Salubrious Life

Remember the Soft Drink Called Tab?

It's making a return.  Coca-Cola Co. is relaunching it in early 2006.  We haven't seen Tab on the shelves since the 1970s. The new Tab will be an energy drink called Tab Energy in skinny pink 10.5-ounce cans with the old Tab logo and "energy" in small yellow letters. Young women are the target market for the low-calorie drink. In 2005 Coke added two energy drinks, Full Throttle and Rockstar, to its portfolio but these have been targeted primarily at young men. Other 2006 launches from Coke are reported to be a carbonated coffee cola called Coca-Cola Blak, and a flavored sparkling water line under Dasani Sensations.

The Company We Keep

Socially responsible investments have grown exceptionally in the same year that "moral values" determined a presidential election. So why has business been so slow to catch on? In a new book, The Company We Keep, small business owner and entrepreneur John Abrams makes a case for a return to workplace values, and shows how we can ultimately profit by them.

The Company we Keep is more than the success story of a revolutionary company. It sets down a framework for a model of employee ownership and community involvement that has piqued the interest of entrepreneurs around the country. In the words of Abrams, "This is a book about a different way of doing business in today's world-a way based on workplace democracy, shared ownership, staying small, building community, commitment to a place, and long term thinking."

John Abrams founded the South Mountain Company, a design and building firm, on Martha's Vineyard more than thirty years ago. Through a commitment to place and community entrepreneurship, he has seen the company grow and prosper, while at the same time experimenting with a revolutionary employee ownership model that has challenged the traditional business rhetoric of unchecked growth.

There is a revolution going on in corporate America, and social entrepreneurship is leading the way. Rejecting the myth that short-term profits are the only indicator of business health and wealth, John Abrams shows how building a company to serve the needs of people (employees and owners), community, and the environment can be a successful business plan as well. Part entrepreneurial business plan, part guide to democratizing the workplace, and part prescription for strong local economies, TheCompany We Keep marks the debut of an important new voice in the literature of American business.

For more information click here.

Whole Foods set to open first lifestyle store

Source: LOHAS Weekly Newsletter

Whole Foods Market Inc. said  it was set to open its first "lifestyle" store in California in late October, which will sell clothing, housewares and hemp curtains -- everything, it seems, except food.

The new store concept for Whole Foods, the leading U.S. natural and organic foods retailer, will make its debut on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. While some Whole Foods food stores are about 50,000 square feet, the new lifestyle store will be far smaller, but will have a wide array of earth-friendly products.

The lifestyle store will offer products such as organic blue jeans, recycled handbags and paint that is free from potentially harmful compounds. The Edun Clothing line by U2 lead singer Bono will be sold at the store along with organic, sweatshop free t-shirts from American Apparel. A selection of world music and collections of sustainable living books and magazines will also be available.

According to the Organic Consumer Association, 2005 sales of organic and natural products will top $45 billion, accounting for nearly 10 percent of all retail grocery sales across America.

"The sales of organic clothing and organic body care (products) are increasing faster than those of food," said Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the Organic Consumer Association. "Even though it is a relatively small market, sales are growing very rapidly."

Do Not Lie to the MRI

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A scientist at the Medical University of South Carolina has found that magnetic resonance imaging machines also can serve as lie detectors.

The study found MRI machines, which are used to take images of the brain, are more than 90 percent accurate at detecting deception, said Dr. Mark George, a distinguished professor of psychiatry, radiology and neurosciences.

That compares with polygraphs that range from 80 percent to "no better than chance" at finding the truth, George said.

His results are to be published this week in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Aussie Macho Men Twist into Yoga

Yoga teacher Duncan Peak, a former parachute officer and first-grade rugby player, performs a posture...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Increasing numbers of Australia's famously macho men are showing surprising metrosexual tendencies, ditching competitive exercise for the meditative calm of yoga.

"We are getting the rugby players, the body builders, the gym junkie guys," says yoga teacher Duncan Peak, a former parachute officer and first-grade rugby player.

"He now comes in here and gets humbled by the first posture."

International Yoga Teachers' Association president Moina Bower agrees men are now far more likely to be seen attempting 'downward dog' poses on yoga mats than a few years ago.

"Australian men generally perhaps in the past have looked at yoga as a bit sissy," she says.

The popularity of yoga among men and women has been growing steadily, in part due to the influence of celebrity practitioners such as Madonna and Sting and partly because it is now more widely recommended by doctors, she says.

While women make up about 85 percent of yoga practitioners in Australia, Bower says more men are becoming involved as a way of handling the stress of their lives.

"Usually they come along, I think, because it releases stress for them and they don't have to compete," she says.

Peak, who runs classes at a gym close to Sydney's famous Harbour Bridge, says about 30 to 40 percent of his students are male, drawn to the 'power yoga', or vinyasa, brand his school uses.

Power yoga is practised as a flowing stream of poses done in a heated room to further loosen tight muscles and allow for deeper stretches.

