Many companies make “organic” sunscreens that contain synthetic chemicals. But that’s not the worst of it. According to our research, sunscreens give users a false sense of security in that while they effectively prevent sunburn, they do little or nothing to prevent skin cancer or the accelerated aging of the skin caused by sunlight.

There is a substantial body of evidence that shows there is an increase in cancer when sunscreen products are used. We’ve done a lot of research into sunscreens. The bottom line is this: we have found no sunscreen ingredients which we consider to be safe. So now you’re thinking that the chemicals titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are natural and might be “safe” sunblocks, right? Isn’t that what “natural” personal care products manufacturers have suggested?

The shocking truth is the fact that both petrochemical sunscreens (avobenzone, methoxycinnamate, padimate-o and the like) and physical sunblocks (chemically-reacted synthetics titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) are not natural and have been found to generate free radicals when exposed to sunlight, which then can attack the nuclei of your skin cells and cause mutations. That’s right, they can cause skin cancer. Furthermore, sunscreen chemicals have been found to pass through the skin and mimic the effects of estrogen, which may disrupt the delicate balance of the body’s natural hormones.

The following excerpt is taken from a book called Sunscreen Photobiology—Molecular, Cellular and Physiological Aspects:

Illumination of titanium dioxide suspensions with sunlight can degrade organic materials and purify drinking water, while illumination with short wave UV kills human cells. This work shows that the distinction between “chemical” sunscreens and “physical” sunscreens, attractive though it may be to those who market them, is not based on any significant difference. Both varieties have the potential to produce reactive species that can attack biological materials (human skin cells) when they are exposed to normal sunlight…

What is established is that particles of titanium dioxide as large as 220 nm can enter human cells in culture, and so it seems entirely plausible that if titanium dioxide does pass through skin it could enter cells under the skin (carrying with it the absorbed UVA and UVB radiation and hydroxyl radicals).”

Titanium dioxide is now being used as a new treatment for window glass because it attacks and degrades anything that touches it, thereby helping to keep windows clean. You probably don’t want to have anything attacking your skin! Small amounts of sun are healthy; overexposure is not. Instead of using sunscreens to prevent sunburn, we recommend loose fitting clothing, shady trees, and big floppy hats. Organic cotton is a good way to go!

Happy New Year!  I know New Year’s Day was a while ago, which is precisely why I’m writing now. We usually start the year full of enthusiasm to achieve our new goals and New Year’s resolutions, but it’s about this time, shortly after the New Year, that we start to falter a bit and sometimes even give up on our goals completely. I recently wrote a few books all about your personal best; that, in fact, is the title of one of them. I’m a firm believer that we can be extraordinary any time of year if we find meaning in what we’re doing and have reasons to give the extra effort that it takes to excel. I don’t write just about motivation. I’m a health and fitness guy, too. In fact, my book, Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness comes out in late February. I’ve learned over the years that your personal best can be achieved in anything as long as you care enough to make it happen. To borrow a quote from my book:

It is my experience that if you truly love something, you will be willing to spend a lot of time doing it, will be willing to work harder than others to achieve it, and will have so much fun throughout the process that you will excel naturally.  The joy and fulfillment you get from being regularly engaged in the activity you love will propel you to stand out in your field adapting and improving at rapid rates. You will look forward to practice, rehearsal, application, and action in whatever it is that moves you. Through your discipline and dedication, you will thrive in an environment you created that is perfect for you to succeed in. Because you’re doing what you love, you’ll be in a positive mood on a regular basis, will find the good in every situation, will get back up when you’re knocked down, and will time and time again overcome adversity when others with less passion will give in and give up.”

What should be understood is that we all have the power to change something in our lives at anytime, no matter what time of year. As always, now is the best time to start something new. What do you really want to get out of life? What does it really mean to you and how hard are you willing to work to achieve it? What steps need to be taken and when are you ready to say, “Today is the day I’m going to make it happen?”

To help yourself actually stick to the “New Year’s Resolutions” that you create , make sure you’ve answered the following questions:

1. What are the activities I am most passionate about and that bring me the most joy?
2. What makes me wake up every day excited to do what I get to do for my job?
3. What can I do every day to bring about the most fulfillment in my life?
4. What makes me smile more than anything else?
5. What would I do if money and time weren’t limiting obstacles in my life?
6. What does my dream life look like?
7. What steps do I need to take in order to achieve what I really want in life?

