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Part 1: Is Water Draining Your Bank Account?

27 Feb

Bottled water is something of a mystery to me.  A single 16.9 oz. bottle of water sells for approximately  $1.50 to $2.00 and if you go to the movies that price doubles.  A study by the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security shows that it requires 2,000 times more energy to produce a liter of bottled water, compared to a liter of tap water. The study also went on to show that an estimated extra 32 to 54 million barrels of oil are consumed every year to produce the plastic to bottle the water and then distribute it across the country.  This all adds to the increased cost of water that gets, bottled, perfectly packaged and then sold to the consumer.  This also may explain why a natural resource that should only cost pennies to the gallon, is being sold by the ounce for outrageously high prices.

In a previous post, I spoke about the importance of drinking 3 liters of water per day for health.  Let’s say you were able to find a case water for $6.99 (that’s 24 bottles per case,16.9 fl oz. or .5 liter per bottle). If one person were to consistently drink 3 liters of water per day, it would cost you $0.58 for 1 litter and $1.75 for 3 liters each day.  Seems like a good deal, right? WRONG. At $1.75/day for water, one individual would be spending on average $638.75 each year on water! But wait, there is more, if you are a family of 4, you are spending a whopping $2,555 on water a year for your family.  So what can you do? The answer is simple…stop buying bottled water. Instead, get a high quality water filter for your kitchen sink and a reusable water bottle.

Premium 10 Stage Water Filter

New Wave Enviro makes  a Premium 10 Stage Water Filter that easily hooks up to your kitchen sink.  You can keep the filter on your kitchen counter for clean water to both drink and wash your produce.  This filter retails for $125 and will provide you with 1,500 gallons of clean filtered drinking water for up to 18 months before the filter needs to be replaced.  That is enough drinking water for a family of 4 and a huge financial savings! When it is time to replace the filter the company will send you a reminder to buy a replacement cartridge. You can buy the water filter online or at store near you.

Under Sink Mount for Water Filter

If you prefer, you can buy a conversion kit and mount it under the sink.  If you are handy you could install this yourself otherwise the plumber can do a one time installation for you.

Stay tuned for Part 2 on why to not drink bottled water and why it may be harmful to your health!

Find your truth.

Perfume May Be Making You Sick

13 Feb

Toxic chemicals are not listed in Perfume and Cologne

You love the way your perfume or cologne smells, your favorite celebrity wears and endorses it, but do you actually know what is inside the beautiful bottle that is packaged so perfectly?  The fragrance industry uses over 900 synthetic ingredients that are identified as toxic.  Even worse, the makers are not required by law to list the ingredients they use on their labels because of a loophole in the Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1973 that excludes fragrances because of “trade secret” considerations.

Common Side Effects

Studies have shown that many of the popular brands don’t list the harmful ingredients that are linked to hormone disruptions, reproductive toxicity, sperm damage, allergy problems, skin rashes, respiratory problems like asthma/wheezing, liver damage and carcinogens which may cause cancer.  The perfume or cologne is sprayed directly on the skin, which is a direct line into the bloodstream or it is inhaled when sprayed on the skin, causing many of the side effects listed. This is also the reason people get headaches from perfume.  If you smell a fresh flower, it will most likely not result in a headache but when you smell a synthetic fragrance that is supposed to smell like a flower, there can be over 40 toxic ingredients that you inhale.

Ethanol is Poisonous

Most perfumes use alcohol as the base carrier for the scent, denatured alcohol to be exact, which is another way of saying Ethanol. Ethanol that has been denatured prevents its use as a beverage, so you can’t drink it! That being said ethanol is still highly toxic and can’t be made non-poisonous. It is a highly flammable liquid and vapor, if you flip over your perfume bottle you should see a little warning.  Despite its poisonous nature, it is still used in perfume and cologne even though it is harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin. It affects the central nervous system, causes irritation to the skin, eyes and respiratory tract and may affect the liver, blood, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and reproductive system. These are effects from just one ingredient in perfume and cologne!

you do?

Use a perfume or fragrance made from natural sources, such as essential oils, botanical oils and flower water.  Essential oils are derived from plants and have therapeutic benefits, so they not only smell good but also can have wonderful effects on your mental, emotional, spiritual and physiological health. These fragrances will use plant-based oils as the base carrier instead of poisonous denatured alcohol.  Essential oils should not be placed directly on the skin without a base carrier oil.  Also, many popular perfumes now come in roller ball bottles, these are not to be confused with natural plant-based oils perfumes, as they still have alcohol in them. If you see the word alcohol listed in the ingredients of the perfume, chances are there are harmful toxins inside the bottle and steer clear!

