Could You Go Raw?

Have you heard of the raw foods dietary approach? It’s a growing movement, led by many well known figures who have been at it for years. Take Super Model Carol Alt, for example, who embarked upon her raw food journey decades ago for health reasons. Her experience was so transformative that she was compelled to write not one, but three very comprehensive books on the subject, complete with a plethora of smart tips and fabulous recipes.

So, why would someone explore the raw foods experience? There are numerous reasons. Some may go in with the intention of a short term mini-detox or cleanse emphasizing fresh, raw foods and beverages, and feel so energized that they choose to continue. Others may already follow a plant-based diet of cooked foods, and opt to boost their wellness with an infusion of nutrients and enzymes from raw foods. Yet other people may have serious health issues, and seek out the purest possible diet in a desperate attempt to salvage their wellness. One retreat that has long catered to these needs is the renowned Hippocrates Institute in Florida: http://hippocratesinst.org/

One fascinating aspect to eating raw for any reasonable period of time is the changes you’ll almost inevitably experience. There’s an undeniably cleansing effect to these beautiful foods, bursting with nutrients, phytochemicals, fiber, enzymes and healthy fluids. Your body literally can’t help but respond.

Prepare for a wonderful, if occasionally challenging, journey. That’s because your experience is partially determined by your previous diet and general state of health. Depending on where you fall in that spectrum, you may experience some detox symptoms, from mild headaches to frequent (cleansing) bowel movements, all of which are part of your healthy transition. Perseverance is the key!

Numerous studies show that cooking causes a significant decrease in the nutritional profile of most foods. Heating food beyond 118 degrees Fahrenheit damages crucial enzymes and decreases the potency of natural vitamins/minerals. A major key to optimal health is deriving the maximum level of nutrients possible from the foods you eat. Consuming raw food is the obvious solution!

Eating cooked food (especially acid-producing meats), on the other hand, takes a heavy toll on your body’s enzyme reserves, whereas raw food is highly alkaline and dense with natural live enzymes. Why not reserve your metabolic enzymes for detoxification, tissue growth and repair, and assimilation of nutrients, not to mention cell production, growth, and rejuvenation instead?

What if you go part raw? That’s cool too! Just bear in mind, when you do opt for cooked food, it’s wise to supplement digestive enzymes. How about this? Start with 30% raw, knowing that to obtain impressive results that you’ll feel on many levels, at least 70% raw is an ideal goal.

No matter how you proceed, it’s your journey! so why not seek a beautifully healthy, radiant and energized destination?

5 Reasons to Love Your Farmer’s Market

Are you a habitué at your local farmer’s market? For many of us, these open-air, fresh produce festivals are among the highlights of spring through the fall. If you often feel surrounded by strip malls, urban gridlock, and packaged, processed or fast/junk foods, you may especially value the earthy, wholesome quality of locally grown, freshly harvested food. Here are some great reasons to pay a weekly visit to your local farmer’s market:

Better quality food

Farmer’s markets offer the freshest food around─often only hours from the field─which means you can count on perfectly ripe, beautifully high food quality. That's a nice change from force-ripened produce transported from afar, no? You'll also find amazing colors, flavors, and aromas, and many seasonal items that may be new to you. All this nourishes your connection to fresh, whole, real food.

Many pesticide-free options

Farmer’s markets offer many organic and "transitional" options—that's when farms don't use chemicals, but aren't certified organic. Clean, natural produce is far cheaper at farmer's markets than high-end health food stores, and you'll be protecting your family from antibiotics, pesticides, growth hormones, GMOs, and other toxins. Organic agriculture also improves soil fertility, prevents chemical fertilizers from polluting waterways, and encourages species diversity!

Encourages healthy eating

Many people like to learn about how foods are grown and harvested, and appreciate seasonal produce. What better way to do so than to taste farm-fresh food and connect with growers? Children often enjoy the beautifully displayed produce, and when they can sample and choose what they like, they'll be far more likely to eat their fruits and veggies each day, which helps to optimize their wellness on many levels.

