Thursday, October 27, 2011

Essential Safe Products Exhibiting at Wyland Living Green Fair in Boca Raton, FL, November 5-6, 2011

Essential Safe Products
LiveESP.com
Quote startWe hope that while exhibiting at the Wyland Living Green Fair, ESP can make a difference and have a positive influence on families looking for a safer and healthier lifestyle in their home.Quote end
 
Plantation, FL (PRWEB) October 27, 2011
On November 5-6, Essential Safe Products (ESP) will be exhibiting at the annual Wyland Living Green Fair in Boca Raton, FL, to help spread awareness about hazardous chemicals and assist in prevention through the sale of non-toxic kitchen and on-the-go products.

“We are always looking for ways to help spread awareness about the dangers of hazardous chemicals in our everyday kitchen and on the go products. So, when we heard about the Wyland Living Green Fair taking place just around the corner from us, we knew this would be a great opportunity to educate families,” says Hannah Masimore, President of ESP.

Attending the Wyland Living Green Fair is a great way for ESP to spread awareness outside of the web. Families from all over South Florida are expected to attend the fair, and ESP their message of a safer and non-toxic lifestyle resonates with visitors to their booth. ESP will also be selling bpa free water bottles from Lifefactory and Takeya and stainless steel food containers at their booth.

Susan Masimore adds, “We hope that while exhibiting at the Wyland Living Green Fair, ESP can make a difference and have a positive influence on families looking for a safer and healthier lifestyle in their home.”
ESP’s “Learn” section of their site LiveESP.com is a product of their continuous efforts to help educate and promote awareness about dangerous chemicals. LiveESP.com goes into detail about the different types of toxic chemicals found in kitchen products and gives tips and tricks on how to avoid exposure to hazardous chemicals. The information provided is incredibly useful for families who are learning about or want to know more about BPA, lead, PFCs and other chemicals.

Coupled with their “Learn” section is a “Shop” portion of their site where families can purchase safe cookware, bpa free bottles, bpa free food storage, cast iron cookware and other great non-toxic kitchen and on-the-go products.

The Wyland Living Green Fair was started by David Etzler, an event planner and eco-enthusiast who wants to help educate communities on living a greener, healthier and more environmentally sustainable lifestyle. This year, the Wyland Living Green Fair is expected to bring in over 10,000 attendees—making it the largest Green themed event in South Florida.

About liveESP.com LiveESP.com is a website dedicated to encouraging and helping people learn about hazardous chemicals and make healthier decisions for a safer and chemical-free lifestyle in the kitchen and on-the-go. LiveESP.com is a great site where people can both learn about the dangers of harmful chemicals and purchase products that are non-toxic and human safe. Through ESP, founder Susan Masimore and her oldest daughter Hannah hope to have a positive impact in the lives of others. LiveESP.com was founded in 2011 in Plantation, Florida.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

BPA and the Long Term Behavioral Effects on Unborn Girls

Not to our surprise, the plot surrounding BPA and the ways it affects our health thickens.  A new study came out this week with some interesting results.  A group of scientists measured the BPA levels in urine from several hundred pregnant women, and over the course of several years they measured the BPA levels in urine of the women’s children.  BPA has already been linked to obesity, neurological diseases, thyroid disease, and cancer; and this new study has added another bullet point to the laundry list: BPA may even affect behavior.

BPA is a common additive in many plastics that can mimic some hormones in the body.  For this reason BPA is especially harmful during the prenatal stages of life and during early childhood development.  Of the 244 women in the study who had high levels of BPA in their urine during pregnancy, scientists found that their 3-year-old children were more likely to have behavioral issues such as hyperactivity, aggression and depression.  This was especially true for girls. BPA levels in children after birth were not found to be linked to these increased behavior issues, so it seems that this finding is particularly significant for pregnant women.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with other experts, has made the following suggestions to help reduce the level of BPA we are exposed to:

·         Choose stainless steel water bottles or glass water bottles.
·         Use glass containers in the microwave rather than plastic containers.  Heating up plastics increases the chances that BPA will be released into your food.
·         Cut back on buying and eating canned foods, which also may contain BPA.  Go for fresh fruits and vegetables instead!

~ Jessica

Resources:

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Reusable Bags...a storage place for bacteria!?!?!

A study recently published in Food Protection Trends by Dr. Charles Gerba, found that reusable shopping bags contain bacteria and 8 percent contained E. coli.  The bacteria grow when meat juices were placed in the bags, then kept in the trunks of cars—causing bacteria growth to increase tenfold. Plus, think about how many different things you store in the reusable bags…from those meats to unwashed fruits to sometimes even gym clothes!
But there’s good news: if you wash your reusable bags, you can help reduce bacteria by almost 99.9%. Easy as that! So for a couple tips:
-          Wash your bags regularly and dry them on high heat or in the sun, if possible, to kill germs.
-          Use bags for food only…or at least designate which is for food and which is for gym clothes!
When heard this news I was (a) surprised and (b) not really surprised. Kind of a mix of feelings, I know, but that’s truly how I reacted! I mean, I was surprised because I never even thought to think about how easily bacteria could accumulate in the reusable bags that I use for more than just groceries. And I was “not really surprised” because it makes total sense! I use my reusable bags like they are meant to be used- I reuse them and reuse them for groceries, carrying clothes, sometimes holding gym clothes, helping me move items from point A to point B, and so on.  They are great and multi-functional.  But now, I’m rethinking my reusable bag use and about to head home today and wash them all inside and out.  Pretty sure I don’t want E. coli or other bacteria in proximity any longer.


