7 Simple Tips to Help Keep the Earth Clean

Many people don't bother making changes to live a greener and more environmentally friendly life because they don’t think what they do can make a difference. It is difficult to imagine how one person can make a change in the environment when there are billions of people on this planet.

Yet each small part does make a difference. Think about it this way - one tree over the course of its lifetime will remove 600 pounds of carbon dioxide. One small tree makes a significant difference in the cleanliness of the air you breathe and you can make a big difference too. Here’s how:

The aerosol spray canister invented by USDA researchers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Paint Your Home With Latex – Oil-based paints contain solvents that are released into the air and cause pollution. Latex paints are water-based and safer.

2. Stop Buying Aerosols – Many things come with a propellant. From hair spray to cooking spray, each requires a propellant to release from the can. These propellants release harmful gases. They’re not great for your health and they’re certainly not good for the environment. Use pump sprays instead.

3. Unplug & Turn Off – When you’re not using an appliance, unplug it. This includes electronic devices too. And turn off lights in your home when you’re not using them. In fact, try to watch less television and use electronics less. You might decide to designate an afternoon or an entire day as a day to “unplug” and not use any electronics for entertainment (Hint: Earth Day is next Tuesday!). Read a book. Go for a walk. Enjoy a game or time with your family.

4. Recycle – Recycling is something that is so easy to do. Even if your community doesn’t offer a recycling pick up, you can make a weekly, or even monthly, habit of driving to the recycling center to drop off your materials. You’ll be amazed how much you save from the landfill when you recycle.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

5. Use Environmentally Friendly Cleaners – To be fair, not all “green” cleaners work as well as you’d like them to. However, there are some amazing brands and truly effective and “green” cleaners. Read reviews. Find the products that fit your needs, and clean your home without harsh and harmful chemicals. We often offer suggestions on this blog, or check out our Green Living Products page on our website for some excellent suggestions.

6. Wash In Cold Water – Most washable items do not need to be washed in hot or warm water. When possible, use cold water. It requires less energy from your water heater and is usually better for your clothing too.

7. Buy Organic Whenever Possible – Organic crops are crops that are not treated with harmful chemicals. They’re better for your health too. However, we realize it’s not always feasible to buy organic all the time. Check into the "Dirty Dozen," which includes items like apples and strawberries which have a heavy use of pesticides and other chemicals.

Cotton is another product that should ideally be organic. The cotton industry is one of the most harmful industries. “Cotton covers 55% of the world's cultivated land and uses 75% of the world's insecticides, more than any other single major crop.” (Source: Organic Trade Association)

You really can make a difference in the world around you. Small changes to your habits and your lifestyle do have an impact. In honor of Earth Day next week, why not choose at least one or two of these tips, and put them into practice this month!

Do You Know the Golden Rules of Eco Driving?

Are you an eco driver? Do you want to drive in a more environmentally friendly manner? You might be happy to learn that driving “greener” generally means that you also save money. You’ll buy less fuel and can use that savings to spend more on other things. And it’s fantastic for the environment. Learn the golden rules of eco driving and benefit both your pocket book and the planet!

Rule #1: Maintain Your Speed

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Did you know that accelerating increases emissions? It does. If you can maintain a steady speed you’ll reduce emissions. The key is to strive to reduce the energy your car needs to maintain your speed. So if you drive a manual transmission, then try to use the highest possible gear at the lowest RPM. If you drive an automatic, generally your car will attempt to optimize and work most efficiently automatically, but you can help by not having a "lead foot," and letting your car gradually accelerate and shift down naturally.

Rule #2: Anticipate Traffic 

If you are able to anticipate traffic flow, you’ll be better able to maintain speed and conserve fuel as well. For example, if you see that the light is about to change, you can let your foot off of the accelerator - meaning you’re saving fuel. Anticipate it correctly, and you may be able to reduce your need to accelerate too much as well. Stomping on the accelerator or the brake both cause you to use more fuel than is absolutely necessary.