Supports your community

Farmer’s markets are cheerful social venues where you can connect with friends and meet your local farmers and food producers. You may also find local eggs, honey, baked goods, natural beauty products, and more. What's especially important is that farmer’s markets help keep small farms alive and growing. Why not support these sustainable food producers when they offer us so much? As a bonus, many farmer's markets offer special events, like cooking demonstrations, music, festivals, and more.

It’s eco-friendly

If you appreciate green living, you know that being a locavore saves vast amounts of packaging waste, not to mention the energy required to ship food around the globe. It's really almost counterintuitive not to take advantage of what your very own community (or those nearby) can provide. Make it even greener by coming prepared with your own bags or even a box to carry your bounty.

Helps curb climate change

According to the American Farmland Trust, with our support, U.S. agriculture can help reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by adopting new practices and technologies and by producing low-carbon renewable energy. Studies indicate that changes in agriculture practices could offset up to one fifth of current U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Now, that's impressive!

If you don't have a local farmers market, the National Farmer’s Market search engine can help you discover nearby sites: http://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets/ Indeed, why not live green, eat fresh and local, and enjoy vibrant wellness?

Eco-Beauty 101

Are you an eco-beauty? That might best be described as someone who consciously seeks out safe, natural beauty solutions, as opposed to chemical-laden, mass market products. Going green with your personal care is smart on many levels. You’ll not only be protecting yourself from absorbing potentially dangerous toxins, but you’ll be doing the earth a favor as well.

Many people simply assume that the attractively packaged personal care products they find in pharmacies, grocery stores, and high-end department stores are safe and beneficial. Often, the opposite is true. Would you believe that neither these products, nor their ingredients, are either reviewed or approved by the FDA before they’re sold to the public? Yet many contain a plethora of chemicals that pose a danger to both the environment and your wellness.

When it comes to personal care products, consider that your skin is highly permeable, absorbing up to 60% of what you apply to it. According to the Environmental Working Group, Americans may use up to 126 different ingredients daily─many of which promote health problems over time. In fact, applying chemicals topically may be even more dangerous than swallowing them since they enter your bloodstream directly.

Eco-beauty is all about becoming more discerning about the products you select, not only for yourself, but for your children as well. If you don’t typically study the labels on your hairspray, shampoo, body lotion, shaving cream, and other cosmetic items as closely as you do with food products, now is a great time to start. Some of the top ingredients to avoid are:

• Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate

• Synthetic Fragrances

• Parabens

• Formaldehyde

• Phthalates

• Propylene Glycol

• Dimethicone

• Triclosan

• Talc

In her book “Easy Green Living,” author Reneé Loux discusses the possible health risks associated with these chemicals in a smart, credible manner. Her book is a treasure trove of green beauty/lifestyle tips and information. Happily, if you’re ready to make some changes, you can find safe, effective alternatives in every personal care category with brands like Kiss My Face, Ecco Bella, Beauty Without Cruelty, Aubrey Organics, Aura Cacia, and Burt’s Bees, among others.

Greening your personal care routine may save you money as well, if you discover that less is often more. Here’s to the natural beauty in all of us!

The Health Benefits of Living Green

Do you have an eco-friendly lifestyle? If so, you may shop with your own cloth bags, compost kitchen scraps, grow your own tomatoes, and recycle everything you can. Daily choices like these go a long way in helping to protect the environment, so bravo! Your choice to live "the green life" has even greater ramifications however, offering significant health benefits to you and your family. For example:

