Salubrious Life

Walk this way

Like I often tell my husband as he looks toward me horrified, my face covered in a caking green slime mask, hair dripping with oils and heating towels and hands in heating mitts:  "Beauty isn't pretty hon"

Case in point:  Ever the faithful guinea pig for readers of Salubrious Life, I am test driving a pair of shoes that have intrigued me since I first saw a person wearing them in Asia last summer.

Called MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) these shoes shift the balance of the body from backward leaning (toward the heel) toward the middle of the foot behind our center of gravity.

Because the balance of these shoes is out of the norm and imitates an "uneven" walking plain, wearing these shoes forces you to work harder, using muscles that are not ordinarily engaged when walking or running with normal footwear.

Not only are your core muscles now engaged but MBT is reported to tighten and tone the feet, ankles, calves, hamstrings, upper and inner thigh, buttocks, stomach and back.

It's as if you've got a gym - all in a shoe!  Can it be this easy?  Can a shoe multi-purpose so exquisitely?

The shoe takes its name from the Masai tribe of Eastern Africa who are known for their elegant and upright posture.  This stance is a result of walking barefoot on irregular natural surfaces and working not only the various muscles in legs, stomach and buttocks but standing erect to preserve the skeletal system.

These ungainly and clunky shoes come with an instructional dvd and even some starter exercises to get your balance intact before hitting the road.

I took my bright red "Lifestyle" MB T's out for their first test drive this morning and I can report that my calves, buttocks and that oh -so tough to reach part of the very upper thigh are all tingling with fresh blood flow.  I did feel my core engagee in order to help me stand upright on the pivot point in the centre of the shoe.

Worried about the unappealing look?  I got so many questions and comments on these unusual looking shoes during my usual morning walk, I'd cooled down long before I was finished the walk.  In fact,paired with the right outfit....you can actually make these rather orthopedic looking shoes seem rather "of the moment".

I'll be reporting back in a week to let you know how it goes, but some reports have wearers showing reduced signs of cellulite after a two week period of using their MBT's in the course of a normal day.   

Stay tuned...............

Estimate chance of death in 4 years

Want to know the odds of you dying in the next four years?
      Taking a new quiz put together by researchers whose results are in today's Journal of the American Medical Association can help you figure it out.
      The 12-question quiz is roughly 81 percent accurate and can give people 50 and older a reasonable idea of their survival chances, says lead author Dr. Sei Lee, a geriatrics researcher at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
      The test is based on data involving 11,701 Americans over 50 who took part in a national health survey in 1998. Funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, the researchers analyzed participants' outcomes during a four-year follow-up. They based their death-risk survey on the health characteristics that seemed to predict death within four years.
      "Even if somebody looks at their numbers and finds they have a 60 percent risk of death, there could be other mitigating factors," said co-author and VA researcher Dr. Kenneth Covinsky.
      There are things you can do to improve your chances, he notes, such as quitting smoking or taking up exercise.
      Of course, researchers add, the quiz isn't foolproof. Other experts note it ignores family history and is much less meaningful for those at the young end of the spectrum.
      The researchers even warn, "Don't try this at home," saying a doctor can help you put things into perspective.
      But for the curious, here it is. Good luck.
      1. Age: 60-64 years, 1 point; 65-69, 2 points; 70-74, 3 points; 75-79, 4 points; 80-84, 5 points; 85 and older, 7 points.
      2. Male or Female: Male 2 points.
      3. Body-Mass Index: Less than 25 (normal weight or less), 1 point. (Calculate by multiplying height in inches times height in inches; then divide weight in pounds by that total; then multiply the total by 703.)
      4. Diabetes: 2 points.
      5. Cancer (excluding minor skin cancers): 2 points.
      6. Chronic lung disease that limits activities or requires oxygen use at home: 2 points.
      7. Congestive heart failure: 2 points.
      8. Cigarette smoking in the past week: 2 points.
      9. Difficulty bathing/showering because of a health or memory problem: 2 points.
      10. Difficulty managing money, paying bills, keeping track of expenses because of a health or memory problem: 2 points.
      11. Difficulty walking several blocks because of a health problem: 2 points.
      12. Difficulty pushing or pulling large objects like a living-room chair because of a health problem: 1 point.
      Score: 0 to 5 points, less than a 4 percent risk of dying within four years; 6-9 points, 15 percent risk; 10-13 points, 42 percent risk; 14 or more, 64 percent risk.

