How Natural Are Natural Flavors?

As a rule I have been able to cook only foods from scratch. You might not think you have time to cook and it is easier to buy some prepared food but it is not as time consuming as you think. Watch the 30 Minute meals by Rachel Ray and you will see.
The mysteries you are buying anytime you buy something in a package are simply scary. First off there is a laundry list of chemicals and most of us have no idea what they are. Second, high fructose corn syrup is pervasive in almost all packaged foods. Then there are the “Natural Flavorings”.


So, exactly how “Natural” are these flavorings. Well they are the same mystery as the chemicals listed on the package. They only need to be the essence of a real food but they are mixed and formulated in a lab and essentially only simulate a real flavor.

The exact definition of natural flavorings & flavors from Title 21, Section 101, part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is as follows:

"The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional."

In other words, natural flavors can be pretty much anything approved for use in food

Do you know what is in a box of instant pudding? Do you want to know? If you make it from scratch you need: Milk, Sugar, Cornstarch, Salt, Vanilla Extract, Butter. No Chemicals and no mysteries. And you can make it in about 20 minutes. Now do you want to feed your precious children mysterious substances or something you can identify and control?

You say you don’t have time to cook from scratch? I say you are not making time to cook from scratch. Your priorities have not lined up with healthy eating.

Do you know what causes cancer? Likely not. Can we say that all the chemicals, “Natural Flavorings”. High Fructose corn syrup, pesticides and preservatives cause cancer? Well no one knows, but why chance it. Home made food is not only better, it TASTES better and you get to control exactly what goes in it.

To Read More Check out Phil Lempert, The Super Market Guru – He writes great articles on food and healthy eating. His “Natural Flavoring” article is a little more comprehensive than mine. Ckick Here To See Phil’s Article

Very Healthy Breathing Exercises – The 1st Step to Meditation

On an earlier post I reminded everyone to breathe. But remembering to breath properly in stress situations is only part of healthy breathing. We should all do deep, cleansing, breathing exercises daily for optimum health.


Be Honest, are you getting the exercise you should be doing? If not, why not start with some deep breathing? The health benefits have been shown to help out with the stress related illnesses I talked about in my last post.

Here are all the technical reasons why we should be doing these exercises.

Breathing serves as the pump for the lymphatic system just as the heart serves the circulatory system. Your cells must have oxygen to survive moment to moment. To thrive, they rely on a complex exchange between the circulatory system and the lymphatic system. Blood flow carries nutrients and ample amounts of oxygen into the capillaries, while a healthy lymphatic system carries away destructive toxins. Proper breathing is the moderator of this exchange.

We don’t often think about our lymph nodes unless we hear about someone with cancer, which is surprising, because we have twice as much lymphatic fluid as blood in our bodies.

So what is the lymphatic system? It could be likened to the body’s sewer system. Lymph vessels form a drainage system throughout the body. Our cells swim in an ocean of lymphatic fluid that carries away the detritus of our immune system, including dead white blood cells, unused plasma protein and toxins.

Blood is pumped around the body by the heart, transporting nutrients and oxygen to the cells. Once the cells have absorbed what they need, they excrete debris and toxins, which then get flushed and deactivated by lymphatic fluid.

The lymph fluid then drains into the circulatory system through two ducts at the base of your neck (the thoracic duct), and becomes part of the blood and plasma that pass through the kidneys and liver. But unlike your circulatory system, your lymph system does not have a built-in pump. It relies on the act of breathing and bodily movement to move all that waste fluid around.

The consequence of a sluggish lymphatic system is that you cannot detoxify properly. And if you aren’t breathing deeply or moving regularly, chances are your lymph fluid is not flowing as well as it could. As you can well imagine, this can lead to health concerns over time, including weight gain, muscle loss, high blood pressure, fatigue, and inflammation.

But the great news is that you can improve your lymph system cleansing by learning to practice deep breathing. The expansion and contraction of the diaphragm actually stimulates your lymphatic system and massages your internal organs, helping the body rid itself of toxins, and leaving more room in the cells for an optimal exchange of oxygen.

