January 2, 2012
Spiritual Living
When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life. --Greg Anderson
Healthy Living
Get rid of those gross, blackened globs on the bottom of your oven without scrubbing yourself sore or flavoring your next meal with chemical-based cleaner. It really is as easy as sprinkling a liberal amount of baking soda all over the oven floor, spraying it with water until well dampened, and forgetting about it for a few hours. Come back, wipe it out and rinse with vinegar to prevent a white film of baking soda residue.
Green Living
The largest island on the Earth is ... Greenland, in North America. It has an area of 2,175,600 square kilometers (839,999 square miles).
January 3, 2012
Spiritual Living
"Love is the seed of all hope. It is the enticement to trust, to risk, to try, to go on."
Healthy Living
Lack of sunlight can trigger a drop in the feel-good brain chemical serotonin, leading to depression -- and cravings. Avoid carb binges by getting as much natural light as possible; you'll get benefits even if it's overcast.
Green Living
The largest lake on Earth is...The Caspian Sea, in Europe and Asia. 2,1765,000 square kilometers (839,999 square miles).
January 4, 2012
Spiritual Living
"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love." - Leo Tolstoy
Healthy Living
You may have enjoyed luscious farm-stand tomatoes all summer, but now their grocery-store counterparts look pale and feel like mini-medicine balls. But the produce that's naturally in season in winter is your secret weapon for keeping off the pounds: People who ate the most dark-green and orange fruits and veggies lost the most weight in six months, according to Brazilian researchers. Hello, broccoli, carrots, kale, oranges, spinach, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, winter squash! They're all delicious this time of year -- so toss them in your cart.
Green Living
The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest, in China and Nepal. 8,8,48 meters (29,028 feet).
January 5, 2012
Spiritual Living
Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven. Rabindranath Tagore
Healthy Living
One recent study found that by tracking calories with a food journal you can double your weight loss. But who has time to write down everything she eats? Solution: Put your camera phone to good use, and snap a quick shot of all your meals and snacks (yes, even the little nibbles). Then download the photos to your computer, and print them to make a journal or compile them online with a service like www.nutrax.com or www.myfoodphone.com, where they'll calculate your calories for a small fee. It's a tiny price to pay for a healthier winter body.
Green Living
The Pacific Ocean is both the Earth's largest and its deepest ocean. The Pacific Ocean covers an area of 166,241 square kilometers (166,241,000 square miles). At its deepest, it is 10,920 meters (35,826 feet) deep.
January 6, 2012
Spiritual Living
"Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have." - Source Unknown
Healthy Living
Americans are increasingly sleep deprived -- one survey found that nearly 30 percent of adults sleep six or fewer hours each night, according to the CDC, despite the fact that the target number should be between seven and nine hours a night. And while we often glorify sleep deprivation in our society -- pushing people to skimp on sleep to socialize, work or be more "productive" -- it has been linked to serious health problems, including memory impairment, decreased alertness, high blood pressure, stroke and obesity, to name a few.
Green Living
The Earth is made mostly of iron, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, nickel and sulfur: 34.6% Iron, 29.5% Oxygen, 15.2% Silicon, 12.7% Magnesium, 2.4% Nickel, 1.9% Sulfur, 0.05% Titanium.
January 16, 2012
Spiritual Living
I would rather have eyes that cannot see; ears that cannot hear; lips that cannot speak, than a heart that cannot love. Robert Tizon
Healthy Living
It's a myth that exercising in the morning is ideal: "The best time to work out is between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m.," says James Maas, Ph.D., YouBeauty Sleep Expert, because exercise at that time enhances the depth of sleep. And any aerobic activity, even fast walking, will improve your sleep.
Green Living
Twelve million barrels of oil were used to make the 88.5 billion plastic bags consumed in the United States last year. And it takes four times more energy to make paper bags. The best choice is reusable shopping bags made of cotton, nylon or durable, mesh-like plastic.
January 17, 2012
Spiritual Living
A career is wonderful but you can't curl up with it on a cold night. Marilyn Monroe
Healthy Living
Exercise raises your body temperature and can interfere with sleep within three hours of bedtime. Don't eat large meals late. Lying down slows digestion and may send stomach acids back up into your throat, causing heartburn that can keep you awake. Alcohol may make you sleepy but once the effect wears off, it disrupts sleep.
