Author: Laura Lynn Klein

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Wellbeing

6 Ways To Relieve Anxiety Without Medication

At its core, anxiety is a good thing: It’s the body’s natural response to danger. But when it becomes irrational or all-consuming, it turns into a disorder. Certain forms of anxiety require medication. In some cases, recovery can be difficult without it, but for some of us, alternative medicine and a few lifestyle changes can make all the difference in the world.
This is not a doctor’s advice, and you should consult with your healthcare provider if you’re suffering symptoms.

What Are the Symptoms of Anxiety?

Although there are varying degrees of anxiety with varying degrees of symptoms, generally it can cause feelings of dread, trouble concentrating, tension, irritability, restlessness, and a sense of constantly anticipating the worst. Physically, it can cause trouble sleeping, a pounding heart, frequent urination, muscle tension and twitches, headache, insomnia, and fatigue.
If you’re suffering from the above symptoms, here are some steps you can take:

1. Lay off the Caffeine

If you’re feeling anxious, giving up caffeine should be your first step because it only aggravates the problem. Caffeine intensifies feelings of restlessness, irritability, and fear, especially if you’re sensitive to it. If you love the taste of coffee, switch to decaffeinated coffee or espresso (espresso has less caffeine than drip coffee). Or if you can’t give up caffeine completely, switch to tea, which generally contains much less caffeine.

2. Try Pranayama

Pranayama—or breath work—is one of the best ways to alleviate anxiety because it drastically slows down the central nervous system. Try these deep-breathing exercises:
Three-part breathing
Start by breathing naturally, relaxing the face, forehead, and jaw. Watch the breath as it expands and contracts in the rib cage. Begin by breathing into the belly, then into the rib cage, and then into the chest. Slowly release the breath from the chest, ribs, and belly. It may help to place the hands on the belly. Continue for 5 minutes.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
Using your right hand, cover the right nostril with your thumb. Breathe in for four counts and then using your ring finger, cover your left nostril and exhale the breath for eight counts. Repeat for 5 minutes.

3. Stay Grounded

Anxiety is energetically caused by a blockage in the first chakra or the Muladhara chakra. This “root chakra”—or energy center—is responsible for our survival instinct; if it’s imbalanced our minds can float off into a world of irrational fears. The deep-breathing method above can help with grounding, as can a number of yoga postures described below.
Knee to Chest
Lie on your back imagining your body sinking down into the earth. Feel the energy from the ground beneath you rising upward. Bend the right leg and hug it into the chest. Hold for 10 breaths and then switch sides.
Bridge Pose
Lie on your back and then bend the knees to connect the bottoms of your feet with the ground. Clasp the hands underneath the body and lift the chest. Hold for five breaths and then release. Repeat once more.
Half Locust Pose
Lie face down, stomach on the floor, legs together, arms placed along the side of your body, palms facing down (toward the floor). Lift your right leg as high as is comfortable and hold for five breaths. Switch sides. Repeat once more.

4. Try Acupuncture

Anxiety can be caused by an imbalance or blockage of energy or life force in the body. In Chinese medicine, this is referred to as Qi. Blockages occur along passages in the body called meridians. A number of acupuncture points can help to unblock these lines of energy. Additionally, research has shown that many of the acupuncture points are located close to nerves, and when the needles are placed they release chemicals in the body that can help regulate emotions.

5. Try Massage Therapy

Research has shown that regular massage therapy reduces levels of cortisol—or the stress hormone—in the body and increases serotonin and dopamine, the body’s feel-good chemicals. Getting a massage every week or every other week can help keep the brain’s chemicals in line, and it can also reduce the physical tension that builds up in the body and leads to mental tension.

6. Use Anxiety to Your Advantage and Get Excited!

Sounds weird? A Harvard Business School study revealed that getting excited helps with performance anxiety more than attempting to calm yourself down. Participants in a study performed better when they got excited about their task than those who were calm, sad, angry, or anxious.
Anxiety can be a painful experience, especially when it takes over your life. But a number of alternative therapies and simple lifestyle changes can help alleviate and reduce your symptoms.

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Wellbeing

What's Energy Healing, And Does It Actually Work?

The body’s energy can have an impact on overall health at all levels without us even realizing it.
You may be familiar with hands-on energy healing therapies like acupuncture and reflexology. These methods can heal the body physically, mentally, and spiritually. But the energetic healing of the body doesn’t have to involve touch at all. Methods like reiki promote healing of the body and mind without touch.
Not convinced? Let’s take a closer look.