And while you are helping your body to clean house, you’ll also be fighting stress.

I could go on and on but my fingers are getting tired. CLICK HERE for a great link from Women to Women Web that takes the reasons a little further. But credit where it’s do. CLICK HERE for a link to The University of Missouri where some bright student posted some great breathing exercises.

Remembering to breathe, so I can see you later.

Stress In Our Lives And What We Can Do About It

I was at work toiling away in my engineering job when a co-worker came up to me and said, “You looked stressed. You should take my stress test.” He handed me a plastic card that you press your thumb against and it changes color according to your body temperature. Sort of like the mood rings. Well the accompanying chart said I was maxed out on stress levels. I took this personally and became determined to control my stress and pass his test. It took about a week but I came out green (the good color) on demand.

I recognized that I was stressing out on the job. I fixed it by being aware of my stress, breathing and remembering to relax.

We all suffer from stress. It comes from our work, relationships, big decisions, the air we breathe and the food and water we ingest.

Stress has a lot of effects on the body. In a fight or flight situation our bodies start to do a lot things. Our adrenaline gets going, our digestion shuts down, our immune system turns off. All these responses are so the body can have the reserves it needs to survive. Chronic stress leads to the body being confused and shutting down other systems to prepare for fight or flight.

Certain illnesses, like high blood pressure and ulcers, can be directly linked to chronic stress.
The food we eat can be a stressor. Foods that are high in sugars offer empty calories that we don’t digest properly and the body is put in a stress situation. Start watching the foods you eat and be careful to get balanced nutrition. And please avoid the processed foods like sugars and white flour.

Polution in the air and water are also stressors. We can’t always control our outer environment but we can be aware.

Ways to offset stress. First be aware. Our body tells us we just need to be in tune. Relax. Remember to breathe (please read my blog on breathing). Do simple meditation daily. Exercise regularly. Choose to eat a healthier diet.

We have more control than we think. Practice good health by reducing stress in your lives. When stress occurs, try to be aware and take measures to minimize the impact. Click Here to read some great stuff on Stress from About.com

Stevia – One of the best kept secrets

I found a zero calorie sugar substitute that is all natural, safe, good tasting, and NOT a poison like the artificial sweeteners found in too many of our foods. STEVIA! If you have known about this, Great! But I’ll bet most of you haven’t, yet. Well I’m about to let the cat out of the bag.
This plant grows native in Paraguay and the Guarni Indians from that part of the world have been using it a tea, medicine and sweetener for centuries. It was only discovered by westerners about 100 years ago.

Here is good news. Stevia has just been approved by the FDA as a food additive. Now big brands will be popping up. No surprise that both Coke and Pepsico are rolling out their own brands. But the path to FDA approval was not easy. The makers of Nutri-Sweet and Equal have been fighting it for over 20 years. Hmmm, I wonder why.

Here are some great links to Stevia articles so you can read all about its history and great uses. Click Here for Health Freedom Resources. Click Here for Stevia.com. And Click here for a wonderful article about those mean folks over at Nutrisweet from a lady named Gail Davis.

You can buy Stevia at all health food stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts and Trader Joes. It is a little more expensive than the artificial stuff but it won’t kill you.

How do I know it is safe? Well I searched around a lot and I can’t find any bad news about it. All the health pages I checked out say good things. But most important, the Ayurvedic doctors that I know and trust, recommend its use as a sugar substitute. How cool is that?

Green Eggs and Ham? No Thanks Sam I Am, But Green Tea – That’s for Me!

This is a reprint from about.com – Author unknown

Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:
· cancer
· rheumatoid arthritis
· high cholesterol levels
· cariovascular disease
· infection
· impaired immune function


What makes green tea so special?
The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don't other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Other Benefits

New evidence is emerging that green tea can even help dieters. In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.
Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing green tea - from deodorants to creams - are starting to appear on the market.

Harmful Effects?

To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.

There is more on the page and many more links to green tea. Click Here.

