Starting a conversation about protein sources between a vegan and a meat eater is a lot like discussing politics or religion with a stranger. More often than not, it’s not going to end peacefully. However, there are many myths and inaccurate claims made on both sides of the fence with regards to protein intake and the best sources, and it’s time to clear it up.

Calorie Content

One of the first big debates with animal vs. plant protein is calorie content. Meat eaters will argue that you need to eat far more vegetables than you do meat in order to get a beneficial amount of protein. In fact, some will argue that you will basically starve trying to get enough protein while spending your entire day eating.

It’s true that vegetables have a lower caloric density than meat. Yes, you would have to consume more volume to equal the same amount of protein. But this may be a moot point. Unless you are training moderately to heavily, the protein content you require could easily be met by a vegetarian diet. Furthermore, a lower calorie vegetarian diet is easier on the digestive system than a diet with animal protein (largely due to meat being cooked).

If you train intensely, it will be more difficult to meet your caloric needs on plant protein alone. This is where meat can help pick up the slack and provide you with the extra calories you may require. For example, a 3oz serving of steak provides 174 calories and delivers 26 grams of complete protein. A 3oz serving of cooked quinoa provides 34 calories and delivers 3.5 grams of complete protein.

If you feel you require more calories with protein, for whatever reason, animal meat is definitely an easy option. And it is the only way many people are going to get enough protein. Due to the lack of produce and other whole foods in our diet, most people’s vegan protein comes from soy and other unhealthy ingredients in processed foods. Not only are these foods highly processed and toxic, the proteins are difficult for the body to assimilate and they cause a host of health issues.

Complete vs Incomplete

One of the most cited points in an animal vs. plant protein debate is the fact that animals provide a complete protein, whereas plants can’t do the same. This is an erroneous assumption for two reasons:

• There are plant sources of protein that are complete (for example, chlorella, hemp seeds, bee pollen, chia seeds, and quinoa).
• You can combine different plant proteins to make a complete protein in any given meal, like lentils and brown rice. The reality is that plant-based diets contain such a wide variety of amino acid profiles that vegans are virtually guaranteed to get all of their amino acids with very little effort.

There are logical and understandable reasons why animal protein may be more desirable to people, besides taste and convenience. While vegans argue that meat causes cancer and other serious health problems, health minded omnivores will state, and correctly so, that improper cooking methods and poor quality meat (factory farmed), are the causes of poor health issues.

Assimilation

One of the least talked about subjects when it comes to the animal vs. plant protein debate is assimilation. Very few people consider the fact that the amount of protein contained in the food source is rarely the amount of protein your body digests and properly assimilates.

For years, soy protein isolate has been used in protein powders and even baby formula to help increase protein intake. However, what many failed to consider is that conventional unfermented soy is a highly indigestible protein, and assimilation is a fraction of what is printed on the label. In addition, most soy is genetically modified, and unfermented soy enzymes inhibitors can cause serious hormone imbalances.

Generally speaking, good forms of plant protein will be more easily digested than good forms of animal protein. In fact, to better digest animal protein it should be paired with fresh non-starchy vegetables in order to provide the enzymes and probiotics required to break it down properly for optimal digestion.

Furthermore, typical cooking methods of animal protein ruin your ability to properly assimilate it. Today, we usually cook food quickly and at high heat by pan-frying, microwaving, deep-frying, and barbecuing. All of these methods form advanced glycated end products, which are difficult to metabolize, and the problem becomes considerably worse with added sugar (which is present in nearly all sauces that may be applied while cooking).

If you want to avoid these glycated end products to improve your assimilation and avoid negative immune system reactions, cook your food on low heat (up to 180F) with water whenever possible, and avoid adding sugar. Glycated end products, other free radicals, and broken damaged acids are all a result of cooking foods, and cooking faster and/or longer creates more of them. They are all toxic to the body.

