Take The Bite Out of Summer

Mosquitoes are an annoying problem. One, they bite. Two, they spread disease. Since 1946, when the US Army developed the Pesticide DEET, the Health Department has recommended its use for the control of mosquitoes. The only problem is that DEET is a toxic chemical ( Yes, to the mosquitoe, but also to us). DEET is a deadly and powerful neurotoxin that even the Environmental Protection Agency says you should wash off your skin when finished with the outdoors. They also say not to breathe it in or spray it on the face. The American Academy of Pediatrics state not to use it on children under six years old. Think about this. We take a poison and rub it on or spray it on our skin. The poison does not just stay on the outer layer of the skin. Our skin is not like saran wrap. Skin is porous. Think of all the tiny little holes called pores. The poison is than absorbed into our body where over time it accumulates. The accumulation of the Poison (DEET), is what causes disease. In the case of DEET, DEET has been associated with seizures and several cases of toxic encephalopathy (encephalitis) in children, including three deaths, according to the Extension Toxicology Network at Cornell University. The good news is that natural alternatives can keep mosquitoes away just as good as DEET without the harmful side effects. Neem oil extract is very effective for keeping mosquitoes at bay. You can find a gel sold at the health food store made from a blend of neem leaf , aloe vera, citronella and geraniol that will do the trick. Cinnamon oil has also been found to be just as effective in the mosquitoe fight.

Thought for the Week: " The science of chiropractic has modified our views concerning life, death, health and disease. We no longer believe that disease is an entity, something foreign to the body, which may enter from the outside, and with which we have to grasp, struggle, fight and conquer, or submit and succumb to its ravages. Disease is a disturbed condition, not a thing of enmity. Disease is an abnormal performance of certain functions; the abnormal activity it causes." D.D. Palmer, Discover of Chiropractic (Quote from the early 1900's)

The chiropractic application of this quote is that by enhancing performance and bodily function, via the reduction of nerve disruption (correcting subluxations), health is improved!!