The Wellness Carafe - Style and Healthier Water

There is nothing so basic to being healthy and staying healthy than drinking pure water. And if you want to drink uncontaminated or pure water, than in today's world you have to filter it.

Tap water, as well as the water in our streams, lakes and even underground, is chockful of industrial chemicals, pesticides and even traces of prescription drugs!

So I buy bottled water that has been filtered for my drinking water. But sometimes dealing with bottled water is a hassle, that is one of the reasons why I keep a couple of Wellness Carafes around.

What is a Wellness Carafe? It is an elegantly contained pitcher that is also a water filter system. You pour tap water in the top - gravity forces the water through a highly sophisticated filter and your pour out water that is great tasting and has been enhanced ionicly!

Here is a product description from Amazon: "If you want clean, safe and refreshing water in a pitcher design, then the new Wellness Carafe is ideal for you. The Wellness Carafe uses a multi-stage filter cartridge to purify the water and to remove chlorine and other harmful contaminants from your water. Just pour tap water into the top of the Carafe and gravity will do the rest. In a few minutes, the bottom of the Carafe will be full of natural tasting water.

"If you want ice water you can drop a handful of ice in with the tap water or you can put it in the refrigerator. Like all Wellness Filter products, the Carafe's multi-stage cartridge contains the famous enhancement media for improved hydration, soluble minerals and negative ions. Carafe includes one forty gallon capacity filter."

This is a great filtered water dispenser designed to not only remove all the bad stuff, but also to enhance the value of the drinking water! I love it, but don't just take my word for it. Here is a Amazon review from D. Garcia who gives the water filtering carafe five stars:

"I have disgusting tap water and this carafe helps tremendously, no more funky smells or weird tasting water. Unlike the Brita, this lid is much more secure. The only downside to this is that it does filter slowly, but as long as you fill it after you use it it's really not much of a problem, unless you need copious amounts of water immediately, then you may want to find something that filters faster."

Why does the water run so slowly through this water purifier pitcher? It just takes longer to really filter out the bad stuff - what you don't want going into your body. If the water drains through too quickly, it is not really removing all the unwanted particles and contaminants.

Whether you have health problems, or are healthy at the moment, it is very important to drink the best quality water that you can. A Wellness Carafe is an excellent home water filtration method for getting that quality water. I love my carafes!

For more information visit, Wellness Carafes.

Healthy Snacks for Younger and Older Children

Kids love to snack! Especially after school, on rainy days, while watching TV and even when they are bored.

If they are going to snack then make sure you provide them with a selection of healthy snacks.

With little ones and grade school children it is easy to fill their little tummies with healthy snacks.

Older children and teenagers are a bit of a challenge to please. The fruits and veggie sticks just won't do anymore. Their idea of a healthy snack is a slice of pizza loaded with toppings and a diet soda. (We now know that this is type of "snack" the opposite of healthy.)

Yummy Snacks for the Little Ones

Bugs on a stick - While it may not sound very appetizing, children gobble this snack up and ask for more! These are very easy to make.

You will need one stalk of washed celery cut into three pieces. Peanut butter - fill the little inside of the pieces of celery with peanut butter. Raisins - Stick four or five raisins (bugs) in the peanut butter.

Jiggly Jell-o Treat - For this snack you will need a box of Jell-o and metal cookie cutters. In a shallow square pan pour in the Jell-o (follow the instructions on the box the prepare it.) Set it in the refrigerator for about an hour or until it is firm and wiggly. Use your cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes, you can plop a little whipped cream on top if you want.

Frozen juice pops - This treat has been around for decades. You will need the Popsicle holders that are sold in almost every store during the spring and summer season. Fill the holders with 100% real fruit juice and freeze for a few hours. These make a great treat on a hot summer day.

Yogurt cover pretzel rods - These are easy to make and the kids love them. You will need a bag of pretzel rods, 8 ounce yogurt, you can use plain or flavored. Pour the yogurt in a shallow pan or on a plate and roll the pretzel rod in it. Place the yogurt covered pretzel rod on a freezer safe plate or in a container and freeze for about an hour.

"Acceptable" Snacks for Older Children and Teens

This age group is harder to please, so the idea is to "hide" the healthiness of the snack. I understand that sounds a bit odd, but it is simply done by not announcing the snack is healthy or sometimes implying that the snack is not healthy works just as well. Use a little reverse psychology that most parents must learn.

Smoothies - Are always a big hit with this age group. You will need fruit one or a couple of different kinds. Ice, plain or fruit flavored yogurt and a blender. Cut the fruit ( about a cup and a half worth) into small pieces put it in the blender, add 1 cup of ice, 1/4 cup of yogurt and blend.

Snack mixes - These are the best! You can put whatever you want in them. My favorite is made of popcorn, raisins, pretzel sticks, and assorted peanuts. Put all the chosen ingredients in to a large bowl with a lid and shake well to mix it all up. Then sit back and watch it all disappear!

Preparing healthy snack for children and teens does not have to be a difficult chore or a boring snack for them. Simply think of some healthy food items and see how well they work together. Before long you will be creating amazing, healthy fun snacks for your kids!

