Try These Simple Improvements for a Greener Home

Want to make your home greener without having to spend too much time and energy on it? There are a few simple things you can do that'll make your home more green literally overnight with very little effort.

Here are a few simple improvements you can make for a greener home.

1. Invest in Auto-Off Lights

Getting a light switch system that automatically turns off is a great way to save energy and help the environment.

This is an especially good idea if you have a hard time remembering to turn off the light or have children who aren't in the habit of turning the lights off (and who doesn't?) :-)

2. Purchase Energy Saving Light Bulbs

Energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulb. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Energy saving light bulbs use much less energy than the typical light bulb. They generate less heat and produce just as much light as your typical light bulb.

Yes, they are slightly more expensive than a run-of-the-mill light bulb. However, if you care about going green, this is a really simple way to do so - and they can last 5-20 times as long, so you actually save a lot of money in the long run! CFLs and LEDs are two types of energy-saving bulbs you can find just about anywhere these days.

3. Use Water Conserving Shower Heads

Water conserving shower heads are very affordable, easy to install and can help you save a lot of money on your water bills.

Essentially what they do is inject air inside the streams of water. It still feels like you're getting a full blast of water on your body when you shower, but you're actually using a lot less water. I absolutely love mine!

4. Improve Your House's Insulation

Improving your home's insulation can save you a lot of energy in the long run. It might take a bit of upfront investment, but it'll easily pay for itself.

Insulation will help you keep the heat in during winter and the heat out in summer. It'll help you reduce both your air conditioning and heating bills.

Different kinds of homes and different climates work best with different kinds of insulation. Talk to a local expert to figure out your exact cost to benefit ratio.
 

5. Use Green Products Wherever Possible

There are many places you can opt to go green in your house. You can buy eco-friendly biodegradable dishwashing soap instead of commercial detergents. You can buy organic soap and shampoo in your local Whole Foods instead of mass produced soap.

You can buy biodegradable plastics instead of plastics that clog up landfills. You can buy products made from recyclable products or which are themselves recyclable, instead of products that contribute to our unsustainable waste growth.

These are just some of the many ways you can go green. Just about every room in your house can benefit from going green. Often going green means not only helping the environment, but also saving money for your family. It takes a little bit of effort in the beginning to set up your home properly, but the rewards more than justify the effort in the long run.

How to Achieve Spiritual Health and Balance in Your Life

Life can certainly seem off-balance and out of control at times. In fact, sometimes it seems like harmony is forever out of reach. It seems that we are always juggling too many things, and trying to keep them all in order is an impossible task. There are some things you can incorporate into your life, however, that can help you achieve spiritual health and balance. Here are some suggestions to consider to bring balance back into your life.

* Control - Identify what you can control, and what you can't. Once you recognize that you don't have to be solely in charge of keeping every ball in the air in your daily juggling act, you can let some of them go and focus on the ones that you can control. Diet, exercise, and learning new things are all activities and lifestyle choices you can influence and control.

Fresh vegetables are important components of a healthy diet. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* Diet - Instead of obsessing over weight loss and what the latest superfood is, take an honest look at your diet and make some healthy adjustments. Start small, incorporating real, whole, fresh foods and work toward a balanced diet. It's amazing how much more balanced your life can feel when your diet is.

* Exercise - Any exercise is good as long as it is regular, but if you really want to enhance your spiritual health and achieve balance, engage in exercise that promotes that. Martial arts, Yoga, Pilates, Qigong, and other meditative, stretching exercises benefit the mind, body and spirit.

* A higher power - Engage in prayer and/or meditation on a daily basis. It helps shift your focus off of your problems and onto the spiritual world. It puts things in perspective.

* Herbal tea - Drinking herbal teas can help you toward your healthful goals. Perhaps you need a relaxing blend, or maybe a stimulating one. Tea drinking is actually part of the religious ceremonies in some countries. It connects you to nature and promotes a peaceful spirit.

* Gratitude - Try to cultivate a sense of gratitude in your life. When you are grateful for what you have, it makes what you don't have much less of a concern.

* Sleep - Getting adequate sleep is important for mental, physical, and emotional health. It is a key component of achieving balance in your life.