Rule #3: Keep Your Tires Inflated

It takes more energy for your car to move on underinflated tires. Think about trying to ride a bike with low tires. It takes you more energy to just push the pedals around. When they’re fully inflated, it’s much easier. The same is true for your car. Keep your tires properly inflated and you’ll use less fuel.

Rule #4: Keep It Streamlined

The boxier your car, the more air resistance there is. That means it takes more energy to move forward. Streamlined and aerodynamic cars tend to get better gas mileage. While no one is asking you to buy a new, more aerodynamic car, you can reduce resistance by not adding unnecessary external cargo to your car, or strapping bulky items to the outside of your car such as bikes.

Rule #5: Shift Early

Finally, instead of waiting for your manual transmission to redline before shifting, shift early. This keeps your RPMs low and helps reduce fuel consumption. Again, if you drive a car with an automatic transmission your car generally strives to shift when it’s optimal. If you drive a manual transmission then you get to decide when to shift. Shifting around 2000 RPM instead of 3000 or 4000 saves gas and cuts back on emissions.

The golden rules of eco driving aren’t difficult to follow. Pay attention to your surroundings so you can maintain your speed. Don’t be in such a hurry and take good care of your car.

How to Become An Everyday Environmentalist

Every day, just about every action you take provides you with an opportunity to make an environmentally sound decision. For example, do you purchase the oranges grown in California or the ones grown in Costa Rica? Do you idle the car while you wait to pick someone up or do you turn the car off? There are simple things you can do every day to make a difference. Here are just a few to consider and remember.

Eat More Vegetables

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Livestock produces a significant amount of methane gas. And the care and keeping of livestock requires an abundance of resources and energy. Vegetables, and fruits, don’t require as much energy and they’re generally better for you.

Additionally, if you buy locally grown organic vegetables and other produce, you’re taking huge strides to improve the environment because there are no harsh chemicals used to grow organic food, and locally grown produce doesn’t need to travel across the country to get to your dinner table.

Use a Car Share

Car shares are membership programs. You pay a monthly fee and borrow a car from the fleet whenever you need it. They’re fantastic because you don’t have to worry about the daily expense of insurance, parking, and car maintenance. You only pay for the gas you use and the cost of car shares is usually quite affordable.

Get a Reusable Coffee Mug

How many cups of take-out coffee, or tea, do you drink each week? If you’re like many Americans you may consume 3-5 cups of coffee-shop coffee on a weekly basis. Simply buying a reusable coffee mug and refilling it can save tons of garbage from finding its way into landfills. You don’t have to give up your coffee habit to be an everyday environmentalist.

Reusable shopping bag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Reuse Shopping Bags
Stop bringing home all of those plastic shopping bags! They’re made from petroleum products and they don’t break down in landfills. And paper bags aren’t much better. Trees are cut down to make those bags and trees are what we need to continuously clean the air. Not to mention the amount of energy it takes to make one paper bag.

Instead, purchase a few reusable cloth shopping bags. Wash them weekly when you wash your towels or sheets; you’ll keep your food germ free and the environment will be in much better shape.

Turn It Off

Did you know that if you if you leave your computer on 24 hours a day, it could be responsible for releasing up to 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere every year (www.nature.org)? Turn off lights and other electronics when they’re not in use as well. It makes a big difference.

It doesn’t take much to become an everyday environmentalist. Simply think about how your actions affect the planet and then make the best choice possible - for yourself and future generations.