What’s Energy Healing?

Humans can store emotional trauma caused by physical and mental stress, violence, false belief systems, and other suffering deep within the body. These stresses can keep us from reaching our full potential. That’s where energy healing—also known as energetic healing—can help. The technique balances and unblocks energy in the patient to lift emotional obstacles that hinder self-growth and success. The techniques can also help us identify emotional issues implanted deep in the body that we didn’t even realize were blocking our potential.

Forms of Energy Healing

Energy healing is an umbrella term for a number of different therapies, including reiki, crystal healing, reflexology, acupuncture, and many others. Let’s look at some of the most popular therapies.
Reiki
Reiki is a Japanese therapy that was brought to the West in the 1930s. It involves scanning the body for energy blockages in the chakra and aura system. The chakras are several points of energy that start at the crown of the head and move all the way down to the seat of the spine. The aura is a subtle field of energy that surrounds the body.
The practitioner works to push out energy blockages by placing the hands over each individual chakra—located at the base of the spine, lower abdomen, upper abdomen, heart, throat, forehead, and crown of the head—and transferring their energy to the patient. Practitioners may emphasize certain parts of the body, depending on the patient’s ailment.
Crystal Therapy
This treatment is similar to reiki in that it uses the chakra energy points to clear blocked energy. During a crystal therapy session, a practitioner places healing crystals at each chakra to work on balancing the body’s energies. Practitioners can also use sacred stones at the various chakra points to open up blockages.
Reflexology
Reflexology works on different areas of the feet that correspond to different regions and organs in the body. The practitioner massages all areas of the feet and toes looking for energy blockages, which can feel like knots or bubbles under the skin. Working on the blockages in the foot corresponds to blockages in certain areas of the body. For example, a blockage in the toes can mean your sinuses are clogged or a blockage on the outer heel may mean you have tight hips. After the session, a practitioner may discuss what parts of the body are energetically imbalanced and need further attention.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is likely the most popular form of energy healing used in the U.S. The theory behind the technique is that mental and physical disease result from blockages in the flow of vital energy along pathways called meridians. Acupuncture uses tiny sterilized needles to unblock the body’s meridians at specific points on the body. The treatment should not be painful, and in fact an acupuncture session can be very relaxing. Many patients will even fall asleep during the treatments, which can last from 30 minutes to an hour or more.

Who Can Benefit From Energy Healing?

Energy healing has wide-ranging benefits, from promoting deep relaxation to helping the body heal itself mentally, physically, and spiritually. The goal is to identify energy imbalances that can lead to health issues. Energy-related ailments can be more obvious—like sleeping problems or depression—or more hidden—like problems finding a partner or the inability to set and reach goals. If you feel like you’re not where you want to be in your life for one reason or another, consider trying one of these techniques either on its own or in combination.
Stagnant energy in the body can lead to a host of ailments, from anxiety and depression to knee pain and inflammation. Sometimes self-limiting belief systems can keep us from getting what we want out of life. If you feel that something just isn’t quite right in your life, it’s worth exploring the many forms of energy healing to see what technique works for you.

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Sweat

How To Choose The Right Yoga For Your Personality

Yoga has many benefits, from relaxation and mindfulness to weight loss and flexibility. With so many forms of yoga, it can be difficult to choose which one is best for you. Whether you’d prefer a faster-paced yoga class or you simply want to touch your toes, here’s how to choose the right yoga for your personality.

The Benefits of Yoga

People come to yoga for many different reasons. Maybe you’re having back pain and you want to avoid pain medication. Or maybe you want a workout without the impact of running. Perhaps you want to learn more about deep breathing and the relaxation that it promotes. The original purpose of yoga was to exercise the body so that it could sit for long periods of time in meditation, but today people do yoga for exercise, flexibility, relaxation, spirituality, and a host of other reasons.

Spiritual Forms of Yoga

If you’re interested in the deeper spiritual benefits of yoga, forms like Integral and Kundalini yoga are good choices. Integral yoga is slow paced, using pranayama (breathing techniques), yogic diet, meditation, selfless service, and a love of the Divine to promote a healthy, balanced, quiet mind. Kundalini yoga is another intensely spiritual practice that focuses on using inner stillness cultivated from yoga postures, meditation, breath work, and chanting to expand awareness of the self.

More Active Forms of Yoga

Many forms of yoga are good for the physical body, but some are more active than others. For example, Power yoga moves quickly through the poses, using Chaturanga Dandasanas, or yoga pushups, to connect sometimes difficult postures. Power yoga is often done in the heat to further amplify the intensity of the workout. Ashtanga yoga is another physical practice that moves through a set series of poses daily.