Amount of Protein Required

Of course, a big factor in how much protein you actually need depends on your activity level. These numbers vary between “protein experts”. However, the following numbers can provide a guideline:

• Sedentary – .8 grams per kg of body weight (160lbs is 72kg which is 57.6 g of protein required daily)
• Endurance – 1.2 to 1.4 grams per kg of body weight (160 lbs is 72 kg, which is up to 100g of protein required daily)
• Body builders – 1.4 to 2.0 (some say as much as 2.5) grams per kg of body weight (160 lbs is 72kg, which is up to 130g of protein required daily)

With a fairly sedentary lifestyle (inactive to very light exercise like walking), you can very easily meet your protein requirements through a plant-based diet. An endurance athlete will need to know the higher and more efficient plant-based proteins to be able to do the same, and the body builder will have to consistently consume only the most nutrient and protein dense forms, many times a day, in order to meet the right quota.

In the case of body builders, it will likely be much easier to consume animal meat to get the amount of calories and protein they require, but they should be wary of proper combinations with non-starchy protein rich plant sources in order to actually absorb the high level of protein they take in.

However, there are vegan body builders winning competitions on plant-based protein alone, so those needs can be met.  If you seriously doubt the ability to build muscle mass on a plant protein based diet, I would ask you to consider where cattle and pigs get their protein to build muscle mass (hint: plant-based sources, not other animals).

Eating Protein

If you do choose to eat animal meat as your primary source of protein, choose those that are raised humanely and not injected with antibiotics, hormones, or steroids and are pasture fed or fed organically. Grass fed beef is a great example of a good source of animal protein.

Also consider how the meat is cooked. Beef and fish do not need to be completely cooked and therefore are much easier on the digestive system. Chicken and pork on the other hand, should be cooked completely, which makes the meat more acidic and much more difficult to digest, which compromises your protein assimilation. (We don’t recommend eating pork.)

When looking at good vegetarian and vegan protein sources, consider chlorella/spirulina, hemp, bee pollen, chia, and quinoa, which are all above 25% protein (quinoa, chia, bee pollen,) all the way up to between 40% and 70% (hemp and chlorella).

When preparing a plant-based protein, cook it gently or not at all. A properly made smoothie can easily yield more than 30 grams of protein in a highly digestible format. Combine this with a quinoa and vegetable dish and you have a protein rich meal.

In the end, you can meet your protein needs with either

Our ancient ancestors, in most parts of the world, ate far more plants than animal protein and certainly did not eat animal protein nearly as often as we do in modern times. We could learn a lot from them and limit the animal protein in our diet as we add in more high quality plant protein to increase the absorption and assimilation of our various protein sources.

If you do choose to ingest animal flesh, please buy meat that you know was treated as humanely as possible. These animal products are better for us, better for the environment, and of course better for them.

And if you decide you want to avoid animal sources altogether, you can certainly obtain the complete protein and calories you require through plant-based sources alone. If you have high protein requirements, it just may take a bit more planning and work in the beginning to ensure you meet your needs, depending on your activity levels.

Complete Vegan Sources of Protein

The following are plant-based foods that contain all of the essential amino acids that make up a complete source of protein.

• Chlorella – 58-75% protein
• Spirulina – 51-71% protein
• Hempseed – 47% protein
• Chia – 21% protein
• Quinoa – 14% protein
• Buckwheat – 13% protein
• Amaranth – 13% protein
• Soy – 81% protein (look for whole, organic and fermented soybean sources for proper digestion)

Bee pollen, while not vegan, is another plant-based complete protein that is 25% to 40% protein.

It’s nice to know what your complete sources of plant-based protein are, but with a little variety, it’s easy to get all the essential amino acids in your diet. Also, many traditional dishes offer all of the essential amino acids. For instance, brown rice and beans is a complete source of protein. Vegetables have such a wide variety of amino acids, it’s actually easy to just eat a few vegetables and get all of them. Further, you don’t need all of the essential amino acids in one meal, or even in one day, to build complete protein in your body.

Conclusion

If you’re considering reducing your animal consumption, or cutting it out completely (or you already have), know that there are plenty of choices out there. Being healthy is all about eating well, and eating well is all about whole foods.  Almost everyone could use more fresh, whole, raw and/or home cooked foods in their diet.

