One venture into a natural foods store, and you can’t help but notice the hosts of functional beverages in the marketplace. Kombucha (personal favorite), coconut water, chia drinks, protein shakes, and on and on and on. I have always been … Continue reading
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Ah, those pearly whites. We brush, we floss, we visit the dentist. All for shimmering chompers and healthy gums. The science is clear: healthy teeth and gums are a direct reflection of the health of the rest of the body. So to stave off gingivitis and cavities, we do what we have to to maintain oral equilibrium. I would venture to bet that when you were a youngster, and you hopped into the over-sized dentist chair, mouth open wide and eyes blinded by the light looming over your head, you often received a fluoride treatment. And of course, why wouldn’t you? Fluoride builds strong teeth, right? And I bet you still brush with a toothpaste that contains fluoride, too? Maybe even a mouth rinse? All because we’ve been taught over and over again that it is VITAL for the health and strength of our teeth.
Perhaps its time to take a look at the lore behind fluoride and see how important it really is to supplement with it in toothpastes and rinses. You may be getting far more fluoride than you bargained for…
Let’s take a look:
Not only is fluoride found in the toothpaste you use everyday to stave off cavities, but since the 1940′s it can also be found in your drinking water. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2006, 61.5 percent of American’s were drinking fluoridated water. While all other additives in drinking water are present to treat and purify the water, fluoride is the only one added for medicinal purposes.
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The problem with this is multi-fold. First, ingesting synthesized fluoride (read: lab-produced rather than naturally occurring) has minimal impact on the oral environment. Rather, it is topical application that promotes dental health. So the levels found in everyday drinking water do very little in the way of fluoride supplementation. Instead, once ingested excess fluoride consumption has been linked to depression, weight gain, lessened intellectual capacity, and heart disease. The majority of these side effects, however, tend to be the ones that effect intellectual ability. Human studies conducted in several countries, including China and India, have verified the claim that excess fluoride leads to diminished intelligence and impaired development. Ingested fluoride has also been found by the U.S. National Research Council to effect endocrine function, which can contribute to disorders of the thyroid.
The use of fluoride-containing rinses and pastes in addition to the drinking water then compounds this supplementation, leading to unhealthy levels of ingestion and the risk of any of these side effects and possible fluoride poisoning. Children are especially vulnerable to this, as their smaller bodies can’t handle as much fluoride. In addition, the fundamental growth occurring at younger ages makes the risk of intellectual damage that much greater. Yikes!
But relax! There is an easy solution. Switch to rinses and toothpastes that do not contain fluoride: Tom’s of Maine has several varieties (though they are not ALL fluoride-free), VitaMyr, Jason’s, etc. And as far as tap water is concerned, a standard carbon filter (either on the tap or in a pitcher) will do the trick!
And because fluoride is a natural compound, it is often found in produce and other foods that obtain their nutrients from the ground. With a varied, healthy diet, all that is needed for healthy teeth should be supplied by your food! So eat up and be well!
O blog, how I’ve missed you. I missed you at Thanksgiving, I missed you during the busy Christmas-shopping season, and I nearly missed you on Christmas! But not to fret. I’m back!
By now, I’m sure everyone has most, if not all, of their holiday shopping done. The Christmas menu is probably receiving its final touches, and the presents are all wrapped under the tree. Perhaps you have travel plans, or instead are having family and friends over to your own house to marvel on Christmas morning. Undoubtedly, you’ve gone to Christmas gatherings already, whether with friends or with work. Busy, Busy, Busy.
So what you need now is not some updated recipe to wow your guests with. You need no gift ideas or eco-wrapping tips. Right about now, I’m guessing you need to take care of yourself. The holiday season is a time of over-indulgence and, let’s face it, stress. The food is rich and decadent, and the pressures of gift-giving and bank-breaking can wear you down. And, as it gets colder out, people move indoors for most of their day. All of this leads to wear on the body, and, if you’re not careful, a compromised immune system. The key, now, is to take care of yourself and get stressors in check so that on Christmas morning you can wake up rested and calm instead of sick and weary.