Green Living
Did you know that it takes 26 bottles of water to produce the plastic container for a one-liter bottle of water, and that doing so pollutes 25 liters of groundwater? A much better choice is reusable water bottles instead made from materials like stainless steel or aluminum that are not likely to degrade over time.
January 18, 2012
Spiritual Living
Love and doubt have never been on speaking terms. Kahlil Gibran
Healthy Living
Based on numerous studies, massage and manual therapy is an essential part of health and healing based on improvement of circulation, muscle function and stress reduction, just to name a few.
Green Living
Each year, 19 billion catalogs are mailed to American consumers. All those catalogs require more than 53 million trees and 56 billion gallons of wastewater to produce -- and many of us don't even know how we got on so many mailing lists! So grab that stack of catalogs piling up on your coffee table and clear out the clutter. Visit CatalogChoice.org to put a stop to unwanted catalogs.
January 19, 2012
Spiritual Living
If you want to know where your heart is … Look where your mind goes when it wanders - Anonymous
Healthy Living
Our body is not cut off at the neck; such that what is in our mind does affect our body, and what is happening in our body does affect our mind. So, why not make use of a healing modality that seems to treat both our mind and body?
Green Living
Did you know that only 10 percent of the energy used by a typical washing machine powers the motor? About 90 percent of the energy is used to heat the water, and most clothes will come clean in cold water. So switch your washing machine's temperature setting. For heavily soiled clothing, change it from hot to warm.
January 20, 2012
Spiritual Living
The prudence of the best heads is often defeated by the tenderness of the best hearts. Henry Fielding
Healthy Living
You must take responsibility for your present condition and understand that you are not a victim of your past but claim the power to shape your future. No matter what may have held you back (late-night snacking, cocktails after work, no time to exercise, depression, emotional eating, fatigue, poor eating habits or sugar addiction) you still have the power today to change the choices you make for your future. If you want a different outcome then you must accept that what you've been doing up until now is not working, so you must make a change. The only person that can change your life is you.
Green Living
Most of us would be surprised to find out that one in every five toilets leak, and since the leaks are usually silent, you probably have no idea if your toilet is leaking. A leaking toilet can waste anywhere between 30 and 500 gallons of water every day, so any leak should be repaired. To see if your toilet is leaking, put a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the dye shows up in the toilet bowl after 15 minutes or so, the toilet has a leak. Leaking is usually caused by an old or poorly fitting flapper valve, which can be replaced by any amateur DIY-er!
January 23, 2012
Spiritual Living
It's how you deal with failure that determines how you achieve success. Charlotte Whitton
Healthy Living
You are a whole person that consists of mind, body and spirit going through life, craving to feel balanced. If areas in your life such as career, relationships, finances, creativity, home cooking, spirituality, joy, social life, home environment, education, health and physical activity are off-balance then your body will respond. You must learn to listen to your body and take the time necessary to reclaim your balance. If you keep going on auto-pilot, ignoring the signals that your body gives you, then you'll end up sacrificing your health and happiness. Some of those stress and off-balance signals are headaches, migraines, poor digestion, constipation, anxiety, depression, increase appetite, loss of appetite... and the list goes on. Discover the problem -- don't ignore it, or it will develop into a bigger health problem. When you take care of yourself first you will be stronger and more capable of taking care of everyone else.
Green Living
As China prepares to welcome in the Year of the Dragon, hotel group Shangri-La has announced that it will remove shark fin soup from its restaurants. This decision will affect all 72 of the group’s hotels, marking a big step towards the conservation of the ocean’s top predators.
January 24, 2012
Spiritual Living
Remember that failure is an event, not a person. Zig Ziglar
Healthy Living
We first appeared on this earth as hunters and gatherers, with bodies designed to move. We we're not designed to sit in a chair all day. In today's world of efficient conveniences we have to go out of our way to burn calories. If you do activities that you enjoy then you'll be more likely to keep it as part of your everyday life. The options are endless: yoga, pilates, kickboxing, jogging, power walking/running, bootcamp, home workout DVDs, personal trainers, group exercise classes, recreational sports leagues and so much more.
Green Living
Conservationists in Nepal have reason to celebrate, as it has been reported that no Indian rhinos were killed by poachers in the country in 2011.
January 25, 2012
Spiritual Living
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill
Healthy Living
To decrease your risk of disease, be healthy, and look good and feel good then it's time to accept that working out must be part of your daily hygiene, just like brushing your teeth and combing your hair. When you are healthy inside you'll feel great about yourself, be more successful at everything you do and glow on the outside.
