow Americans to wake up and smell the country. Share our resources!


 

 

You can help support our efforts by visiting our online storefront!

A bargain isn't a bargain unless it's something you need…

Find 100s useful items – Updated weekly

www.OurGreatBargains.com