Here are some tips on how to do just that:
Nutrition:
Supplements:
Exercise:
Find an Outlet:
Remember to enjoy the time you get to spend with friends and family, and let go of whatever idea of perfection you have in mind. A perfect holiday is one where you are surrounded by loved ones. No one will remember 5 years from now the cookies you spent hours decorating, but they will remember the quality time spent with you.
Have a healthy and happy Christmas!
I’m sure by now you’ve heard of Vitamin D3. Or perhaps you’ve only heard of it as Vitamin D. Also called the sunshine vitamin, D3 is created by the body from the absorption of sunlight through the skin. In today’s sun-phobic society, where sun-screens and blocks halt the absorption of any rays, many Americans are deficient in D. This vitamin is vital in so many body processes. I surfed on over to WebMD to see what they had to say about vitamin D. According to the site, here are just a FEW of the benefits and uses in the body:
Vitamin D is used for preventing and treating rickets, a disease that is caused by not having enough vitamin D. Vitamin D is also used for treating weak bones (osteoporosis), bone pain (osteomalacia), bone loss in people with a condition called hyperparathyroidism, and an inherited disease (osteogenesis imperfecta) in which the bones are especially brittle and easily broken. It is also used for preventing falls and fractures in people at risk for osteoporosis, and preventing low calcium and bone loss (renal osteodystrophy) in people with kidney failure.
Vitamin D is used for conditions of the heart and blood vessels, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It is also used for diabetes, obesity, muscle weakness,multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, bronchitis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and tooth and gum disease.
Image by Lintilla via Flickr
Important, right? But here’s the thing: Most Vitamin D Supplements on the market nowadays are just a plain ol’ form of Vitamin D, which is vitamin D2, produced by plants, etc. The form of D created by natural processes in the human body is D3, and so to utilize D2, it must be broken down into new substances and changed by the body into its useful form. Some of the substances D2 are broken down into, however, can be harmful to the body, so a D3 supplement is imperative.
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Since D3 is produced in the body of humans, and of course other animals, D3 supplements have to come from animal sources. These can be tricky waters for vegetarians to navigate, especially in northern states like New England, where a D3 supplement is increasingly important during the winter months. Not to fear, though! There are vegetarian sources (not vegan, mind you) of D3. Lanolin, an oil found on the wool of sheep, is a rich source of D3. Coming from a reputable, kind company, a Lanolin based D3 supplement is a great option for vegetarians or animal lovers. A great whole foods, vegetarian company with just such an option is MegaFood, a NH based company that ROCKS! (More on them later!)
I hope you will look into a D3 supplement for this coming fall/winter season! The benefits of vitamin D are numerous, and will help protect you from the innumerable colds you are bound to run into!
Blue-Green Algae from a volcanic-enriched lake. That’s right. Lake algae. Why, exactly, does this deserve its very own supplement-of-the-week blog? Well, for starters, E3Live is a fresh-frozen algae that is a powerhouse of nutrients and vital minerals. It is harvested from Klamath Lake in Oregon, a lake rich in nutrients from volcanic springs and snow-melt from surrounding mountains.
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The algae is called Aphanizomenon flos-aqaue, or AFA for short.
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It is packed with more chlorophyll than wheatgrass, 80% bioavailable amino acids, 14 vitamins (most prevelantly B2 and B6), trace minerals, and is an excellent (and vegetarian) source of EFA’s, or Essential Fatty Acids – Omega’s 3 and 6. Because this algae is a nutrient and vitamin concentrated food, it has the ability to increase athletic strength and endurance, improve the immune system, increase energy, improve memory, and promote natural weight loss, among others.
Because E3Live is frozen, it must be partially thawed before use so that a portion can be poured off and kept refrigerated for the week. The bottle must then be frozen to maintain peak nutrition. It is recommended to be taken in the morning as a fresh start to the day and prior to physical exertion for athletes. It can be added to juice, blended into a smoothie, frozen into individual ice cubes, or taken straight.
This product is beneficial to so many: those seeking to lose weight, athletes, people who want to improve brain function and memory, for those that just want the added nutritional profile in their diets, and those that wish to stabilize moods or seek a natural alternative to energy drinks and caffeine.