Also, the amount of meat we consume is not sustainable. We as a society cannot continue to eat as much meat  as we do unless we turn to lab created flesh or some other scientific answer, which will likely create a whole host of new health problems. But if we reduce our meat consumption drastically, grow some of our own food, start looking at how and where we can grow more food (such as rooftops and stacked gardens), and we buy from local and small scale farmers, not only can we feed everyone well with plenty of land left over, we can also dramatically reduce our impact on our environment (there is nothing more impactful that we could do), radically improve our health, and we could remove a lot of needless suffering, too.

Did we miss any complete protein sources for vegans? Let us know! And if you have any other tips on healthy protein intake, please tell us about them.

Carpet

Homes are meant to make a family feel safe, secure, and together. While many people take steps to ensure that their homes are clean and healthy places, there are several considerations you may be overlooking in your endeavors to keep your family healthy. Check out these six areas in your home that might accidentally be causing problems for your family.

Carpeting is a household staple. But carpeting might be making your family feel sick. For one, carpet traps pollen, pet dander, dust mites, and other allergens. Some carpet materials also give off volatile organic compounds. These compounds evaporate and are inhaled, which can cause respiratory problems. Volatile organic compounds don’t just appear in carpeting, either.

To eliminate the problem, furnish your home with items that don’t contain volatile organic compounds by asking at the furniture store. Buy thinner carpeting and keep your home well ventilated.

Dust Mites

Most people with dust allergies are actually allergic to dust mites. The microscopic critters like warm weather and high humidity. When they die, they tend to collect in fabric-based furniture and accessories, like beds, pillows, couches, and the like. So if you or anyone in your family experiences allergy symptoms outside of the typical allergy season, the reaction may be to a dust mite allergy.

There are several steps you can take to reduce the number of dust mites in your home, including keeping your humidity down, regularly washing your linens in hot water, and getting rid of bedroom carpeting.

Drinking Water

The EPA regulates and protects clean drinking water, so most people feel it’s safe to drink straight from the tap. But even with the EPA’s involvement, drinking water may not be as clear of contaminates as we’d like to believe. Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals, like ibuprofen and anticonvulsants, have been found in metropolitan water supplies.

The simple workaround might appear to be to drink water out of bottles, but a lot of water bottles are actually filled with tap water that hasn’t been filtered for these specific contaminates. Consider instead water filtration for the whole house, which has the added bonus of preventing the plastic waste that comes from drinking water out of bottles.

Carbon Monoxide

Most homes have smoke detectors that alert you to the presence of smoke in your house. But unless your smoke alarm specifically also features a carbon monoxide detection system, the dangerous gas might be present in your home without your knowledge. Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless, and has many common household sources like gas heaters, furnaces, dryers, fireplaces, motor vehicles, and more. To protect your family, make sure carbon monoxide producing devices are properly ventilated, and purchase a detector.

Mothballs

Fumigants are what make mothballs so useful against pests. Mothballs contain chemicals that release into the air and kill pests at high enough doses. But these high doses of chemicals can also be harmful to humans. The side-effects of inhaling these chemicals include dizziness, headaches, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and red blood cell loss. Next time you need to take care of creepy crawly pests, safer ways to treat the problem exist. You can eliminate moths without resorting to mothballs.

Refrigerator

Your refrigerator might also contribute to making your family ill. A packed fridge with incorrectly stored food can end up growing things that cause food poisoning. Plus, if the temperature is off, by even a little bit, it only makes matters worse. Keep your cooked and uncooked foods well away from each other, especially meats. Clean the interior of your fridge regularly. Find out what temperature your fridge should be and check it often.

While checking for mold and having a working smoke detector seem like obvious ways to keep your house clean and your family healthy, you may be overlooking some subtler aspects of the equation. Some of these issues, like dust mites, the refrigerator, and carpeting, aren’t deathly serious, others like carbon monoxide and mothballs can cause serious health problems, especially with prolonged exposure. Thankfully most of these areas are easy to take care of with a little diligence.

Going green before you even break ground is one of the most effective ways to make sure your new house is as environmentally friendly and energy-efficient as possible. From the foundation to the roof, there are plenty of ways to aim for efficiency during and after the construction process. The following six building tips will help turn you new house into a green home.