Cleansing & Detoxing With the pH Miracle Diet

One of the most important principles in the pH miracle diet is the concept of cleansing your body of the acidic materials that are built up within. The ph miracle diet basically is a cleansing diet. It performs a cleansing of the body and its tissues and organs. This cleansing is almost like setting the “restart” button on your body. Any conditions you have developed from improper diet and lifestyle will start to dissipate. Many claim that cleansing diets like the pH miracle diet will help give your body the nutritional support it needs to function at an optimum level.*

The liver: the body's main detoxifying organ. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To understand what a cleansing diet is you need to understand how the body cleanses itself. The body rids itself of harmful elements through the colon, skin, lungs and bladder. The liver, kidneys and lymphatic system all assist with this cleansing. The liver is the organ in the body that is primarily responsible for body detoxification. When the liver is not functioning properly it cannot change toxins like alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, pesticides, drugs, antibiotics and additives into waste matter. If your liver doesn’t work, you are poisoning yourself. The liver can become stressed through improper digestion (eating processed foods), yeast overgrowth, parasites, dehydration and inadequate water intake.

Cleansing your liver is the best thing you can do for your health and for the restoration of proper pH to your body. When you undergo a program, like the pH miracle diet that cleanses the liver it normally requires the liver to work harder than it has before. You must add live enzymes to the diet rather than drawing them from the liver. The live enzymes will alkalize the body and restore your proper pH. You can accomplish this by incorporating organic vegetables into your diet. The proper alkalizing vegetables in the pH miracle diet will support the liver and help restore it to its natural functioning.

If the liver is helped by a cleansing diet, then the whole body will be helped. Once the liver is functioning at proper performance it can begin to do its job of eliminating waste. It will support the other detoxifying organs and perform more effectively in doing its own job.

The pH miracle diet qualifies as a cleansing diet because it performs a cleansing function of the liver and the rest of your body. The diet is made of mostly raw foods, simple proteins (beans and legumes), alternative whole grains and plenty of fresh and pure water. Cleansing diets include, at minimum, five servings of vegetables per day. In most cases, people eat twice that when they are on the pH miracle diet. This is often accomplished with the use of fresh vegetable juices. There are four to five servings of vegetables in just two cups of juiced vegetables.

Fresh herbs, vegetables & spices. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Eating small and frequent meals is also an important part of the cleansing function of the pH miracle diet. The small meals will keep calorie intake up and give you the opportunity to add more vegetables to your day. Although raw vegetables should be favored, lightly steamed veggies are also beneficial. Plant based proteins like beans and nuts should also be included at each small meal for energy and balance.

The effects of the pH miracle cleansing diet depend entirely on your previous level of health. If you’ve had a diet that consisted of sugars, meats, processed foods and other acid forming choices then the cleansing effects may be very difficult at first. Your body will have to adjust to living off of natural elements instead of chemical ones. However your efforts are well worth it. You will be learning the most natural way to eat and teaching your body to live to eat instead of eat to live. Remember that learning to eat in this manner and adopting a cleansing diet will be a process of healing, and not an overnight occurrence. As you take on aspects of the pH miracle diet, you will begin to change your health for the better.

* Note: All information on this blog is for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice or treatment. You should consult your doctor before beginning any new diet plan or cleanse.

What Critics of the Alkaline/pH Diet Are Saying

When something becomes popular, it invites criticism from lots of sources. The recently popular pH miracle diet is no different. As the program has gained followers, it has gained just as much criticism from different individuals.

The main criticism of the diet is that it encourages people to become vegetarians and vegans. Critics say that this diet, particularly with its omission of dairy products (a vegetarian protein source), is dangerously low in protein. However, this criticism comes from the common misconception that humans need massive amounts of protein. The recent popularity of low-carb/high protein diets has re-cemented this myth in the mind of many people. Health has become equivalent with eating red meat and dairy.

However, there are many sources of natural and healthy proteins that don’t have the harmful acidic effects of red meat and conventionally raised dairy products. The truth is, most people get too much protein and not too little. Women require about 45 grams of protein per day, and men need 55 grams. Beans contain at least 8 grams of protein per half cup, and leafy greens like kale, and some seeds like quinoa also contain quite a bit of protein. So it is really quite easy to get enough protein on a vegetarian diet.