If you’d like, visit their site here to learn more about the amazing E3Live, and to check out more of their awesome products!
Enjoy and Be Bold!
There are some very scary things brewing in the world of natural health. I am sure you have heard the concerns of many about the fate of herbal remedies, natural supplements and the like. Last week, the FDA halted all distribution of unpasteurized (aka living and beneficial) Kombucha, a personal favorite of mine. Certain distributors can not move the product, and stores, therefore, can no longer sell it. The halt is, thus far, indefinite. The reason being given is that these drinks (and only those that are unpasteurized, mind you) are not clear on the alcohol content of each batch being produced. Since Kombucha is a fermented drink a small amount of alcohol is perfectly normal, however, the controversy lies in HOW MUCH alcohol is normal and allowable, as it is not sold as an alcoholic beverage, but one available to any age customer. The FDA, it appears, is asking manufacturers to prove, in essence, the alcohol content of the product (less than .5 %) and label it as such. Perhaps it is no more than a labeling issue. This logic seems clear and, well, logical. What worries me is the real motivation behind this. The rumor mill has it that more than Kombucha is on the line. Legislature has been attacking supplements recently. The attacks are not aimed at the product themselves, but again, the labeling. An article in a recent New York Times began like this:
“Nearly all of the herbal dietary supplements tested in a Congressional investigation contained trace amounts of lead and other contaminants, and some supplement sellers made illegal claims that their products can cure cancer and other diseases, investigators found.”
While there are and will always be gimmicky companies that may make false claims in any field, many in the natural health world uphold high standards of purity and integrity, and the move to get them off of the shelves, and most likely into doctor’s offices, is troubling. As someone who takes their health far more seriously than any doctor would, putting supplements into the hands of the medical world frightens me.
A close family member of mine has seen doctors and specialists to solve a medical problem a myriad of times. Each time she is given a pill, a prescription, and new recommendation, and each time she is without luck and still in pain. What has, however, provided her with relief is nothing a doctor has recommended. Aloe vera juice, digestive enzymes, herbs. These things, found without the help of a doctor, have been more helpful in treating symptoms than anything given to her by a professional. This is not to say that one day, with the help of a doctor, they will find the actual cause to her symptoms, but for now, no pharmaceutical or doctor’s test has given her any relief the way natural remedies have. I wonder, then, how she would fare if the supplements that have helped her were in the control of the doctors. Would she have ever found relief?
I think it is so important that supplements and herbs remain out of the (ultimate) control of the government and doctors. I think it is necessary for the two to exist separately, to complement each other, to work where the other one can’t. The medical system is a necessity. Doctors are, as well. That being said, supplements and herbs allow people to take their health into their own hands if and when the medical system fails them, because no system is without fallibility. Pharmaceuticals save lives when a body has been pushed to the point of being unable to repair itself without intervention. Supplements aid the body into harmony and health before it is too late.
Take a stand to save supplements before it is too late. Take action here. Stand up for your health.
As I’m typing this, sitting in my bedroom near my favorite burgundy-colored reading lamp, in my comfy clothes, with a warm mug of tea by my side, there is a small, beautiful, sleeping baby girl occupying some space on my bed. Tonight we’re babysitting.
It has taken her a while to fall asleep, and try as she might to fight it, she finally gave in to a little shut eye. My best friend is the proud new mother of this little (4 month old) girl, and is out for a few hours of baby-free interaction at a local function.
I love babysitting, though I can easily recognize the hardships of being a mother: inconsolable crying, over-tiredness, hunger pangs, dirty diapers, and distinguishing which cry means which of those things. So I babysit and play house for a while. But I do know that no matter what, this little girls well-being comes before all.
She will grow up in a world of choices, in a world of laughter and love, and of hardship and heartbreak. She will learn, and grow, and have fun. She has so many possibilities, so many chances, and so much to do. And she will grow up in a world where perhaps health is still chemical-laden salad at a drive-thru restaurant, or a diet shake in place of lunch. Her mother, much like me, is aware of all of this, and out of the limitlessness of her daughters life, and the love she has for her, she does whatever she can to make her as strong, healthy, and cared for as she can be.