Healthier, safer food

Part of living green is supporting the organic movement. Investing in toxin-free food is important not only for the planet, wildlife, farm workers, and our precious soil, but for you as well! Not only will you enjoy a higher quality menu─free of unhealthy synthetic chemicals─but you’ll also help protect your family from GMOs, those invasive toxic items that remain invisible on food labels. By choosing USDA certified organic, or at least buying fresh and local, you can more safely dine GMO-free. If you can’t buy 100% organic, be selective and go organic with the 12 most contaminated items─named the “Dirty Dozen” by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). These include apples, red bell peppers, celery, grapes, and more: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/

A non-toxic home

Do you clean your home with Ajax, ammonia, and bleach, or other chemical-based products that emit dangerous fumes? Most Americans do! And yet, eco-friendly cleaning solutions are indisputably preferable, given the health risks associated with commercial cleaning products. Many common household cleansers pollute your home with toxic ingredients like phosphates, chlorine, solvents, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), synthetic fragrances, and more. These chemicals contribute to dangerous indoor air pollution─especially hazardous for children and pets. They also cause environmental problems going down the drain. A safer bet is to invest in safe/green products from Method, Seventh Generation, Ecover and Meyers, or make your own cheap, non-toxic cleaning kit: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html

Chemical-free personal care

Did you know that, astonishingly, neither cosmetic and personal care products, nor their ingredients, require FDA approval before they’re sold to the public? Talk about a free for all! The problem for us as consumers is that many beauty, hair and skin care products contain potentially dangerous chemicals, as well as ingredients that can disrupt and mimic reproductive actions in both humans and animals. It’s a game changer when you consider that your skin absorbs up to 60% of what you apply to it! How do you know what to avoid, and what your safest and greenest options are? Learn more here: http://safecosmetics.org/section.php?id=33

Community garden essentials

Do you have a local community garden? Many communities do, and are by far the better for it. It’s actually rather amazing to join forces with others in the larger mission of cultivating healthier food for all. Younger folks may not recall those age-old "Victory Gardens" in times of war, but the concept is the same now, if not more so! Why not collaborate to raise healthy food for ourselves and those we love? If you don’t have a community garden in your area, you can certainly start one with these cool tips: <http://communitygarden.org/docs/10stepsstart.pdfhat

Ideally, you can see that living green is the ultimate solution. To the extent that you personally limit your carbon footprint and live better and healthier, even on a budget, you make a great difference. To the degree that you inspire others with your example, you hit the ball out of the park!

Summer Cleansing for Health & Beauty

While summer brings a wealth of options for outdoor fun in the sun, it’s also an ideal time to rejuvenate, renew, and boost your wellness naturally. A great place to start is with a refreshing cleanse─from the inside out. The following natural tactics may inspire you:

Boost hydration

Consuming enough water daily optimizes your wellness as it facilitates many bodily functions, including digestion, absorption, circulation, and waste removal. Even mild dehydration is harmful, blocking the removal of metabolic wastes and adding to your burden of accumulated toxins. Distilled water, which is rated purest and cleanest by the National Science Foundation, is inexpensive and widely available. Keep it easily accessible, chilled if you like. Add variety with a range of caffeine-free teas, hot or iced, or sparkling water with a squeeze of fresh citrus.

Love cleansing foods

When it comes to rejuvenating your body naturally, food really is the best medicine. You can combat the harmful effects of pollution, food additives, second-hand smoke, and other environmental toxins with deliciously cleansing foods like apples, berries, citrus fruits, beets, dark, fresh greens, and other water-dense produce like tomatoes, melon, and cucumbers. Go organic as often as possible, especially with the 12 most contaminated produce items, otherwise known as The Dirty Dozen. See the full list here: http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

Scale back on “wellness sappers”

Wellness-sapping foods include refined, fried, processed and/or sugar-dense items like cheap/fast food, commercial baked goods, white bread, pastries, cookies, pies and cakes, as well as sodas and other sweetened drinks, candy, etc. Heavily sweetened items spike your blood sugar levels, leading to a rapid insulin rise and fall that can drain your energy and promote weight gain, among other health problems. As for beverages, too much coffee or other caffeinated drinks can overtax your adrenal system and, along with alcoholic beverages, promote low-level, chronic dehydration.