Yoga for Flexibility

Yoga is wonderful for expanding the body’s range of motion, whether you’re trying to turn back the clock or you’re an athlete looking to heal or prevent injury. All yoga is focused on flexibility but Yin yoga takes it a step further—poses are held for 3 to 5 minutes in an effort to soften the body’s fascia, a sheet of connective tissue that’s located between the muscles.

Alignment-Based Forms of Yoga

Both Iyengar and Anusara yoga are alignment-based forms of yoga. Instructors tend to spend a lot of time on the technical structure of a pose to ensure that students get the most out of the posture while avoiding injury. Props like blocks and straps are often used to align the body correctly while in a pose. Both postures are good for alleviating chronic injuries.

Becoming an Activist with Yoga

Jivamukti yoga uses diet and a focus on environmentalism to promote activism. Yogis are encouraged to take up a vegan diet, and teachers often talk about the importance of environmental protection. The founders, Sharon Gannon and David Life, are both vegans who talk openly and frequently about animal welfare issues.

Yoga for Deep Relaxation

Stress is really harmful to the body; for many yogis, deep relaxation is just what the doctor ordered. Restorative yoga is less about movement and more about promoting the restoration of the body. Using props such as blankets, bolsters, and eye pillows, yogis enjoy a deep relaxation, holding poses for up to 20 minutes. Yoga Nidra is a deep yogic sleep that moves past the dreaming state. Students remain still while listening to a guided relaxation sequence from a teacher or recording. Once awakened, you should feel rejuvenated and vibrant.

No matter what you’re looking for, you’re sure to find a form of yoga that’s the perfect fit. Or you may want to become a yoga mutt who does a number of forms of yoga to fulfill various needs. In the purest sense, the practice of yoga is meant to connect the body and mind, which can result in many other welcome benefits. And although you may have started practicing for one reason, you may discover other perks that you weren’t even looking for in the first place.

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Lifestyle

How To Choose High-Quality Supplements

We take supplements to stay healthy—either to fill in gaps in our diet or to find a natural means of treating a variety of ailments. But increasing scrutiny on the supplement industry has shown that some supplements aren’t at all what the label leads you to believe, and in fact, they may even do more harm than good. Here’s what you need to know.

Does Science Back up a Supplement’s Claims?

Before you buy a supplement, it’s helpful to know whether it’s worth taking in the first place. Does research back up the claims? For example, if you’re thinking of taking açaí supplements for weight loss, you’ll find that according to National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has temporarily halted the operation of a number of websites for making false weight loss claims about açaí. However, if you’re considering taking chamomile capsules for anxiety, you’ll be pleased to know that research has demonstrated this plant’s effectiveness.

Both the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the U.S. National Library of Medicine provide consumers with a library of resources on each individual herb. Just by doing a little research, you can find out about scientific studies as well as side effects and precautions you should know about before taking a supplement.

The Problem with Some Supplements

Sometimes even if the herbal supplement has been scientifically proven to be effective, it may not contain what the label says. In order to cut costs, some companies may add fillers or even contaminants, which often aren’t included in the ingredient list. This practice results in an inferior product that contains far less of the (often more expensive) active ingredient advertised on the label. This deceptive practice is not only misleading, it poses serious health risks for those who are allergic to common fillers like wheat or soy.

Last year, major supplement retailers like Target, GNC, and Walmart were accused of selling supplements that didn’t contain the ingredients listed on the label. A 2012 report of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that improperly labeled supplements could also contain contaminants that were in effect poisonous. This research, along with a number of other studies, shows that supplements can be dangerous if you choose the wrong bottle.

Be Wary of Exaggerated Claims

For consumers, it’s worth being skeptical of seemingly exaggerated claims. If a supplement purports to prevent or cure a disease, the company may not be trustworthy. The FTC has filed more than 30 cases against supplement companies that have made false or misleading claims about their products. Some weight loss supplements, in particular, have been shown to make people really sick, causing scary illnesses like acute hepatitis and jaundice.

Buy Certified Supplements

You can’t know for sure what’s in a supplement unless it’s tested. The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is a nonprofit organization that tests supplements to see if they contain the ingredients that the labels claim they do. You know the supplement has been tested if the label reads USP certified. NSF is another certifying body that independently tests products to ensure that labels are accurate.