* Mantras - Internalize a wise saying, verse of scripture, philosophical phrase, or whatever inspires you. Write it down and put it on your bathroom mirror, coffee maker, by your computer monitor, or wherever you will see it every day.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* Nature - Get out into nature. Many of us suffer from an inadequate "dose" of the outdoors, making our lives an imbalanced experience of indoor-only living. Connection with nature helps the spirit, too, and enhances spiritual health. When you can, incorporate elements of nature into your indoor living space too - such as potted plants, flowers, and more. (See Thursday's post for some ideas for incorporating nature into your indoor decor.)


And for more on balanced, holistic living, visit www.newholisticliving.com. 

What Is Your Biorhythm?

In nature, many things run by cycles - the tides cycle, the weather cycles, the season cycles - even the sun goes through an active and passive cycle, or activity like solar flares.  So, if everything around us goes through cycles, shouldn’t we go through cycles as well?  This is what the concept of biorhythms is based on.  The principle is that all humans go through physical, emotional and mental cycles and if we understand these cycles, we can predict them, just like the weather, and use this knowledge to our advantage. 

In the study of biorhythms, our emotions, physical well being, and mental well being are all represented by curves.  There is a midline that is simply the middle state of all these factors.  When a curve goes above the midline, we have a high of the corresponding factor.  For instance, we would be happy if our emotional curve is above the midline, or we would be more physically resilient and better able to heal if our physical curve is above the midline.

The midline is a very important part on the biorhythm scale.  Not only is it important whether you’re above or below the midline, but crossing the midline is a very important time as well.  This indicates a turning point, but it also might be a hard time for you.  You may feel physically or mentally drained, or have emotional ups and downs. 

Biorhythm Chart. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Biorhythm curves also contain an average line.  This is exactly what it sounds like; it’s an average of all three curves.  It simply represents your overall well being.

If you think about it, many people already accept the ideas of emotions and physical properties running in cycles.  Women have a hormone cycle in their body that coincide with their menstrual cycle.  While it’s not necessarily as predictable and precise as some people may suggest, it still occurs.  And many people have theorized that men have a similar cycle. 

Biorhythms run on a different time cycle than this.  In fact, physical, emotional, and mental biorhythms all have a separate time cycle.  As one might expect, the emotional curve has a cycle of 28 days.  The physical curve is shorter at only 23 days, but the mental curve is much longer at 33 days.

Many people hear about biorhythms and think that it sounds like some ridiculous theory that is based on a random idea someone had; however, biorhythms were actually discovered by Dr. Wilhelm Fliess.  He was looking at case studies of his patients and actually noticed that they all seemed to have the same up and down fluctuation in all these factors. 

Some people still think it sounds a bit hokey, because it feels like predicting the future.  But biorhythms don’t predict major illnesses or any future events; they simply predict general well being based on past cycles.  This isn’t going to help you make major life decisions, but you can use it to help decide when to take a vacation, have an operation, or even work your exercise program around it to improve your results and overall health.

For more on biorhythms, see the resources below:
   

No More Excuses: If You Want Organic Living, You Can Have It

We’ve covered a lot over the past month, that’s for sure. If you’re feeling any information overload or are concerned about the choices you’ll make from here, just keep this in mind…

Just one small step to more healthy living is an important one. And as you make each new step, the next one becomes even easier. You don’t have to have all the answers before you start because you’re going to learn as you go along. And besides, only you can decide what is right for you.

A small home vegetable garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whether you start a vegetable garden, decide to raise chickens or rework your budget so you can start eating more organic foods, these are all steps in the right direction.

Start by looking at local resources in your neighborhood. Look for farms, you-picks, seed banks and even educational opportunities available to improve your lifestyle. Some of the resources I’ve mentioned in the past few posts that might help you include:

- The EWG Dirty Dozen - find out which fruits and vegetables are most likely to have the highest and lowest use of pesticides.

- Find farmer’s markets, restaurants and grocery stores that sell organic food.

- Look for you-pick opportunities – just check if they’re organic.

The next step is up to you. I know you’ll be glad you took it.

And be sure to stay tuned to this blog every week for more tips, articles, and resources on healthy, holistic living!

Video - Choosing Supplements Wisely

This is a short but excellent video on the importance of choosing the right supplement for you, and how and why supplements can offer important benefits to your health. Her emphasis on getting your nutrition mostly from food is especially important, and if you do take supplements, a "whole food" form (such as Standard Process or Garden of Life) can be much more effective and impactful for your health.

Choosing Supplements Wisely
Americans spend about $14 billion each year on supplements in an effort to correct less than perfect diets, lose weight, or address specific health issues. H...