Remember My Banana Blog? Check out the Lemon

Lemons - Are They a Medical Miracle?By Janet B Pearson


Martha Stewart showed up at Manhattan FBI Headquarters to have her finger prints taken and pose for a mug shot. Then Martha explained how to get ink off your fingers using seltzer water and lemon juice," said Conan O'Brien.

Ok, Conan meant that as a joke, but thrifty and smart families know some of the real (and sometimes surprising) uses for lemons - the special fruit with practical and health benefits dating back centuries.

Ancient Egyptians believed that lemons provided protection against a variety of poisons. Today it's known that lemons have antibacterial and immune-boosting powers, can help with weight loss and digestion problems, and make a thrifty natural cleaning product.

Here are a few of the medicinal uses for lemons and lemon juice:

A few drops of juice in hot water are believed to clear the digestive system and purify the liver.
Lemon juice makes an effective mouthwash. It removes plaque, whitens teeth and strengthens the enamel.
Added with a pinch of salt in warm water lowers cholesterol levels and aids in weight loss.
Apply to the sites of bites and stings of certain insects relieves its poison and pain.
Use as a hair rinse controls dandruff and makes hair shiny and soft.
Lemon juice can be used to treat acne.
Remove odors, such as fish, onion, or bleach by rubbing with fresh lemon.
Lemon juice for cleaning:
Clean pots and pans with a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda.
Mix with olive oil to make a great furniture polish.
Brighten your white laundry by adding to the wash.
Use to remove soap scum in your bath and shower.
Lemon juice can be used to clean and shine brass and copper
Better known uses for lemons - cooking and garnishing:
Old-Fashioned Lemonade!
Lemon cake.
Lemon chicken.
Garnish for drinks, soups, and desserts.
Used as a marinade to help tenderize tougher cuts of meat.
Help vegetables such as potatoes and turnips maintain their white color.
Lemons are versatile - having many more uses than included here. Remember they need to be stored in the refrigerator.

Maybe it's actually a lemon a day that keeps the doctor away!

Janet B Pearson is the editor of http://www.thrifty411.com/. She is married and a mother of 2 with a grand-daughter, and a new grandson! She recently completed an ebook "Thrifty Living: Be Thrifty, Make A Budget, and Save Money!"

Her website, http://www.thrifty411.com/ offers thrifty living tips, money saving ideas, and help on how to create a personal budget.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Janet_B_Pearson
Janet B PearsonLevel: BasicI'm married and a mother of 2 with a grand-daughter, and a new grandson! I am a long time IT professional, with a passion for ... ...

Sea Salt vs Table Salt. Why should we care?

We might all agree that Americans eat too much salt. It is in quantities too high in most processed foods and all fast food. But we who like to cook and know how to use it in moderation, want to be able to use some salt, right?

The TV chefs like to use course sea salt in lieu of table salt. Is it for taste or is it because sea salt is healthier or both?

Well I have done some research and the general consensus is that natural unrefined sea salt is better for us. Where as table salt has been stripped of all minerals except sodium chloride and has additives like iodine and anti-caking agents, sea salt has lots of trace elements and the iodine is simply not necessary. Here is the best web page I could find with a thorough explanation of all the salt processes.

It seems like anytime the factories want to refine some food they strip it of all the good stuff. So why be surprised when the same thing happens with salt.

But not all people are convinced. The Mayo-Clinic says there is basically no difference. Click the link and read for yourself. I am beginning to have less faith in modern medicine and their web pages. Here is one more link stating that sea salt is better.

As to the chefs on TV, I wrote Emerill a note and asked him. All he had to say about sea salt was BAM!! They all swear it tastes better and after a while of using it you will be a convert too.

So make the healthy conversion to course, unrefined, sea salt. Aye Aye Matey.

Today I made a clean dirty rice – isn’t that an oxymoron?

Here is the rice part. Get a multi grain rice with wild, brown, long grain etc. at your favorite health food store or grocery store.