Another criticism related to this issue is calcium. Many people equate drinking milk with strong bones. However, American women consume an average of two pounds of milk per day and yet 30 million of them develop osteoporosis. If drinking milk helped make bones stronger, then the opposite would be true. A study conducted by Cornell-trained nutritionist Amy Joy Lanou showed that there was no specific link between dairy products and bone health in children and young adults. There are plenty of sources of calcium available in the alkalizing food categories that will provide protection against osteoporosis - and eliminating acidic sources such as sugar and processed foods will help with this as well.

Many critics also claim that the emphasis on vegetables and fresh foods is the real reason behind the success that people receive from the diet - and indeed this is a large factor. The pH miracle diet suggests eating almost 70 percent vegetables and acceptable fruits. At this level, whether you are eating alkalizing foods or not, anyone will have an improvement in health. Critics disregard the importance of the pH balance of the diet.

However, there have been many people who have experienced great results - for example - after eliminating wheat, an acidic food. Wheat is not a food that one normally associates with ill health, however, eliminating wheat has been a godsend to many people who have suffered the symptoms of over-acidified diets. The amount of alkalizing vegetables in the diet will definitely do anybody good, whether or not they take the rest of the diet to heart. By eating from the list of alkaline foods, you will be improving your health no matter how strict you are on the diet.

Fresh vegetables are important components of the pH miracle diet. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This leads to another popular criticism of the book. Many people claim that the pH miracle diet program is too strict for daily life. The elimination of common foods like animal protein, milk and wheat seems overwhelming for people. They cannot fathom going through a whole day without eating something from one of these foods groups. The idea of sticking to a diet that is primarily plant based seems too rigid and strict. However, many people who use the pH miracle diet have seen beneficial results without being 100% strict with the rules of the diet.

Like with many other diets, the pH miracle diet outlines steps toward better health. The emphasis here is on steps. It is unreasonable to expect anyone to do a complete 180-degree change in his or her eating habits overnight. Taking a slower approach to changing your diet will create longer and more successful results. If the diet is followed word for word, it is difficult at first because people are so used to eating a certain way. With time and practice though, you can move toward better health and a more pH balanced diet - and you can still include small amounts of your favorite foods like cleanly raised healthy meats and dairy products if you wish.

Click Here to Learn More About the pH Miracle Diet...


Note: All information on this blog is for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice or treatment. You should consult your doctor before beginning any new diet plan or cleanse.

How To Eat An Alkaline Diet

As we discussed last week, proponents of an alkaline diet say that it can help cleanse and detoxify your body, and improve your health in many different ways.  But just how hard is it to eat an alkaline diet?

Increasing your intake of alkaline foods does not have to be extraordinarily difficult, and one does not have to cut acidic foods entirely from his or her diet.

It is recommended that your diet consist of around 80% alkaline food sources while acidic foods make up the remaining 20%.

This is in stark contrast to the average diet in America, which often flips that ratio around. Here are some changes in your diet which can be made quickly and easily in order to correct your pH level.

1. Swap Coffee For Green Tea

Green tea time. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One great example is you might switch from coffee to green tea in order to bring your blood’s pH level higher. Green tea is alkaline while coffee is highly acidic, so the substitution may make a drastic change for your health, especially if you consume coffee quite often. This is a change which any Zen master will definitely approve of, and green tea contains many healthy antioxidants as well.

2. Choose Alkalizing Vegetables

I'm sure you've heard how important it is to eat your vegetables, but some vegetables are more alkalizing than others. Some particularly alkalizing varieties are broccoli, celery, chard greens, collard greens, cucumber, cauliflower, and mushrooms, just to name a few. These foods are alkaline and will not only help reduce stress on the body in fighting acid, but they are also highly nutrient dense and just plain good for you!

3. Choose Alkalizing Fruits

Some of the best fruits are also alkalizing ones, including, melons, lemons, oranges, peaches, pears, apples, bananas, berries, cantaloupe and grapes.

Remember, you do not have to all eliminate dairy products, rice, and protein from animal sources in order to maintain a healthy pH level.