Answer those questions honestly and sincerely.

Your personal best isn’t just about motivation and doing what you love to do. It’s about being healthy, happy, and well, too. My inspirational partner and personal wellness coach, Julia Abbott, has some helpful and healthful tips for being at your best this year:

Health & Fitness for the New Year – by Julia Abbott

I know winter is far from over, but it’s not too early to start getting your beach body back. I know; it’s tough to fight the hibernation impulse. A little hibernation is therapeutic, but make it your goal right now to take action, alter stagnating behaviors, and implement a few new tools toward shaping up for the new year. Here are 5 simple steps to get healthier, to be more fit, and to increase energy. What better way to start the new decade?

Step 1

Eat fruit for breakfast. Fruit contains all the components needed to digest itself and requires little assistance from the body. Fruit for breakfast awakens the body and stimulates elimination channels. Proper elimination is the most important factor for improved health and weight loss. Breakfast is easy–just grab a piece of delicious, juicy fruit and bite in!

Step 2: Eat at least one green salad every day. Greens are so important because they contain an array of nutrients in perfect proportion to nourish the body’s tissues and cells. They even contain plenty of amino acids to help you build muscle! It can be difficult to eat that green salad every day. I love greens, but I get tired of them, too! The solution to getting your greens every day and loving it is the green smoothie. By making my green smoothie every morning, I knock out steps 1 and 2 at the same time: fruit first and greens every day! This is what my green smoothie was this morning:

• 1/4 cup of purified water
• Half organic cucumber
• 1 peeled lime
• 1 ripe banana
• Big handful of spinach
• Handful of baby lettuces and herbs
• 1 tbsp freshly ground flax seed or a carefully cold-pressed flax oil
• 1 cup of frozen pineapple

I just toss it all into my Vitamix and blend. Making breakfast and eating my greens takes 10 minutes tops. Fantastic! Note that it is important to rotate your greens and get creative with your smoothie ingredients.

Step 3: Find an enjoyable form of physical activity and schedule it into your day. Exercise doesn’t have to take a long time. I do enjoy going to the gym for an hour-long workout, but very often, I just don’t have that kind of time. I solve this problem by waking up 15 minutes early to perform a quick, high-intensity workout that gets my blood and lymph moving. If you haven’t discovered CrossFit yet, check it out because that is exactly what you need if you are short on time. By 9a.m., you can have 3 steps knocked out.
Try this quick and simple workout tomorrow morning:

• 5 push-ups
• 10 sit-ups
• 15 squats

Perform this set as many times as you can for 10 intense minutes. No money or equipment necessary.

Step 4

Quit drinking sodas and bottled beverages. These drinks are full of highly refined sugar or toxic sugar substitutes that do nothing but subtract from your overall health.

If you are attached to the fizz factor, try drinking sparkling water with fresh lime. If you are attached to the sugar factor, replace the soda with kombucha, a fermented beverage containing beneficial organisms that aid in digestion and detoxification. When I get post-lunch sugar cravings, drinking kombucha knocks the craving out.

Feel a caffeine headache coming on? Sip Yerba Maté tea, an infusion similar to green tea. When I drink Yerba Maté for an energy boost, I do not experience negative side effects such as jitteriness, headaches, or nausea that come from drinking coffee.

Step 5: Eliminate fried foods. Fried foods are detrimental for two reasons: they contain trans fat and they are usually fried in polyunsaturated vegetable oil.

Trans fat is an artery-clogging fat formed when vegetable oil is made to be solid at room temperature. Read the labels on any packaged food and look for “hydrogenated”, “partially hydrogenated”, and “shortening”. Strictly avoid these foods to avoid gradual health decline.

Polyunsaturated oils (canola and soybean, for example) are highly susceptible to heat damage. Heat causes oxidative damage creating free radicals. Translation: after heat exposure these oils become cancer causing.
The bottom line is, there is absolutely no reason your body would want you to eat french fries or doughnuts. There is plenty of healthful, natural food to eat instead. For a mid-morning snack, try a slice of toasted sprouted-grain bread topped with nut butter.