2 parts water to rice. So one cup of rice will need 2 cups of water. In a large frying pan with a lid. Stir one cup of rice around in 2 tbs butter on a low heat for about 5 minutes. I would say until brown but it is mostly brown already. So go to about that same equivalent. Add 2 cups chicken broth. Bring the mixture to boil. Just before putting the lid on it, sprinkle some parsley flakes over the top of the rice. Cover and simmer for about 25 minutes or until cooked. Wild rice needs about twice as long as white rice.

So why is my dirty rice not so dirty. The way I know how to make it calls for sausage, red peppers, onions, tomatoes and what ever else might be sitting in your fridge. So let’s substitute sausage for chicken.

Get 1 pound boneless chicken breast and cut them into one inch wide strips. Season with pepper and sea salt. In a very hot skillet, sear the chicken on all sides. Then set on a cutting board and cut into small cubes about 1 inch or smaller. Set aside.

Dice into small pieces, ½ large onion. ½ red bell pepper, ½ yellow bell pepper, one large tomato.

Sauté the onion in a skillet on medium heat until the onion just starts to get soft. Add the pepper and continue to sauté for about 5 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and keep cooking for about 5 more minutes. The tomatoes will make the whole thing juicy.

Combine the chicken with the vegetable medley and serve on top of that wonderful rice. Or for the dirty rice effect, just mix it all up. Season with some really hot sauce like Tobasco or similar.

This is a great meal for about 4 people and healthy because you know what went in it. More importantly what did not go in it.

My Karma ran over your Dogma

Or Is Karma inconsistent with Christianity?

Deepak Chopra posts on his web page: Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind . . . what we sow is what we reap. And when we choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our karma is happiness and success.

Now that is a wonderful passage, isn’t it?

Chopra Follows with:

I will put the Law of Karma into effect by making a commitment to take the following steps:
1. Today I will witness the choices I make in each moment. And in the mere witnessing of these choices, I will bring them to my conscious awareness. I will know that the best way to prepare for any moment in the future is to be fully conscious in the present.

2. Whenever I make a choice, I will ask myself two questions: “What are the consequences of this choice that I’m making?” and “Will this choice bring fulfillment and happiness to me and also to those who are affected by this choice?”

3. I will then ask my heart for guidance and be guided by its message of comfort or discomfort. If the choice feels comfortable, I will plunge ahead with abandon. If the choice feels uncomfortable, I will pause and see the consequences of my action with my inner vision. This guidance will enable me to make spontaneously correct choices for myself and for all those around me.

A Christian might say #3 a little differently: I will pray to the Lord for guidance…. But this is great stuff, regardless of its origins. So does Karma get in the way of Dagma? No. We have been saying for years, What goes around comes around. As a Christian, I see no conflict with a belief in Karma and the values espoused by Religion. If we are helping people, we are doing a universal good. I know my Pastor has asked us to do acts of kindness without expecting anything in return. When you do a good turn, you feel good. And that has to be healthy.

I highly recommend the movie “Pay it Forward” with Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. It is a tear jerker but in a good way.

Do You Have High Blood Pressure?

You can have high blood pressure (hypertension) for years without a single symptom. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke.

Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

High blood pressure typically develops over many years, and it affects nearly everyone eventually. Fortunately, high blood pressure can be easily detected. And once you know you have high blood pressure, you can work with your doctor to control it.

I am lucky or I take good care of myself (not sure which). My blood pressure runs about 120 over 70 consistently. My wife has been struggling with high blood pressure for the past 5 years or so. She was not overweight 5 years ago when the doctor put her on a medicine (diovan) and she gained 20 pounds in 2 months. This does not sit well with her because now she is overweight with high blood pressure. So she switched pills (lisinopril) and the new ones made her cough incessantly. Another unwanted side effect. I suggested she get off the pills all together and we get her blood pressure down with diet and exercise. Well we never got it down but it got no worse and we are both eating much better.