What to Look for in a Multivitamin

Multivitamins are among the most popular supplements, so it’s important to know what to look for in a product. For starters, look for essential vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, the B vitamins, vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well as potassium, iodine, selenium, borate, zinc, calcium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, beta-carotene, and iron. The supplement should contain 100 percent of these vitamins except for calcium and magnesium, which would make the pill too large to swallow.

What’s more, make sure you choose a supplement geared toward your sex and age group so it includes the nutrients you need the most. Finally, don’t take supplements that go far beyond 100 percent of your daily allowance; some studies have shown them to be ineffective and, in some cases, even dangerous. Mega doses of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K can build up in your system and cause problems.

Supplements are part of a healthy lifestyle for many of us. That’s why it’s important to ensure that you get what you’re paying for as a consumer.

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Nosh

Are Vegetarian Sources Of Iron As Good As Animal Sources?

A plant-based diet has long been praised for its health benefits. Research has even shown that vegetarians tend to live longer because they have lower blood pressure and an overall lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. While a plant-based diet is undoubtedly good for your health, one concern for vegans and vegetarians is getting enough iron. Can you get enough iron without animal sources? Are plant-based iron sources as good as iron sourced from animals? Let’s take a closer look.

What Does Iron Do in the Body?

Iron is an essential mineral that transports oxygen all over the body. If you’re iron deficient, your body cannot make enough red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Men and non-menstruating women need 10 mg per day, while menstruating or nursing women need 15 mg, and pregnant women need 30 mg daily.

Heme Versus Non-Heme Iron

Meat, especially red meat, is the best source of heme-iron because you’re directly consuming animal blood proteins (hemoglobin and myoglobin). This means it’s more easily absorbed in the body. Because it’s so easily absorbed, it’s the best source for those who are iron deficient. In all, 7 to 35 percent of iron from animal sources is absorbed.

Non-heme sources of iron are plant-based and include legumes, nuts, and vegetables. Non-heme sources also include iron that’s used to fortify foods like cereal and oatmeal as well as iron found in supplements. This type of iron has to be converted to a usable form in the body, and as a result the body only absorbs between 2 and 20 percent of iron from plant-based sources.

Factors That Affect Iron Absorption

The concern is not solely about the amount of iron that a person consumes, it’s about ensuring that the body is properly absorbing that iron. Iron absorption is affected by a number of different factors, and that’s why the range of absorption is so wide. For starters, if you’re iron deficient your body is more likely to absorb more. But this absorption tapers off as the body gets enough iron.

Diet can also affect absorption. Ascorbic acid or vitamin C found in foods like kiwi, mango, papaya, and pineapple can improve the body’s absorption of iron. Surprisingly, the moderate consumption of alcohol–one drink for women and two for men in a sitting–can also positively affect the body’s absorption of iron.

Certain foods can hinder the body’s ability to absorb iron. For those with healthy levels of iron, this shouldn’t be a concern, but if you’re deficient, it may be worth investigating. Calcium, found in dairy, tofu, sardines, and certain vegetables, can inhibit absorption. Additionally, phosphoprotein, a compound found in eggs, binds to iron proteins and can hinder its absorption in the body. And finally, oxalates found in chocolate, tea, and wheat bran have also been shown to negatively affect iron absorption.

Heme and Non-Heme Sources of Iron

Heme iron is found in a number of animal sources, most abundantly in beef liver, ground beef, ground chuck, chicken liver, clams, and oysters. Non-heme iron is found in a wide variety of foods, but the most potent sources include fortified oatmeal, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, soybeans, navy beans, lima beans, and black strap molasses.

How to Get Enough Iron on a Vegetarian Diet

Just because you’re a vegetarian or vegan doesn’t mean you have to fret about getting enough iron. Although non-heme iron isn’t absorbed as easily as heme iron, it’s present in so many foods that if you eat a balanced diet, you can easily get enough iron to avoid deficiency. This, combined with foods that are rich in vitamin C to aid absorption, will keep you strong and healthy. If your levels are low you may want to avoid foods that can hinder absorption, such as dairy, eggs, tea, coffee, and chocolate.

If you’re concerned about iron deficiency, talk to your healthcare provider about getting your levels tested. But just because you’re an exclusive veg-eater doesn’t mean you’re deficient. Eating a balanced diet full of healthy iron sources does a body good, whether you’re a plant eater or a meat eater.

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Nosh

The Broke Person's Guide To Eating Clean

The benefits of eating clean are numerous, from a slim and trim waistline to renewed energy and a clear head. But for many looking to embark on a cleaner diet, the cost can be a downside. A diet rich in whole, organic food can be expensive. But with a few insider tips, you can have your vegan, organic, gluten-free cake and eat it too. Here are some tips for eating clean on a budget.