      Note: Researchers say the 1-point penalty for having a body-mass index under 25 (normal weight or less) is based on findings that being underweight is a health risk for elderly people.

Calcium Supplements that Taste Like a Treat

Adora will change the way you think about calcium supplements. For women who have been attempting to boost their calcium intake by taking pills, powders or chewy, synthetic chocolate calcium products, Adora provides a highly-effective calcium supplement and equally important, a luxurious taste that will make you forget you are taking a supplement.

For women who have not been actively seeking a calcium supplement, Adora provides an opportunity to receive the much needed calcium that most women are lacking in their typical diet, as well as important vitamins such as D2 and K1. Now it’s easy and delicious to improve your bone health.

The D2 and K1 vitamins play an important role in the body’s ability to absorb and utilize calcium. Adora’s unique formulation with these vitamins assures optimal benefit from the 500mg of elemental calcium uniquely integrated into the gourmet chocolate.

Bone health is an essential component of overall wellness and vitality for women of all ages, Adora provides both a practical benefit and a decadent taste. Adora, calcium the gourmet way.

SharAmbrosia, "Essential Moods" roll-ons

Unlike a lot of women I know, I like my changing moods. My moods can change daily, a couple times in a day or stay put for a while.

My changing moods allow me to tackle a variety of challenges depending on how I'm feeling.   At times, I'll be in a space to do introspective things. At other times, I'll be fired up and ready to tackle the most daunting of tasks or challenges.  Moods make me feel alive and allow me to see the world and people in it from different perspectives.

I discovered a 100% clean line of essential oils which actually work to match the mood I'm in.    The right essences can even invoke a mood you desire.

SharAmbrosia, is the creator of a new line of personal essence roll-ons called "Essential Moods".  The "Moods" blends are specific to the essential oils contained in each product, which in turn inspires or underscores these moods.    Currently there are seven "Moods" or roll-ons:

Peaceful - a combination of Patchouli and Clove.  Woodsy and calming.  I really liked this one.

Girly - Geranium, Clary Sage and Ylang Ylang - I get what the combination was trying to achieve, but this wasn't one of my favorites.

Tranquil - Ylang Ylang, Cedarwood, Marjoram and Vetivert.  Now this combination was one of my favorites.  Again a woodsy outdoors feeling and sense of peace emerged when wearing this.

Confident - Basil, Marjoram, Grapefruit, Ylang Ylang and Lavender - Really loved this one.  The grapefruit gave it a lift and the lavender boosted feelings of well being.

Romantic -  Cedarwood, Ylang Ylang, Cinnamon and Rose infused Jojoba oil- I'm no fan of cinnamon and the rose combined with Cedarwood was too strong, not a favorite of mine.

Centered -  Bergamot, Rosemary, Nutmeg and Vetivert- Really enjoyed wearing this one.  Of all the oils, this is the one people stopped me to ask "what are you wearing?"

Fresh - Lemon, Cypress, Peppermint and Black Pepper - I adore lemon in anything.  This was nice, but wold have preferred it without the peppermint.

The Essential Moods roll ons are used like perfume.  I found the scent didn't last too long.  The handy size and application made it easy to carry with me and re-apply when I needed a boost.   The base of the products is 100% pure jojoba oil, so similar to the body's own natural oil - it slips on and becomes part of your personal essence immediately.

I tried these for a few days and then gave a few to a variety of people who I thought would also like to try them.  The universal response was extremely positive and most important was the fact that all of these women appreciated putting something on their skin with no chemical, no preservative - nothing to inhibit the pure essential oil blends from mixing with the body's natural oils and creating a truly unique and wearable scent.