Brands to try

Lavanila Forever Fragrance Oil

Lavanila Forever Fragrance Oil is great to try and its made purely from botanical oils.  They also make perfume spray with alcohol derived from organic sugar cane, so there are no petrochemicals that will be harmrful to your health! You can buy them online or at Sephora.

Pacifica Perfume Spray

Pacifica is another great brand that is cruelty free and made with no harmful chemicals.  Their perfume spray has alcohol that is derived from corn and is gluten free.  They also make a great solid perfume that comes in a tin and has a base carrier of coconut wax and organic soy. They have several different scents to try! You can buy them online or at most Whole Foods Markets.

Lakshmi NYC The Goddess Line

These perfume oils smell wonderful and use natural plant based oils as the base carrier!  You can buy them online or can find a complete list of stores on their website. One of my favorites!

Auric Blends Essential Oil Perfume

Auric Blends naturals come in 4 different scents and use jojoba oil and vitamin e oil as the base carrier, so they will moisturize the skin as well! You can buy them online or at most Whole Foods Markets.

Strange Invisible Perfume

Strange Invisible Perfumes are a beautiful fragrance that use organic grape alcohol (beverage-grade) as a base carrier.  The fragrances are organic, pesticide free and made from essential oils.  They are made in both Pure Perfume and Eaux de Parfum.  Even with a name like that, this fragrance is anything but strange!

Find your truth.

Tasty Tuesdays: Basil Lime-Lemonade

7 Feb

All the ingredients in the Vitamix Container

Enjoy a frosty drink!

Basil Lime-Lemonade is loaded with antioxidants vitamin A, Vitamin K and Vitamin C to neutralize any free radicals that can damage healthy cells and strengthen your immune system. The oil in the basil leaf has  anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, so it not only tastes good but will add to your health. I always recommend using organic ingredients to steer clear from fruits with pesticides.  For this recipe I used the Vitamix Blender, it has so many capabilities (purée, blend, dice, chop, make hot soups, chop nuts etc.), it blows away anything else I have ever used.  That’s one less piece of equipment you’ll need, it saves counter space and money! Enjoy!

PREPARATION: 5 MINUTES

PROCESSING TIME: 1 1/2 MINUTES

YIELDS: 5 CUPS

RECIPE

1 lemon, peeled, halved, seeded

1 lime, peeled, halved

1/4 cup of agave or sweetener of choice

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

2-3 cups of ice cubes

  1. Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid.
  2. Select Variable 1.
  3. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.
  4. Blend for 1 1/2 minutes, using the tamper to press ingredients into the blades.
  5. DRINK AND ENJOY!

Could Gluten Be Making You Sick and Tired?

5 Feb

Artwork by Amanda Kosarin

For most of my life I thought it as normal to have intense stomach pain, bloating and pressure after you eat a meal.  It had been that way as long as I could remember, that I couldn’t recall a time where I ate a meal and didn’t have stomach pain.  Then three years ago I saw a documentary called Food Matters and at the same time was researching how to naturally improve your health.  I began reading about common allergens and how you don’t have to have a full-blown allergy to a food for it not to agree with your body.  You can have a sensitivity or intolerance and not even know it because a blood test will only reveal if you have an allergy.  I heard of people being allergic to nuts or dairy, but I was surprised when I saw wheat as one of the top seven allergens.

I immediately went through the food pantry looking at the back label for food ingredients and wheat and gluten were in EVERYTHING! Gluten is the protein that is found in wheat, barley and rye.  It is what gives bread its spongy texture.  Wheat is a major allergen and surprisingly can be found in foods other than bread, such as sauces, soups and condiments. I didn’t have health insurance at the time so it was going to cost a lot of money to get tested to see if I was Celiac, which is what they call an allergy to Gluten.  It was a blessing as it forced me to take my health into my own hands.

Without hesitation I started an elimination diet to see how I would feel.  An elimination diet is exactly what it sounds like; taking a certain food out of your diet for at least two weeks, to find what effect removing it has on your body. After the two weeks, you reintroduce the food you have eliminated back into your diet for one day.  On that first day you eat the food one to three times throughout the day and then wait to see if any of your symptoms return in the next few days to follow.  It may be  helpful to take note of how you are feeling by keeping a food journal.

I started the elimination diet with wheat and gluten and was amazed at the results!  For the first time in my life I was able to eat a meal and not feel awful afterwards.  I was waiting for the stomach pain, pressure and bloating to come back, but it didn’t.  I was shocked. I got my energy back and I was no longer waking up exhausted. A doctor never told me that I am celiac or that I have gluten intolerance because I never had testing done.  I listened to my body and know that I feel better when I avoid wheat and gluten.  Even more so, you can go to a doctor and be told you are negative for celiac but still have gluten intolerance or sensitivity because the only way to find that out is through an elimination diet.  There are no shortcuts to health!