Thursday, October 6, 2011

ESP Launch Potluck!

On September 13, 2011 we lived our http://www.liveesp.com/ site! So to celebrate, we held an ESP Launch Potluck Party in our offices on Friday, September 15th! Everyone brought healthy and/or organic foods and drink for everyone to enjoy.  At our offices here in South Florida, we are always looking for a good excuse to have a potluck and launching ESP was the perfect opportunity. A lot of hard work was put into launching the site and we were so excited to celebrate!

Throughout the day we also had a couple contests.  First, we did an "Office Family Feud" game where I asked 15 questions to all our employees (it was lots of fun to answer and see what everyone else had to say!).  Then we also had a guessing game contest where everyone had to guess the number of pistachios in a glass container and the number of "mystery" items in a stainless steel container.  What I loved about the stainless steel container guessing game was that no one had any clue as to what was in it. I purposefully placed the jars behind a window so no one could pick it up and figure it out...so sneaky but so much more fun that way.  The best part was I also placed pistachios in there!  Some of the answers people gave me were hilarious.  Winners of each game got their choice of stainless steel bottles or glass water bottles.

Here are some pictures from our potluck.  Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the party!  Oh and I made sure to get the recipes of all our potluck food...which I plan on posting in our recipe section of the site for everyone to enjoy!









And now for the food :)


















Thanks for joining us for A Cup of ESP!
~ Hannah



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Eat This Not That ~ Summer Goodies!

Fair Foods

Cotton Candy or Caramel Apple?
Cotton candy! Cotton candy has about 220 calories and 0 grams of fat while the caramel apple has up to 365 calories and 6 grams of fat. Aside from lower calories and fat counts, cotton candy is much more fun to eat and a lot less sticky!

Gryo or Sausage and Peppers on a Roll?
Pick the gyro! A gryo has about 593 calories and 12 grams of fat while the sausage on a roll has 669 calories and 45 grams of fut. Plus, in a gryo you can add some healthy veggies like summer tomatoes and fresh lettuce.

It's Getting Hot out Here...

Very Berry Strawberry Ice Cream or Light Raspberry Chip Ice Cream Shake?
Both from Baskin Robbins, and honestly, the answer isn't that obvious! 5 ounces of strawberry ice cream has about 280 calories and a large shake has 1,160 calories.  Gee...sounds like you can have a bunch of ice cream scoops instead of that light shake!

Weekend Cookouts

Ground Sirloin or Turkey Burger?
While the turkey burger seems like the right choice, th eground sirloin actually comes in with slightly fewer calories and fat.  The turkey burger often requires a lot more ingredients to get the turkey to stick and taste better.

Movie Night 

Soft Pretzel + Bag of Sour Patch Kids or Large Buttered Popcorn?
Get double the goodies with a soft pretzel and sour patch kids...coming in with much fewer calories and fat than a tub of buttery popcorn.

Peanut M&Ms or Junior Mints? 
Pick the junior mints, which have fewer calories and fat grams. And fresher breath I presume!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Nachos or Slice of Pizza?
Pizza pizza! A slice of pizza give you portion control and has around 272 calories, 10 grams of fat.  On the other hand, a tray of nachos (um then there's the cheese!) has up to 1,101 calories and 59 grams of fat.
 

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Over the past 30 years, there has been a nearly 29% increase in diagnosis of pediatric cancer. This increase has resulted in pediatric cancer becoming the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children.  As the list of potential carcinogens continues to grow, we can only anticipate the rate of pediatric cancers to increase as well.  While cures are out there, one of the best ways to help prevent childhood cancer is to take preventative steps.  Here are a few steps you can take to help prevent cancer in children:
  1. Avoid pesticides.  Instead use non-toxic remedies around the house.  Also, removing shoes before you enter your home will help keep chemicals that end up on your shoes stay out.
  2. Use non-toxic products.  Read labels and look for more natural materials!
  3. Clean up indoor air with non-toxic products.  Try using plants to filter your air or window ventilation.
  4. Try to eat more organic and healthier.
  5. Avoid products made with plastic that contain harmful chemicals like BPA.  Use reusable glass or stainless steel instead.
Given this month is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we wanted fill you in on a couple ways you can help spread the word and give to the cause of fighting childhood cancer.

1. You can donate to Mira’s Movement, whose missions is to “increase public awareness of the incidence and impact of childhood cancer, to provide resources and support for families facing a pediatric cancer diagnosis, and to broaden support for increased federal funding of pediatric cancer and brain tumor research.”


2. This month, Hyundai is giving $200 from the sale of each vehicle in September to 68 hospitals and non-profit organizations in the form of “Hope Grants”.  Through Hyundai Hope on Wheels, Hyundai plans to donate $100,000 to each hospital and non-profit…totaling $6.8 million!  You can also donate directly through Hyundai Hope on Wheels.

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