Okay; when I looked up Baz Sunscreen I was probably the only person on the planet that didn’t know that it was a famous little Youtube number by Baz Luhrmann, entitled Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen.

I thought that Baz Sunscreen was a brand name that I had not heard of that was good for everyone to know about, since 40,500 good souls had already googled the phrase. It wasn’t a brand that was on the EWG’s (the Environmental Working Group) list of test sunblocks and sunscreens, yet it was apparently very popular to those in the know.

But Baz is right, even if his glowing reference to the need to wear sunscreen is only a small part of his heartfelt video message.

Baz, meet Badger. Badger, meet Baz.

Badger Sunblock products are the only ones on the EWG’s safe sunscreen list that I can even find in an actual physical store, or on an online health store.

So Badger products it is.

Well.ca is your store online for Badger products at great prices.

Click on the icon!

Or Queen. Whatever your preference for comparision. It’s an oil, people. Let’s not get too hung up on its gender analogy. It hasn’t really got one.

Kukui oil reigns supreme.

It rocks.

Try it.

You will love it.

Eczema and psoriasis, rosacea and sunburn have met their match.

I bought and used some in Hawaii and didn’t burn once. I was out in the sun all day, every day. I put the kukui oil on religiously every two hours or so. The oil is excellent. It keeps the skin smooth, supple and moisturized without being greasy. Great for the lips also. Prevents cracking, drying, and burning.

Protect your baby-boo.

Well.ca carries Alba Kukui OIl and will deliver it to your door. Add it to a liberal application of Badger Sunscreen every two hours. The EWG, the Environmental Working Group, says that Badger Sunscreen is one of the safest sunscreens on the market today. The EWG tested 258 sunscreens on the market today, including all the leading brands such as Banana Boat, Coppertone etc., and found that only 40 sunscreens did not carry carcinogens or false claims for sun protection, or actually had the correct amount of ingredients to properly and safely protect us from burning or contracting skin cancer.

Badger Sunscreen is the only sunscreen in the top forty safe sunscreens, that I could even find in the local health food super store. It is twenty dollars, Canadian, for a small tube, but our children are all worth it.

And so are we!

Well.ca carries Badger Sunscreen, so we are all in luck. We can all hide safely in our houses until the delivery van pulls up to our homes and unloads these skin-savers into our outstretched, glove-covered hands.

Actually, I just burn to death and then remember that I should have put some kukui oil and Badger sunscreen on.

Duh.

Free shipping and handling in Canada.

Kukui Nut Tree. Enjoy your bath –eczema-free!

Pat.

A strong back. Excellent posture. Good bone and muscle density. Strong, healthy joints. How to maintain this state of affairs as time and traumas march on. That is the key.

Exercise of a reasonable nature obviously factors into the equation. Reasonable, of course, depends upon what traumas you have indeed experienced to various parts of your anatomy. Diet, also, is an obvious consideration. Muscle building proteins and anti-oxidant rich, vitamin-packed foods and/or supplements, all can contribute to the maintenance and repair of the human body at any stage in the game. Adequate rest and stress management are also essential to good health, as we all know.

I cannot begin to tell you how much assistance my family, friends and I have personally experienced  over the last twenty years, from magnetic insoles and magnetic mats. And that is no bull.
Magnetic fields can have anti-inflammatory properties. Asthma and muscle and joint pain all lessen in their severity with magnetic therapy. Colds heal faster. So do ‘flus. I am not going to try to convince you. Try magnetic insoles and a magnetic sleeping mat for yourself. You will be amazed at their effectiveness.

I personally do not sleep on a magnetic mat or wear magnetic insoles all of the time. Some people swear that magnetic insoles and mats can be utilized all of the time, and the body does not get “immune” to them, but I am not willing to find out if that is true or not, since they work so well when I need to use them sporadically when my immune system feels compromised, or when I need my joints and spinal muscles to be amazingly strong for periods of heavy lifting and carrying demanded by my workplace.

Magnetic fields can assist in detoxification, so if you are sleeping on a magnetic mat, it is wise to drink extra water, as magnetic fields may also have a dehydrating effect as they compell the body to get rid of any toxic build-up it may have. Many people find that they sleep like a baby on the magnetic mats. At other times, attempting to sleep on the mat is almost impossible, as one is charged with excess energy. That is when one no longer needs to sleep on the mat. Whatever was making you sluggish has been resolved, and you can put the mat away until you need it again.

