Fluoride toothpaste or Fluoride free?

I recently switched my toothpaste to fluoride free and a friend of mine asked if we needed fluoride to protect our teeth from decay. For once I didn't have much to say. I didn't do much research before hand but had just briefly read up on fluoride poisoning. So being me I had to look more into it and I'm worried now that I did. Not for my toothpaste but for our water! Fluoride is being added into our water and even Nursery water for babies! Too much fluoride can be harmful!
There is a pro to fluoride, but just one that I can find, which is that it helps protect the enamel on our teeth making cavities less common. However, if your an adult this doesn't really help as much as it does in children who still have growing bones. You really need to watch how much fluoride they are consuming though. You should only use a pea sized portion of toothpaste with fluoride for children to brush their teeth since they naturally swallow pretty much anything you put in their mouth.
Now lets go into the cons! Fluoride has been linked to certain cancers and Downs syndrome. It also has been linked to thyroid problems and too much fluoride can actually damage your teeth not help!
60% of Americans drinking water has fluoride in it already. Some fluoride is naturally in the water but shouldn't have more added like many places have been doing for years! Call your local water department to find out if you have fluoride added in your tap water. Fluoride can also enter through your skin while bathing. You might think that since you buy bottled water your safe from fluoride but it is also added in this water as well. Last night I was just thinking why is cancer more common? Could this be one of the reasons?

How to become a Tightwad!

So, you might be thinking that you need to start saving money as you never know what could happen in the future. I went through the same thought and had to make a start somewhere. Now days everyone makes decisions minute by minute and doesn't really plan for the future. Being a tightwad is going to change you! If you make small changes to plan ahead for the week with a dinner menu you can cut down your food costs and gas costs on making last minute trips to the store (plus less waste of food). If you plan ahead for the month you could cut down food costs even more by being able to buy in bulk (or split bulk items with a friend). If you want to think even farther ahead start on Christmas now or buy summer clothes for next year now (which will be very cheap out of season). We have started planning Christmas gifts which are pretty much all handmade but by planning ahead we are able to recycle wine bottles into the bottles we will be using for our gifts instead of having to buy them. Make this first step at becoming a tightwad and see how much you can save!

What does your carpet hold?

Stains? Well unless you don't have kids, pets, and don't walk on your carpet often you might be lucky enough to not get a stain. But what about other things in the carpet like odors, pollutants, toxins, and even mold! Scary to think about as our children walk and crawl on these carpets everyday. Then as well as being walked on these odors, pollutants and toxins are being released into the air for all of us to breathe in! No one knows how much this harms our bodies.
So now you have decided to just get new carpet all together....well, sorry to say that may not be the best choice either. New carpets are made with many chemicals. If you just replaced your carpets then think about getting them frequently cleaned as this can reduce the amount of chemicals released into the air.
If your wanting to get your old carpets cleaned lets just talk about the most dangerous thing in old carpets. Mold spores are common in old carpets which can cause headache, congestion, fatigue, and has even been linked to childhood asthma. Your first thought after finding mold spores in your carpet is to get them cleaned but when getting your carpets cleaned they can use up to 100 gallons of water and with the heat used this can cause the mold spores to spread.
Eco friendly carpet cleaners are not very common but you can always ask the carpet cleaner around you if they offer eco friendly cleaning and some do! But its also good to keep up on your own carpets between cleanings. I often put up ideas on green carpet cleaning so stay tuned!