Green Living
The leatherback turtle is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Its threats include climate change changing the sex of the embryo throughout the incubation period and rising sea levels decreasing the amount of suitable nesting areas. Ocean currents changing is also a major threat to migrating juveniles of this species as well as habitat loss, boat traffic accidents and ingestion of discarded plastic.
January 26, 2012
Spiritual Living
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it." William James
Healthy Living
You must understand that you are literally what you eat. All living cells in your body (skin, hair, internal organs, hormones, blood, muscle, connective tissue, bones, etc.) are made of the food that you eat. If you choose to eat junk food then be prepared to have a junk body.
Green Living
In 2009 researchers described and named 19,232 species new to science, pushing the number of known species on Earth to just under two million (1,941,939 species), according to the State of Observed Species (SOS). Discoveries included seven new birds, 41 mammals, 120 reptiles, 148 amphibians, 314 fish, 626 crustaceans, and 9,738 insects.
January 27, 2012
Spiritual Living
It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help. Judith Martin
Healthy Living
When it comes to nutrition there's not a one-size-fits-all plan. Some people are sensitive to gluten, so they have to choose their grains wisely while others have difficulty digesting meat and opt to go vegetarian. You're all biogenetically-unique individuals and through education, listening to how your bodies feel after a meal and trial and error you will discover the healthiest meals for you.
Green Living
The common view of the Amazon is that it is one massive, unbroken forest. This impression is given by maps which tend to mark the Amazon by a large glob of green or even by its single name which doesn't account for regional changes. Of course, scientists have long recognized different ecosystems in the Amazon, most especially related to climate. But a new study in the Journal of Biogeography has uncovered two distinct forest ecosystems, sharply divided, caused by million of years of geologic forces.
January 30, 2012
Spiritual Living
If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can't buy. Ancient Proverb
Healthy Living
Have three servings a day of green vegetables, which have proven to be the greatest healers. They are alkaline at the top of the acid/alkaline Ph scale, loaded with phytonutrients that strengthen your immune system, helping you fight off disease.
Green Living
The combination of deforestation, forest degradation, and the effects of climate change are weakening the resilience of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem, potentially leading to loss of carbon storage and changes in rainfall patterns and river discharge, finds a comprehensive review published in the journal Nature.
January 31, 2012
Spiritual Living
It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. Edmund Hillary
Healthy Living
Moderation. For 80 percent of the time, eat organic fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean cuts of meat that have not been processed, and 20 percent of the time eat whatever you like.
Green Living
Tropical rainforests are characterized by a perpetually warm, wet climate that promotes more explosive plant growth than in any other environment on Earth. A tree here may grow over 75 feet in height in just 5 years.
February 1, 2012
Spiritual Living
Continue to surprise those who would put you in a neat demographic. Be insistently curious. Gordon Gee
Healthy Living
Just coarse enough to slough off dead skin cells, baking soda makes an ideal natural face scrub. Many acne sufferers swear by the stuff, saying that mixing it into a paste with either water or facial cleanser can help clear up breakouts and prevent them from occurring in the first place. Just be sure to moisturize afterwards to prevent excessive drying.
Green Living
The bald eagle is known as the national emblem of the United States. It is the second largest North American bird of prey after the Californian condor and the bald eagle is also the only eagle solely native to North America.
February 2, 2012
Spiritual Living
I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. Henry David Thoreau
Healthy Living
New research out of New Zealand suggests that the antioxidants in blueberries may help ward off muscle fatigue by mopping up the additional free radicals that muscles produce during exercise.
Green Living
Red and pink coral – Is a jewel that is from reefs. It is the most valuable of all the corals. Pink coral has been fished for over MANY years. It's used for jewelry and decoration. Over-harvesting and the destruction of entire colonies has led to dramatic population declines.
February 3, 2012
Spiritual Living
The reality of the other person lies not in what he reveals to you, but what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says, but rather to what he does not say.” Kahlil Gibran
Healthy Living
British researchers recently found that people who drank one ounce of concentrated cherry juice twice daily for 10 days bounced back faster from their workout (an intensive leg-resistance training session on day eight) than those who skipped the juice. The reason: The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in tart cherries -- and other fruit juices like grape, pomegranate, acai, blueberry and cranberry -- essentially act as natural NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and aspirin), reducing exercise-induced muscle damage.