Think Seasonal and Local

Eating with the seasons and buying local is a trick that seasoned chefs have used for years to save money on the monthly food budget for their restaurants.
For example, in the fall, it’s much less expensive to enjoy pumpkins, cranberries, and apples when they are at their peak and farms have an overabundance of them than it is to choose avocados, tomatoes, or peaches that are expensive and out of season.
Hit the farmers market weekly and load up on the best of the local bounty, or subscribe to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) plan and support your local farmers by purchasing a share of the harvest at the beginning of each season.
Each week you’ll get a box full of what farmers are growing, and you can plan your menu accordingly. This will also allow you to get to know the farmer who grows the food you are considering buying and learn about how it’s grown. For example, you can ask the farmer what kind of chemicals they use on their crops for pest control. Or you can ask the rancher if the animal you are about to buy was given hormones or antibiotics and how it was raised.
Local and seasonal foods usually pack a bigger flavor punch too! A tomato caprese salad made with a hard tomato harvested in December is tasteless, especially when compared with the sweet summer tomatoes that are harvested in their prime.

Don’t Fear Frozen Foods

If you’re a huge fan of a morning smoothie, frozen mango, strawberries, and blueberries are frequently just as tasty as fresh, especially out of season. Fruits and vegetables are often frozen at the peak of freshness so you won’t be sacrificing flavor.
And they can be much more affordable too. Sometimes I’ll get a craving for a pea pasta with greens in the dead of winter, so I’ll use frozen organic peas (that really taste delicious), toss them with some greens, whole wheat pasta, and a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and that’s dinner! Oh and skipping the meat will quickly save you money too.

Always Shop With a List

Don’t ever hit the grocery store without a list because you’ll end up blowing a bunch of cash without knowing what you’re having for dinner that week. Even worse is going to the grocery store when you’re hungry too.
When I’m creating my shopping list, I choose at least three dinner meals that I’ll make that week with enough for leftovers (so I don’t have to cook from scratch every night of the week, and we usually go out to dinner once per week). After picking out recipes, I write out all the ingredients that are necessary for each recipe.
When I shop, if I see a similar ingredient to what’s on my list that’s less expensive or on sale, I’ll substitute it into my recipe.

Get the Most Bang for Your Buck

The foundation of my clean diet includes a number of less expensive staples. Cabbage, for example, may not be a glamorous vegetable, but it’s relatively inexpensive, versatile, and it lasts a long time in the refrigerator.
In fact, I love to make salads with heartier leaves like cabbage, kale, collard greens, or Swiss chard because they hold up as leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days, unlike lettuces that are delicate (they’re perfect for Mason jar salads too!) Bananas, kale, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, legumes, and grains are all less expensive items that can be used in a laundry list of delicious healthy recipes.

Reduce Your Intake of Animal Products

Animal products are often the most expensive items on any grocery list. That’s why it can be advantageous to build a diet that either excludes these foods completely or severely limits them. Make dairy a condiment instead of the main course, and if you’re going to eat meat, limit it to special occasions.
Plant-based protein sources such as beans, legumes, tofu, tempeh, and seitan are always less expensive than beef, fish, and many types of cheese. Furthermore, if you’re eating clean, you’ll need to buy more costly organic animal products in order to avoid hormones, antibiotics, and any other additives that are given to livestock to get them to market quicker.

Learn to Cook

It’s wonderful that more and more restaurants are beginning to cater to healthy eaters, from vegan and gluten-free to organic and non-GMO offerings. But even still, eating out is way more expensive than cooking at home (and you really don’t know what’s going into your food when you eat out).
Learning to cook is one of the best things you can do for your health because you can control the quality and price of the foods you eat. So buy yourself a clean eating cookbook or choose a few clean eating websites (like that of yours truly) and begin planning your healthy menus weekly. You’ll save cash and at the same take pride in the fact that you’ve cooked your family a healthy and delicious meal.
You don’t have to be rich to eat a clean diet. By planning ahead and making a few simple adjustments, your dollar can go a long way at the grocery store or local farmer’s market.

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Lifestyle

Edible Water Bottles May Be Available Soon

Water is an essential component of life. After all, up to 60 percent of the human body is made up of water that’s constantly being replenished. It detoxifies the body, keeps cells healthy, and aids in digestion. That’s why it’s important to drink 8-10 glasses of water daily. Although ample water is essential to optimal health, plastic water bottles are widely known as an irresponsible means of staying hydrated. That’s why scientists are looking for new and innovative ways for us to get our fill of this liquid glory without plastic.