What's the buzz about POM?

I was in Los Angeles last week. Like the locals, I spent the majority of my time driving (I was behind the wheel of a styling Honda Element). LA is "sensory overload central." Between the volume of cars and the gawking at roadside spectacles, it’s no wonder the accident rate soars each year.

Street-side outdoor billboards litter the rooftops in LA, adding to this sensory overload. Many of these gargantuan ad spaces (that typically play host to larger than life blockbuster movie promotions) advertised a drink named POM. Have you tried it yet?

POM is 100% pomegranate juice made with “wonderful” pomegranates. It’s the big thing in LA (at least according to the billboards). Commercial pomegranate juice has three times more antioxidants than red wine or green tea. Coincidentally (or not), California’s San Joaquin Valley is a center of commercial cultivation of the fruit here in the US.

If you’re like me and you go by the rule that darkly colored vegetables and fruits are healthier than there lighter counterparts, you may want to consider adding the occasional pint of pomegranate juice to your diet. Consumption of this forbidden fruit has been credited with benefits that lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and several types of cancer.

If you’re not interested in purchasing this pricey new drink, check out Solaray’s pomegranate extract capsules . Better yet, buy an actual pomegranate. Once you figure out how to eat it, share your secrets with the rest of us (someone among us needs to finally dispel the myth that pomegranates only serve as decorative fruits alongside gourds at Thanksgiving). If your not in the mood for a fruit adventure, you can read how the experts at POM open one.

Oh, and by the way, I saw Minnie Driver at a deli, Britney Spears walking on Sunset Boulevard, Macy Gray’s crazy hair zooming by in a convertible, and the CEO of Burt's Bees. Only in LA.

Good Feet Means Health From the Ground Up

I didn't even know that I needed arch support.  What's more, I had no idea that good arch support could ease lower pack pain, ease leg and calf fatigue, neck and shoulder pain and prevent or alleviate sore heels or plantar fasciitis.   

But more immediately, good arch support can provide better balance, better posture and better foot placement - I discovered that for myself when I was fitted for a Good Feet arch support early this week.

It makes sense. When the bones in your feet are properly positioned, your whole skeleton is given the opportunity to properly align.  Man was not meant to walk on paved roads with no give to the feet.  As a result, we've got all kinds of problems that stem from misuse.

I thought I only had one arch in my foot.......I have four (as do you) while the arch support stabilizes all four it essentially "instructs" the foot as to how it should work.

And here's how it does work:The foot is prevented from sliding inside the shoe, the heel cup disperses the shock, the platform provides the stability, the four major arches are aligned, and the metatarsal all have the effect of bringing the ground up to meet the foot, enabling the body to maintain comfort and balance while standing or moving.

There are a few versions of these supports available, some with more flexibility or support. You'll use a different arch support for a vigorous activity then the one you'll use in your daytime shoes. 

These are no ordinary shoe inserts.  Heading to the Good Feet store to get some additional support for my training shoes, I anticipated a higher end version of my $15 shoe supports which I always put in to replace the scant little support you get from even the highest end shoe. 

With a foot placement analysis, proper fitting of the support and a lifetime guarantee for the product, I left with a $314 tab which included the arch support and 2 sets of natural sponge rubber shock absorbing shoe cushions. (can I leap from tall buildings now?)

When compared with the small fortune that many pay to chiropractors, massage and physical therapists.......it seems like a good investment to me.

I do have to say that the foot analysis was really interesting.  Without any knowledge of my physical history, the fitter was able to determine that I had the beginnings of some heel pain in my left foot (true enough) that I was putting more weight on my left leg than my right(yep, scoliosis to blame for that one) and that I was improperly pushing off with my toes rather than using the entire foot to propel myself forward. 

