Week 10
When I think of the saying “clear the air” I visualize a disagreement between two parties, and the value of forging a strong relationship built on two-way communication. This entry, however, is not related to resolving a quarrel, but rather, the importance of having plants share your home. Did you know that having houseplants can make people feel more optimistic and calmer? House plants have also been known to decrease fatigue, coughs and sore throats. This makes sense since plants clean impurities from the air. All of the above health benefits will also come in handy when you are figuratively trying to “clear the air”. The next time you find yourself in a stressful situation, surround yourself with green and take deep cleansing breaths. Kathy, a very close friend, told me that green is the colour of your heart chakra which connects your physical and spiritual world. Opening the heart chakra allows a person to love, empathize and feel compassion. One day I was complaining to Kathy about feeling warn out and tired and she advised me go outside and sit in a park and surround myself with nature, because green is life. Green signifies growth, renewal and health. As I sat cross legged in the green space at our condominium, I was amazed at the transformation of my feeling. As I looked up at the palms, swaying in the breeze, I was at peace. I was also thinking what a first-rate job those palms were doing at removing the airborne toxins of the 22 million people who call Sao Paulo home. Thankfully palms are also known for adding up to one liter of moisture to the air per day. After thinking about the benefits of house plants, I was curious to know how many house plants it would take to “clear the air”. I found out that it is recommended to have 15 to 18 house plants for an 1800 square-foot (580m) house. I don’t think that my two sad looking ivy plants are cutting it. Next stop, the greenhouse!
Have a great weekend friends!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Put a lid on it!
Week 9
This January, our family was fortunate enough to take an amazing two week cruise from Argentina, around Cape Horn to Chile. There were so many memorable moments, that of which I will cherish for a lifetime. I will salt away these terrific times, to be brought up again in a different entry. On another note, I wonder if any of you have ever been in the teeny tiny bathrooms of a bedroom suite on a cruise ship? Everything is super compact and functional. There is a special place for all your toiletries, an oval shower that also functions as a clothes line, even innovative hooks and shelves cramped into this small space. The most practical design though, was the placement of the flushing mechanism for the toilet, which was strategically placed behind the lid. In order to flush the toilet, one would have to close the lid to get at the flush button. This is ingenious, considering that there are more than 10,000 bacteria particles that escape into the air with a single flush!
A concern in the bathroom is particles that hang in the air after flushing the toilet. The particles are called aerosol. Charles Gerba, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona, performed studies on toilet aerosol to examine what occurs when a toilet is flushed. He found that an invisible cloud of water droplets forms and travels six to eight feet, spreading bacteria to countertops, walls, ceiling, floor and any items, such as toothbrushes, in the vicinity. If you flush with the lid up, a polluted plume of bacteria and water vapour erupts out of the flushing toilet bowl. The polluted water particles float for a few hours around your bathroom before they all land. Some of them will land on your tooth brush.(http://healthierprograms.com/?tag=dr-charles-gerba)
Don’t even get me started on toothbrushes! Offering you solid reasons why changing your toothbrush regularly will be stowed away for yet another entry, but let me leave you with this last tidbit of information. Scientists have found more than 10,000,000 bacteria living on a single toothbrush.
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!
Have a great weekend!
This January, our family was fortunate enough to take an amazing two week cruise from Argentina, around Cape Horn to Chile. There were so many memorable moments, that of which I will cherish for a lifetime. I will salt away these terrific times, to be brought up again in a different entry. On another note, I wonder if any of you have ever been in the teeny tiny bathrooms of a bedroom suite on a cruise ship? Everything is super compact and functional. There is a special place for all your toiletries, an oval shower that also functions as a clothes line, even innovative hooks and shelves cramped into this small space. The most practical design though, was the placement of the flushing mechanism for the toilet, which was strategically placed behind the lid. In order to flush the toilet, one would have to close the lid to get at the flush button. This is ingenious, considering that there are more than 10,000 bacteria particles that escape into the air with a single flush!
A concern in the bathroom is particles that hang in the air after flushing the toilet. The particles are called aerosol. Charles Gerba, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona, performed studies on toilet aerosol to examine what occurs when a toilet is flushed. He found that an invisible cloud of water droplets forms and travels six to eight feet, spreading bacteria to countertops, walls, ceiling, floor and any items, such as toothbrushes, in the vicinity. If you flush with the lid up, a polluted plume of bacteria and water vapour erupts out of the flushing toilet bowl. The polluted water particles float for a few hours around your bathroom before they all land. Some of them will land on your tooth brush.(http://healthierprograms.com/?tag=dr-charles-gerba)
Don’t even get me started on toothbrushes! Offering you solid reasons why changing your toothbrush regularly will be stowed away for yet another entry, but let me leave you with this last tidbit of information. Scientists have found more than 10,000,000 bacteria living on a single toothbrush.
