I am pleased to invite you to visit my design studio and gift store Healthy Homes & Lifestyles at the new Lakeview Yoga and Wellness Center, 7800 NE Bothell Way #155, Kenmore, WA.

We are hosting an Open House to show off our new digs on Saturday June 7 from Noon – 3:00 PM. Festivities include food and drink, gift bags for the first 50 people and gift packages that will be raffled off to our guests. Kenmore Fitness is joining us in celebrating our move to the new facilities. I designed both spaces and although they are polar opposites in the style (Relaxing Spa versus High Energy weight lifting,) both are equally successful in creating a sense of space that reflects their customers values and preferences.

My obsession with locally made, healthy, sustainable and recycled materials had led me to provide these products for my clients. Let me introduce you to some of the offerings:

Univera products have been a part of my life for a few years now. Univera is a company that makes plant based supplements for your health. Their headquarters is in Seattle and they ship out of Lacey Washington. Of their many wonderful products I selected Xtra (for anti-oxidants), Regenicare and Regenifree (for body pain and mobility), Aloe (for moisturizing and healing cuts and burns) and Femme Vitale (for women my age).

Bio-Therapeutic Skin Care was created for professional aestheticians and we are lucky enough to be able to offer these products to the general public. Specifically formulated for maximizing the health of your skin, all of their products are paraben free (paraben preservatives are linked to cancer) as well as being locally manufactured.

Bio Green Clean is an extremely effective cleaning solution that is made of 100% pure ingredients such as amino acids, minerals, leafy green vegetables, etc and is so healthy that if you accidentally drank it, you would be fine. I have had professional cleaning services ask me where to purchase this cleaner because of its’ effectiveness and safety for use on all surfaces.

Bellmont Cabinets is a family owned company in Sumner Washington, and creates some of the finest cabinets I’ve seen. Their plant is extremely impressive with ‘just in time’ manufacturing which allows customization of cabinets without extra costs or wasted materials. They have a huge commitment to providing quality cabinets within a completely ‘green’ manufacturing plant which wastes not, protecting both the environment as well as their employees and customers.

Theo’s Chocolates – need I say more? Locally made, the Nibs are extremely high in anti-oxidants, in fact I never knew that anti-oxidants could be so enjoyable to eat!

I look forward to seeing and talking to every one of you! Come visit me at my new home! Sincerely, Christine

Toxins in our homes have been in discussion for several years. LEAD based paint is most certainly in 70% of the homes in Seattle (all homes built before 1978 are suspect). Even if the layer of lead based paint is five layers down, you are in danger of lead poisoning. When would you disturb a layer that old? When you remodel! Toxins enter the body either through our lungs or by accidental eating (a microgram of lead dust is enough to cause lead poisoning.) Do your children or grandchildren play with or suck on car keys? Keys contain lead. Even handling your keys and eating finger food can deliver a significant amount of lead into your mouth. The dangers of lead poisoning are many. LEAD is a highly toxic metal that can profoundly suppress immunity. Lead poses significant health risk for adults but are particularly dangerous for children causing damage to the brain and central nervous system, can cause decreased intelligence, reading and learning difficulties, behavioral problems and hyperactivity. This damage can be irreversible, affecting children throughout their lives.

The bottom line is that your house can be dangerous to your health. The double bottom line is that some of the items we purposely put in our body also contain lead. Things like…hmm… Vitamin supplements!

Surprisingly, one of the biggest sources of lead in your life (assuming you are not remodeling a home built before 1978) may be your nutritional supplements. Lead contamination in calcium supplements has been a significant problem, even though an FDA warning on this issue was published in 1981.**** Since then, studies have confirmed that many forms of calcium still contain lead in amounts that exceed EPA safety guidelines. Since many people (including children) are taking large doses of calcium, this is a matter of concern. Supplements that we TRUST to put in our body may be making us SICK. In 1993 researchers tested 70 brands of calcium supplements and found high levels of LEAD in a significant percentage.

How can you tell if your supplement contains high amounts of lead? Ask for ‘certified heavy-metal assay’ from the manufacturer. If they can’t give it to you switch to a company that will.

This sounds nuts but the truth is that there are different levels of QUALITY in vitamins and nutritional supplements. They are not all alike. Stephen Cherniske, CSO of Univera remarks, 'The bottle that says Calcium is not the same as the bottle next to it that says Calcium. We exasperate the problem because we want ‘good deals’ and look for the cheapest brand at the cheapest price. Is that the way to make sure you put healthy supplements into your body? NO! Think about it, if it takes more time to keep toxins out, if it costs more money for research to show the benefits of a product, if it costs more money to purchase purer base materials, then it will cost more.'

Why would companies knowingly produce and sell low quality products with high levels of LEAD to the general public? Because THEY CAN, and they are betting that you will buy it.