Generalising from my personal experience and that of many people that I know, magnetic fields help sprains heal faster, and if applied prior to the stress, they can actually prevent sprains and strains from ocurring in the first place. Hence the usefulness of the magnetic insoles.

Magnetic insoles are like wearing an extra kidney belt or knee or wrist brace, in my extensive personal experience with these products. And you truly can jump higher and throw further with these inserts on than without them. When you go to lift up a heavy box, your back remains straight as a board, and your knees never waiver. The sensation in incredible. And a lifesaver. Try arm wrestling while wearing insoles, and then without. A huge difference.
Unless you have a pacemaker, I highly recommend that you give magnetic insoles a try. And the magnetic mat. Nikken makes both. Magnetico makes an amazing mat. Magnetico’s sleeping pad is designed to be safe to sleep on all of the time, whereas it is not recommended to use Nikken’s mats fulltime, as sleeping on them for more than two weeks can undo any of the good they have performed due to the nature of their design.

Check the literature out on both of these magnetic mats for yourself. Check with you alternative health practitioner and your doctor for their advice on the use of magnetic mats and insoles for your personal situation.

Magnetics have been a godsend for my family. They might prove to be just that for your’s also. Magnetico mats can be found at:  http://www.magneticosleep.com. 

Best wishes, Pat.

Drugs.

Yes, indeed.

But why take away all the fun? Balanced hormones? Anger management?

Massive sedation? Psssha.

Embrace your inner and not-so-inner demons and buy a gun or five.

Paintball guns. And ammo. And grenades and cool outfits. But cool outfits in fat-pant sizes, because you are bloated, remember?

And who are you usually mad at when you are PMSing?

Everyone and everything that moves or gets in your way, I know. But realistically, doesn’t that usually boil down to the men in your life? Don’t think too long on that one. The answer is yes, it does.

Shoot them. Many times.

At least shoot a reasonable facsimile of them. The real thing might be far better at paintball than you are. Shoot them for that audacity also.

Take all those downloaded photos of your Dad and Uncle Bill, smiling and waving from the bassboat with your three brothers as they embark on that so-called family fishing trip that they refused to take you on.

Take that picture of your husband and his buddies laughing at your pain after you accidentally sat down on a wet toilet seat after the big game bash, when none of them even bothered to lift up the toilet seat, so you didn’t have that little annoyance to complain about.

Take that picure of your son and… aww.

Sons are always forgiven.

And they know it. And they work it. And…that’s right, grab that picure of the little, six foot brat and add it to the pile!

Stick those smiley faces on the targets at the Pat’s PMS Paintball Palace, coming soon to a neighbourhood near you. Special moon-time rates. Discount to seniors. ‘Cause if you’re still raging at 65, it isn’t PMS. Your life just sucks and your men are assholes. You deserve a discount.

Youse is goin’ huntin’!

How did I come up with this brilliant idea?

I love paintball, albeit vicariously at the moment due to a myriad of workplace injuries. So I was perusing a number of paintball sites and forums, and happened upon the acronym PMS on a number of occasions. It was readily apparent that PMS did not stand for the usual female rampage syndrome. Actually, it stood for Paintball Mania Supplies. These people make an excellent cocker, it turns out, and are renown in the paintball world for this accomplishment.

I will leave this one alone.

It’s hard, I mean to say, difficult, but I will not get sucked, I mean drawn, into the sophomoric world of rude jokes. I am mature.

But these best cocker people did give me the wonderful idea for a franchise chain of paintball emporiums. We could even pick you and all of your friends up at the door in a company mini-van. After all, friends usually PMS at the same time.  Instant team mates, all unfit to drive due to PMS- induced road-rage. 10 PMSing backseat drivers. I pity the fool who takes on that shuttle gig.

Seriously though, paintball hurts. Well.ca and Herbal Remedies both carry arnica and calendula creams and gels and salves to rub on all those bruises and scrapes. You probably won’t feel a thing until you come down from your killing frenzy. But when you do, Arnica and Calendula and Arctic Ice will be there for you. Arnica for bruises and swelling, no open wounds. Calendula for abrasions and rashes. Arctic Ice to mask the pain of overworked muscles.

Give all three to a masseuse named Lance. He’ll know what to do with them. He might even use them on you if you pay him enough.

You thought I was going to talk about PMS, didn’t you?

Okay, fine.

Next time!

Meanwhile, why not give paintball a try?  I read in a paintball forum that if you are too green or too old, they bury you in the leaves at the foot of the flag as the guard of last resort.