Green Living
By purchasing parts or products made by Endangered species, you are creating a larger market for these items. This includes products made from or containing ivory, sea turtle shell, or any other threatened or endangered animal. Please do your part by not participating in this horrible trade of death!
February 7, 2012
Spiritual Living
"We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship." C.S. Lewis
Healthy Living
The American Heart Association recommends eating fish twice a week -- especially fatty fish like salmon, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s can reduce the risk of arrthymias, slow plaque build up in the arteries, lower cholesterol and slightly lower blood pressure.
Green Living
Natural gas is not clean. Natural gas burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels, but in the course of its entire life cycle, it's actually worse than coal, long touted as the dirtiest of our fossil fuels. Because fracking involves mixing millions of gallons of water laced with chemicals into the ground at high pressure, it creates fissures in the shale that release the natural gas. Life cycle analysis expert Robert Howarth, PhD, professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University, discovered that anywhere from 3.6 to nearly 8 percent of the methane from shale gas drilling escapes through venting and leaks. Methane is a greenhouse gas about 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
February 8, 2012
Spiritual Living
Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land. Aldo Leopold
Healthy Living
Switching from butter to olive oil (or even olive oil to canola oil) can lower cholesterol levels. The "healthy" monounsaturated fats found in olive oil are still fats however, so use in moderation.
Green Living
Fracking chemicals are extremely dangerous. Since most natural gas drilling companies will not disclose all of the products they use in the drilling process, Theo Colborn, PhD, founder and president of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, set out to figure out what's in the chemical cocktails used to drill wells and frack. She and her team found 649 different chemicals, more than half of which are known to disrupt the endocrine system. Exposure to these types of chemicals has been linked to certain cancers, diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome (the name for a group of risk factors that occur together and increase the risk for heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes). Fifty-five percent of the chemicals cause brain and nervous system damage, and many are linked to cancer and organ damage. The threat of exposure to these chemicals occurs via contaminated air, water, and soil. "They're getting away with absolute murder; it's criminal, the things they're doing," says award-winning scientist Colborn. "If you destroy an aquifer, you've lost it. You've destroyed your drinking water supply.
February 9, 2012
Spiritual Living
It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. Ansel Adams
Healthy Living
A large 2011 study found that swapping nuts for red meat as a leaner source of protein resulted in a 17 percent lower risk of stroke. The unsaturated fat in nuts can help reduce cholesterol in comparison to eating red meat, but nuts are still high in fat and calories, so be aware of portion sizes.
Green Living
Fracking releases uranium. That's right, the radioactive stuff. The 2005 Energy Act included what is known as the Halliburton Loophole, which exempts the natural gas drilling industry from many safeguards, such as the Clean Water Act, intended to protect citizens from industrial corporate activities that pollute. While the chemical cocktail used in fracking has been of much concern, new research is pointing to another fact: Contaminants and dangerous substances trapped deep underground become mobilized when fracking creates mini-earthquake-like explosions underground. A 2010 study out of the University of Buffalo found that natural gas drilling using the fracking method could potentially contaminate water supplies with uranium.
February 10, 2012
Spiritual Living
They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse. Sitting Bull
Healthy Living
The soluble fiber in oatmeal (as well in other whole-grain foods, fruits and vegetables) reduces the absorption of "bad" LDL cholesterol into the bloodstream, helping to keep arteries clear.
Green Living
Fracking affects everyone. A natural gas survey released in December 2010 found that regardless of political leanings, most people are concerned about fracking. Even if you don't live atop a major shale deposit, the pollution generated in fracking could affect you. Conrad Dan Volz, DrPH, MPH, director of the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities and the GSPH Environmental Health Risk Assessment Certificate Program at the University of Pittsburgh, notes that as more wells are installed in various states, there's more toxic wastewater to deal with. Wastewater from fracking operations is often sent to municipal treatment plants that are not properly equipped to handle contamination by more than 600 chemicals, and possibly radioactive material. This wastewater is often shipped to locations where fracking isn't even taking place, threatening rivers and drinking water supplies in those towns.
Aside from the toxic wastewater issue, fracking could also blemish your nature vacation. Drilling is allowed on public lands, and it's particularly on display in the now not-so-picturesque parks of Colorado and Wyoming.