Don't forget the lowly, but amazing apple... check out apple recipes here:  Free Apple Recipes.

----------------------------------------------------
A resource for this article was the management team and dedicated staff of The Platinum Recipes Collection. The Platinum Recipes Collection can be found here: http://www.platinumrecipescollection.com

For Fitness Sake, Fiber is Core to Healthy Eating

To keep fit, healthy eating is something we all need in our lives. To keep our digestive system in good shape and to rev up our metabolism for proper body function, good nutrition is key. Body tissue breakdown and fat levels increase when we make poor food choices. And one of the key components of good nutrition is fiber.

Fiber comes in both soluble and insoluble forms.

Insoluble fiber is healthy for us, as it gives us regular bowel movements, preventing constipation and removing toxic waste that can lead to colon cancer. Insoluble fiber prevents cancer-producing substances from forming by keeping an optimal pH balance in our intestines.

To get insoluble fiber into your diet, start eating more dark leafy green vegetables, fruits, root vegetables (skins), whole wheat, nuts and seeds.

Soluble fiber reduces risks of heart disease and regulates blood sugar by lowering cholesterol especially bad cholesterol (LDL).

Soluble fiber helps to regulates sugar releases and absorption into the blood stream from the food in our stomachs because the fiber attaches to fatty acids slowing down the time it takes to empty our stomachs.

Soluble fiber is found in oats, nuts, flax seed, oranges, apples, carrots and dried beans.

A lifestyle with a proper healthy diet and regular exercise is a goal we should all have. Seeking such a goal will help us live a longer and healthier life

Getting fiber into your diet will contribute to your fitness level as can the following suggestions...

1. Drink three liters of distilled water when possible, every day. This helps purify and clean the systems in your body. Distilled water is the water of choice, as it is the most pure and clean.

2. Eat any fruit and lots of it. Fruit, as already mentioned, is a source of both soluble and insoluble fiber which can keep you regular, while lowering bad cholesterol.

3. Vegetables also contain both soluble and insoluble fiber so take your mother's advice eat as many vegetables as possible.

4. Whole grains are a must - get plenty of them in your diet. Stay away from sweets and beat those cravings by eating whole grains, whole wheat and oat bran.

Fitness and fiber are a team, meant to give you a cleaner, healthier body. For a new and complete program for fitness and diet, click here Lose-weight-get-fit-for-couples.com.

Is Organic Food Really Organic? Maybe Not!

If You Think 'Organic' Food is 'Organic', Think Again...

The last decade has witnessed an increased interest in things "organic" as more and more consumers seek out products that are healthy, ethical, and environmentally friendly. Nowhere is this more evident that in the food industry.

In fact, the organic food industry has gone from a cottage industry start up to a multi-billion dollar business in less than a decade. Global sales of organic food were estimated to be $40 billion in 2006 with the world organic market growing rapidly by about 20% annually. In the US, organic food products are the fastest growing sector of the food marketplace.

Because of the rapid growth of the organic food industry, it is no surprise that big food companies and retailers have joined the act. Because of these alliances, unlikely organic products are sprouting up everywhere including organic cheetos and organic McDonalds coffee. The new movie FOOD INC eloquently speaks to this issue. Hershey Foods owns Dagoba, Kraft owns Boca Foods and Back to Nature, and Heinz is a big investor in Hain Celestial which is connected to many small organic companies including Earth's Best, Spectrum Organics, and Frutti di Bosco.

So who standardizes and regulates this burgeoning worldwide industry? Every country has its own regulations in labeling organic products.

In the USA, the Organic Food Production Act was passed in 1990 giving mandate to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to set national standards and in 2002, the USDA set up the National Organic Program (NOP) to regulate organic food products. The USDA regulations cover issues such as genetic modification, radiation, bioengineering, pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics, and other
man-made chemicals but they do not cover some environmental as well as ethical and social issues.

Certification covers all processes involved from production to processing, packaging and transport. The products that fall under NOP jurisdiction are fresh and processed
agricultural food products, including dairy products, meat and livestock and food crops. It covers food products only and does not include non-food organic crops such as cotton and plants for cosmetics and personal care products.

Because the NOP is a very small understaffed subagency it cannot undertake inspection of food producers to verify organic claims and thus is dependent on no less than 54 accredited agencies within the US in addition to 44 accredited foreign agencies for products produced outside the US.

In the US, the following terminology is allowed on organic food products.

"100% organic" - single ingredient such as a fruit, vegetable, meat, milk and cheese (excludes water and salt).

"Organic" - multiple ingredient foods which are 95 to 100% organic.

"Made with organic ingredients" - 70% of the ingredients are organic. Can appear on the front of package, naming the specific ingredients.

"Contains organic ingredients" - contains less than 70% organic ingredients.

To say the least, organic labeling is both complicated and confusing. However, only those products that meet the '100% organic' and 'organic' criteria are allowed to carry the USDA Organic seal and the USDA emphasizes that the term 'organic' is not synonymous to 'natural' or 'all-natural'.