There are so many ‘hidden‘ dangers in the world today. Chemicals in sippy cups. Bacteria on binkies. So here are a few of what I think are the safest and healthiest baby supplies, etc., that are not only awesome for your baby, but for the environment as well, so you can make sure that little girl (or boy) of yours is as healthy as possible, while saving the planet at the same time so she’ll have an amazing and beautiful place to call home.
Safe and Eco (and very groovy) baby products:
Born Free Baby Bottles: These bottles come in glass or BPA free plastics. They have 5 different flow-rate nipples, and have an anti-colic vent making feeding safer.
OG Mama’s Stretch Happy 360 by Trillium Organics: An organic, yucky-stuff free, body oil for mothers-to-be!
OG Baby by Trillium Organics: This entire line is a safe and organic body care line for newborns and sensitive skin.
Nature’s Baby Organics body care
G Diapers: A safe fabric diaper with biodegradable diaper inserts
Sckoon Organic Cotton Baby Clothing: Safe for baby, better for nature
Lifefactory Baby Bottles: Made from glass with a silicone sleeve!
Bumkin’s Bibs: These are the cutest, funkiest, grooviest bibs out there!
Sprout Organic Baby Food: Made by celebrity chef Tyler Florence, organic and nutritious!
There are so many great products out there! I know that your babies health comes before all, and these products are designed to help you achieve just that. They are yucky-chemical free, organic, safe, and eco-friendly to boot. Give them a try and let me know what you think! And as always, live your life, and your baby’s, as Bold as Nature.
Today’s typical diet is meat-packed, dairy-packed, fat-packed, calorie-packed, and pretty colorless. The average American eats little in the way of farm-fresh veggies, let alone leafy greens. To children; they’re yucky, to adults (whose taste-buds are addicted to fats and sugars); they’re bland and boring. But these veggies, (which are in fact quite tasty) are amazing, nutrient-packed bundles of love for your body! Let’s break it down:
Leafy greens, (by which I mean veggies like kale, spinach, collards, arugula, cabbage, etc.) are some of the best sources of super-important, super-good for you nutrients. Adding them to your daily (or twice daily, or three times daily) diet is one of the best things you can do for your body. Greens are packed with Vitamins K, A, C, Calcium, Magnesium, Folate, Iron, and more! Many of these nutrients are especially important for women, who are at higher risk for problems such as osteoporosis and iron deficiency.
One serving of kale (about 1 c. chopped) contains 206% daily value of Vitamin A, 9% Calcium, 134% C, and 6% Iron, not to mention magnesium, phosphorous, and folate! Wow! So many diets are deficient in many of these nutrients, and look at how easy it is to get them! One serving of leafy greens a day included in to a healthy, varied diet, ups nutrient consumption a ton! And its so easy to do!
If the facts alone haven’t convinced you, here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy leafy greens!
Sauteed Dinosaur (or Lacinato) Kale with Apple Cider Vinegar and Gomashio
This is a great side dish to a healthy meal any time of the year! Simply saute the chopped kale in a little olive oil until it is wilted a bit, bright in color, and cooked through. Sprinkle with ACV and Gomashio (a toasted sesame seed and sea salt blend) to taste! Serve with hearty dishes (like whole wheat pasta, tomato sauce, and Abby’s Infamous Veggie Meatballs) to lighten it up!
Warm Rice Salad with Collard Greens and Fresh Tomato
This is yummy in the summer both as a light lunch or a side dish to a yummy grilled meal! Its especially good with farm-stand fresh tomatoes! Combine three cups cooked (still hot) brown rice, a large diced tomato, and 1 cup chopped, sauteed collards in a large bowl. Stir in a pinch of salt, pepper, 2 Tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice, and 1 Tbls olive oil. Sprinkled with gomashio, this dish is delicious!
Other Ideas:
When making a stir fry, toss in a handful of greens (kale, collards or cabbage would work best). Serve over rice and tops with your favorite stir-fry sauce!
