BBA Kicks Off New Year with Focus on Health
Jan 30, 2015 07:00AM ● By Pamela Johnson
Marijayne Stojanowski, independent rep. for Ava Anderson Non Toxic
story & photos by Pamela Johnson, Bulletin Publisher
The Bellingham Business Association (BBA) kicked off 2015 with a dinner meeting at Twelve Restaurant, focusing on personal improvement goals for the new year, specifically those related to health. The first speaker was Marijayne (“MJ”) Stojanowski (pictured above), a sales rep for Ava Anderson Non Toxic; the second was Tim Murzycki, doctor of chiropractic and owner of Cornerstone Family Chiropractic.
Through a family friend, she located a manufacturer with research facilities that could develop and produce products to her standards. It was a great challenge, but with her vision and persistence she succeeded, and her personal-care company was launched in December 2009. Today, the Ava Anderson Non Toxic product line has grown from a six-piece avaSKIN® set to include products for skin care, cosmetics, hair care, body care, baby care, sun care, pet care, scents, bug spray and home-cleaning products.
According to Marijayne (pictured right), Ava Anderson Non Toxic feels that it is their responsibility and mission to educate consumers about ingredient information that is harmful to you, but can still be included in your personal and home products, and she did just that at the meeting. She began by asking some pointed questions, such as “Does anyone know how many toxic chemicals are banned in Europe?” (Answer: 1,371) “What about in the United States?” (Answer: 11). She explained that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate the personal-care products industry at all, and hopes that cosmetic companies will do their due diligence and issue safe products (perhaps the equivalent of asking the wolf to guard the hen house?). She noted that the words “safe,” “organic” and “natural” on product labels do not mean the products don’t contain any toxic chemicals.
Stojanowski shared some other rather startling information:
Stowjanowski welcomed any interested BBA members to host a party. (She gave away a gift basket of products, which, in the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that yours truly won! I’ll let you know how I like them after I’ve used them.)
Anyone interested in learning more about Ava Anderson Non Toxic products should contact Stojanowski at [email protected] or 774-571-0765.
Next up was Dr. Tim Murzycki (pictured above), a dynamic speaker who began by agreeing completely with Stojanowski’s presentation. He also indicated that he and his family use Ava Anderson Non Toxic products. He went on to talk about how the stress and inactivity in our everyday lives is playing a major role on the declining health of our families.
He noted that those in the business world are recognized as “business athletes” and as such, are evaluated on their available energy for work. Therefore, stress affects business owners and the status of their business. “When stress hormones are released, the body enters a fight-or-flight status. The longer this is maintained, the longer the overall health of the person suffers. Stress is linked to the major causes of death--cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes. What is staggering to think about is that all of this can be happening without any pain, symptoms, or conscious awareness.”
Dr. Murzycki said that chronic, slow- growing problems within one’s health are more dangerous than something temporary and acute. “In a society where we are faced with so many industrial stressors in how we think, how we eat, and how we move in relation to our environment, a huge burden is placed on our body’s ability to adapt. He spoke about common forms of everyday stress not commonly thought of, and the necessity of learning how to manage every stress and take control of health through lifestyle, including chemicals, nutrition, movement, sleep and the nervous system.
He also emphasized the dangers of inactivity. “Our lifestyles have become largely sedentary, where not just exercise but motion in general has become very limited. Studies show that on average 64 hours a week are spent sitting. But your mind-body design requires movement, and it is easy to see the enormous amount of stress placed on our overall bodily functions from excessive and toxic sitting. Risks for chronic health conditions are increased, learning pathways in the brain are inhibited and social health is affected. The musculoskeletal system as it relates to your brain and nervous system will adopt a very poor posture and become deconditioned. This will directly decay the function of your respiratory, heart and digestive systems.”
According to Dr. Murzycki, an article from the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed the comparison that while each cigarette smoked will take 11 minutes off your life, sitting for one hour while watching TV will remove 22 minutes from your life. And depending upon the source, it has been calculated that we sit on average between 4.5 to 10 hours a day. We all know cigarettes are bad. Now compare excessive sitting to the standard of cigarettes, and you can see where the axiom ‘sitting is the new smoking’ came from.”
He summarized: “Getting any chronic spinal problems evaluated can help take care of stress on the body before the issue becomes much bigger, helping a person get back to his/her life sooner--this is where Chiropractic truly shines!”
Dr. Murzycki noted that he enjoys talking to businesses and other groups regarding stress and health; anyone interested in having him speak, or wishing to set up a chiropractic appointment may call his office at 774-847-7474. Cornerstone Family Chiropractic (www.CornerstoneFamChiro.com) is located in Bellingham center, in the Plaza at Bellingham Commons, 15 N. Main St./Rte. 126.
For more information on the BBA or to attend the meeting, contact BBA secretary/treasurer Sue Grady at [email protected].
The Bellingham Business Association (BBA) kicked off 2015 with a dinner meeting at Twelve Restaurant, focusing on personal improvement goals for the new year, specifically those related to health. The first speaker was Marijayne (“MJ”) Stojanowski (pictured above), a sales rep for Ava Anderson Non Toxic; the second was Tim Murzycki, doctor of chiropractic and owner of Cornerstone Family Chiropractic.