We have a good friend, male, age 30 with chronic high blood pressure. He has also tried the gamut of pills and had many of the same side effects. He decided to go strict vegetarian and was able to get his pressure in check. He has had high blood pressure for so long that he can tell you when it is rising and begin doing breathing and meditation techniques to bring it down. He settled on a low dosage of the pill that has the least side effects for him and he is in great shape and a good eater by any standard.

I have never worried about high blood pressure so I did not even know what it was. Yeah! The Internet!! Here is a great page with a very layman’s definition of blood pressure and why we should be concerned about it. Blood Pressure Page

I want feed back folks. Tell me what works specifically with diet and exercise and meditation to help lower blood pressure. I want a holistic approach to high blood pressure. Again, pills might be nice but, alas, those dreaded side effects.
Here is a page with all the medicines, how they work and side effects.

A Basic Introduction Into Ayurveda By a Layman

There is Chinese Medicine and there is Ayurveda. Ayurveda was first, it is 5000 years old coming from India. Chinese medicine is old too but it borrowed from Ayurveda and has minor differences. I am looking for help on the differences and that will be a different post.

Ayurveda translates to the Science of life. Again, it is a comprehensive, natural and holistic medicine dating back over 5000 years. It originates from the Himalayan parts of India.
There are 2 Aspects of Ayurveda: A true simple life style system, A complete natural and holistic medicine which treats all diseases.

If you read my Vata post the other day you’ll remember the 3 Doshas. Everything in the world is composed of the 3 doshas, Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

Vata is a combination of primarily Ether and Air. It governs all movement. Functions of Vata include: movement of thoughts, ingestion, circulation, respiration, peristalsis, elimination. Gumas or qualities of Vata: dry, light, cold, rough, subtle, mobile. Imbalanced Vata exhibits: worry, fear, anxiety, indecisiveness, dryness, gas, bloating, constipation, muscle cramps, joint pain, insomnia. Balanced Vata exhibits: Creativity, Enthusiasm, Flexibility.

Pitta is a combination primarily of Fire and Water. It governs transformation. Functions of Pitta include: metabolism, digestion, body, temperature, appetite, thirst, color. Gumas of Pitta: Oily, sharp, hot, light, spreading, liquid. Imbalanced Pitta exhibits: anger, criticism, judgment, indigestion, heartburn, inflammation, diarrhea, eye problems, skin problems. Balanced Pitta Exhibits: Understanding, Intelligence, Courage, Positive thinking.

Kapha is a combination primarily of Earth & Water. It governs structure. Functions of Kapha include: lubrication, nourishment, support, stability, growth, strength, retention, taste. Gumas of Kapha: heavy, slow, cool, oily, smooth, dense, soft, stable. Imbalanced Kapha exhibits: attachment, greed, possessiveness, slow digestion, colds, cough, congestion, mucous, a tendency for loose ligaments, weight gain. Balanced Kapha exhibits: Love, Compassion, Forgiveness, strength, stability, durability, courage.

7 Tissues: According to Ayurveda the human body consists of 7 tissues: Blood fluid, blood cells, muscle, fat, bone, bone marrow, and reproductive tissue.
Agni – Digestion power
Ama – impurities which are formed in the intestine and penetrates into the body

Perfect Health Definition – One who has healthy appetite (agni), balanced Doshas, balanced tissues, good elimination, and his senses, mind and soul are always full of bliss is a healthy person (Sushruita) – And this is recognized by the World Health Organization.
Food Can Bring Balance or imbalance to our mind-body system.

In Ayurveda we classify food into 6 tastes: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Pungent, Bitter, Astringent. Food that contains all 6 tastes in a balanced way gives maximum balance to the mind and body.
When we eat, we take materials from the outer world and assimilate them in the inner world (Our body). This is an interaction between the inner world (micro cosmos) and the outer world (macro cosmos).

The main principle of Ayurveda is: “I am the universe – The universe is me” or put a little differently – “ As is the human spirit so is the world spirit. As is the human body so is the world body” This is a little deep for us Westerners but it is older than our society. Please remember what the Wellness Warrior asks about thinking outside the box. (Himalayan sages say it “Aham Brahmasmi” )

Man and the Cosmos have infinite internal pure intelligence, which reflects and creates the laws of nature. Spirit: Man and the cosmos are built from the same natural laws. – same laws of physics, chemistry, biology, magnetism, etc. Material: The human body is built of 60% water and the globe is covered with 60% oceans. As Ayurveda is a very practical science it gives us tools to understand the world and the human body.