If you’re a fan of juicing, be sure to throw in some leafy greens! You’ll get the nutrient benefits of the greens but you do lose the fiber.
If you eat eggs, add lightly sauteed greens to a frittata or quiche!
Another great recipe using greens is VeganYumYum’s BLT Salad! She uses dinosaur Kale (my favorite) and lets the dressing soften the raw leaves before serving!
Give some of the recipes a try, or if you have your own, I’d love to hear them! Enjoy your greens and keep living your life As Bold as Nature!
Its only February now, still the beginning of this new year, and I am sure most “New Year Resolutions” have fell by the wayside. Besides the silliness of such a pledge (why choose one day a year to change your life around when improvement can be made daily) I too have often tried to strive for a better version of myself on more than one occasion: lose ten pounds, have more patience, eat a certain way, etc. Yet all my resolutions are short-lived, perhaps because it is so difficult to change all at once, or the expectation to change instantly, the way the year changes at midnight, is one too heady that we become overwhelmed and let our zeal float away all too soon.
So this year, I made no “New Year Resolution.” I simply strive, each day, to make better choices, live kinder, and get closer to nature. When you choose to change your mindset, you need to remind yourself of it each day, and so I try to smile through my irritations, laugh when I’m stressed, and make a better food choice NEXT time, if I’ve let temptation reel me in. The philosophy of resolutions aside, however, I’ve been wanting to talk about the biggest, and perhaps most daunting, resolution of them all.
Each new year, thousands, if not millions of people pledge to lose weight, to exercise more, to resist temptation and become healthier. While this is absolutely something to strive toward, it seems more and more people are trying to follow this pseudo-healthy fad of jump-starting weight loss with cleansing. Cleansing is seen by so many as a quick fix, or instant weight loss, and this is false. It both worries me that so many try something potentially dangerous, and angers me that so many scam-y manufacturers take advantage of desperate people who are trying to change.
That said, the idea itself of cleansing the body of harmful toxins and purifying your powerhouse is a great one. It is vital that the body not become overloaded with toxins, which can easily happen through a typical American diet. Paired with the air quality in many places and the other environmental pressures placed on the body, toxicity is a larger problem than many people are aware of. But the body has an amazing capacity to clean and detoxify itself! When you are not digesting food, your body is hard at work cleaning itself out. Your liver, kidneys, skin, lungs, lymphatic system, blood, and colon all work together to purify and restore your bodies natural balance.
Things like the master cleanse or other boxed cleanses, to me, are unnecessary. I advocate a more natural, gentle, and body-conscious way of cleansing and detoxifying your body. Take the master cleanse, for instance. How, possibly, can fasting for 2 weeks while you drink a blend of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper do anything for you? Or taking heavy doses of laxatives and herbal compilations for a week be beneficial? Who wants to feel miserable and constantly running to the bathroom just to do what their bodies can do on their own? I think there are better ways to acheive the same results, simply by aiding your body do what it does naturally.
One way is to adopt a hypoallergenic diet for a week, or more if you’d like. This means steering clear of processed foods of any kind: refined flours and sugars, gluten, all animal products (meat, dairy, eggs, etc.) and eating only organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains such as quinoa and brown rice, and clear liquids, such as herbal teas and the like. Easy enough, right? Basically, eat super healthy for a week. This gives your body a break from digesting less-than-nutritious foods that are the norm in today’s world. By doing this, you let your body naturally focus on cleansing its systems. You can help it along by drinking herbal teas such as dandelion root, which acts as a mild diuretic, and ginger or cinnamon, which aid digestion and reduce inflammation. You’d also want to consume copious amounts of water.
Another way, and a bit more “intense,” is the juice fast. For two days, consume only fresh-pressed juices, allowing for the body’s complete focus to be placed on detoxifying itself. Only two days! By blending nutrient dense foods such as spinach, kale, lemon, carrots, apples and ginger, you are supplying your body with the nutrients it needs, but easing up on the work it must do to access them, thus allowing for detoxification. If you feel you need to give your body more of a break, after 2-4 weeks you can fast again for 4 to 5 days. (While I’m glossing over these cleansing ideas now, if you have any questions as to how to tackle one of them, let me know and I’d be glad to walk you through it!) Remember, however, that even after the two days, you must introduce foods slowly to allow your body to get used to digestion again. This means, start with a small meal of fresh fruit in the morning, and perhaps a small salad for lunch. By keeping in the same vein as what you consumed during the fast, you are awarding your body the same nutrients and reacclimatizing it to the process of digestion. Again, you would want to drink lost of water, in addition to the juices…about 10 cups or more a day!