Plot Out the Lot

There’s a lot more to deciding where you want to build your new home than the lot location, especially if you want to build green. Environmental impact and local zoning codes aside, there are many factors that will affect the future of your home and its green potential.

First consider the climate, as in median yearly temperatures. If you are building in a generally warmer climate, then a lot that provides more shade is your best energy-efficient bet. For colder climates, an open, sunny lot will offer the best exposure for natural home heating and lighting.

Use Sustainable Building Materials

Once you’ve found the perfect lot for your green home, it’s time to think about earth friendly building materials. Sustainable means any materials that are either recycled or have a rapid regeneration. For example, recycled plastics are commonly used to make composite wood for trim and decking.

Likewise, recycled and crushed glass is also used as an alternative to granite countertops. As for naturally occurring green building materials, bamboo is a great alternative to wood flooring because it regenerates faster than commonly used hardwoods. In addition, longer lasting products like cement board siding is more durable, earth friendly, and energy-efficient than regular wood siding.

Keep Your Home’s Size in Perspective

The size of your new home has a huge impact on its overall green potential. It’s important to keep in mind how much space you actually need as opposed to how much space you want. Every square foot you add to the construction translates to more materials and increased energy usage in the long run.

Before you chisel the blueprints in stone, think about your new home in terms of your own lifespan. Will your family expand or are the kids heading off to college? Do you need a spare bedroom and an office, or is that space sharable? When it comes to building a new home, experts are there to help you build a house that’s inspired by you and your square footage needs.

Think Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling

Size, lot location, and building materials all work together to make your new home green, but so does the home’s heating and cooling. Not all HVAC systems are built the same, so if you’re going for peak energy efficiency, then an ENERGY STAR® heating and cooling system can help reduce your home’s energy costs by 30 percent or more.

Heating the water in your new home is almost as expensive as heating the living room and bedrooms, so it’s important to choose an energy-efficient water heater as well. Tankless water heaters only heat the water you need when you need it, so there’s no wasted energy involved with continuously heating standby water. Turning your home green is good, not only for the environment, but for your wallet as well.

Choose Quality Insulation

One of the biggest efficiency pitfalls during the home building process is energy loss due to poor insulation; especially if you’re going for green energy efficiency. So, make sure all exterior walls are properly insulated. In addition, your attic plays a major role in heating costs due to the potential energy loss, so insulate your attic and crawlspaces properly as well.

Post Construction Green Efforts

Just because you built an earth friendly, energy-efficient home doesn’t mean your green efforts have to stop there. From energy-efficient appliances to compact fluorescent light bulbs, it’s easy to go green. Monitoring your water consumption, scheduling your thermostat to heat and cool in moderation, and even planting shade-providing vegetation are all great ways to make your home energy-efficient and green.

Keep in mind these earth and energy friendly pointers during construction, and you’ll have the greenest new home on the block. What’s your biggest conservation concern as you’re building your new home? Please share with us in the comments below.

Bamboo products have become really popular recently, and why wouldn’t they?  Bamboo is beautiful, and most of the bamboo products being sold are really high quality.  You can buy bamboo sheets, bamboo blankets, bamboo cutting boards, bamboo flooring, and even bamboo bicycles.  Bamboo is everywhere.

Is Bamboo Green or Not?

There are also articles everywhere telling you whether bamboo is actually green or not.  You can easily find content supporting both sides of the issue, and plenty of it.  So, what is really true?  Is bamboo green?

How Bamboo Isn’t Green

If you’re talking about the process used to manufacture a bamboo product, then bamboo really isn’t all that green.  Bamboo is a woody grass, and to turn its fibers into fibers that can be used to make sheets, blankets, and bicycles, the bamboo fibers have to undergo a chemical process. This process isn’t any less green than the process used to manufacture other products.  For instance, the processes used to make bamboo sheets and cotton sheets are very similar and so are their effects on the environment.  So, while the bamboo manufacturing process isn’t all that green, it also isn’t any less environmentally friendly than other manufacturing processes with which you’re familiar.

Bamboo Grows Fast!