Even I can do that.

No money for all of the parphernalia? Try slingshot paintball. It’s tons of fun. Silent but deadly.

Like farts.

Come to think of it, farts could give away we old farts’ positions on the playing field. What is the point of hiding under a pile of leaves for four hours, waiting for our moment of glory as we spring upon our unsuspecting enemy as they mistakenly assume they are about to capture our flag, if we are giving away our position with odiferous gases emanating from a certain bodily orifice?

Check out Herbal Remedies and Well.ca for Beano and the like. Don’t let gas lose the war.

And don’t run out of gas either! Use a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement purchased from Well.ca or Herbal Remedies. We’ll review the many multi-vitamin and mineral supplements available on the market today in our next blog.

We will also touch on the importance of magnesium in the treatment of PMS and cramping. A personal odyssey.

Love you lots.

Pat.

Soft glow, but definitely a bright idea.

Crystal Himalayan salt lamps by Solay do indeed emit negative ions to the air. These ions bond with allergens, those nasty particulates in the air and take them down to the ground.

This type of bondage is definitely a good thing!

Less allergens in the atmosphere makes breathing a whole lot easier for many of us. Apparently, the negative ions also allow greater blood flow to the brain. This, in turn, is supposed to account for sharper minds and better memory.

These natural crystal Himalayan salt lamps by Solay come in a variety of sizes. One the size of a night light will do an office-sized room. Just don’t place them on a wooden floor in warmer weather, as they will leave a salty residue that can be difficult to remove. The lamps will also degrade a bit if the room they are used in is too humid. But they have no known harmful side-effects to users.

So breathe a little easier, and think a liitle smarter. Get your own salt crystal lamp today!

Solay Wellness Inc. carries a variety of colours as well shapes and sizes. They get fair-trade salt crystals mined from the Himalayas. Hence the name.

Check them out!

And while you’ve got the new mood lighting going on and feel energized from all that fresh negative-ion charged air that you’re inhaling, pick up some of Solay’s delicious chocolates and relaxing body oils. Share the moment with your beloved.

Or with your reflection in the mirror.

LIke me.

Just rethink that idea of using crystal himalayan salt lamps in the barn for your horses. Yes, they provide a nice soft light, and a healthier atmosphere. They’d go well with a good radio station. Something country, unless you’ve got Lipizans. But the salt lamp would become a salt lick, I do believe, and electricity thrown into the mix could just get nasty.

What? You’re mind never went there?

Well neither did mine.

Sheesh.

Pat.

Check my post on safe toothpastes and mouthwash. I discuss this group in greater detail there.

The EWG researchers stand alone, like the Environmental Protection Agency.They are not in the pocket of any pharmaceutical company. They depend upon donations to keep their website and research up and running. The EWG uses a stoplight system of assessment with regard to the safety of cosmetic and toiletry products on the market today.

Green means that the EWG have not found any dangerous compounds which are carcinogenic or pathogenic. It does not mean that one is safe from allergies, however. Natural products, as we all know by this point in time, can cause allergic reactions just like man-made chemicals. All the ingredients are clearly listed, so that you can easily guage your own sensitivities to any products.

I am personally going to start with the Solay toothpowder and see what it is like. And their face cream. Solay carry an anti-aging cream and I will spread it on my toast if that will help!

I love toast.

And they sell coffee and tea too!

And caramels.

And chocolate.

And granola.

All organically grown ingredients.

That means I can eat more.

And what on earth are these salt lamps that they advocate?

Solay carries natural salt crystal lamps, which give off a soft, ambient glow and provide negative ions to the atmosphere. Negative ions are beneficial in that they apparently make the air easier to breathe for people with asthma, chronic lung conditions and air-borne irritant allergies. They are also touted in the literature to improve memory and learning capabilities.

I will look into the scientific basis for these additional claims in my next blog.

What was I just saying?

Solay Wellness carries products for your pets too!

Delicious vegan cookies, and cruely-free shampoo, and pet beds. Your cat might be a killer, and your dog might kill cats, but at least their little tummies will have one less evilly-gotten thing in them with these tasty, healthy morsels from Solay.

Check out the Solay Wellness website.

Pat.

Okay, my mother, my father, one of my sisters… I wasn’t brought up in a touchy, feely family. But boy, are they ever missing out!
I love massage, and so do most of my friends and acquaintances, and that is a lot of people!