But generally speaking some of the symptoms of Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease are the following:

  1. Gastrointestinal problems (pain, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea)
  2. Eczema
  3. Skin Problems
  4. Iron- deficiency anemia
  5. Headaches
  6. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  7. Exhaustion
  8. Depression
  9. Irritability
  10. Aching joints

The symptoms vary and you can have more than one or you can have symptoms that are not listed here.  If you have several of the symptoms listed above you may want to consider having an allergy test done.  Either way, if you discover you have an allergy or sensitivity, it will require that you eliminate the food that is causing your discomfort.  You are what you eat. Food Matters!

Find your truth.

The Sunshine Vitamin

3 Feb

Artwork by Amanda Kosarin

Vitamin D3.  What is it? 

We have all heard it mentioned at one point, but why is it so important? It’s made naturally in the body by spending time in sunlight, specifically exposure to the UVB rays.  Vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol, is produced in large quantities in the skin in response to full body exposure to the summer sun.  Vitamin D3 versus Vitamin D is the most active and bioavailable form of the nutrient, meaning the body can better absorb it and USE it!  Vitamin D3 specifically boosts the immune system and helps protect against disease. There is a great deal of research that has indicated a direct relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and disease.

How to get it?

Exposure to sunlight! Specifically bare skin needs to be exposed to the sun’s UVB rays.  The time of day, geographical location, season and skin pigmentation are all factors in Vitamin D3 production.  But generally, you need to be in the sun with bare skin (no sun block) for 5 to 15 minutes during the sun’s peak hours of 10am to 2pm so you can make the most Vitamin D3.  The darker the skin pigmentation the more sun exposure is needed to make enough Vitamin D3.  Darker skin has more melanin, which protects the skin from damage by blocking out ultraviolet exposure, thus allowing less UV to enter the body and subsequently making less Vitamin D3.  Also, depending on the climate you live in, the body is not making Vitamin D3 during the winter months because the atmosphere is blocking the sun’s UVB rays.  But rest assured there are alternatives.  I had the opportunity to talk with David Wolfe, one of the world’s leading authorities on health and nutrition and he recommended a D3 Serum by Premier Research Labs.

Vitamin D3 Deficiency

One problem today is that doctors and media have scared everyone by linking sun exposure to cancer, so now people spend less and less time in the sun or when the do they load on the sunscreen.  Did you know that sunscreen with an SPF as low as 8 can block up to 95% of the Vitamin D production?  Studies have shown that Vitamin D3 deficiency can manifest in the body as Chronic Pain, Frequent Infections, Autoimmune Disorders, Inflammation, ADHD, Osteoporosis, Cancer, Heart Disease, Asthma, Childhood Obesity, Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome, Influenza, Fibromyalgia, Hypertension and High Cholesterol, Depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Tooth Decay…and the list goes on. If you are not making Vitamin D3 through proper sun exposure or receiving in through supplements, chances are that you are Vitamin D deficient.  If you want to know for sure though, you can have your doctor perform a 25-hydroxyvitamin D Test, which is a blood test.  Make sure when asking for the results that you request the exact number value or a hardcopy of the results.  This is because sometimes the results will say your values are “normal” or “within range” when in fact they are inadequate and causing you to be deficient.

The Benefits of Vitamin D3

Now that we know there is a link between Vitamin D3 deficiency and a myriad of diseases, one can assume that increasing Vitamin D3 will have great benefits on your health.  Increased levels of Vitamin D3 can improve your autoimmune health by fighting disease and illness.  It also benefits cellular health, bone health, organ health, brain health, heart health, nerve function, protects against depression and regulates hormones.

Find your truth.

 

Tasty Tuesdays: Jazzed up Juice!

31 Jan

All the ingredients in the Vitamix container

Fresh juice ready to drink!

Jazzed up Juice is loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and resveratrol, so it not only tastes good but will add to your health. I always recommend using organic ingredients to steer clear from fruits with pesticides.  For this recipe I used the Vitamix Blender, it has so many capabilities (purée, blend, dice, chop, make hot soups, chop nuts etc.), it blows away anything else I have ever used.  That’s one less piece of equipment you’ll need, it saves counter space and money! Enjoy!