Not only can it grow up to three feet a day, it reaches maturity very quickly, anywhere from one to three years, depending upon the species.  For bamboo lumber products such as flooring, this makes it a greener and more quickly renewable crop compared to lumber.  Trees grow for a minimum of 20 years before they reach maturity; most don’t mature before they are 40-60 years old.

Choosing Bamboo Means Choosing Water Conservation

Bamboo requires no irrigation when grown in its natural habitat.  When you choose bamboo products, you are helping with water conservation.  This is in stark contrast to crops like cotton. To produce enough cotton to make a single T-shirt, you need as much water as a single person drinks over a three-year period.

Bamboo Doesn’t Require Harmful Chemicals to Grow

Bamboo doesn’t require pesticides or insecticides.  This makes bamboo products safer not only for you and the farm hands who cultivate and harvest it, but for all the wildlife and water sources that are killed or polluted each year because of these chemicals.

Bamboo Makes Soil Healthier

Bamboo keeps the soil healthy thanks to its root system.  Bamboo roots are structured like a net. Because of this, they keep the soil together and reduce runoff and soil erosion during heavy rains.

Bamboo Has a Negative Carbon Footprint

A forest of bamboo the same size as a forest of trees will produce 35% more oxygen, giving bamboo a negative carbon footprint.

Bamboo Is and Isn’t Green

So, the next time someone tells you bamboo isn’t green, you can agree with them to an extent.  And when someone else tells you bamboo is green, you can agree with them as well.  Because now you know the truth about bamboo:  its manufacturing processes are no more or less green than other processes, but its growth process makes it one of the greenest and most sustainable resources found on earth.

We are surrounded by toxins. We get it. The thought of how many toxins we encounter every day almost makes us want to vomit (and in some cases, probably does). Although every toxin is something you want to avoid, in many cases, it is simply not possible. However,  you can start to eliminate the more serious toxins you touch daily to significantly lighten your toxic load.

Water

Most people start their day by waking up on their chemically treated mattress, glancing at their EMF emitting cell phone, while considering how many more minutes they can wait before they hit the shower.

This is where the toxin onslaught begins.

More than 2,100 toxic chemicals have been detected in America’s water systems, with fluoride, chlorine, and VOC’s being the main culprits. These chemicals have been linked to behavioral, brain, and thyroid problems as they bio-accumulate in your tissues. These chemicals have also been known to create allergies and increase cancer death rates.

So if you are of the majority who showers in treated water with no filter to remove these contaminants, you are slowly absorbing these toxins through your skin on a daily basis. Don’t be fooled into believing the dose is not harmful; over a period of time these toxins will take their toll.

Personal Care Products

Now that you are all cleaned up (using soap, shampoo, and possibly conditioner in the shower) , it’s time to finish making yourself fit for interaction with other human beings. This process could include any number of personal care products. The typical applications include deodorant, hair products, cologne/perfume, and skin lotions.

The majority of personal care products contain a number of chemicals and preservatives like phthalates, parabens, aluminum, and petroleum distillates, just to name a few. These chemicals are known hormone disruptors and can cause allergies, attention deficit disorder, and breast cancer.

Consult the Environmental Working Group and their skin deep database to determine the safety of your personal care products, and make better choices if necessary. There are many companies producing organic soaps, shampoos, and personal care products.

Coffee

Now it’s time for what we have been looking forward to ever since we woke up – coffee. Nothing seems to make our heart sing more than the anticipation of the sight, smell, and boost that is our morning coffee.

Too bad most coffee drinkers are completely contaminating themselves.

Coffee is one of the most heavily, chemically treated crops and coffee is highly acidic, with a pH often ranging between 4.5 and 6 (alkaline is closer to 7.4). If your non-organic coffee is not toxic enough for you, the refined white sugar (or worse, HFCS flavourings or artificial sweeteners) and dairy you add to it is sure to add another layer of contaminants that gives your gut a serious knockout punch. Oh, and don’t forget the toxic tap water that is the main ingredient.

If you drink coffee, make it organic and consider drinking it black or with better sugar and dairy alternatives to reduce the toxic load.

Corn

Seriously, is there anything on the shelves that doesn’t have corn in it nowadays? This crop really needs to take a rest and remove itself from a lot of our food supply.