Detox your skin

Your skin is a primary means by which your body releases toxins, through sweat and the shedding of dead skin cells. Gentle daily exfoliation helps ensure natural cellular turn-over. Dry skin brushing with a soft brush or loofah prior to your bath or shower expedites this process while boosting healthy blood circulation and lymph flow. Natural scrubs and masks are ideal for a radiant complexion, but you can skip the costly commercial products with these beautifully effective DIY recipes: http://beauty.about.com/od/homemadefacemaskrecipes/tp/Face-Mask-Recipes-For-All-Skin-Types.htm

These few steps may seem minor, but the collective impact on your overall wellness is powerful. Why not use this gorgeous summer to optimize your health and beauty─naturally?

5 Important Wellness Questions

According to a national poll in March from the Atlantic, 90% of Americans think they're in "very good" or "somewhat good" health. Yet, these assumptions are at odds with the facts, as the most recent Centers for Disease Control numbers reveal that more than one-third of us are obese, while 10% of Americans face one or more chronic conditions, like diabetes, high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol levels. There’s a significant gap between the way people in this country perceive their level of wellness, and the reality. How about you? Here are 5 wellness questions we should all ask ourselves:

Do you eat fresh, whole foods?

A healthy diet is a crucial component of overall wellness and disease prevention. Many health issues—including heart disease, arthritis, and cancer—are associated with a poor diet high in processed items, fatty meats, fried foods, saturated fat, sugar, and refined baked goods. Fresh, natural foods, on the other hand, offer a wealth of vitamins, minerals, protective antioxidants, and more. Zero in on fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein, and whole food carbs like brown rice and quinoa. Include nuts and seeds for valuable omega-3 fats.

Do you supplement essential nutrients?

Even if you consume a whole foods diet, you still may fail to obtain optimal levels of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and phytonutrients, especially if you’re highly active and/or under stress. Drugs, medications, alcohol and tobacco all deplete nutrients as well. You would be well advised to take, at minimum, a high-quality multi-vitamin/mineral supplement daily. If possible, add a daily fish oil capsule for brain and heart health, and probiotics for intestinal wellness.

Do you hydrate consistently?

You probably know by now that drinking enough water each day is vital for your body to function properly. While pure, distilled water is ideal, you can male up part of your daily 8-glass quota with caffeine-free tea (hot or iced) and sparkling water, as well as water-dense produce like melon, citrus fruits, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers─even clear soups. Jazz up your water with a squeeze of lemon or lime, cucumber or fresh ginger slices. Try to add a glass of water for every alcoholic drink, soda, and cup of coffee you consume, as these are dehydrating beverages.

Do you move your body daily?

If you’re not a fitness buff, you’ll be glad to know that a little exercise goes a long way, as long as you’re consistent. So make that 30-minute walk with the dog or your kids a daily event. If you’re up for a more exertion, the benefits will match your efforts. Hit the gym, take a class, or work a DVD at home! 3-5 times weekly is fine. You may also like hiking, biking, tennis or swimming. The more avenues you cultivate, the better! Exercise improves your mood, alleviates stress, combats the blues, strengthens your heart and lungs, promotes weight loss, builds lean muscle mass, and boosts confidence and self-esteem!

Do you get adequate sleep?

Did you know that insomnia affects up to 10% of Americans? Restful, restorative sleep can elude most of us at times, especially with added factors like stress, caffeine, alcohol, drugs and medications. And yet, deep sleep is crucial for repairing daily wear and tear on the body, and dreaming is essential to brain health. If you have difficulty sleeping, look at possible causes before grabbing habit-forming pills. If you do need help, consider natural sleep aids like melatonin, valerian, or high-quality combination herbal formulas.

These are all valid question, dots that connect to form a pattern of optimal wellness. So ask away, even if you don’t have all the answers right now. Give it some thought. Remember, wellness is a journey, not a destination.