February 13, 2012
Spiritual Living
“Every time we lose a species we break a life chain which has evolved over 3.5 billion years.” - Jeffrey McNeely
Healthy Living
For the same reasons that a massage is relaxing, it can also soothe anxiety and depression. Massage reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, resulting in lifted spirits and often lower blood pressure. It can also boost the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, which are involved in depression.
Green Living
As of January 5, 2011, there are 1,170 animals species worldwide that are endangered, half of which reside in the United States.
February 14, 2012
Spiritual Living
If you want to know where your heart is … Look where your mind goes when it wanders - Anonymous
Healthy Living
Eight out of 10 Americans will experience debilitating back pain, according to Time.com, but a massage can help. According to a 2011 study, massage helped people in pain feel and function better compared to people who didn't receive any massage treatment.
Green Living
You can help tackle climate change by:
- reducing, reusing and recycling products that you buy
- walk or take public transport where possible so that you use a car less often
- insulate your home better so that you do not need to use so much energy to heat it
- or simply tell your friends and family about climate change and what they can do to help
Although each action may be small, if many people make small changes it will add up to make a big difference.
February 15, 2012
Spiritual Living
"One learns, that the world, though made, is yet being made. That this is still the morning of creation." John Muir
Healthy Living
If you've ever dozed off on a massage table, you don't need to be convinced that a massage can promote healthy sleep. A number of studies have examined this link, and chalk it up to massage's affect on delta waves, the kind of brain waves connected to deep sleep, according to Health magazine.
Green Living
Current scientific evidence indicates that the effects of climate change will only remain manageable if global temperatures rise by no more than 2ºC above pre-industrial levels. For this to happen, worldwide emissions must peak by 2020 and be cut to 50 percent of 1990 levels by 2050.
February 16, 2012
Spiritual Living
"What a country chooses to save is what a country chooses to say about itself." - Mollie Beattie
Healthy Living
Want to boost your brainpower? Adults who were given a 15-minute chair massage in a small 1996 Touch Research Institute (TRI) study were more alert and completed a series of math questions faster and more accurately.
Green Living
Most countries have responded to climate change by becoming parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty that aims to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that prevents dangerous human-interference of the climate. Many countries are also heavily investing in clean energies, such as wind, tidal and solar energy, to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels.
February 17, 2012
Spiritual Living
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe, the less taste we shall have for destruction." - Rachel Carson
Healthy Living
Just like muscle and back pain, headaches can also be alleviated thanks to massage. A regular rubdown can reduce a person's number of migraines, according to WebMD, as well as limit how painful each migraine feels, according to the TRI.
Green Living
Species on remote islands occupy a particularly precarious position in the face of climate change. With an already restricted range, these species are unable to travel to find new suitable habitat, making them extremely vulnerable to extreme weather events such as hurricanes and drought. For example, the hawksbill turtle is at risk of rising sea levels and increases in storm activity, which will destroy its nesting habitat. Rising air temperatures may also result in turtle populations developing a skewed sex ratio, as sex is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated.
February 20, 2012
Spiritual Living
The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river. ~Ross Perot
Healthy Living
In Japan, the health benefit of spending time in forests has its own word - "shinrinyoku", and literally means "forest bathing".
Green Living
Bulgaria recently became the second nation in Europe (and the world -- France was the first) to ban the controversial shale gas extraction technique. According to a Treehugger post, the ban is for "an indefinite period of time... valid for the whole territory of the country, including the Black Sea territorial waters."
February 21, 2012
Spiritual Living
The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. ~ Chief Luther Standing Bear
Healthy Living
All kinds of bacteria, viruses and fungi can make a home out of your beauty products.
Makeup can also go bad. Even some of the more natural makeups that don't have preservatives are prone to spoiling. The best thing you can do to prevent germy growth is to take better care of your products. Don't let your makeup products be exposed to high heat or direct sunlight because that can may them become germier sooner...all makeup has a shelf life. For instance, mascara and eye liner goes bad after 3 months and should be replaced to avoid eye infections, such as pink eye.
Green Living
Hydrofracking is exempt from a half dozen federal statutes: Safe Water Drinking Act; Clean Water Act; Clean Air Act; Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and National Environmental Policy Act.
Such exemptions are referred to as the “Haliburton Loophole". Because this industry has such exemptions, organic farmers are worried that they could lose their "organic" certification because fracking causes groundwater pollution. Organic farmers have to rely on the oil industry to act morally and responsibly.