The Problem with Plastic

Plastic water bottles come with a host of issues. First of all, plastic isn’t biodegradable, which means it doesn’t break down, and thus ends up polluting our lakes, rivers, and streams while piling up in landfills. In the U.S., 1,500 plastic water bottles are used every second. Marine species and seabirds often fall victim to our discarded aqua vessels. One dead albatross, in particular, was found with 113 discarded water bottle caps in its stomach, and a sperm whale fell victim to a water bottle lodged in its small intestine. When waste has nowhere to go, it litters Mother Nature while taking its toll on wildlife.

Plastic is also problematic because it’s made from hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) and natural gas. HGLs are petroleum byproducts made from oil and natural gas refining. In 2010, 191 million barrels of HGL were used just for the production of plastic.

Plastic also contains bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound that’s a known endocrine disruptor. BPA confuses the endocrine system and causes problems with fertility in women and birth defects in fetuses. It may also be a carcinogen. Plastic water bottles also contain phthalates, another endocrine disruptor known to cause developmental problems in children, reduced sperm counts, and tumors in animal studies.

Ooho!: An Edible Alternative

Ooho! is a new form of biodegradable and edible (yes, you read that right!) packaging invented by three London-based industrial designers: Rodrigo García González, Guillaume Couche, and Pierre Paslier. Shaped like a gelatinous blob, it’s described by the company’s founders as “water you can eat.” Made from calcium chloride and a brown seaweed derivative called sodium alginate, it’s strong, biodegradable, and once you’re done slurping it up, you can take down the packaging as well. No, you don’t have to eat the container, but it’s natural enough that if you wanted to, you could safely ingest the packaging without taking in any of the nasty chemicals listed above.

How Ooho! Is Made

The blob-like container is made through a process called spherification, which shapes liquids into a sphere and then constructs an edible gel around the liquid. The water is frozen and then the gel is formed around it. It’s like popping a blob of hydration in your mouth that is similar in consistency to an egg yoke. The membrane holds the liquid in place but then can be easily punctured and even eaten. The double membrane around the water also makes it possible to brand and label the product while keeping the water from being contaminated. When you’re done slurping the water inside, you’re left with edible packaging that resembles thicker cling wrap (though it’s not plastic).

An Inexpensive Fix

Even better, Ooho! isn’t expensive, costing just 2 cents per bottle. And since production is cheap it has the potential to even compete with plastic water bottles, which are currently a ubiquitous part of the industry. Although Ooho! isn’t in production yet, the company founders recently won a sustainability award from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology for coming up with a good replacement for plastic water bottles.

The Downsides Of Ooho!

Ooho! does have a few downsides. First, it’s somewhat messy when you bite into the hydration bubble, leaving droplets of water behind. And second, it would be difficult to keep the packaging from being contaminated in commute, especially if it’s supposed to be completely edible.

Ooho! is a great invention for those who love bottled water but don’t like the unsustainable plastic water bottle that’s left over. It’s delicious hydration with zero waste.

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Lifestyle

Startling Discovery Sheds New Light On The Health Hazards Of Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is such an important part of our everyday lives that we hardly realize it’s there. From smartphones to tablets, laptops, and even televisions, we depend on its signal for many aspects of our lives. But one thing that might surprise you about your wireless router is that it’s continuously putting off radiation. How far does the radiation carry, and does it have an impact on your overall health? Let’s take a closer look.

What’s the Deal with Wireless Router Radiation?

Wireless routers put off a type of radiation called electromagnetic fields (EMF) to send their signal through doors and walls. While it’s not completely clear that EMFs are dangerous to human health, what is abundantly clear is that we’re exposed to way more of it than our grandparents were, and the exposure gets more intense every day. Some research has shown that radiation pollution as a result of Wi-Fi can have dramatic effects on plants.

When Plants Won’t Grow

A student science experiment in Denmark showed that radiation from a wireless router may have a scary impact on plants. The students wanted to conduct an experiment after observing that they had difficulty sleeping with their cell phones near their heads in bed. Although they wanted to see what impact wireless radiation has on human health, they didn’t have the tools to do that, so instead they decided they would conduct an experiment on plants.