5 Tips for Naturally Beautiful Skin

Hydrate and glow

Did you know that drinking enough water each day is one of the easiest ways to keep your skin radiant with health? As to how much you should be sipping, 8 glasses (64 oz.) is a good guideline. You can also base your intake on your body weight, estimating an ounce of water for every two pounds. For example, a 200 lb. person would ideally consume 100 ounces (12.5 cups per day) while someone weighing in at 100 lbs. should drink at least 6.5 cups daily. Add pizzazz to your glass with fresh citrus, mint, ginger, or cucumber. You can vary your quenching with hot or iced caffeine-free tea, sweetened naturally with calorie-free xylitol or stevia. Try to incorporate a glass of water for every cup of coffee or alcoholic drink you consume, as both are dehydrating beverages. Drink up, and your skin will glow in gratitude.

Reveal a fresh face

As you may know, your skin works tirelessly to protect you from the outer elements you face daily, while also continually regenerating new cells. That’s important, as the average adult sheds thousands of dead cells daily. If they remain on your face, they can clog your pores, leading to breakouts. You can combat this by helping to clear discarded cells with a gentle, facial exfoliation a few times a week. Exfoliation is a simple but effective process that uses some type of particulate matter, such as almond meal, brown sugar, sea salt, or baking soda, to remove dead skin cells from the surface of your complexion. Gently massaging those particles over your face on a regular basis sloughs off dead cellular matter, helping skin to breathe. You can also make a mask of plain Greek yogurt, which contains lactic acid for a light exfoliation without irritation.

Embrace body brushing

Did you know that most people harbor up to two pounds of dead cells on their skin on a given day? Cellular turnover occurs on a regular basis, but unless old cells are removed, they block new ones, giving your skin a dull appearance. Fortunately, it’s easy to clarify your skin from head to toe with dry brushing using a loofah or soft, natural bristle skin brush. While scrubs are great for facial exfoliation, a gentle but thorough dry brushing before your bath or shower effectively buffs away dead skin cells from your entire body. This also helps stimulate lymph blood circulation, minimizes puffiness from lack of sleep, alcohol consumption or water retention, and clears away toxins, as your skin is the largest organ of bodily elimination. Dry brushing is a simple but valuable health habit that leaves you feeling invigorated and smooth as silk all over.

Love Witch Hazel

If you’re not yet familiar with witch hazel, you may want to add it to your beauty regimen, for several reasons. Witch hazel, extracted from the leaves and bark of a North American shrub, has a long history in folk medicine for various skin problems. For starters, it has an anti-inflammatory effect, helping to heal conditions from rashes to bruises to bug bites. Witch hazel has also been used traditionally to treat sunburn, as it helps to calm irritation and prevent peeling and flaking. As for daily skincare, witch hazel has the unique ability to simultaneously cleanse, tone and moisturize your skin. Its astringent toning benefits are due to tannins in the leaves of the plant that help to gently tighten skin proteins. You’ll also appreciate the fact that this age-old, natural beauty tonic is typically quite inexpensive. Some brands include rosewater, for a soothing, fragrant note.

Choose multi-tasking moisturizers

Most women use some type of daily facial moisturizer. Is yours a high performer on multiple levels? To find the healthiest, most effective option, there are several considerations. For starters, it should be appropriate for your skin type. Some women with dry skin need a heavier product by day, while others can get by with a lighter moisturizer. Your ideal face crème will also have some level of sun protection, at least SPF 15, though 30 is better. If you choose a tinted moisturizer, you may be able to skip foundation make-up entirely. A winning product would be free of synthetic chemicals, easily absorbed, contain sunscreen, and hydrate and protect at the level required by your skin type. You may prefer a lighter crème by day and a denser, more nourishing one by night. Whatever your needs, there’s a growing number of natural products that deliver beautifully.