Easy, right? And smart, too! Don’t waste your money on a fad cleanse. Its not worth the discomfort! It worries me how much money is spent annually on such a fad when optimal health is not obtained through cleansing, though, don’t get me wrong, it can certainly jumpstart help to a new, healthy lifestyle. Twice a year I cleanse using my own body to do so, not some capsules in a box, and all year I feel great, resolution or not! So go ahead, get in shape, adopt a healthy way of eating,( even a vegetarian one!) and start living your life as bold as nature, every day,even if only in some small way. Help your body work optimally, and forget about fads!
For many many years, Kombucha, a fermented tea drink, has been used by many countries as an overall health tonic. It is certainly an acquired taste, but its benfits trump this fact entirely for many people. It is chock full enzymes, probiotics, B vitamins, and many more. It is, however, a relatively pricey drink, and because of this, I will teach you to brew your own, while improving your health and your bank account!
Kombucha is brewed by using “The Mother,” often called a SCOBY, or Symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (and of course, this is all good bacteria)! It naturally carbonated, and much more easy to make than one might imagine.
First, here are the list of equipment and products you will need to get started:
1 gallon GLASS jar with a wide open mouth
A SCOBY (cultivated yourself or bought from a reputable supplier)
1 cup plain white sugar
1 to 2 cups starter Kombucha
5 black tea bags
NOTE: To cultivate your own SCOBY, buy an original flavored non-pasteurized Kombucha from your local health food store (I recommend GT’s Kombucha) and pour the contents of that bottle into the glass jar with 1 to 2 cups of sweetened tea, prepared as below. After a week or so, a scoby should have formed on the top of the tea, and the new scoby and brewed kombucha can be used as the starter for your first batch!
If you buy a scoby from a reputable seller, simply follow the below steps:
Bring to a boil one large, clean pot full of purified water, or about 10-12 cups. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and add a cup of sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add the 5 tea bags to the pot and brew for 15 minutes, then remove, cover, and allow to cool to room temperature (this is best to do at night and let cool until the morning.) Pour the cooled tea into the clean glass jar and add the starter Kombucha (either from your home cultivated SCOBY batch, or from an original flavored non-pasteurized commercial Kombucha). Next, gently slide in the SCOBY and cover the glass with a clean cotton cloth secured with a rubber band. This allows it to breathe, but also keeps out anything undesirable. Store the jar in a warm, dark place, and forget it for about a week. After a week has passed, uncover jar and gently push aside the scoby with a spoon and taste the Kombucha. If you prefer a sweeter Kombucha, then it may already be done brewing, but for a more tangy brew, let sit until the desired taste is achieved.
A new scoby with have grown on top of the mother scoby, and you need to gently peel them apart..you can now brew two batches at once! Soon you’ll have more SCOBY’s then you’ll know what to do with…share them with friends!
Before bottling the Kombucha, gently remove the scoby and place on a clean plate and reserve 1 to 2 cups of the freshly brewed Kombucha as a starter for your next batch! You can always refrigerate the scoby in a bit of brewed kombucha to store until you are reading to make a new batch.
To bottle the Kombucha, store in glass bottles capable of retaining carbonation, such as the bottles that commercial Kombucha comes in. Let the bottled Kombucha sit in a dark warm place for an additional several days to fully carbonate. Refrigerate after this, and enjoy your Kombucha! You’re now ready to start a new batch!
Leave any questions and comment you may have. There are lots of variables when it comes to brewing Kombucha, so results may differ for everyone. And if I left anything out, let me know! I’ll be sure to answer any and all questions you have on the matter!
Happy brewing, and remember to live as Bold as Nature!