Peak believes that power yoga is more accessible to men than more meditative versions because it allows them to practice poses without losing their masculinity.

Even so, some postures are specifically adapted to suit muscle-bound men.

"With big guys who have played rugby their whole lives, you don't want him to crank himself into a lotus pose, we would get him to do a modified version of the posture and let him open up slowly," Peak explains.

Patrick Davis previously swam, worked out at a gym and raced yachts for exercise but says he became "absolutely hooked" on yoga after attending one of Peak's classes six weeks ago.

The well-built, six-foot-three information technology project manager now comes to one of Peak's classes every second day.

"At work I've got a million things running around in my head ... coming here gives you 90 minutes of turning your brain off," he says.

"In a class like this there's no competition and there's no limits. It's just you working with yourself. It's pushing yourself without having to compete."

You Can Now Drink From the Fountain of Youth.....at Sephora

illustration by Leif Parsons

Somebody beat me to it.   I've often thought of creating a line of skincare products you ingest rather than slather on.  Makes sense.  We talk so much about how nutrients as well as harmful chemicals are absorbed into our systems via the skin, our body's largest organ - so why not get all that youth preserving formula into it faster?   Yes, taken orally makes a great deal of sense to me.

Scott Borba (age 32) who has had training at Hard Candy cosmetics, J&J with Neutrogena in product development has now developed a drinkable beauty product.  Borba is an "infused water beverage" which claims benefits such as "firming, "skin calming" and "age defying" is now available through Nordstom, Sephora , Fred Segal Beauty, Bigelow Chemists and other cosmetics counters.

At an average of $2.85 for 16 oz. the bottled water sells for more than double my current favorite water Vitamin Water which sells at an average of $1.20 per 20 oz bottle. Granted, Borba is designed to do more than balance electrolyte levels and quench thirst.  Borba claims that with 2 bottles per day visible results can be seen in just 7days and full results in 28.    You'll need 56 bottles at $160.00 for the month.  Expensive?  If it works, perhaps not.

Looking at the ingredients I see alot of vitamins which we know to be skin improving. E, B12 and B6. I can't find anything magical in it nor can I find anything which would prevent me from drinking it.  It's all in the formulations.......so I'll drink to youth and do so with a Borba.

Greenpeace Warns of Peach & Nectarine Contamination

Greenpeace has warned about the high pesticide contamination of conventionally produced peaches and nectarines. The special laboratory appointed for the tests found pesticide residues in 31 of 32 samples examined. A poisonous cocktail of up to seven different pesticides was present in 28 conventionally grown peaches and nectarines. Three of the 32 samples reached or exceeded the statutory limits.

More encouraging news comes from the monitoring system for fruit and vegetables in the organic food trade: Peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums achieved excellent results in the laboratories. All 58 samples of stone fruit were perfect.

The project “Monitoring System for Fruit and Vegetables in the Organic Food Trade” has been conducted by the German association BNN since summer 2003. Almost 900 samples have been examined in the meantime. The laboratories detected residues in only about six per cent of the samples and these were distinctly below the legal limits. Every residue found in the BNN monitoring results in thorough research into the cause.
www.bnn-monitoring.de

Eating Right with Safeway

Safeway said it is launching a series of health and wellness initiatives aimed at helping its customers make healthier and more nutritious choices. Initiatives include: nutritional icons on Safeway-branded products; expansion of its ready-to-eat Eating Right product line; integrating natural and organic food choices into every aisle of its California stores; testing consumer response to healthier choices at check-out stations; and hosting a series of healthy eating summits.

High Gas Prices Have Sweeping Effect

High gasoline prices are leading large numbers of consumers to change how they shop and spend their income, with many people combining errands, eating out less often, and doing more at home, according to a new survey from ACNielsen. Gas prices are affecting different consumer segments to varying degrees. A higher proportion of low-income households than affluent households stated that they are using coupons more often (23% of low-income households vs. 14% of affluent households), buying less expensive brands of groceries (20% vs. 10%), opting for a lower grade of gasoline (19% vs. 12%), and reducing spending in other areas "to a great degree" (15% vs. 5%). On the other hand, a higher proportion of affluent households than poor households are shopping more in warehouse club stores (9% of affluent households vs. 6% of poor households) and on the Internet (7% vs. 3%).

Kraft Launches Whole-Grain Cookies

Kraft launched new whole-grain versions of Chips Ahoy and Fig Newton cookies. Instead of refined and bleached white flour, Kraft's new cookies are made with whole wheat flour that contains naturally occurring B vitamins, vitamin E, iron, folic acid and fiber. However, a three-cookie serving of the new Chips Ahoy has 8 grams of fat and 150 calories, 10 fewer than the original, with one additional gram of fiber. Kraft, billed as the country's largest packaged food company, has also come out with whole grain Wheat Thins and soon will start selling a whole grain version of its macaroni and cheese.