Corn is largely GMO, and is difficult to digest for most people, which automatically makes it a toxic choice. But if GMO corn in the produce aisle wasn’t enough, nearly every other aisle contains it.

Corn can be found in pork, beef, bread, sodas, chicken, fries, chips, cereals, and spaghetti sauces. The only way you can really avoid GMO corn is to buy only organic corn and corn products.

To learn more about how GMO corn gets on your plate without you knowing, watch the documentary, King Corn.

Rice

A staple in many people’s diets, rice has also found its way onto our plate and in our cups on a daily basis. The only problem is with the source and the contaminants that cannot be easily cleaned up.

The majority of rice production takes place in China and India (the top 2 rice producing countries in the world), and accounts for up to 40% of production. This isn’t necessarily a problem until you factor in the major pollution problem these two countries are dealing with and the fact that it directly affects soil composition and makes even “organic” a difficult label to apply.

Recent reports have shown that products containing rice sourced from China are riddled with heavy metal contaminants–lead, tungsten, cadmium, and mercury at far beyond acceptable limits. This makes eating rice in any form from these regions very risky, as heavy metal toxicity is a major health compromising factor.

Cleaning up soil in a heavily polluted environment is a task that takes decades. Until these limits come down to acceptable levels, choose organic rice from reliable producers outside of those regions.

To learn more about the issue with rice, and a supplier that can help you get around it, check in with this report.

Soy

Although soy was once considered the darling of all things healthy, research now suggests otherwise. Soy in its most common forms is actually detrimental to our health.

GMO soy shows up in a variety of packaged foods, most notably soy sauce, soy milk, and soy protein isolate that is found in the majority of protein and meal replacement shakes, as well as protein bars and snacks. These products are difficult to digest and disrupt your hormones to the point that they can cause breast and other cancers related to the hormonal system.

If you choose to consume soy, make it organic (non-GMO) and fermented (like miso and tempeh) to almost completely alleviate the toxic load.

Refined Wheat Flour

Wheat has been the poster child of all things bad, and the gluten free movement has gained more momentum than any other health concern.

Even it its whole form, wheat causes severe toxicity issues. The digestive system is not set up to handle copious amounts. Gluten is very difficult to digest, especially with our deficiency of good gut bacteria. Then you strip it of any remaining nutrients to make it white, and wheat ends up being a better insecticide than food because any bug that tries to live off it eventually dies.

In addition, wheat appears to be making some headway as a fully blown GM crop thanks to Monsanto announcing new research into GM wheat in 2009, with industry groups jumping on board. Thankfully, there has been push back by consumers that has stalled some of their efforts.

Refined wheat is found in nearly every packaged product. If you do choose wheat products (even though it is not recommended), ensure that they are organic and sprouted to limit the toxic load.

Refined Sugar

Sugar is one of the most difficult foods to avoid due to our own cravings and the fact that it is found in nearly every packaged product in the grocery store.

Aside from being largely GMO (sugar from sugar beets), refined sugar is literally feeding the candida outbreak that is silently ruining people’s health through hundreds of different disease labels, from arthritis to cancer. Yet, we can’t seem to keep this food out of our diet as it shows up in a variety of forms in packaged foods, as well as our coffee, tea, and baked goods.

If you choose a sweetener, make sure to reference this chart to make a better decision.

Dairy

Even though dairy has also received widespread attention as a gut menacing food or beverage, it still has a stronghold in people’s diets across the world.

If you aren’t putting it into your coffee, cereal, baking, or sauces, you still have to deal with it in chocolate, yogurt, dressings, cheese, shakes, soups, and many packaged and fried foods (often disguised as whey or casein).

The main issue with dairy is that it is largely pasteurized (making it a “dead” food”), and loaded with hormones and antibiotics. Combine that with natural sugars like lactose that are very hard to digest, and you have a

toxic touch point that makes it into many people’s diets everyday.

Animal Meat

Most of us have grown up eating animal meat in one form or another. This daily habit is now more toxic than ever.

