Green Options

“Old-fashioned dairy, the new-fashioned way!  CyClone is the first major dairy to raise a herd of clones and clone offspring.  You could say cloning is our passion - where we combine DNA with TLC.”

That is what Cyclone dairy says on their website’s mission page.

Thank goodness it’s not for real…not yet anyway.

After my family and I enjoyed several handfuls of pistachios at a get- together last weekend, I was surprised to hear yesterday about the latest food recall.
Federal food officials are warning Americans to avoid any food containing pistachios because of possible salmonella contamination.  (Just like the recent problems with peanuts.)
All of this food recalling makes a person wonder if anything is really safe to eat anymore?

Studies have shown that many illnesses (including several types of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease) are largely influenced by chronic inflammation in the body.

Prolonged inflammation causes the immune system to become off balance, and can result in damage to healthy tissue.

Poor diet is a main contributor to chronic inflammation, but several lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise, and excessive stress can promote inflammation as well.

Many health and nutrition experts are now starting to emphasize the importance of following an anti-inflammatory diet.

Here are a few tips to get you started on your way to less inflammation and better health:

According to research published in The Journal of HortScience, produce now lacks not only the taste, but also the amount of nutrients it had just 50 years ago.

Vegetables today are larger, but contain more “dry matter” which dilutes the concentrations of minerals.  This results in 5% to 40% less magnesium, iron, calcium, and zinc.

Selective breeding to increase crop yields has let to genetic dilution, which has also in turn caused declines in protein and amino acid levels in produce.

Because of the increased use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, crops are now harvested so quickly that the plant has less time to absorb nutrients either from synthesis or the soil.

Meatout (now in its 25th year) has become the world’s largest and oldest annual grassroots diet education campaign.

Every year on the first day of spring, thousands of supporters in the United States and several other countries participate and encourage others to go meatless for a day (or a lifetime), and discover a more compassionate and healthy diet.

Many mainstream health advocacy organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the American Heart Association, and John Hopkins University promote the consumption of more plant-based foods.

Raw nuts are a healthy addition to any diet, and in my house we go through them almost faster than we can buy them.  They’re a great snack on their own, added to recipes, or turned into milk.

Every week after I’ve make homemade nut milk (our favorites are almond or Brazil nut) I’m left with nut pulp I’ve strained out of the milk mixture.

This pulp (which by the way can be frozen for later use) is great when dried and ground into nut flour, or used in recipes like the raw truffles my family enjoys so much.

This recipe is quick, easy, healthy, and delicious!

The foods we eat have a direct impact on our overall energy.

Think about how you feel after having certain foods.

A greasy fast food meal more than likely leaves you tired, sluggish, and possibly feeling guilty, while a meal full of complex carbohydrates, healthy protein and fats, and fresh fruits and vegetables leaves a person feeling satisfied and energized.

Ok now, we all know the dangers of eating fried foods and food loaded with trans fats, sugar, and other unhealthy ingredients.  Right?

Well apparently there are still plenty of people out there who either don’t know…or don’t care.
When I first saw this website I was shocked by the foods on it, it’s a meat-filled calorie bomb photo gallery you wont believe! (Who knew you could batter and fry just about anything imaginable, and/or cover it in bacon?  Yuck.)

It is estimated that 3 to 7 percent of American children suffer form Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
That adds up to over 2 million kids, one in every class of 25.
Traditional treatments involve medications such as Ritlin and Adderall, as well as other prescription drugs.  Side effects linked to ADHD medication include depression, anxiety, loss of appetite, inability to fall or stay asleep, rapid heartbeat…the list goes on and on.

Research has shown that nutrient deficiencies can exacerbate ADHD symptoms.  For many children, proper nutrition may effectively work as an ADHD alternative treatment.  (If your child is currently taking prescription medication for ADHD, don’t stop the medication without discussing it with your physician first.)

Nanotechnology refers to a field whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale.

It involves the manipulation of matter at the nanometer (nm) scale, which is one-billionth of a meter.  The nano scale is so incredibly tiny that a human hair (which is about 50,000 nm thick) is huge by comparison.
Many researchers believe this technology has the potential to create new and unique risks to human health and the environment.