February 22, 2012
Spiritual Living
The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition. ~ Carl Sagan
Healthy Living
Falling asleep in front of the computer screen? Creativity crashing by 3 p.m. in the office? The trick to becoming more productive may be to ditch the cubicle and hit the gym. Studies suggest a midday workout can help productivity skyrocket (and even boost job satisfaction!), so we can quickly gain back those hours lost in gym-land.
Green Living
How New York State handles fracking could influence policy making, regulation and enforcement in other states. That's pretty much how U.S. EPA regional administrator Judith Enck sees it. Enck wrote New York "will help set the pace for improved safeguards across the country".
February 23, 2012
Spiritual Living
“We are living on the planet as if we have another one to go to.” Terry Swearingen
Healthy Living
If you're trying to lose pounds to get to a healthy weight, a new study shows those liquid calories matter, too.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, showed that overweight and obese people who swapped out their caloric drinks for calorie-free options -- including, yes, water! -- were able to lose four to five pounds over a six-month period. The research will be published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Green Living
Our oceans are vital to our national economic growth. In 2009 alone, ocean-related tourism and recreation generated more than 1.8 million jobs and contributed more than $61 billion to the nation’s GDP. That same year, the commercial fishing industry supported more than 1 million jobs.
February 24, 2012
Spiritual Living
There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet. ~ Brooke Medicine Eagle
Healthy Living
Celiac disease and gluten-related problems have been increasing, and now affect at least 21 million Americans and perhaps many millions more. And 99 percent of people who have problems with gluten or wheat are NOT currently diagnosed. The problems with wheat are real, scientifically validated and ever-present. Today's wheat is not the wheat your great-grandmother used to bake her bread. It is FrankenWheat -- a scientifically engineered food product developed in the last 50 years.
This new modern wheat may look like wheat, but it is different in three important ways that all drive obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia and more.
It contains a Super Starch -- amylopectin A that is super fattening.
It contains a form of Super Gluten that is super-inflammatory.
It contains forms of a Super Drug that is super-addictive and makes you crave and eat more.
Getting off wheat may not only make you feel better and lose weight, it could save your life.
Green Living
Already in the U.S., 23 percent of major fisheries are overfished and 16 percent subject to overfishing. Toxic chemicals, oil, and waste contaminate our beaches and coastal waters, hurting the tourism industry and creating dead zones like that in the Gulf of Mexico, which covered an area the size of New Jersey in 2010. Worldwide, one third of shallow water corals are at risk of extinction, a fate that would have huge ramifications for thousands of species up and down the food chain.
February 27, 2012
Spiritual Living
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
Healthy Living
Canned beans cause more gas than dried beans. To ease any gassy symptoms, a cup of peppermint tea can will calm your digestive tract which can help alleviate gas. Another good cure is to eat a small amount of burnt toast. The charcoal in the burnt toast can help calm gas and neutralize odor.
Green Living
People are reaching the point of seeing climate change from their back doors. Europe is seeing one of its coldest winters; it snowed in Libya, a country known for record highs; and North America is experiencing unpredictable weather from record highs and lows, and freakish storms on a weekly basis.
February 28, 2012
Spiritual Living
"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
Healthy Living
Baking soda is an amazing product. Spinkle it in your stinky shoes and on your feet to kill odor from sweaty stinky feet.
Green Living
You can make your home eco-friendly by investing in items such as low-flow shower heads and fixtures, smart power strips and energy-efficient appliances.
February 29, 2012
Spiritual Living
"My life is my message.” – Gandhi
Healthy Living
If you are feeling lonely, go volunteer. You will meet people with like minded interests and over time, this feeling of loneliness will disappear.
Green Living
Your plastic pill and vitamin bottles can be recycled into many other uses. For example, what about using them clean up your tool chest, or for pins, buttons, paper clip storage. Another great idea is to use them when you travel for your personal items such as creams, shampoo etc.
March 1, 2012
Spiritual Living
"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” ~ Anonymous
Healthy Living
A flaky scalp is totally natural...and totally annoying. But instead of reaching for chemically, non-vegan anti-flake shampoo, try this DIY recipe.Just pour 1 tablespoon of tea tree oil (available at most natural food stores) into 1 cup of warm water. Put it into a little spray bottle (like the kind non-aerosol hairspray comes in) and give it a good shake. Then, when your hair is freshly washed but still damp, spray it all over your scalp. Give yourself a little massage for good measure, and then pat the excess water out . No need to rinse--the little bit of extra oil should calm your head, without weighing down your hair. You may also want to consider going the no-shampoo route.Tea tree oil can also be used for athlete's foot, lice, and just about anything else that is bacterial and causes your skin to itch.