I've used the inserts for three days.  Gradually working up to wearing them all day in half hour increments.  Took a 4.5 mile walk in them yesterday and I honestly think my butt got a better work out. You know - if Good Feet inserts really do restore my alignment and consequently the balance of my entire body - I'll be using my feet and body the way I was created to. I could end up looking like a Kalahari tribesman.     Born to run. Born to balance.........Great butt.

Splenda - A First Person Testamonial About Negative Effects

I'm really angry. I feel I've been tricked by misleading advertising into using a product I thought could replace sugar and be healthy for me at the same time.  I fell for the logical reasoning of a product's marketing message only to discover that there is much NOT being said about this product and how it is actually made.

The product I'm writing about is Splenda. (which is the brand name for the non-nutritive sweetener sucralose that is added to hundreds of foods and beverages sold in the United States and abroad)  I was late to the Splenda surge, but once a user.......a devoted user I became.  I felt safe in the knowledge it was derived from sugar. I used Splenda in my coffee mostly ( I should admit to as many as 6 cups a day) and in my daily bowl of oatmeal (not as good as pure maple syrup, but far less calories)  In total, I might have consumed 1/4 cup of Splenda per day.

This whole love affair began about six months ago. It ended today.

I didn't notice any benefit in terms of calorie reduction - in fact, my sweet tooth became more pronounced. (this I now discover is common and documented by many Splenda users)

I also have noted the following changes which upon full dissection of every other factor I put down to my use of Splenda: bloating and gas, fuzzy brain with loss of focus, irritability and the occasional very deep and painful pimple.

As I said, I was comforted knowing that Splenda was nothing more than sugar....with the calories magically removed. Now, upon close inspection I discover that Splenda is made from sugar, but processed using chlorine.  DDT molecules are processed using chlorine...can that be good?  Even the Splenda website admits that at least 15% of the product will be absorbed into the body.( At 1/4 cup per day........this can be serious trouble for me.

The Ten questions you should ask yourself before using Splenda are a really good idea. Wish I'd found them six months ago.

Sugar substitutes abound but all of them have some kind of controversy swirling in their midst.  Ultimately, you're probably better off with a natural sweetener, such as stevia, than an artificial one like sucralose.  I hear it has an unpleasant taste, will let you know after I give it a try.(and even stevia has some crtics)

I really think the answer is to learn to drink my coffee with milk, no sugar. Oatmeal will be relieved to have the maple syrup back and I'll work harder to rid myself of the calories the old fashioned way.

If you are using Splenda and identify with any of the above, you are not alone.  The web is full of testamonials just like this one. Take a look at "the truth about Splenda" and please let me know here at Salubrious Life if perhaps you too have this experience. In turn, I'll let you know if the side effects disappear. Today is only day one.

Airborne - newest entrant into the cold cure market

I arrived at yet another CVS to have my hopes dashed. The shelf where I had become so accustomed to finding my beloved Airborne miracle tablet was empty. In fact, both flavors (Old Staple Orange and the newest and greatest Lemon Lime) were both nowhere in sight.

Seems as though I'm not the only one who has discovered Airborne magic. Started by a schoolteacher who'd had it with catching colds from the children in class, she spent five  years developing an all natural antidotes to her woes

The packaging is eyecatching, but it's the ingredients that really caught my attention. Airborne is actually a health supplement - some might say multi-vitamin. Contained with-in one tablet that dissolves when placed in water creating a ever-so-subtle fruity "energy" drink is 1,000 mg of Vitamin C, 30 I.U of vitamins E and A, a hefty dose of energy-boosting B-vitamins, amino acids, magnesium, selenium with no caffeine, no funky names I couldn't pronounce. And most importantly, I didn't have to plug my nose when I swallowed my first sip.

Given that B-vitamins, particularly those in folic acid have been linked to reduced hypertension in women and women are encouraged to take vitamin B supplements to ward off neural tube defects in their unborn children. Vitamin B12 has been shown to help prevent bone-wasting disease. Vitamin E supplements have been described as an anti-wrinkle remedy for the skin, causing the near-doubling of skincare antioxidants on the skin's surface when consumed regularly.