However, it will definitely benefit you to substitute commonly consumed refined sugars and starches with healthy fruits and vegetables more often than not.

According to those in the alkaline camp, making these simple changes in your diet, along with drinking plenty of green tea, will help increase pH levels and naturally improve your health.

Note: All information on this blog is for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice or treatment. You should consult your doctor before beginning any new diet plan or cleanse.

Check Out These Resources for More Info On the Alkaline Diet:
   

What Are Alkaline Foods & How Do They Benefit The Human Body?

Some natural health experts deplore the average American diet on the basis that it includes many foods which are too acidic to effectively promote and maintain a healthy body.

Some examples of these acidic sources we consume are refined sugars, dairy products, and meat, such as beef and pork.

These experts feel there are many different side effects that result from a high-acid diet, such as a diminished immune system, increased incidence of disease, and fatigue and lack of energy.

We all know that a sugar high can feel good every once in a while when eating Rocky Road ice cream, but unless you attempt to alkalize your body afterwards, you run the risk of a crash as a result.

Alkalizing the body is not difficult, but, in order to understand the benefits of doing so, one must first understand the definition of alkaline foods, how they work with the body, and which foods in particular will counteract the effects of their acidic counterparts.

What Is Alkaline?

pH scale showing common substances (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Alkaline is defined as that which has a pH greater than 7. Because the body functions best at a pH level of about 7.4, it is important to consume foods which will keep your blood at an appropriate pH level.

This is especially crucial when consuming foods which are acidic, and, which, will bring those levels lower than they should be.

Pure, distilled water sits at almost exactly 7 on the pH scale. Foods with a higher number are alkaline, while anything that is lower than 7 is considered acidic.

Supposed Benefits Of An Alkaline Diet

As a general rule, foods can be classified as either acid-forming or alkaline forming.

The human body‘s pH is 7.35, or slightly alkaline. The body is always seeking a state of homeostasis (balance) and it works hard to maintain the healthy neutral alkaline zone.

Now, keep in mind that foods in and of themselves cannot change alkalinity in the body, but, the body does have to work extra hard to compensate for the intake of acid-forming foods that are ingested in excess.

This happens because when your diet is highly acidic the body will often leech calcium from the bones, as calcium is an alkalizing mineral. Over time this can lead to bone mineral loss, which, can result in osteoporosis.

Additionally, as a stressor it can lead to inflammation along with increased cortisol levels, and this can impact overall health in the long term.

Conversely, those foods that are alkaline forming are typically plant based and highly nutrient dense, and also loaded with antioxidants.

Including a variety of alkaline-forming foods in your diet slows the leeching of calcium from the bones, and this results in improved bone health.

These foods also support healthy cell regeneration and fight the effects of free-radicals on the body.

Since it is the pH level of blood which concerns us, putting additional acidic foods into our diets actually works against the human system. When more strain is put on the body to fight sickness and disease, it is no wonder a highly acidic diet might make one feel tired and lethargic.

Benefits Of Alkaline Forming Foods For Athletes And Exercise

Alkalizing foods have can also have major benefits for athletes and for the human body in general during exercise.

A diet high in acid-forming foods results in reduction of muscle efficiency, so more energy expenditure is needed for each and every muscle contraction. Now, during a race or intense activity, this means a lot of extra work for the body.

Since alkaline-forming foods greatly reduce inflammation, the muscles work at more functional levels, and they also require less force to move.

This allows endurance athletes, such as, those who run marathons and participate in triathlons to push harder for longer. For those who do strength training, and bodybuilders, some say that alkalizing foods will allow you to lift heavier weights with less negative stress on the body.

But how do you eat a more alkaline diet? How do you know which foods to choose, and which to avoid? Just check back next week, when we'll share 3 simple tips for making your diet more alkaline!



Note: All information on this blog is for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice or treatment. You should consult your doctor before beginning any new diet plan or cleanse.