Green Living
Experts believe that oil companies alone receive $10-40 billion in handouts yearly. A conservative study from the Environmental Law Institute found that from 2002-2008, oil companies received $72 billion of taxpayer’s hard-earned cash. Another report from Management Information Systems, Inc found that between 1950 and 2010, $594 billion was spent directly subsidizing fossil fuels—and the lion’s share of that, almost two thirds, went to the oil industry.
March 2, 2012
Spiritual Living
"One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests.” – John Stuart Mill
Healthy Living
One small study found that massage can help with PMS symptoms like bloating and moodiness.
Green Living
Most of the world’s major river deltas are sinking, increasing the flood risk faced by hundreds of millions of people, scientists report.
Damming and diverting rivers means that much less sediment now reaches many delta areas, while extraction of gas and groundwater also lowers the land.
Rivers affected include the Colorado, Nile, Pearl, Rhone and Yangtze.
About half a billion people live in these regions, the researchers note in the journal Nature Geoscience.
They calculate that 85% of major deltas have seen severe flooding in recent years, and that the area of land vulnerable to flooding will increase by about 50% in the next 40 years as land sinks and climate change causes sea levels to rise.
March 5, 2012
Spiritual Living
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” – B. Olatunji
Healthy Living
Bad breath is usually caused by a whole host of icky things--and one of the easiest to fix is the stuff between your teeth. Which means the first line of defense is flossing. But if you're still feeling icky and self-conscious, mix up some baking soda and water--about a teaspoon of each in 6 or 8 ounces should do. Then swish and gargle with this solution, and it should kill any odors from stuff lurking in your mouth or throat.
Green Living
Jellyfish help to stir up the ocean as they move, researchers have found. The distribution of heat, nutrients and chemicals helps maintain the marine environment and has an important influence on global climate. Reporting in the journal Nature, the researchers said that marine animals of many shapes and sizes contributed to ocean turbulence.
March 6, 2012
Spiritual Living
"Holding on to anything is like holding on to your breath. You will suffocate. The only way to get anything in the physical universe is by letting go of it. Let go & it will be yours forever.” – Deepak Chopra
Healthy Living
Facial masssages are good to help maintain your skin. Massage increases blood flow, which plumps up slack skin, encourages lymphatic drainage (the shuttling of toxins out and away from cells so that more nutrients can travel in), and adds vitality to a dull complexion and lackluster hair," says Kimara Ahnert, owner of the eponymous skin-care studio in New York City.
Green Living
Karen McComb, a researcher from the University of Sussex, was inspired by her own cat, Pepo, who continually woke her up in the mornings with an “insistent and rather annoying” purr that reliably motivated her to get up and feed him.Unlike regular, low frequency purring, further study revealed that this “solicitation purr” contained an embedded sound with a similar frequency to a baby’s cry; a sound that humans have an inherent bias to respond to. She and her colleagues played recordings of these purrs to human volunteers, who found them to be “more urgent and harder to ignore” than regular purring. Cats have a vocal way of manipulating their owners into doing their bidding, according to a study.
March 7, 2012
Spiritual Living
"Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive.” – Howard Thurman
Healthy Living
A psychiatrist will ofter twice as much per hour by prescibing pills (because of drug companinies incentives) than in actually doing therapy.
Green Living
It has always been a mystery as to why the toucan has such an enormous beak. Now researches published their research in the journal Science – they believe that the toucan uses its large beak to stay cool. Using infrared cameras, they showed the bird “dumping the heat from its body into its bill, helping it to regulate its body temperature”.
Toucan’s beak takes up 1/3 of its body length – the largest amongst birds.
March 8, 2012
Spiritual Living
"History shows us that the people who end up changing the world – the great political, social, scientific, technological, artistic, even sports revolutionaries – are always nuts, until they are right, and then they are geniuses.” – John Eliot
Healthy Living
America is experiencing a problem with overuse of medications that have been shown to work only half the time. Sure, a quick fix is great, but natural remedies have shown to be extremely effective in many situations, but they can take a bit longer for someone to experience comfort and relief.