This just touches the surface. There are many good books on Ayurveda and the internet has some great intros. This is one of the areas that Deepak Chopra specializes in. Personally I am just learning this stuff but I have been very impressed so far. It is practical and it does not always conflict with Western thinking. Remember – Take good care of yourself and you can avoid Western doctors. Also Doctors want to cure you with pills. All pills go to symptoms and have side affects. Ayurveda goes to our habits and imbalances and helps us change our ways to get better.

Eat well be well.

How We Can Drink Water and Help Save the Environment

Deepak Chopra wants us all to help protect our environment, noble. Now I am not a tree hugger but I do believe we owe it to ourselves to help keep this precious resource called Earth in the best possible condition. This is not a political piece nor an environmental piece. It is about IRONY.

OK, Do you drink bottled water? Why? Convenient? Tastes good? Handy? Filtered? When some of us were kids we drank water straight from a garden hose. What changed? MARKETING!! PLUS the fact that the news only gives us HYSTERIA!! Tap water is not bad for us. With some exceptions of some bad chemicals found in some drinking water it is very safe. SOLUTION: Filter it yourself.

What is the irony? Well let’s take a look at that bottled water. I have been to the factory. They simply filter TAP WATER!!! Then they bottle it, put it on a truck and deliver it to your store and have the nerve to charge a dollar or more for 12 ounces. We buy $Billions of dollars a year in bottled water. We are filling our landfills with empty bottles. Trucks drive long distances carrying that water to you and burning lots of Diesel and polluting our air. The bottles are made from crude oil, so the trucks and the bottles increase our dependence on foreign oil. So why are you drinking it? Because you have been sold a bill of goods? Because HYSTERIA and MARKETING work?

You don’t believe me? Maybe Penn and Teller can convince you

So, we don’t like chlorine and the water tastes bad. Get a simple carbon filter and filter your own water for pennies a gallon. Here are all the benefits. We save lots of money. We help conserve our environment. Who does not want to do that?

In our house, we have a Britta. It is a pitcher sized carbon filter that goes in the fridge. Out of pocket = about $20.00, cost for a gallon of water - pennies. There are carbon filters for the water dispenser on your fridge. There are sink side filters that anyone can install and you can start drinking great tasting water, without the chlorine for pennies a gallon. More adventurous people get whole house systems and bathe in filtered water as well as drink it and wash their clothes with it.

Repeat: Net result, we get to drink great tasting water. We can save a lot of money and help protect our environment and – NO more IRONY.

Take a Hike!! No I mean go on a walk

The Amish from Pennsylvania are among the trimmest fittest people in America. How is that? Well doctors wanted to find out and went a studied some of their habits and, no surprise, found out that they walk way more than the average American.

A good morning or evening walk of about 20 minutes a day plus is very good for you and low impact, so minimal wear and tear on your body.

But there are ways to move more and you might be surprised at the cumulative effect.

Park far away from the store at the grocery or the mall

Walk a flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Take your dog for a walk – Added benefit of meeting your neighbors.

Treat yourself to a scoop of ice cream or sorbet but walk back and forth to the store. It is ½ mile one way for us to do something like that.

Go to a mall and simply window shop. Some malls are huge and that could be a nice walk. And use the stairs instead of that huge escalator.

If you are a Soccer Mom or Dad (or other sport) instead of sitting around reading, Walk around the park a few times.

Instead of a coffee break at work, get a few folks together and go on a 15 minute walk, Added benefit of getting out of the office and increasing your circulation in what might otherwise be a sedentary environment

Dance anytime you get the mood.

You if are a hiker, Take a Hike! – no insult intended

Get creative: Find ways to keep moving - Post a comment and give us some more ideas.