To do so, they filled six trays with garden cress plants and placed them in the room with a wireless router and then filled six more trays with the same plants and placed them in a room without a wireless router. Both sets of plants were watered and temperature controlled. The plants were observed for 12 days, and at the end the student researchers noticed that the plants in the room with the wireless router refused to grow, whereas the plants in the other room were lush and green. The mini research study has sparked a debate about the adverse health issues associated with such radiation.

Should These Results Scare Us Humans?

It’s a little more difficult to see the impact of wireless router radiation on humans, but this little study does make you think. And other reports have shown that Wi-Fi can contribute to insomnia. That’s why the students complained that they had trouble sleeping when their cell phones were left by their heads. Animal studies have also shown that the radiation can disrupt cell development and cell growth. Other animal studies have shown that it may reduce sperm counts and fertility. But these are mostly animal studies, and so far there is not a scientific consensus. But since EMFs are such a huge part of our lives, it’s worth limiting your exposure where possible.

How to Protect Yourself from Wi-Fi Radiation

Most routers are strong enough to maintain a signal 100 meters away, and they carry radiation that distance as well. But you can take a number of steps to limit your personal exposure to Wi-Fi radiation.

– Choose a router that you can turn off. Some routers have a function that allows you to turn off the Wi-Fi when you’re not using it. This is especially helpful at night when you are less likely to be online. This reduces your exposure dramatically.

– Switch off the Wi-Fi on your devices. You can also switch off the Wi-Fi on your devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, and printers when you’re not using it.

– Invest in radiation protection. Companies like EarthCalm have EMF protection devices for your routers and smartphones. It’s unclear how they work, but many claim that by blocking EMFs, you’ll experience fewer headaches, better sleep, reduced brain fog, and a feeling of relaxation and alertness.

– Get away from your router. If possible, put as much room as you can between you and your wireless router. This may not be possible in small spaces, but the more distance you can manage the better.

Since Wi-Fi router radiation has become so ubiquitous, it’s worth taking a few precautions to avoid it where possible. Don’t panic, but if you can reduce your exposure, take the steps to do so. Especially because it’s still so new that it’s difficult to know the true implications.

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Nosh

Coconut Vinegar: The Best Of Both Worlds

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a well-known cure-all. It promotes weight loss, makes your hair and skin glow, whitens teeth, aids digestion, detoxifies, and reduces heartburn. But when it comes to the latest health food trend, ACV may have some competition: It turns out that coconut vinegar provides the health benefits of rich coconuts and nutrient-dense raw vinegar all in one tasty product.

Why We Love Coconuts

Coconuts have become a very popular health food for a number of reasons. They have strong antioxidant properties that help ward off wrinkles, aid digestion, fight off viruses, balance the body’s hormones, stabilize blood sugar, and hydrate the body. In fact, it’s been shown that populations that eat a lot of coconuts are among the healthiest in the world. I go through a jar of coconut oil a month, using it as a body and face lotion as well as a healthy cooking oil. But coconut vinegar has additional health benefits.

The Health Benefits of Coconut Vinegar

Coconut vinegar is a good source of minerals and phytonutrients, as well as B and C vitamins, fiber, and potassium. What’s more, it’s also a good source of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), probiotics that help with digestion. Perhaps most importantly, although both ACV and coconut vinegar seem acidic, once in the body, they are alkalizing foods. This is significant because an overly acidic body creates a playground for diseases to thrive. Foods like meat, alcohol, coffee, and dairy are all highly acidic, whereas foods like raw vinegar, leafy greens, lemons, root vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, avocados, cucumbers, and celery are all highly alkalizing foods. If you’ve eaten too many highly acidic foods lately, you may want to balance them out with alkalizing foods like coconut vinegar. When shopping for coconut vinegar make sure to choose a coconut vinegar that’s vegan, gluten-free, organic, raw, and unfiltered: basically, as close to Mother Nature as possible.

How to Use Coconut Vinegar

Coconut vinegar is less pungent than ACV, but it still has the flavor of vinegar. Add it to your favorite salad dressing or marinade recipe. In fact, you can add it to any recipe that requires an acid component, such as potato salad, tuna salad, tomato sauce, or a meringue. It can be used to tenderize meat, make sticky rice, and brighten up gelatin desserts. You can also take it before a meal to further aid digestion. It’s best to dilute 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut vinegar in 8 ounces of water. If you drink it straight, you risk harming the enamel of your teeth.

How Coconut Vinegar Is Made

Coconut vinegar is made from the sap of the coconut tree. A contraption is placed on the tree to collect sap. Then it’s naturally fermented for 45 to 60 days. It’s not heated or filtered. Once the vinegar is properly fermented, it’s bottled for freshness. While ACV is commonly used in North America, coconut vinegar is most often used in Asia, where coconuts are prolific. And now that more people are becoming aware of all the health benefits of coconut vinegar, this good-for-you trend is making its way to a health food store in your neck of the woods.