PREPARATION: 5 MINUTES

PROCESSING: 1 MINUTE

YIELDS: 4 CUPS

RECIPE

1 cup blueberries

1 cup strawberries

1 cup green grapes

1 medium orange

1/2 cup ice cubes

  1. Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure the lid. (you can make this in any high-speed blender)
  2. Select Variable 1.
  3. Turn the machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.
  4. Blend for 1 minute or until desired consistency is reached.
  5. DRINK AND ENJOY!


The Power of Hunger

29 Jan

photo: Cath Young

I saw this image and I began to reflect on the past, searching for moments to see if I was ever hungry and as a result became irritable.  Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t try to fool myself into thinking that has never happened to me. It is in those moments of hunger, when you can’t think about anything else but eating and your mood turns crabby to everyone you encounter, that your instinctual need for survival kicks in. It is no longer your fault that everything you have practiced about more kindness, more awareness and more happiness flies out the door faster than a shopper on Black Friday. Or is it?  If we know that every time we get over hungry, our alter ego comes out and snaps at everyone around us, then why would we wait so long to eat in the first place or even worse, skip a meal?  My guess is time.  We often say we don’t have enough of it, so we unconsciously lie to ourselves and say whatever we are doing is more important than food.  That is until that moment of being over hungry kicks in and our happiness takes second place to our grumpy alter ego that wants food.

Maybe eating 5 to 6 small meals a day is really less about your metabolism and more about maintaining your positive state and feeling good! Whenever you find yourself skipping a meal or putting off eating until later because you’re not hungry, remember the last time you got into a bad mood because you felt like you were starving and know that it can be prevented.  Keep snacks with you and eat often. Life is full of many challenges and most of us can find plenty of reasons to get frustrated, don’t let eating be one of them!

Find your truth.

 

You + Water = Health

25 Jan

Without Water

With Water

We are still in the beginning of the New Year with lots of momentum for our resolutions, right?  Many of us have the same resolution year after year and we know at the stroke of midnight on December 31 each year we resolve that the New Year ahead will be it…we will finally lose weight and get healthy.  January rolls in and we find ourselves in the gym or at yoga or going for a jog.  For some people that lasts a few weeks and others a few months, but we eventually let the stresses and challenges of life take precedence over our health.  Did you know that there is something even easier than going to the gym that you can do to increase your health?  You have actually heard it before and it doesn’t cost a lot!  It is to drink water.  How much exactly will vary, but generally speaking, for weight loss you need about 96 oz, which is equal to 3 liters.  Most of us know what happens to a plant if it doesn’t get water, it will start to turn shades of brown, shrivel up and die.  Now imagine what will happen if we don’t drink water!  You got it…It’s the same reason you can survive for a short time without food but you can’t survive for more than a few days without water. Knowing that, you would think we would make drinking water a priority, yet most of us wake up and have coffee and then drink soda throughout the day, both of which dehydrate us. But here’s the catch, once you realize you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated.  Water is essential to our health! Drink Water.

Find your truth.

 

Tastes like Juice!

24 Jan

All of the ingredients in the Vitamix container

Fresh Juice ready to drink

Don’t be fooled by the color.  Just because it is green doesn’t mean it tastes like a lawn mower.  I have always loved making smoothies, but thanks to my new Vitamix Blender I can also make fresh juices. What’s great about fresh juice this way vs. pressing you own with a juicer is that you get all the fiber in the skins, so nothing gets wasted and you get tons of nutrients.  Juice is bioavailable, meaning that the body can easily absorb the nutrients without having to first digest the food.  Since everything is raw and unprocessed, the chemical makeup of the food is not altered by heating or cooking.  This is great because you can put in vegetables that you might not normally eat  or only eat if they are cooked in oil/butter and get all the vitamins and nutrients to nurture your body and contribute to your optimal health.

I always recommend using organic ingredients to steer clear from fruits and veggies with pesticides.  For this recipe I used the Vitamix Blender, it has so many capabilities (puree, blend, dice, chop, make hot soups, chop nuts etc.), it blows away anything else I have ever used.  That’s one less piece of equipment you’ll need, it saves counter space and money! Enjoy!

PREPARATION: 5 MINUTES

PROCESSING: 1 MINUTE

YIELDS: 2 CUPS

RECIPE

1/2 cup of coconut water (or filtered water)

1 cup of green grapes

1/4 cup cucumber, peeled,chopped

1/2 kiwi, peeled

1/2 medium apple, halved (I used a Gala apple)

3/4 cup chopped fresh broccoli

1/2-inch-thick slice lemon, peeled, seeded

1/2 cup ice cubes

  1. 1. Place all the ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid. (you can make this in any high-speed blender.)
  2. Select Variable 1
  3. Turn on Machine and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to high.
  4. Blend for 1 minute or until desired consistency is reached.