If you start the new year by following these 5 steps, you will be feeling better and looking better in no time. Cheers to your beach body 2010!

Julia Abbott is a competitive runner, avid weight lifter and Author of  The Lemon Letter – A wellness blog dedicated to a holistic approach to ultimate health.

Mention dumpster diving and it’s likely that the first image people envision is a male in tattered clothing, a wool hat, torn black jeans, boots that have no laces and a red-cheeked, drunken face jumping head first into a big pile of garbage to come out with half chewed apples, rotted eggs, and spoiled milk.

I’m here to tear down that stereotype. Yes, I’ve gone dumpster diving myself. OK, it wasn’t actually in a dumpster – it was plastic garbage bags that were placed on the sidewalk, but the concept is still the same.
I was first turned onto dumpster diving by a friend of mine who said he regularly used to go and get all sorts of fresh food and produce for free. When he told me this, I looked at him with the same head cocked and scrunched up eyebrows with which you are reading this.

He told me that he would go and get heads of fresh kale, bottles of juice, apples, bananas, and loaves of bread. After some minutes, I was definitely intrigued. Not only by getting free food, but also by the fact that these stores literally throw away all of this food. I thought that we were in a recession and there was a food shortage, which cause people to live on the streets and starve.

After hearing his stories, I promised myself that I would one day take the voyage into “dumpster diving.” I’d do it for no other reason than curiosity as to what is being tossed out and what I could find.

The night finally came. My alarm went off at 1a.m., and I got myself dressed. I was all prepared with my black sweatpants, black hooded sweatshirt, black wool hat, head lamp and a bandanna to cover my face. I couldn’t possibly let anyone see me rummaging through the trash now, could I?

I took my reusable bags and made the trek down the street to the store. There were about a dozen or so large black garbage bags piled on the sidewalk. I put my workout gloves on, lifted up my bandanna, flipped on my headlamp and started to untie the first bag.

The first bag had some tomatoes that were a bit squishy, red peppers and rotted pears. This is exactly what I thought it would be. A bunch of old rotting produce in a bag. I went through two more bags before I hit my first jackpot.

I came across a bag that had a few dozen bananas that were browned. When I buy my bananas I let them sit on my counter for a week until they start to brown. They were perfect. I packed them into my bag along with some tomatoes and peppers.

After going through only two or three bags, I called it a night. I just wanted to see what this was all about and how much food really was wasted.

It wasn’t until I got back to my apartment, shortly before 2a.m., and laid all the produce out onto the table that I realized how much that I had taken. In front of me were about two and a half dozen bananas, three or four tomatoes and a few red peppers.

They all weren’t perfect looking, but they were all totally edible and usable. The ones that weren’t I set aside to bring to my community compost center. The rest I planned on using and did.

I thought this would be a one-time event, but it’s something that I have since done about once a month. I even once did it in the rain. Instead of setting the alarm I was already up and decided to go. About half way there it started to rain. I wasn’t turning back. It wasn’t the most enjoyable experience. I mean, come on, I was going through garbage in the rain. Not so much fun.

Here are some things that I was able to score during my other dumpster diving adventures: two packages of portabello mushrooms, a box of organic crackers, three pounds of dried cherries, five clamshells of Earthbound Organics salads, organic carrot juice, two boxes of organic creamy tomato soup and bananas. I always score at least a dozen bananas.

Some of these items are blemished and some just have dented packaging. Regardless, they are still perfectly fine for human consumption.

If I had shopped at the store one day earlier, I would have spent somewhere in the range of $40-60 at the low end for all that. The salads alone would’ve been at least $20.

So what would’ve happened to all that food if I didn’t save it from being tossed out? It would’ve gone straight to the landfill to rot away and potentially do harm to the environment and our atmosphere.

Not only is the food being tossed, but it’s traveling a few thousand miles all the way from Peru to be tossed out. From a common sense and environmental aspect that doesn’t make much sense to me. The bananas are probably spending more time in transit from South America to New York than they did on the store shelves.
Instead of being tossed, I was able to save them from landfill and put them into my belly where food belongs.

This got me thinking even more. I’ve been doing this at one small store in New York City, and have seen the amount of food that’s wasted and sent to landfill. There are hundreds of stores throughout the city and the world; how much food is being tossed on a daily basis?