Examples of Whole Food Supplements: 
   

The Eternal Debate: Does Organic Living Require Supplements?

Welcome back! We hope you had a nice holiday weekend, and enjoyed the eco-friendly Easter tips we shared with  you last week. This week we're wrapping up with our "going organic" series with a couple more important topics for those wishing to live a healthier and greener lifestyle.

There’s an interesting trend happening in natural and organic living. People who tout the consumption of plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, also seem to consume a lot of supplements. I’ve had many people ask me about this. If you’re living a healthy lifestyle, why do you need supplements?

Dietary supplements, such as the vitamin B supplement show above, are typically sold in pill form. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And it’s a very good question.

Many people living an organic lifestyle cite depleting soils, premature picking, cooking, processing and other factors as decreasing the nutritional value of our food. But here’s my take on it. If you’re eating healthfully, exercising regularly and unless you have specific health issues, supplementation may not be necessary - but it may improve your overall health, just depending on your specific needs.

Supplements are big business. Whether they’re synthetic or they’re natural (if you do take them, go natural), it’s a business that must convince the consumer they need their product.  It’s a decision that each person needs to make for themselves and it’s important to remember that having too much of certain vitamins and minerals can actually be harmful.

And more importantly, supplements can be very expensive and you need to decide carefully if they need to be in your budget.

Many people claim they’ve never felt better when taking a specific natural supplement for a specific purpose. That’s absolutely wonderful and if you’re getting the results you are looking for, more power to you. Just realize that some supplements can create dependence and even though they’re natural, can harm you.

Recently Dr. Oz shared some tips for considering supplements:

- Choose single ingredient supplements and just take the ones you need
- Do your research thoroughly
- Beware of trendy supplements

And here’s how I approach it:

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

- Eat more raw food: The more raw fruits and vegetables you eat, the more nutritional value you can pack in. Cooking strips food of vitamins and minerals, so while you may still eat the same amount of cooked food, you’re reducing the benefit you receive. If you can grow your own, or get them fresh and locally grown, that's even better, as the vitamin content of most fruits and vegetables tends to decline rather rapidly once they're picked.

- When you cook, eat real food, not pre-made processed food. Cooking your own food ensures you can use more wholesome ingredients and use cooking methods that retain the most nutritional value possible.

- Stay active. A lot of your health depends on being active and getting plenty of exercise. You can take all the vitamin supplements in the world, but you still need to get moving. Exercising gives you more energy and can give the same type of boosts that supplements can, but exercise is truly natural. Check out http://www.newholisticliving.com/exercise.html for some fun ways to exercise.

- Pay attention to your body. Eating and living healthy isn’t a foolproof way to stay healthy, unfortunately - it just improves your odds. So do pay attention to your body and seek medical advice, where needed.

- Sleep well. A lot of the reason many of us feel run down is because we simply don’t get enough sleep. Make it a priority and organize your day, giving yourself plenty of wind down time so you can get a proper night’s rest.

And finally, if you're concerned, you can get tested.  There are blood tests that you can get to ensure your body is getting enough vitamins and minerals. Go ahead and get one. You might be surprised that you’re as healthy as a horse. And if you’re not, then you'll know about it and you can take action on those findings. (Vitamin D is definitely one you'll want to ask about - the majority of people in the modern world are deficient in this vitamin, which is one of the most important for your health. The test for this is simple and inexpensive.)

Video - The Raw Milk Debate

This is a great little video which explains why pasteurization of milk began, and how raw milk became looked at as "bad." He also explains why bacteria in raw milk became more dangerous, and how it can be controlled with proper treatment of animals who are raised in a humane, safe, healthy environment. Organic, raw milk from grass-fed cows has been consumed by humans for thousands of years, so why all the hoopla now?

Check out this video to learn more if you've ever wondered why we can't legally buy raw milk in most states anymore....

One Farmers Perspective on the Raw Milk Debate
Mike Guebert, a local small scale integrated livestock farmer who sells raw milk from his farm direct to the public shares his perspective on the safety and benefits of raw unpasteurized milk. According to data from the Center For Disease Control, th...

Organic Milk vs. Regular Milk - What's the Difference?

If you’ve done any research into organic milk, you’ll find many articles claiming that there is very little difference in the quality of the product when compared to regular or conventionally-produced milk. This research is based on the study of the end product, but in order to make an informed decision, you need to investigate the way milk is produced.