Green Living
There have been several versions of the Earth flag over the past century.[1] However, there is no one official flag, since there is no one governing body over the planet.
The most well-known flag is the flag designed for the first Earth Day in 1969 by John McConnell. The flag holds a photo transfer of a NASA photo of the Earth on a dark blue background. Because of the political views of its creator[2] and its having become a symbol of Earth Day, this flag is often associated with environmental awareness, and the celebration of the global community. The image of the Earth on the flag is public domain and the copyright on the flag design was invalidated in 2001.
March 9, 2012
Spiritual Living
"The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” Benjamin Mays
Healthy Living
The FDA gets $260 million per year for new drug application fees... that's a lot of cash.
Green Living
With their awkward, lumbering gait, elephants moving at high speed are not the most graceful of animals – but are they walking or running?
Now scientists believe they have an answer: new research confirms that they do both – at the same time.
By observing elephants moving across a hi-tech track, the team found the hefty creatures run with their front legs but walk with their back legs.
March 12, 2012
Spiritual Living
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Healthy Living
Research has shown that laughter (both real and "fake") can lower blood pressure, decrease stress hormones, and strengthen our immune system.
Green Living
Women, on average, comprise 43% of the agricultural labor force in developing countries and account for an estimated 2/3 of the world's 600 million poor livestock keepers.
March 13, 2012
Spiritual Living
For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul. Judy Garland
Healthy Living
Exercise causes the release of endorphins (which can act as that natural high after an especially good sweat session) along with endocannabinoids (a marijuana-like substance which can enhance the natural high), it's possible working out can help an individual cope with the recovery process.
Green Living
Skipping routine veterinarian exams to save some money in the short-term could backfire down the road. Your pet needs regular at-home wellness exams and a minimum of one visit to his vet annually so you can stay on top of his current and future health challenges. It's much safer and less costly to keep your pet well than it is to try to reverse or manage a serious illness that has taken hold while no one was paying attention.
March 14, 2012
Spiritual Living
Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could. Barbara de Angelis
Healthy Living
Exercise can reduce stress, because galanin (a chemical found in the brain during exercise) seems to diminish certain stress-related cravings. Other research has found that smokers report fewer withdrawal symptoms and less intense cravings after a trip to the gym.
Green Living
If you feed your dog or cat a commercial pet food, it's a really bad idea to buy a lesser quality brand to save a few pennies. My recommendation is always to feed balanced, species-appropriate meals prepared by you, preferably with at least some raw food components. Preparing your pet's food at home means a significant investment of time; however, it's really the only way to feed your dog or cat nutritiously without breaking the bank. the good news is with a little careful planning, you can buy meats and vegetables on sale in bulk and prepare your pet's meals days in advance.
March 15, 2012
Spiritual Living
Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly and without expectation. We don't love to be loved; we love to love. Leo Buscaglia
Healthy Living
Embracing a vegetarian diet could make you happier and less stressed, according to new research published in Nutrition Journal. The reason comes down to fatty acids: Diets that include meat and fish are higher in arachidonic acid (AA), an animal source of omega-6 fatty acids and previous research has shown high levels of AA can cause mood-disturbing brain changes.
Green Living
Feeding your pet well means serving nutritious, species-appropriate meals -- meals prepared in the right portions for his size, age and activity level. Figure out how many calories your dog or cat should consume each day and practice portion control to insure your pet isn't on the road to obesity. Not only do overweight companion animals have a lesser quality of life than their fit and trim counterparts, they also often suffer a long list of obesity-related disorders that can be very costly to manage or resolve.
March 16, 2012
Spiritual Living
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. Aristotle
Healthy Living
If you're looking for an easy way to optimize your diet, go for color. Fruits and veggies of all shades contain phytonutrients -- plant compounds that work together to protect your health. These phytonutrients include antioxidants like carotenoids and anthocyanins that give produce its color and may play a role in preventing age-related diseases like cancer and heart disease.
Green Living
The more physically and mentally fit your pet is, the less it will cost you to maintain his health. As is the case with humans, a well-exercised cat or dog is simply much healthier than his couch potato counterparts. And dogs, in particular, need the mental stimulation exercise provides so they don't become bored and destructive around your house or yard. In a tough economy, the last thing you need to spend money on is expensive replacement furniture or carpet.