In the world of natural products, and in particular, natural cold/flu remedies, Airborne strikes me as: current, hip and fun.  More important.... it works - judging by my sniffles that went away soon after taking it.

Most importantly, Airborne is "clean" When I phoned the inquiry line on the back of my Airborne package the other day to ask whether I could possibly take too much of the stuff in a day, the very helpful Representative reiterated the recommended dose but told me I had little worry about if I wanted to take more. The only question I have is: where can I find more?

Badger Balms

I stumbled upon a truly authentic product line recently.  I marvel at product lines that show their authenticity from the product you purchase all the way up to their corporate culture. These companies are rare, but this one seems to be just that.

W.S Badger and Company in tiny Gilsum, New Hampshire produces a line of 100% clean balms, potions and natural remedies called Badger Balms

I got a tiny care package in the mail from one of their Senior product people and was amazed at the amount of material there was to read.  Even more amazing was that I wanted to read it.  All materials printed on what looks like recycled paper and with low key, earnest messaging. "We are a small company working hard to do good things in the world" or "Balms,Potions & Natural Remedies Formulated & Produced with Care"

The company was founded and is run by a former carpenter who in 1993 developed product to help with his chronically cracked hands.  He liked to work with natural remedies and created the first product in his kitchen calling it "Badger Healing Balm".  It healed his fingers and "a business was born"

The main ingredient in most of the products Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. They believe it to be the most therapeutic of all skin care oils. All of the essential oils are naturally processed and most are organically grown.  And Badger doesn't simply purchase its ingredients, it has a personal relationship with the single supplier of this Oil in Spain where Bill and others from the company go, help harvest the olives and get a first hand look at the quality and care that goes into the organic growing of their main component.

In my package was the Lip Balm (wonderful, penetrates straight into the lip tissue creating a soft feel without sticky or overly wet feel), Evolving Body Balm,  Badger Body Butter in antique Rose and Sore muscle Balm.  Each one of these products has the instant feel of being the "real deal"  It's not just what you read in the labels (though as I've said already, reading is believing. These labels do authenticate the 100% clean formulations) It is the way these products absorb right into the skin leaving no sticky residue.  The fragrance of each product is light, but distinctive as only purely made products can be.

The packaging was a little too "home-spun" for my tastes. When I had all the products out together it looked a little like a Beatrix Potter scene and more of a children's line that one for me.

The body butter, made with Wild African Shea butter, cocoa butter and a variety of herbal botanicals is a rich balm for the whole body. It comes in an aluminum tube with its own "key" - a gift from the lovely folks at Badger to ensure I get the very last drop of butter.  When the butter is gone, they don't do a hard sell to get me to buy more, they tell me to use the key on another metal tube I might have in order to waste as little product as possible ending the note with "waste not, want not"   I really like that kind of sell.  And you know what?  I'm gonna buy more.

The evolving Body Balm is designed to help young pregnant women with stretch marks all the way to helping with the cracked and dry skin that comes with aging. This is lighter than the body butter and contains pure rose oil, seabuckhorn berry, calendula, and rose hip extracts. As with all herbal and natural products, the same product will have benefits for many different kinds of complaints.  I could imagine having Evolving Body Balm in various parts of my home.  Diaper rash, foot balm,  under eye dryness, quick overall face mask, cuticle fix, ........not to mention the actual body itself.

The sore muscle rub with cayenne pepper extract, ginger, cardamom, rosemary and lemongrass essential oils really did soothe my lower back after a strenuous yoga class. The fragrance was my favorite of all the products I tried.

One last item that has endeared this company to me:  I discovered that the company provides an organic lunch each day for it's staff.  This is a company that seems to practice what it preaches.  I plan to try a few more of their potions and lotions.

Badger Balms seem to be available mostly in smaller retail locations and at Whole Foods.  I personally had never seen a display of this product and still have not since trying it myself.  You can find their retail locations on their website  http://www.badgerbalm.com