In my opinion this isn’t really an issue because the problem is out of sight, out of mind. The food gets tossed and we never “see” it again, so it just goes away. With all of the problems we have with homelessness and the recession, I’m not sure why we’d want usable food to get thrown way.

In talking to friends about this, most of them think that dumpster diving is gross and don’t understand why I do it. To them, I say that wasting food is gross and I don’t understand how we can be so irresponsible.

People who live an organic lifestyle tend to care about our environment.  People who live an organic lifestyle also purchase a lot of fresh produce. That’s where Carebags Re-useable Produce bags come in.  One Carebags pouch contains 4 reusable drawstring produce bags for $12.49CDN. The bags we tested were see-through, strong, and plenty large enough for us to stuff as much produce into each bag as we desired. We will not go grocery shopping without them. www.carebagsonline.com.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a form of depression linked to lack of sunlight. Onset of symptoms occurs annually during winter months with more cases occurring in areas with longer and more severe winters.

Symptoms include low mood, feeling abnormally sad and weepy, hopeless, worthless and guilty, often with a preoccupation of death and dying. Concentration is poor and motivation is low with agitation, irritability, and restlessness. Sleep is difficult with delayed onset, early waking, and/or sleeping too much. Weight loss or weight gain is common. Physical symptoms are also prevalent and include headaches, generalized aches, pains, and lethargy. All symptoms of vitamin D deficiency.

Light therapy, UVB light, has been used successfully to reverse or diminish symptoms of SAD and to increase vitamin D levels. (Remember vitamin D is actually a hormone produced by the body after exposure to the sun).

Light therapy can be provided through artificial light—light boxes—or by the sun itself. Weather and work permitting, an hour or two in the winter sun, even on an overcast day, can produce benefits.

If you suffer from annual winter blues or from full-blown SAD, consider a move closer to the equator.

Recommended Supplements:

• Vitamin D – Thorn Complex
• B-Complex #6  – Thorne Research

Further Reading:

• Natural Remedies for Depression
• How To Be Happy
• Sun Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Vitamin B6 and What You Should Know About it

You are concerned about environmental issues, health issues, and human rights. The tsunami of information blasted at you has left you bewildered. When the problems of the world are so huge, what can one person do?

With one small step in your own backyard, with little expense and just as much effort as you can fit into your busy lifestyle, you can reduce your environmental impact, improve your health, and develop vital skills for the future—you can grow your own organic food.

A few years ago, almost all agriculture was organic without anyone actually naming it as such. In the early part of the twentieth century, corporate interests began to flood the food market with various petrochemicals to improve the yield of crops. And make no mistake, the yields did improve. Improved yields meant improved profits, and big business took food production away from the local and individual.

From the 1930s on, people such as Rudolf Steiner became concerned about the costs associated with chemically enhanced growing, and not just the financial ones. More often than not, such people were labelled as freaks and primitives. Indeed, here in New Zealand, one of the first organic chain stores was named Cranks as a kind of joke against that impression. In the last few years, as environmental concerns have grown, organic growing has become more mainstream. Although it is still only a part of the world’s food production, it is an increasing portion.

It is encouraging that those with a vested interest in the technological approach to food production are beginning to speak the same language as the organic growers. Even Monsanto’s website is littered with references to being sustainable. Now I’m not holding up Monsanto as a light of good practice, but they do recognise that there is a valid argument. As far back as 1999, Robert Shapiro, then CEO of Monsanto, said “The commercial industrial technologies that are used in agriculture today to feed the world… are not inherently sustainable.”

My own journey towards organic growing began with my health. I had problems with my digestion and realised that I needed to eat healthier. Buying lots of fruit and vegetables from the local supermarket was my first idea. However, I soon realised that much of the produce had little or no taste, although it looked great and stayed “fresh” for quite a while. As a young man, I had worked on chemically dependant farms in several countries, so I knew how much fertiliser and pesticide could be forced into food, especially food grown for export, which needs to stay on the shelf for a long time.

I began to yearn for the taste of the tomatoes my dad grew when I was a kid, so I started to buy organic produce. But these days I have three kids of my own and I just can’t afford to pay premium prices for everything we eat. Growing some of my own food became the only option.