In addition to the labeling conundrum and the dependency of the NOP on other entities for certification, all is not well in the organic realm. Several well-publicized events point to the fact that current regulation by the NOP may
not be effective.

(1) In 2005 The Cornucopia Institute filed a complaint against Aurora Organic Dairy for multiple violations of federal organic regulations. Aurora is the supplier to big
supermarket chains like Safeway, Wal-Mart, and Costco.

(2) In January 2007 The Cornucopia Institute reported that the retailer giant Wal-Mart was mislabeling certain products organic. The product packaging says "all natural," but Wal-Mart added the word organic to its price labels.

(3) August 2008. The USDA announced that 15 of its accredited certifying agencies had been placed on probation due to various violations of the NOP organic standards,
according to AlterNet. The violations included several certifying agencies from outside the US and included agencies in China, a country which has recently been
implicated in toxic contaminations, including lead to melamine. One product concerned an organically certified ginger which contained a non-allowable pesticide called aldicarb. The ginger, sold under the 365 label at Whole Foods Market, contained a level of aldicarb not even permissible for conventional ginger, let alone organics. Aldicard causes nausea, headaches and blurred vision even at low concentrations.

(4) April 2009: The Cornucopia Institute urged organic food consumers to petition to the NOSB for the removal of non-organic soy lecithin from the National List. The
Institute claims organic lecithin is now commercially available.

(5) June 2009: A federal judge in St. Louis dismissed class action suits filed by consumers against Aurora Dairy for organic milk fraud.

Additionally the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances has become a minefield!

To be certified "organic", a product must contain 95% organic ingredients or materials during its production. The other 5% should be on the list of allowable synthetic substances. A National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances was prepared in 2002, but has since been amended because food producers can file a petition to include substances that are not on the original list but which they
think are essential in their production. In June 2007, a final amended National List was issued with the number of allowable substances increasing from 77 to 245, according to the LA Times. Subsequently, the advocacy group Organic Consumers Association expressed objections to the inclusion of some of the new products allowed, especially the food colorings.

And even organic labeling, itself, has recently come under fire due to the above mentioned scandals and controversies involving the NOP. Advocacy groups have put
forward the following objections.

(1) Lax national standards. This has created a certification procedure that is unreliable, especially those occurring abroad and to add insult to injury the
original Organic Act's mandate for pesticide testing has been declared optional.

(2) Loophole in the Act. The ability to petition for amendments to the National List are being viewed by many as a big loophole resulting in food producers using the
process to their advantage. The original goal was to shrink rather than expand the list. So far, only one substance has been removed whereas more than 60 have been added.

(3) Consumers are not getting what they are paying for. For paying extra, consumers expect food that is free from pesticides and chemicals. If the national organic standards were to be lowered, consumers are actually being "ripped off."

(4) Watered down. Many believe that with the participation of corporate giants in the organic food market, the organic principle has been seriously "watered down". They put this down to big companies' strong lobbying power, forcing NOP to make concessions and lower national organic standards to accommodate them.

(5) Greenwashing. Some groups even go as far as accusing the NOP of greenwashing, that the organic seal is just a marketing ploy. Some specific examples of greenwashing activities include importing organic powdered milk from New Zealand and keeping a larger number of organic cows in a smaller space.

Consumer groups and some organic pioneers say they are concerned that the 'corporate alliance' movement - a response to the practices of corporate food production that
promotes a natural chemical-free approach to farming - will eventually create a watered down organic food industry unless firm standards are maintained by the NOP, which is unlikely, in view of its past performance.

Other groups feel that conflicts of interest may arise between conventional and organic food production. Organic production used to be a niche market for small organic farmers. As organic production goes mainstream, these small farmers would be out competed and driven out of business.

As people become more and more health and socially conscious, the demand for organic products is increasing. However, as economists point out, "as mainstream consumers
are growing hungry for untainted food that also nourishes their social conscience, it is getting harder and harder to find organic ingredients."

For the purists, however, the philosophy also requires farmers to treat their people and livestock with respect and, ideally, to sell small batches of what they produce locally so as to avoid burning fossil fuels to transport them.

Economic principles, however, do not coincide with purist organic philosophy. The whole supply chain of organic food production is becoming more complicated as the market grows rapidly. The producers are forced to take short cuts in order to stay competitive.

In the US, for example, there aren't enough organic cows to produce organic milk. Even if there were enough cows, there aren't enough grains to feed them. And it is no longer possible to feed cows with raw grass to obtain raw grass-fed milk unless the farmer applies fertilizers to his pasture to make the grass grow faster. Some companies are forced to look offshore for organic ingredients, thereby violating several organic principles, not necessarily in the production process, but in terms of low labor costs and high transport costs.

The organic food industry has clearly outgrown the original regulations meant to protect it and its consumers. And the increased demand for organic food may actually be its own undoing. How 'organic is organic food' is even more important now than in the past!

Guest Article by Katt Mollar
http://healthworldnet.com