I give an excellent massage. I have the gift, I have been told many a time. As a result, I give a lot more massages than I ever receive. I am happy to see the looks of ecstasy on my victims’ faces, and see the results of my labours when knots are relieved and motion restored. But I can only do so much before I am tired and sore myself. I can do a lot, but there are always more people and I don’t have the time or logistical ability to get to everyone who is asking. Besides, it gets cold being half-naked all the time, and sooner or later you need to get dressed and unbolt the door.

What?

You mean they were all lying to me?

I also, am a massage pig. My partner is an amazing masseuse, as is our very good friend Karen. We call her Arnold. Arnold Schwartzenkaren. That’s how good she is at massage. But being massage pigs, we are never satisfied. We always want more. Injured or not. I’m fed up of overworking my leg muscles on purpose, lifting 150 pound coolers by myself on set or “accidentally” falling over pylons just to get that extra hands-on attention. Kidding.

(I have to write kidding, because I never know when someone thinks I am being serious. Using smiley faces might just let people think that I like falling over pylons.)

There is an excellent  massage product made in Canada, known as the Thumper.  An amazing, hand held therapeutic massage device.  And, I am one hundred per cent certain that you could use one for “personal” massage. I know this because I accidentally did that when trying to get a knot out of my inner thigh.

Ahem.

Fastest gun in the west.

If you don’t know what I mean, I am certain that once you have tried one of these babies, you too will find out, accidentally of course, what is meant by a “personal” massage unit. I found it very therapeutic at the same time.

Seriously, however, check out the Thumper.

I have one of their prosumer therapeutic massage units at home and it is incredible and very affordable compared to regular visits to a masseuse named Lance, and very user friendly.

Another company with amazing  prosumer hand held massage units is Brookstone in the United States. Excellent products, although if you don’t want to buy Chinese-made products, you had better ask them for their manufacturing source because I understand they have switched to Chinese-made hand held massage products.

You’ll be impressed by both companies’ offerings.  Dare to compare and choose the one that’s right for you.

I personally own and religiously use the Thumper, as do my family and family chiropractor. The Thumper can be purchased from Shopper’s Drug Mart for around $123.00 CAD, which is half the price that I paid for it a few years ago, at cost price from the chiropractor. Brookstone models go for around  $315.00 US.

Here are their respective website addresses: www.thumpermassager.com, and www.brookstone.com.

So, if you need to recover from the aches and pains and stresses and strains of  your therapeutic yoga class that left you with a two year bout of sciatica from holding a pose for ten minutes longer than the yogi instructed you to do, resulting in your subsequent undignified expulsion from the yoga class after throwing an unscheduled, but totally provoked tantrum after having been unsympathetically informed that there was not a yoga pose that would undo the damage that you had just inflicted upon yourself by insisting on too much of a good stretch………(breathe Pat, breathe) — check these massagers out.

Tell me what you think. You will not regret it. In fact, I would go so far as to say it could very well be one of the best purchases you could ever make, regardless of your age or level of decrepitude.

Is that a word?

I have not been, and will not be, financially compensated in any way for recommending these massage products.  They do not have an affiliate marketing program, although they should. I simply want you to try them. Use them. Your life will be better for them.

I will never recommend any product that I do not personally believe in, and I must have empirical evidence from reliable sources to back up any claims of effectiveness and safety. Please provide me with feedback regarding any products discussed on this site, and please feel free to offer suggestions for everyone to share with regard to safe and effective, reasonably priced products for our readers to try, should they feel so inclined.

Funny anecdotes are always encouraged.

I am personally not a pill popper. If it works for you, that’s great.  I like to keep side effects to a minimum, and the best way to do that is not to take medication with horrific side effects in the first place. I like to look for alternatives.

Like marijuana. Kidding — now.  Happy pot disappeared in the ’70’s. It was replaced by catatonic, wheelchair pot. I consider total paranoia and not being able to breathe horrific side effects. A lot of my friends call it entertainment — especially if it is happening to someone else and they are just watching. (Don’t forget, I work in the film industry.)

Evil.

I advocate and actively seek out and utilize natural remedies that have a proven track record.  Herbs. Homeopathy. Bach’s flower remedies. Absolutely amazing. Magnetic therapy. It really works for a great many people, including myself. Evil yoga. Easily absorbed mineral supplements. The list goes on.

You are once again invited to help me find what is effective and affordable for we working and non-working people.  Stress on the bank account is further stress on the body, mind and soul. Let’s try to keep it to a minimum, and try to enjoy a bit of humour as we go!

No, that is not a spelling mistake.

Pat