Make Your Own Coconut Vinegar

Coconut vinegar can also be made with ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry. You can make your own healthy vinegar by fermenting coconut water with yeast and sugar. All you have to do is strain coconut water through a fine sieve or cheesecloth, add sugar, and stir well. Boil the mixture to 149 degrees F for 20 minutes, and then transfer to a clean mason jar. Add yeast to the mixture and set aside for a week. Once the mixture has fermented into vinegar, it will be slightly foamy and smell acidic. This means that it’s ready to use.
Coconut vinegar offers the benefits of raw, unfiltered vinegar and coconuts all in one super healthy product. Whether you sip on diluted vinegar and water or enjoy it in a salad dressing, this acidic superfood is worth adding to your health food repertoire.

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Lifestyle

The Problem With Scented Candles

Scented candles have always been associated with all things positive. During the winter holiday months, they provide warmth and a festive atmosphere. When you’re stressed, there’s nothing more relaxing than lighting some candles and drawing a hot bath at home. Whether you’re enjoying an evening yoga class or a romantic meal with your significant other, scented candles help set the mood. That’s why I was sad to learn that many candles can have a toxic impact on indoor air quality, which over time may even cause a number of health problems. But not to worry, you can choose safe alternatives.

What’s in a candle?

Most candles are made with paraffin, the same wax used to soften your hands and feet when you get a manicure and pedicure. But what you might not know is that it’s basically a petroleum waste product created when crude oil is refined into gasoline. Yuck. What’s more, paraffin wax also produces black soot, which can penetrate the deep areas of your most vulnerable lung tissue when it is inhaled.

Then there’s the wick. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most U.S. manufacturers have said that they won’t use wicks made with lead, but they aren’t mandated to do so. If the candles are imported from other countries (and more than a third are), there’s no telling whether a seemingly innocent wick is laced with lead. As you can imagine, lead doesn’t improve your indoor air quality but actually hurts it. Breathing in even low amounts of lead can do damage to your nervous system. The side effects from lead exposure include hypertension, depression, kidney disease, anxiety, irritability, learning difficulties, problems with concentration, and the list goes on.

What about the scent?

Scented candles often contain phthalates, chemical ingredients that are used to spread scent throughout the air. Phthalates–also found in air fresheners, perfume, plastics, and other personal care products–are known endocrine disruptors that can cause hormone abnormalities, negatively affecting reproduction and even causing birth defects. Artificial scents may appear to be derived from pine needles, pumpkin pie, and sour apple, but often these scents are made from a laundry list of chemicals that in no way come from nature. Many scented candles emit dangerous chemicals like benzene and toluene, two known carcinogens.

Choosing a safe alternative

Finding alternatives to paraffin candles with toxic fragrances is actually pretty easy, you just have to know what to look for. Choose unscented candles that use cotton wicks. Beeswax and soy candles are a popular alternative, but you still have to be aware of how much and how long you’re burning candles in a room. And if you care about whether your products are made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), soy candles may not be right for you (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a certified organic soy candle). Another great alternative is supporting local handmade candle manufacturers that use safe, nontoxic ingredients.

Essential oils can purify indoor air safely

If you really just want to freshen stale indoor air, diffusing pure essential oils is a great alternative to scented candles or air fresheners (which are toxic). They don’t require you to burn anything and can have great therapeutic effects (they are what is used in most fancy spas). There are a number of methods of diffusing essential oils, but my favorites are a nebulizer or ultrasonic diffusers, which seem to work much better at dispersing fragrance. To further clean the air, if it’s warm enough, open the windows daily to freshen up your air. Or consider adding plants to your home that purify the air, such as aloe vera, spider plants, and Gerber daisies. You can also add a Moso Natural Air Purifying Bag to each room in the house.

Most scented candles have no place in the home because they emit dangerous chemicals. That delicious scent may seem like it comes from Mother Nature, but in reality, it’s an artificial scent created in a chemical laboratory. Fortunately, if you educate yourself, you can choose safe alternatives. Beeswax candles add that same romantic glow to your home without known carcinogens like lead, benzene, phthalates, and toluene. Essential oils can freshen stale air in your home and even make it smell like a spa. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, creating a spa retreat at home, or enjoying a candlelit dinner, choose a safer way to enhance the mood.