Dangers of Toxins
By now many have heard the story of Ava Anderson, who, at age 14, discovered the problem of chemicals in personal-care products and their hazardous health effects. The more she researched, the more concerned she became as she realized that the market is flooded with “organic,” “natural,” “safe” and “pure” products, yet there are almost always toxic ingredients included as well. After throwing out most of her products, as well as her mother’s and grandmother’s, she still had nothing “Ava Approved” to replace them with, or to recommend, and realized that she needed to create her own products.Through a family friend, she located a manufacturer with research facilities that could develop and produce products to her standards. It was a great challenge, but with her vision and persistence she succeeded, and her personal-care company was launched in December 2009. Today, the Ava Anderson Non Toxic product line has grown from a six-piece avaSKIN® set to include products for skin care, cosmetics, hair care, body care, baby care, sun care, pet care, scents, bug spray and home-cleaning products.
According to Marijayne (pictured right), Ava Anderson Non Toxic feels that it is their responsibility and mission to educate consumers about ingredient information that is harmful to you, but can still be included in your personal and home products, and she did just that at the meeting. She began by asking some pointed questions, such as “Does anyone know how many toxic chemicals are banned in Europe?” (Answer: 1,371) “What about in the United States?” (Answer: 11). She explained that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate the personal-care products industry at all, and hopes that cosmetic companies will do their due diligence and issue safe products (perhaps the equivalent of asking the wolf to guard the hen house?). She noted that the words “safe,” “organic” and “natural” on product labels do not mean the products don’t contain any toxic chemicals.
Stojanowski shared some other rather startling information:
- One in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will get cancer in their lifetime; 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys are identified with autism spectrum disorder in the US; Alzheimer’s is up 500% in the past 20 years; research has shown links between all of these conditions and toxic chemicals.
- According to the President’s Cancer Panel, only 10% of cancer is genetic and 90% is caused by environmental factors.
- Your personal- and home-care products (from shampoo to antibacterial wipes to makeup) most likely contain carcinogenic ingredients, neurotoxins, endocrine (gland) disruptors and allergens that could be downright hazardous to your health.
Stowjanowski welcomed any interested BBA members to host a party. (She gave away a gift basket of products, which, in the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that yours truly won! I’ll let you know how I like them after I’ve used them.)
Anyone interested in learning more about Ava Anderson Non Toxic products should contact Stojanowski at [email protected] or 774-571-0765.
Beware of Stress and Inactivity
He noted that those in the business world are recognized as “business athletes” and as such, are evaluated on their available energy for work. Therefore, stress affects business owners and the status of their business. “When stress hormones are released, the body enters a fight-or-flight status. The longer this is maintained, the longer the overall health of the person suffers. Stress is linked to the major causes of death--cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes. What is staggering to think about is that all of this can be happening without any pain, symptoms, or conscious awareness.”
Dr. Murzycki said that chronic, slow- growing problems within one’s health are more dangerous than something temporary and acute. “In a society where we are faced with so many industrial stressors in how we think, how we eat, and how we move in relation to our environment, a huge burden is placed on our body’s ability to adapt. He spoke about common forms of everyday stress not commonly thought of, and the necessity of learning how to manage every stress and take control of health through lifestyle, including chemicals, nutrition, movement, sleep and the nervous system.
He also emphasized the dangers of inactivity. “Our lifestyles have become largely sedentary, where not just exercise but motion in general has become very limited. Studies show that on average 64 hours a week are spent sitting. But your mind-body design requires movement, and it is easy to see the enormous amount of stress placed on our overall bodily functions from excessive and toxic sitting. Risks for chronic health conditions are increased, learning pathways in the brain are inhibited and social health is affected. The musculoskeletal system as it relates to your brain and nervous system will adopt a very poor posture and become deconditioned. This will directly decay the function of your respiratory, heart and digestive systems.”
According to Dr. Murzycki, an article from the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed the comparison that while each cigarette smoked will take 11 minutes off your life, sitting for one hour while watching TV will remove 22 minutes from your life. And depending upon the source, it has been calculated that we sit on average between 4.5 to 10 hours a day. We all know cigarettes are bad. Now compare excessive sitting to the standard of cigarettes, and you can see where the axiom ‘sitting is the new smoking’ came from.”
He summarized: “Getting any chronic spinal problems evaluated can help take care of stress on the body before the issue becomes much bigger, helping a person get back to his/her life sooner--this is where Chiropractic truly shines!”
Dr. Murzycki noted that he enjoys talking to businesses and other groups regarding stress and health; anyone interested in having him speak, or wishing to set up a chiropractic appointment may call his office at 774-847-7474. Cornerstone Family Chiropractic (www.CornerstoneFamChiro.com) is located in Bellingham center, in the Plaza at Bellingham Commons, 15 N. Main St./Rte. 126.
Next Up: Marketing & Development
The next meeting of the Bellingham Business Association will be held on Feb. 11, at Lowell’s Restaurant, from 6 to 8 p.m.; the guest speaker will be Alan Wheelock of Jones River Consulting. The topic of his talk is “Know your Adversary: the New Negotating Playbook.”For more information on the BBA or to attend the meeting, contact BBA secretary/treasurer Sue Grady at [email protected].
