Mindful Eats

Green Feminine Hygiene Products: Organic Cotton/Menstrual Cups

It is health that is real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver. ~Mohandas Gandhi

This post is for the women. Men, I recommend you stop reading here. Stop. Because we're going to be talking about MENSTRUAL PERIOD stuff.

{Yup, that got rid of the guys.}

So when it comes to that time of the month, how do you handle it? Pads, tampons, organic tampons? I recently found a new feminine hygiene product (hate that term) that isn't a tampon or a pad. Actually, it's not new - it's been around since the 1930's. It's more effective, more comfortable and much more environmental. What is it you ask? It's a menstrual cup, which is basically a bell-shaped cup made from medical grade silicone, polyethylene or other nonlatex materials that is worn inside the vagina to collect menstrual fluid.

I think most women find the product journey to be something like this:

1. Conventional Sanitary Pads. They are easy to use and figure out. However, there can be leaking and messiness involved, and it feels like you're sitting on a pillow so some women turn to
2. Conventional Tampons. These are so much harder to learn to use than pads, but provide so much more freedom once you get used to them. However, they still require regular purchasing and can be leaky. Wondering about the health effects of them, you might turn to
3. Unbleached Organic Tampons. If you have something in you for days, you want to make sure its as toxin- free as possible. Your vagina absorbs well, which is why medicines can be delivered through vaginal suppositories. Using nonchlorinated tampons means less chemicals for you and the environment.

I was at stage 3, and wondering if there was anything better because tampons really aren't all that great. I hate having to remember to buy them, they're drying and they can leak. They also didn't feel green - all the material and energy that went into making them and then they were disposed of. Then one day I read an article about menstrual cups. Soon after that I was at Whole Foods buying some nonchlorinated cotton tampons, and I saw some menstrual cups. 

They seemed weird, but in the name of science, I bought one. What happens to the fluid? Isn't it messy?

After three months, I love it. I can't feel it, it doesn't leak, it's not drying, there's no string hanging around, I don't need to remember to bring a tampon to the bathroom (because it's always with you), and I've saved a lot of money.  I wish I'd learned about them 10 years ago!

What's the downside? The icky factor (which isn't so icky). So here's the unvarnished scoop:

Produce: Dirty Dozen and Clean 15

You cannot build a better world without improving individuals. ~Marie Curie

You know how sometimes you have seemingly opposing goals like 1) you want to lose weight AND 2) eat delicious food?  (Okay, I gave that to you as a confidence booster because you already know how to do that. Eat whole unprocessed foods, yum.)  Well, maybe one of your New Year's resolutions is to eat more produce.  So what if you want to 1) eat organic to reduce your chemical intake in the form of pesticides AND 2) you want to be light on your wallet?

Fortunately, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has compiled a list of the "Dirty Dozen" fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residue, and a list of the "Clean 15" with the least pesticide revenue. You can significantly limit your pesticide intake by avoiding the "Dirty Dozen" and eating the "Clean 15". Likewise you can stretch your dollar by buying the Dirty Dozen organic and the Clean 15 conventional. Now that it's winter, there are several items on the Clean 15 that are seasonal: onions, cabbage, sweet potatoes, grapefruit and mushrooms.

What if you can't buy the Dirty Dozen organic? Just go ahead and eat them. You deserve a gold star for eating unprocessed foods. What if you don't have a budget constraint? Buy everything organic since it's better for our environment not to be depositing chemicals on our soils.

Here's the current list of Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 Foods, but check the EWG database since it is updated.

Dirty Dozen

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines - Imported
7. Grapes - Imported
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries - Domestic
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/Collard Greens

Clean 15

1. Onions
2. Sweet Corn - there is no required labeling for Genetically Modified Foods, so you may want to purchase this oganically to avoid genetically engineered corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet Peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Cantaloupe - Domestic
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet Potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

Want to learn more?

• The Low Down on Organic Food
• What is conventionally grown, industrial food?
• EWG Database

What I ate today: 4T blackstrap molasses, 4T apple cider vinegar, cheese popcorn, caramel popcorn, olive oil popcorn, brown rice, sauteed kale, boiled shrimp, cheese, 1.5 cups coffee + cream, whole wheat spaghetti + bolagnaise sauce + spinach, 1 apple, 30 oz. water

Exercise: jogged 4 miles, 60 situps, 6 pushups