After changing the water filters in our home yesterday, I was quickly reminded how dirty and contaminated our water supply is. This photo, one clean filter (left) and the dirty one (right), says a lot about the quality of our water. I don't know about you, but I'd certainly rather invest in a good filter than be the water filter (which is what we are when we drink unfiltered tap water).
Clean water is crucial for detoxification, hydration, and to maintain good health. It also prevents fatigue and boosts energy. Water that's contaminated with pesticides, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals is not good for your health. Check out this video on the topic.
Any filter is better than none, so if you don't currently have a filter on your drinking water, it's one of the best investments you can make for your health.
Tips for juicing: • Juice more vegetables than fruit to avoid juice that's high in sugar (remember than vegetables have natural sugars too) • Do not store freshly made juice for more than 24 hours • Juice the soft fruits and vegetables first. By juicing the hard vegetables last, you'll help to push the soft vegetables through the juicer • Greens are the healthiest to juice, but not always the best tasting. Add a few carrots or 1/2 an apple to sweeten it up a bit
• Obama's health care scheme ruled unconstitutional: U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson dealt a severe blow to Obamacare today, ruling that the government's attempt to force citizens to buy health insurance violates the U.S. Constitution. This decision puts the enforceability of Obama's health care system in doubt.
Obama's health plan was designed around a "minimum essential coverage provision" that seeks to force every American to purchase health insurance beginning in 2014. This is essentially a Big Brother commerce requirement where the government dictates that private citizens must purchase a product or service even if they don't wish to. It also forces followers of natural medicine to buy into a system of drugs-and-surgery conventional medicine even if they have no intention of ever using it.
• US life expectancy continues to plummet, but not because of inadequate health care:A new report published in the journal Health Affairs says the U.S. has dropped to 49th place in overall life expectancy among the nations of the world. The report blames the nation's failing health care system and lack of universal health coverage as the culprit. But the true causes of America's poor health include things like its broken food system, overuse of chemical pesticides, and dependence on pharmaceutical drugs -- all of which are poisoning the population and the environment, and lowering lifespans.
• Energy Drink Ban Proposed for Teens on L.I.:Anyone 19 or younger would be banned from buying non-alcoholic energy drinks under a proposed law now before the Suffolk County Legislature.
• Hospitals to begin publicly reporting preventable infections, deaths they cause: Millions of preventable infections occur at U.S. hospitals every year, and hundreds of thousands of patients needlessly die or become severely diseased from them. And up until now, hospitals have not been required to disclose this information to the public. But a new government initiative that threatens to pull a portion of Medicare funding if hospitals fail to start reporting this crucial information will have most of them in compliance beginning January 1, 2011, according to a recent report.
Hospital-related infections are the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to government figures. Many patients admitted to hospitals for routine surgeries or other procedures end up contracting infections from dirty equipment or from hospital staff that failed to maintain proper hygiene. Roughly 250,000 serious infections are caused by catheters every year, for instance, and 31,000 of those result in death.
• General Mills cuts sugar content in children's cereals but still uses GMOs:Breakfast cereal giant General Mills recently announced plans to slightly cut the sugar content in its children's cereals in accordance with overall pressures on major food producers to fight childhood obesity and its related diseases by making healthier products. However the company continues to use genetically-modified (GM) ingredients in its cereal products, as well as corn syrup, artificial flavors, and artificial colorings -- all of which wreak havoc on health.
• 8 Skin Moisturizer Ingredients You'd Best Avoid: Even if you buy your lotion at a health food store, you may be putting something potentially toxic on your skin... Here's what you should really know about caring for your skin, your body's largest organ.
Hot chocolate sure sounds good on this cold, snowy, December day, doesn't it? But, what if you're allergic to dairy, sensitive to caffeine, and can't have sugar? No worries!
Enjoy this hot beverage made with naturally sweet, caffeine-free carob and coconut milk.
Directions: Heat water in a saucepan and add carob powder, stirring until carob is dissolved. Add coconut milk and heat until desired temperature. Stir in vanilla extract and cinnamon until well blended. Pour into mug and enjoy!
• Looking for other carob recipes? Try this delicious, guilt-free carob cupcakes. • You can also make this a cold drink. After dissolving the carob in hot water, remove from heat, add other ingredients and then add ice cubes.
Hello and Happy Labor Day! I hope you are having a really relaxing and enjoyable long weekend.
I find holidays and cookouts to be particularly hard to cook for and eat at. No one wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on a gorgeous day and the food should be finger-foods and quick bites. But how do you pull people away from nitrate-filled hot dogs and ketchup filled with sugar? Well, it's not hard, you just have to fix healthy, delicious alternatives so people won't miss the not-so-good-for-you-stuff.
I've compiled a list of some good cookout recipes that will not tie you to the kitchen and allow you to soak up some sunshine and good conversations.