You may have also seen dairy labels that say “rBGH-Free” or “rBST-Free” and immediately below, you’ll inevitably see the disclaimer, “No significant difference has been shown between milk from rBGH [or rBST] treated and untreated cows.”

Trader Joe's organic milk label (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This disclaimer a result of a lawsuit Monsanto (remember them?) brought against Maine’s Oakhurst Dairy. In the lawsuit, Monsanto objected to the use of the statements “rBGH-Free” or “rBST-Free” because it implied that these things were undesirable.

See, Monsanto created this synthetic hormone that basically forces cows to produce more milk and for longer periods of time, and they wanted to protect it. (The hormone is actually banned in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel and a number of European countries.) Thank goodness, public pressure has also pressured some retailers not to sell milk made with the hormone.

These hormones do cause the cows to produce more milk, but they cause a number of problems for cows, including a higher rate of mastitis, which is an inflammation/infection of the udder, often caused when milk supply is not fully expressed. To help prevent mastitis and the resulting pus that gets in the milk supply (yes, I said pus - in your milk - how gross is that?!), cows are given a large amount of antibiotics, adding even more foreign substances to our milk.

Then when milk is ready to be processed for human consumption, it goes through pasteurization. Milk is pasteurized to kill potentially harmful bacteria that are introduced to the milk directly, like from a less than sanitary collection process.

But one of the worst things about the pasteurization process, which most people don't realize, is that it kills the nutritional value in milk and instead of just getting rid of harmful bacteria; it also gets rid of beneficial bacteria. The sad thing is many minerals and vitamins are added in after the pasteurization process when they were already found in the milk naturally, but removed by processing. Add to that, pasteurization has been linked to allergies, poor digestion of milk products and even heart disease. (See extensive research by the Weston A. Price Foundation for more on this.)

So does organic milk solve these problems?

Well, it’s really not that simple, so let’s walk through it.

Cows that produce organic milk are grass fed, rather than fed unnatural grains like their conventional counterparts. That’s a good start. They are also hormone and antibiotic free, so that’s another check in the column for organic. The cows are a lot healthier, which means fewer bacteria in the milk, much lower rates of infection, more nutrients in the milk, etc. The problem is, a lot organic milk is also pasteurized, killing nutrients and making it harder to digest, as we just discussed regarding conventional milk above.

A bottle of green-top (raw, unpasturised) milk". (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Your best bet really is to purchase raw organic milk, if you can find it. Raw milk contains more minerals and vitamins than pasteurized milk. It also has 20 amino acids and contains beneficial enzymes and bacteria, which makes it much easier on the digestion, and more easily tolerated - sometimes even those with long-term milk allergies can drink raw milk with no ill effects. It can be expensive, but it’s milk in its natural form and provides the most health benefits. The problem is it isn’t available everywhere, and is actually only permitted for sale by law in 28 states, so it’s not always easy to find. Herd shares are becoming more popular in other states, as they allow you to own part of a share in a cow (or cows) - including their milk production. For sources of raw milk in your area, visit the Weston A. Price Foundation website: http://www.westonaprice.org/

But when you can’t find raw milk or if it’s cost-prohibitive, you may want to consider what you’re putting in your body when you consume regular milk. Going organic doesn't solve all the problems, but if it's all you can find, it's definitely a start.

Video - Fair Trade: The Movie

This short video explains the benefits of fair trade for the farmer, the economy, the environment, and the consumer, showing how each piece of the economic system is improved upon through fair trade practices. The successful use of a fair trade system serves as a positive model for change, and demonstrates that it truly is possible, economically feasible, and even preferable for all parties involved to evolve to a fair-trade model.

Check it out to be inspired and motivated to get involved in supporting fair trade, even if it's just through making small changes in your purchasing habits for products you already buy!

Fair Trade - The Movie. An eq.tv original.
Fair Trade is about helping small family farmers in developing countries get organized and develop their business skills in order to tap into the world market directly.


We hope you've enjoyed our articles, videos, and resources for living a cleaner, greener, healthier, and more sustainable lifestyle throughout the year! We will be taking a break next week for the holidays, but be sure to check back at the start of 2013 for more green living news, tips and ideas, and we're planning some great changes to benefit all of our readers in the year ahead.

From your friends at New Holistic Living, have a wonderful, safe, fun, and healthy Christmas and a Happy New Year!