Salubrious Life

Six Ways To Energize Your Body

     If you are feeling tired, wiped-out, or just plain pooped, these remedies will help energize your body.

1. Eat foods rich in iron: whole grains, legumes, fish, eggs, blackstrap molasses, dried fruit, apples, beets, carrots, yams, and green vegetables such as parsley, collards, cabbage, kale, and watercress.
2. Eat foods rich in Vitamin B12: fish, organic eggs, bitter almonds, apricots, prunes, miso, sunflower seeds, seaweed, and spirulina.
3. Eat foods rich in folic acid: lentils, grains, spirulina, and dark leafy green vegetables.
4. Eat carbohydrate rich vegetables: carrots, winter squash, parsnips, turnips, black beans, pumpkin, onions, and leeks.
5. Certain spices can help fight fatigue: black pepper, ginger, fennel, and garlic.
6. Certain herbs can be used to treat fatigue:  Siberian ginseng, ginseng, oats, arnica, arsenicum as well as beta-carotene, vitamin B complex, and calcium.  Consult a Holistic Health or Ayurvedic Counselor to determine which is best for you.

Survey: U.S. Employers Turning to Wellness Programs to Manage Health Care Costs

WASHINGTON, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Businesses are increasingly turning to wellness programs to get a handle on rising health care costs, and most believe these programs will have a long-term impact but few short-term benefits, according to a survey released today by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC). The survey also found that 83 percent of employers surveyed increased the amount of money employees contribute to their own health care coverage in the last year.

The survey of 365 of the nation's leading companies found that 62 percent of companies said they implemented wellness programs to improve employee health, and another 33 percent said they were considering such programs. Of those companies with programs, 64 percent said rising health care costs were "a major factor in our decision" and another 34 percent said high costs played some role.

See survey results at:

http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/press_release/0,1014,sid%253D80772%2526cid%253D86582,00.html

Walmart experiments with "Green"

Wal-Mart announced the July 20^th grand opening of its new ‘experimental store’ which features ‘the latest in environmental sustainable design’. Located in McKinney, Texas, the store includes wind energy, solar energy, innovative irrigation systems, a ‘bioswale’ and wetland area, retention pond, storm water collection system, xeriscaping, wildflower meadow and a state-of-the-art HVAC system.

Will "Natural" soon be legislated?

Should a 90-percent synthetic product be labeled natural? The International Association of Natural Product Producers thinks not, and has spent nine months creating a clear definition of the term natural, so consumers and retailers can have more confidence in products touting the unregulated, often ambiguous term.

“The term natural has been so abused because it doesn’t have a specific definition,” said Darrin Duber Smith, IANPP president. “We’re trying to give it a specific identity.”

The IANPP, formed for the sole purpose of setting up a voluntary standard for products containing natural ingredients, has put together draft definitions for natural topical and ingestible ingredients. Now up for public comment, the definitions present clear requirements for products to meet in order to carry the IANPP label. The proposed definitions can be viewed at www.ianpp.org/natural.htm. Duber Smith said the group is also working on a list of non-natural ingredients that will be disallowed.

Though thoughts of government regulation are distant, Duber Smith said the IANPP hopes a certifying agency like NSF International or Quality Assurance International will participate in the self-regulatory labeling system within the naturals industry.

Duber Smith said the organization hopes to produce its own private seal, similar to the National Organic Program seal, which would assure customers that products have been approved by a nonprofit certifying agency to meet the IANPP’s standards. Labeling divisions may include 70 percent, 90 percent or 100 percent natural categories, similar in style to the NOP’s labels.

“It will differentiate our products,” said Duber Smith, who expects tens of thousands of companies to pay the organization’s $150 annual membership fee, which could mean a big increase in business for the certifying agency, he said. So far, more than 25 companies have joined IANPP, including Jason, Aubrey, Naturade, Frutarom and Swheat Scoop.

These new standards could be especially helpful to personal care companies, which cannot use the NOP organic seal, though many of their products use the terms organic or natural on their labels. The IANPP’s label would represent a standard for consumers to trust. “We have to clean up our industry mess right now,” Duber Smith said.

Source: The Natural Foods Merchandiser, New Hope Media.