Some people could have other reasons for choosing to grow their own organic food. They may feel they do not want to contribute to an economic system that exploits both people and the environment; they know the use of enormous amounts of oil-based products to bring food to the table is completely unsustainable. Likely some are concerned with the toxic effects of the chemicals with which much of our food is laced. Some may just want a measure of independence in an increasingly dependant world.

Many people today are ready to make an effort to reduce their impact on the planet. If the scenarios of global warming and peak oil are correct, we are in for a century of huge change. It is unlikely we can rely on governments to solve our future problems. As individuals, we need to take responsibility for ourselves. What could be more responsible than learning the basic skills of producing food?

There is one thing that people who grow their own food using organic methods rarely mention, though it is as important as any of the health, environmental or socio-political reasons. It’s fun! There is a deep satisfaction in watching your kids fancy a snack, then wander out to the strawberry plants to help themselves. Serving up a fresh salad to your friends and being told that your lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and onions are delicious makes you smile. If you have prepared the soil, planted the seed, fought the slugs in hand to slime combat, and lovingly watered and fed your salad, you’ve earned a real sense of achievement.

We live in a world of increasing stress. Putting your hands in the soil helps. As modern busy people, we have lost appreciation for a simple pleasure our ancestors took for granted.

It’s not always easy to produce food. Pests, weeds, climate, and time constraints all conspire to defeat us. However, when problems are overcome, the satisfaction is that much greater. If something is hard won, we appreciate it more.

A packet of heritage seeds costs just a few dollars. From that packet you will be able to grow a decent crop and collect seeds for the future. Every year the garden costs less.

Eating better and cheaper food while reducing your carbon footprint makes you feel good. When you think in terms of “food yards” instead of “food miles,” the environment benefits. Whether you have a few acres where you can become self-sufficient, a backyard which can supply the taste of fresh produce in season, or just a window box for a few herbs, we can all grow some of our food organically. Give it a go. You’ll enjoy it and so will the planet.

As Americans, we have become greatly out of touch with our food sources in the past 50 or so years. There aren’t many of us who have had the experience of eating freshly harvested vegetables we grew on our own.

There are a few books I read that got me thinking about this. One book was Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. The book is about the couple and their story of eating a 100-mile diet. Nearly everything they ate for an entire year was grown or raised within 100 miles of their home.

One thing they mentioned that stood out to me most was that, on average, our food travels from farm to plate about 1,500 – 2,000 miles. That’s insane.

The other book that got me thinking about food this way was Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. He said Americans spend only about 10% of their annual income on food.

That number seems frighteningly low. Food is what fuels our minds and bodies, yet we are cheap and skimp with what we put into them. People care more about the grade of fuel that they put into their cars than their bodies.

At this point you may be thinking what I just wrote makes sense, but how does one start?

Last spring, I was in the same boat. Then I just decided to start my own organic veggie garden with no experience and few costs. I can hear you now, “I have no space. I don’t have any experience. It’s too expensive.”

To that I say, “neither did I”. Living as I do on the 4th floor of an eight-story apartment building in New York City, it took a bit of creativity to start my urban gardening project. I now have a fire escape gardenand a backyard vegetable garden at my grandmother’s in Brooklyn.

Up until I started these gardens, I had zero experience in gardening, too. I just kind of experimented to see what would happen. You know what happened? I got some fresh homegrown veggies. No degrees. No books read. I just did it.

Now I’m not expecting all of you to start a garden as big as mine, but I am hoping that my success will inspire you to start and grow your organic vegetable garden.

The possibilities of what and where to start are endless. You can start a small veggie or herb garden in your windowsill. Do you have a balcony? Plant out there. Are you feeling a bit more adventurous? Do you have the space? Plant a small garden in your back or front yard.

Wherever you decide to start your garden, there is one thing that you can be sure of: not only will the veggies be fresh, but you will  know exactly from where they came. You’ll also know and appreciate what happened to them while they were being grown.

So starting your own organic vegetable garden is definitely possible and makes sense. What better time to start than right now? It’s the only time you’ve got.

If you are still hesitant to grow your own food but you still want to get more involved in knowing where your food comes from, I’d recommend joining your local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or food co-op. These will help put you in touch with the local farmers and get whatever food-growing questions you have answered by the sources.