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!
Have a great weekend!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Smart Lessons from Simple Stories
Week 8 –
During our morning exercise class, Melissa and I were discussing the benefits of buying organic. I was sharing a recent study with her based on 87,000 tests conducted by the USDA, The Environmental Working Group recently scored food pesticide levels in common produce, from 1 (the lowest pesticide load) to 100 (the highest). Apples scored a scary 93! Melissa mentioned that perhaps it was the pesticides that killed Snow White and not the poison.
So that got me thinking, with all the gimmicks, diet regimes and exercise advice that bombard us in the media, is there any other place we can for healthy advice? Let’s flash back to look at some familiar characters from our younger years. Think for a moment, if Humpty Dumpty came from a free range bird, perhaps he would have survived his fall. Organic eggs from pastured hens can contain as much as ten times more omega-3’s than factory hens. Organic eggs have healthy protein and fat and contain necessary amounts of Vitamins A,D, B12, B2, niacin and folate. Poor Humpty didn’t have a chance!
Now let’s look back at a story with a happy ending. Little Miss Muffet was way ahead (no pun intended) of her time with the whole curds and whey thing! Whey protein is unsurpassed as a source of essential amino acids required in the daily diet. Essential amino acids are the building blocks for healthy muscles, skin, nails and other body tissue (Whey Protein Institute, 2009). You can find out more about the benefits of whey protein from the following reliable source http://www.wheyoflife.org/benefits.cfm
Why are we all so adamant to cut carbs? The Lady and the Tramp had it right while they sat nose to nose, sharing a plate of pasta. Not only are carbohydrates our best energy source, we need that energy source to be able to train hard enough to improve our cardio-vascular and muscular fitness. Not to mention, the pair decided to share the plate of pasta, which is terrific for portion control.
Jack was so smart to plant that magic bean, which later grew into a healthy bean stock. We should all rely more on beans and think of beans as the ultimate meat substitute! They are packed with protein, filled with fiber and antioxidants, and cheaper than almost any staple in the supermarket!
I could go on and on, with Goldilocks choosing the proper portion of oatmeal, to Chicken Little being the strongest and mightiest without being pumped with dangerous hormones, to Hansel and Gretel getting locked away as punishment for eating the entire candy house, but I think you get the picture!
Have a beautiful weekend!
Andie
During our morning exercise class, Melissa and I were discussing the benefits of buying organic. I was sharing a recent study with her based on 87,000 tests conducted by the USDA, The Environmental Working Group recently scored food pesticide levels in common produce, from 1 (the lowest pesticide load) to 100 (the highest). Apples scored a scary 93! Melissa mentioned that perhaps it was the pesticides that killed Snow White and not the poison.
So that got me thinking, with all the gimmicks, diet regimes and exercise advice that bombard us in the media, is there any other place we can for healthy advice? Let’s flash back to look at some familiar characters from our younger years. Think for a moment, if Humpty Dumpty came from a free range bird, perhaps he would have survived his fall. Organic eggs from pastured hens can contain as much as ten times more omega-3’s than factory hens. Organic eggs have healthy protein and fat and contain necessary amounts of Vitamins A,D, B12, B2, niacin and folate. Poor Humpty didn’t have a chance!
Now let’s look back at a story with a happy ending. Little Miss Muffet was way ahead (no pun intended) of her time with the whole curds and whey thing! Whey protein is unsurpassed as a source of essential amino acids required in the daily diet. Essential amino acids are the building blocks for healthy muscles, skin, nails and other body tissue (Whey Protein Institute, 2009). You can find out more about the benefits of whey protein from the following reliable source http://www.wheyoflife.org/benefits.cfm
Why are we all so adamant to cut carbs? The Lady and the Tramp had it right while they sat nose to nose, sharing a plate of pasta. Not only are carbohydrates our best energy source, we need that energy source to be able to train hard enough to improve our cardio-vascular and muscular fitness. Not to mention, the pair decided to share the plate of pasta, which is terrific for portion control.
Jack was so smart to plant that magic bean, which later grew into a healthy bean stock. We should all rely more on beans and think of beans as the ultimate meat substitute! They are packed with protein, filled with fiber and antioxidants, and cheaper than almost any staple in the supermarket!
I could go on and on, with Goldilocks choosing the proper portion of oatmeal, to Chicken Little being the strongest and mightiest without being pumped with dangerous hormones, to Hansel and Gretel getting locked away as punishment for eating the entire candy house, but I think you get the picture!
Have a beautiful weekend!
Andie
Friday, March 5, 2010
Something to ponder
"The key to happiness is NOT getting what you want, but wanting what you get"
"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow"- Orison Marden
"It is better to have a body in shape than to obsess about the shape of your body".
"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow"- Orison Marden
"It is better to have a body in shape than to obsess about the shape of your body".
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