The Caffeine Blues

     You may still find yourself, even when it's 100 degrees outside, needing that morning coffee and that mid-afternoon coffee to wake-up and keep you going. I am sure you have said to yourself that you need to give up caffeine. And maybe you have tried to give it up, only to find yourself with headaches and not being able to function due to being extremely tired.

     There are many factors that can cause fatigue. Poor intestinal health, lack of exercise, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, low blood sugar, and nutrition. Caffeine plays a major role in the onset of hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, and chronic fatigue. Caffeine overworks and eventually weakens the kidneys and adrenal glands, which can affect your weight, mood, sleep patterns, and overall health.

     When the kidneys become depleted, you will experience a deep sense of weakness, lack of willpower, and fatigue, as if the life force has been sapped from your tissues.  When the adrenals become depleted, you may find yourself craving lots of creamy, sweet foods to calm and ground you.  The caffeine or sugar pick-me-up every afternoon is usually due to the adrenals being exhausted.

     You might be thinking at this moment, since caffeine is contributing to my fatigue, what can I do about it?  The first thing to consider is food.  you can choose your mood and conquer low energy monsters through food.  The primary and preferred source of energy for the human body is complex carbohydrates, found in whole grains, fresh vegetables, and fruits.  Complex carbohydrates are composed of long chains that are digested slowly, providing long-lasting energy and endurance. 

     The best way to keep your energy up is to eat whole, unprocessed grains and vegetables, which create long arcs of blood sugar and sustain serotonin levels.  This is why a diet that is dominated by plant foods, known as serotonin boosters, and coupled with the right amount of protein for your individual needs, will give you long-lasting energy, feelings of well-being and a sense of personal power and strength.

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posted by Anita Thompkins

Wild Oats, Whole Foods Ban eggs from Caged Birds

Two of the leading natural food retailers in the US – Wild Oats and Whole Foods – have decided to ban eggs from caged birds. Wild Oats has 75 stores in 23 states, while Whole Foods has 170 stores in North America and the United Kingdom, reports the US Humane Society (HSUS). Together, these companies sell millions of cartons of eggs annually. Perry Odak, Wild Oats president and CEO, is hopeful that the decision not to approve egg farmers who use caged birds for the national and regional product lists will encourage the egg industry to move in the direction of phasing out its use of battery cages, and shifting toward cage-free methods that take the animals' welfare into account.
There are currently more than 280 million laying hens in the United States, producing more than 70 billion eggs a year, according to the American Egg Board. There are 64 egg companies that each house more than a million layers, and 11 companies with over five million layers each. Ninety-five percent of the nation's laying hens are crowded onto farms with flocks of 75,000 hens or more, and more than 95 % of these birds are confined in cages. Those cages are so restrictive that the birds cannot even stretch their wings, let alone engage in other natural behavior, such as nesting, foraging, perching, and dust bathing, reports Organic Advantage.
www.hsus.org/farm_animals/farm_animals_news/wild_oats.html

Bacteria on a Roll

Hong Kong - "Do not use toilet paper to wipe your mouth and nose - even if it is from a clean roll"

This was the warning yesterday from the Hong Kong consumer council which said potentially harmful bacteria had been found in tests on 26 brands of toilet paper.

"Our advice is not to use toilet paper to wipe your mouth and nose" said Connie Lau Yin-hing the council's deputy chief exec.  "This is because once you unpack a toilet roll and place it in some humid and warm environment such as the bathroom. it is very likely for the bacteria to grow."

The consumer Council also advised the public not to hold food with toilet paper while eating.

I swear this entire report is true. It begs more questions than I have brain space for - but I wanted to share with you some of the health and wellness issues facing Hong Kong today.

Source: South China Morning Post, Thursday June 16,2005

Raisins for smiling

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Dentistry have determined that compounds in raisins suppress bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease. According to research presented at the meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, five compounds (oleanolic acid, oleanolic aldehyde, betulin, betulinic acid and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural) make teeth and gums healthier, in the case of oleanic acid, by slowing growth of a cavity causing bacteria and inhibiting the bacteria from sticking to surfaces.

Social X-Rays Take Heed

It would appear that rumours of death from obesity have been greatly exaggerated.

It was a new statistical model rather than a new diet that brought the death toll from obesity down from 400,000 to 112,000. At the same time, being overweight is preventing 68,000 extra deaths while being underweight is causing 34,000.   Got all that?