Meat is not as simple as it once was. Meat production has become a huge industry infatuated with pumping out as much product as cheaply and in as little time as possible. The cost to us is tainted meat that introduces a variety of toxins into our physiology.

Most of the animals are raised in horrible, inhumane conditions.  On top of this, they are often fed toxic animal parts and low quality grains laced with elements like arsenic to fatten them up quicker at a reduced cost (this is most prevalent in the chicken industry). In addition to these horrific acts, these animals are injected with or fed hormones and antibiotics, which ends up on your plate, now creating a health issue for you. According to data from 2011, more than 80% of the antibiotics produced were fed to livestock.

If you choose to eat animal meat, look for labels saying organic, free from, grass fed, and free range. Even better, know your farmer and understand their operation so you know they are being treated respectfully, fed well, and naturally maintained.

Alcohol

Another common habit, alcohol use has been perpetuated as a way to really enjoy yourself. Although alcohol may seem to help, beer, wine, whiskey and other spirits have created a host of health problems associated with the gut and liver.

Alcohol does not promote health. Although there may be some useful nutrients associated with wine and beer, they are overshadowed by the toxicity created from the alcohol, grains, sugar, and yeast that are present in them. This combination puts a serious smack down on your gut and your liver, two parts of your body that contribute largely to your livelihood.

If you do choose to drink alcohol, exercise moderation and choose organic.

Prescriptions

Most people have caught on by now that prescription medications are some of the most toxic things you can put in your body. With that being said, it certainly isn’t stopping many as it is now estimated that 70 percent of Americans take at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two or more. Antibiotics, antidepressants, and painkillers are the most prescribed drugs.

The unfortunate part of this bandaid solution is that it creates a massive array of complications, with the most damage being inflicted to the intestinal system and liver. This creates a wide variety of symptoms. Just listen to a drug commercial; 10-15 seconds is dedicated to listing the side effects, a clear indicator of just how toxic the side effects can be.

Until an individual is able to come off of prescriptions, there will always be an onerous toxic load from this one act alone.

The Rabbit Hole Goes Deep

Although these daily toxic touch points make up a large portion of your daily intake, there are hundreds of others that make their way into our lifestyle. The list is so pervasive, unless you have done hundreds of hours of research, you can’t even begin to imagine the bombardment our bodies are subjected to over a course of a day.

The safest way to avoid these daily toxins is to buy whole, fresh, and organic foods that do not come in a package. For those that do, ensure the ingredients are minimal and clean, and be mindful of the origin of the product. Choose more natural personal care products, and keep your water clean for hygiene and drinking purposes.

If your health and happiness is worth it, why not get started today?

In pursuing a healthy, grounded lifestyle, you might be tempted to distance yourself from the technology that is becoming so ubiquitous in our lives. Consider though that as much as a tablet or a smartphone can sap our energies and squander our time, they can also be as much a blessing as they are a curse. It’s all about finding balance. Use your technology thoughtfully and it can even become an instrument of positive change in your life and help you live more organically.

There are now scores of tablet and mobile device apps designed to help people live, eat, play and work more consciously. When it comes to living an organic life in particular there are so many amazing and mindful apps out there. Here are some of the best we’ve found:

Organic Life

Finding shops and businesses that share your commitment to living organically isn’t always easy – especially when you’re new to an area or traveling. This app automatically pinpoints your location and creates a custom list of organic retailers and restaurants so you can shop and eat mindfully anywhere in the country. From there, you can get directions, download coupons, read and write reviews, and share your favorites with loved ones.

GoodGuide

Making wise decisions about how you live your life requires understanding what kind of environmental, health and social impact the products you use are making. The GoodGuide database features thought-provoking ratings of more than 170,000 products and companies, making it easy to be socially responsible and safe. Scan barcodes or search to instantly find out if what you’re buying is in line with your core values.

Fooducate

The food you eat should nourish not only your body, but also your mind, heart and soul. Fooducate lets you make more conscious decisions about how you nourish your whole self by helping you find foods that are cleanly and minimally processed, rich in macro and micro nutrients, and natural antioxidants. Each product you scan is given a score along with information about how that score was derived and when called for, healthy alternatives.

