Salubrious Life

Meet the Greens.........

Bad news, folks. The smug greens - you know, those people you meet at a dinner party who've just come back from an "amazing" trip to a tropical eco-lodge where they helped replant an entire forest - have even more reason to be smug. It turns out that while they are single-handedly improving the lot of far-flung communities through their altruistic holidaying, the majority of us couldn't give a stuff. We may have embraced recycling, but when it comes to going green abroad, we're not so keen. At least according to the latest survey on the subject by tour operator First Choice, which found that only 26% of us are concerned about the impact our holiday might have on the environment. The rest of us, it seems, don't care what impact we have, so long as we come back with a nice tan. Happily, a little dig around shows there are reasons to be optimistic. The number of people who expressed concern may be low, but at least it's higher than it was two years ago. Mintel asked the same question in 2003, and found that 21% of respondents were concerned about the impact of their holiday - not a huge leap but proof that things are improving, slowly. Secondly, part of the problem has been lack of information and choice. It hasn't always been easy for those interested in eco-friendly hotels and holidays to find them. But that's changing, too. Over 500 properties in the UK alone have now been graded for their environmental and social performance and, worldwide, even the most stylish places are greening up their businesses. I recently visited The Park Hotel in Alta, Norway, which at first glance has all the trappings of a typical city centre hotel, yet every aspect of its management has been designed to reduce its environmental impact, from allergy-free mattresses to recycling bins in the rooms (£85 a night half-board, parkhotell.no). In Ecuador, high in the Andes, the award-winning 10-room Black Sheep Inn features an eco-friendly sauna and is aiming to be entirely self-sufficient in its use of water, energy and food. A double room including dinner and breakfast costs US$24pp half-board (blacksheepinn.com). The new editions of Alastair Sawday's guides to British Bed And Breakfast and British Hotels, Inns And Other Places give added profile to those places that have gone out of their way to be environmentally friendly. And pick up any adventure travel brochure and you're almost certain to find pages devoted to how particular holidays help benefit the environment and the local community. Activity holiday operator Neilson (neilson.co.uk) identifies hotels in its ski brochure that are more environmentally friendly, such as the Fairmount Banff Springs Hotel, in its Canada ski programme. Next summer, Neilson plans to introduce the same kind of environmental logo for hotels in its sailing, surfing and mountain biking brochure. On the web, more and more accommodation sites are flagging up environmentally friendly places. A search for "eco/nature" places on i-escape.com throws up some fabulous eco-hideaways, such as the Tree Tops Jungle Lodge in Sri Lanka, where a three-night stay costs £65pp full-board. And online travel agency responsibletravel.com offers thousands of holidays from over 150 tour operators, from cycling in Sardinia to diving in the Red Sea. According to its managing director Justin Francis, it's a case of supply meeting future demand: "Responsible tourism is a sleeping giant. There's a latent awareness of the issues and just as the organic food movement took off, responsible tourism will become a recognised consumer brand." The travel industry knows this and is one step ahead of the average consumer. Which is good news. Those who are concerned about the impact of their holiday now have more choice; those who haven't given it much thought may find that the gorgeous tropical retreat they've been saving up for all year, just happens to be a shining example of eco-tourism, too. From LOHAS

Spring Cleaning for the Body

Yes, it is here. Spring! And it is that time of year to do spring-cleaning. Spring is the cleansing healing season. Listed below are 12 ways to spring clean and aid digestion.

1. Eat foods that include greens, citrus fruits, vegetables and herb teas during this season. They are natural cleansers.
2. Do not eat 2 hours before going to bed. This can cause incomplete digestion and create toxins in the body.
3. Eat only organic food. Eliminate and reduce frozen, processed and preserved foods.
4. Drink plenty of warm liquids such as herbal teas and hot water with lemon. They help clear impurities from the body.
5. Eat food that is for your individual constitution. Certain spices help the body digest and assimilate food as well as detox the body. Contact an Ayurvedic Counselor for more details.
6. Eat only when hungry. Never skip or delay meals. This could create too many or too little digestive enzymes, which can lead to the formation of toxins.
7. Eat only what you need. Eat until you are satisfied and not until you are full. Eating until you are full, makes all organs work harder to digest the food as well as more enzyme secretions are needed to aid in digestion. This overproduction of enzyme secretion can lead to ulcers, bloating and gas.
8. Foods should be simple and naturally delicious. Mixing too many different foods at one meal can also be stressful for the body, especially the digestive system. This places a large demand on your digestive glands to manufacture and secrete many different digestive enzymes simultaneously.
9. In my experience, food combining is an important principle to follow to prevent intestinal gas and fermentation of simple foods like fruits. Contact a Holistic Health or an Ayurvedic Counselor to learn the principles of food combining.
10. Eat moderately: Eating too much at a meal or in your total diet is stressful on the body, may lead to poor digestion, and can slow you down. Eating the proper amount for you is the key to good health and a long life.
11. Cold beverages should not be consumed during or directly after a meal as it reduces digestion. Small sips of room-temperature and warm water taken during the meal serves to aid digestion.
12. Using your own intuition, consider doing a colon and/or a liver cleanse during this time of year. Contact a Holistic Health or Ayurvedic Counselor for guidance.

For more information and to determine your individual constitution, contact Anita Thompkins. Anita Thompkins is founder of Thompkins Fitness & Wellness Center located in Manhattan, NY. She is a certified Holistic Health Counselor, a certified Ayurvedic Self-Care and Maintenance Counselor and has an M.S. in Health Promotions and Community Wellness. www.tfwc.us and www.anitahasaplanforyou.com

Wellness-Chic Hotels

I stumbled into the Dream Hotel on W 55th street in New York a couple weeks ago and thought I was in a spa or retreat.  Far from the usual busy hotel entrance, Dream doesn't even have a sign on its door let alone a doorman.

The Four lounges in the Dream Hotel were calming, my favorite on the top floor had a couple separate sections and a great view of Times Square.  This hotel even boasts a Deepak Chopra Center for wellbeing. Check it out at http://www.dreamny.com

Hotel Vitale in San Fransisco advertises itself as "Modern, Nurturing, Revitalizing, Fresh and Urbane".  With in -house yoga studio, aromatherapy gardens and rooftop spa with soaking tubs, this is a place I'll want to stay when on a hustle bustle business trip to that city.

If you've stayed in a hotel that you want to tell us about, we'd like to know.   Next report will be on Kimpton Hotels.  Bill Kimpton, Founder is often credited with inventing the luxury boutique hotel.

I'm making it a personal mission to luxuriate in as many of these places as I can find.