The International Herald yesterday had a great piece on the yo-yo science in research on obesity.

And so here is the latest "scientific thinking" from a newly released report from the U.S Centers for Disease Control:  Those with a little extra weight have a lower risk of premature death than those without it. The argument is that having more bulk may help you through the sick bed when you are older.

Personally, I find it ludicrous that the White House funds studies that result in information any sane person could come up with on their own.

There is a massive obesity problem in the United States.  You need only walk through a mall in Florida, New Jersey - hell pick any suburb and see it in existence.   The issue here is one of moderation.  Does it make sense that one increases risk of disease from too much weight? Yes. About as much sense as it makes that one risks disease from not having enough weight to stave off illness.   So what's a few extra pounds here and there?

Now someone tell me that you can be too rich......I'm listening......

You Can Go Home - You Just Can't Stay

Hong Kong

I was never more joyful/apprehensive to arrive anywhere than on my first visit to Hong Kong, 16 years ago. I was reuniting with the love of my life and beginning an adventure which would shape the rest of it.

As I sailed through the harbor and toward my new home on Lantau Island I looked at the skyline of Hong Kong Island with its enormous and neon lit skyscrapers and felt like a country farm girl - even after having grown up in a large and busy citymy whole life. I was awestruck by the larger than life vision combined with a palpable kinetic energy that would soon define the place for me forever. For nearly nine years of my life I made Hong Kong my home.  Got married there, had my first child there, built a career there.

From the earliest days (OK, after a few months of painful integration) I felt at home in Hong Kong. In so many world cities you tend to feel like an outsider, a tourist board visitor with a "hi my name is..." badge. In Hong Kong as with no other city I've visited people from anywhere in the world can feel they belong.  It is the intimacy of the city.  Everything is accessible and available.  In no time at all you know the backstreets and short cuts - even the local customs and cursory language skills.

Hong Kong has always been a proof of that old cliche "The only constant is change." On this visit I embraced a startling degree of reinvention.  8 years after the handover and five years since my last visit, I found Hong Kong with the inevitable changes to the skyline.  Huge tracts of the harbor having been reclaimed to make way for taller and more imaginative skyscrapers.  The sight filled me with joy and reminded me of the constant sense of optimism I felt while living there. Progress was inevitable.  The city is more casual in many ways.  The once dark suited businessman/woman now slightly more relaxed in dress.  The once distinct separation of Chinese locals from the expatriates now given way to a genuine melting pot of ethnicities. New sections of the city now exploding with their own unique charm - ever expanding outward from central.

The city is bustling as ever, polluted as ever (if not more) with industry and auto emissions and full to brimming with people.  Crowds, the constant atmosphere of competition and that old kinetic energy still pervade everything.   Deals being done everywhere.  At poolside loungers, on napkins at dim sum restaurants, airport lounges and public transportation. 

The cell phone......that ubiquitous personal tool long used in the territory now is mostly used for SMS or text messaging.  Everyone is face down at their pda - texting.  That is of course while listening to their ipods - necks adorned with both.

And now I was back, 8 years of living in the US under my belt.  How did I feel about Asia?  Could I ever move back to Hong Kong, a place of such significance and a place I've adored above all others?

Many of my friends remain.  Meetings with them, seeing their families and ways of life were helpful.  They remain very happy in Hong Kong.  After all  - it is the center of the universe.

But I realized two important things:  First, I am 16 years older and Hong Kong never ages, in fact if anything it gets younger in spirit and tone. Second, I've changed. My time there is done.  My corporate ladder climbing, late nights out, over indulging and compromising in terms of my health and wellness.  Engaging and magical as it all was, I've got a family to raise and personal visions to realize. 

I did go back, but not home.  In so many ways, Hong Kong will always be a place I can feel instantly comfortable and "at home".  Yet I can never live there again, much to my dismay as it was always something I longed to do.  I'm still getting over this reality.

The adventure of re-locating still beckons. Perhaps Shanghai - or another world city waiting to explode.  More adventures to begin and I'm grateful to have Hong Kong as my teacher. Life is an adventure.  Living and working in Asia taught me that there is much of the world to know.  If I came away from this trip with one realization it is that the time to move on and experience one of those new places is soon.............................