Locavore

It’s been said that there’s nothing healthier for people or the earth than locally grown seasonal food. This app lets you take an organic, mindful approach to eating by locating the closest farmers’ markets and farms, listing what is in season in your area, and providing thousands of seasonally appropriate recipes. You can even inspire your tribe to eat locally by sharing your favorite farm finds on Facebook.

Organic Spa Magazine’s Skin Care Guide

What you put on your body can be as important as what you put into your body, which is why Organic Spa Magazine developed an app that highlights the leading skin care and cosmetics companies devoted to helping people find natural, healthy, eco-friendly beauty solutions. Never forget you can look your best without sacrificing your values.

The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides

 You’ve no doubt heard of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen, but it’s often easy to forget what vegetables and fruits appear on which list. The Environmental Working Group has created a duo of apps that bring their definitive guides to uncontaminated eating to your tablet or smartphone. You’ll never again forget which produce should be on your ‘always buy organic’ list and which are okay when conventionally grown.

Organic Gardening Planting Planner

Your dedication to organic living doesn’t end where your backyard begins, which is why Organic Gardening magazine created an app to make conscious garden management easier. Create an amazing biodynamic garden of flowers, herbs, or food by selecting what you want to grow. The app generates the best dates for seed starting and outdoor planting, as well as optimal harvesting, based on your GPS location.

Remember, there is nothing inherently out of balance about technology. It’s how we approach it that determines whether it becomes a distraction or empowers us to live more authentically and as watchful stewards of Mother Earth.

When I was growing up, the health of the environment was far from top of mind. The world I knew and played in every day was taken for granted. When I had my own children, I became a little more environmentally astute. I started with recycling, hoping that engaging my children in that practice, might have an impact. As my awareness evolved, I realized the important role parents play in educating their children on ways to preserve their future and their world.

Environmental educator David Sobel said, “One transcendent experience in nature is worth a thousand nature facts.” Studies have shown that when children are connected to nature between the ages of 5 and 10, they’re more likely to develop more compassion about their environment, a compassion they’ll likely carry throughout their lives. So what can you do to help your child develop an interest in environmental preservation? The following steps show how easy it can be!

Create a Nature Trip

Go for a nature walk, picking up cans, bottles, paper along the way, all of which can be recycled. This exercise will raise awareness about the damage from littering and encourage personal responsibility for keeping the earth clean. A nature field trip is also a great way to motivate children to ask questions about flowers, birds, trees, and more. The more children know about the life cycle, the more interested they will become in preserving it.

Start a Garden

Getting kids involved in the food that comes into the house naturally improves their food choices, thus reducing the risk of obesity. Further, teaching kids to garden and allowing them to choose what vegetables they would like to grow, encourages healthy eating habits and a dedication to locally grown, seasonal foods.

Visit a Recycling Plant

Try taking your children to a recycling plant where they can witness the recycling process from garbage to product. Many plants offer tours, so check your local community.  Kids will find it fascinating, and they will better understand the importance of recycling.

Create a Compost Bin

Composting is an ideal way to instill a sense of environmental advocacy in children. No matter where you live, you can compost. Plus, kids love it! Composting is such a great exercise for kids because they can witness the entire cycle of the food off their plate (that would normally go into a landfill) into useful soil that is garden ready. By composting, children will learn to value organic wastes as a resource instead of thinking it is useless garbage. Composting is a great way to empower your children by helping them understand how their actions can have a positive effect on the environment.

Turn Off Lights and Preserve Water

Kids are notorious for leaving lights on, and as they advance into the junior high years, showers go on forever. The best way to teach children the value of saving resources is to make a game of it. For example, every time a light is left on or a shower goes beyond a certain limit, they have to put 5 cents in a jar for each slip-up. Conversely, if they haven’t left any lights on and have honored the water limitation, 5 cents goes in to the family jar. At the end of the month, the family can select a fun way to spend the money, maybe even donate it to an environmental effort.

Remember, children want to help. And if they can do something that grownups do, they’re in.  Not only will you be teaching by example, you’ll be allowing them to get involved and connected to Mother Earth. They’re never too young or too old to for you to teach them about the value of preserving their planet for their future.