Easy and Healthy Potluck Recipe

Last year I was on the hunt for a healthy salad to take for our family get together over the holidays. This is one that got rave reviews then and every time I've served it since and as I was digging out the link for another holiday request...thought it would be good to share here.

The recipe is a Celery Salad from Cooking Light that they describe as

A cool, crisp salad adds crunch and contrast to any menu. You can also use dried cranberries and walnuts.

Got your own healthy potluck recipe? Please share it here!

Buying Locally and In-Season

I just found a great tool on the NRDC's Web site (National Resource Defense Council): a guide that tells you what produce is in season in your state. So for early November in Illinois, a few of the listed items include:

• Apples
• Greens
• Peas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Click here to see the full list

They also list the in season produce in the neighboring states as well as a list of produce that is almost always flown in from a far away country, including:

• Asparagus (Peru)
• Bell peppers (Netherlands)--currently in season, so stock up now and freeze for later
  
• Cherries (Chile)
• Raspberries (Chile)
• Peaches (Chile)
• Nectarines (Chile)
• Click here to see the full list

So just in case you're wondering how eating local and in-season can be good for your health. Well there are a lot of reasons. It's best to eat food shortly after harvesting/picking because the longer they sit, the more nutrients they loose. It also reduces pollution (which is always good for your wellness) because the food doesn't have to be transported over hundreds and thousands of miles. Another reason is that it simply tastes better when it's in season and local. There's a lot more reasons, so please post a reason.

Connected to Wellness via Movies

Here's the first post in what will hopefully become a series on Wellness Movies...

I recently came across a documentary titled How to Cook Your Life with Zen Master Edward Espe Brown. Right now, you can watch the trailer and check out the site. Unfortunately it is only showing in a few select cities and Peoria is NOT one of them.

If you get a chance to see this movie or hear about it coming to Peoria, please let us know.

Is there a healthy alternative to dry cleaning in Peoria?

I've known that dry cleaning is bad for the environment for a while. I did the research to see if there were better options in Peoria and there weren't so I forgot about it.

Well, in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times, the Health Dilemmas article detailed the issues and alternatives of Dry Cleaning. Here's the low down, based on the article:

• Dry cleaning uses the liquid chemical perchlorethylene (perc) to clean clothes.
• "Perc is extremely toxic," a carcinogen, causes headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting
• Not only is perc a danger for people working with it, but some of it lingers on your clothes
• Perc is a serious pollutant, especially to groundwater and soil
• Perc is "listed in the Clean Air Act as a hazardous air pollutant"
• California is in the process of phasing perc out by law and New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts are likely to follow
• The Sierra club has sued the EPA for not being more proactive on the use of perc

So basically this stuff is bad for everyone's health, but to my knowledge the only alternative to dry cleaning in Peoria is to simply not go to them and take your chances washing at home. But, we can also encourage our local dry cleaners to switch. Surely they know the dangers of their business, but just in case, it doesn't hurt to let them know you are concerned about their employees, your family and the community.

As for the alternatives, according to the article they only one worth suggesting as a viable solution is Wet Cleaning. Others have side effects that aren't much better than perc's. According the article, Wet Ceaning:

• Is energy efficient, doesn't pollute and uses nontoxic detergents
• The detergents are cheaper than dry cleaning supplies
• Cleaners would also save money by not paying for hazardous waste disposal or regularty permit fees
• So overall it is cheaper for the business owner and better for our health
  

P.S. While I've only cited this one article, this information can be found via many credible sources. The cited article just made it easy to understand.

The Truth About the FDA and Trans Fats

So we all know trans fats are the latest greatest evil of the world and food makers are often bragging about their goodness with "Zero Trans Fat" claims, but according to a post on I'm Organic's Web site, the FDA has a nice loop hole for the food makers, that's bad for the consumer. Check out their post. In the meantime, here's some info from their site to help understand the trans fat issue.

Oil will no longer “separate out” of the food (like in natural peanut butter, when you have the layer of oil on top) when it is hydrogenated, which is desirable in processed foods - but very undesirable to your body. Trans fats have been shown to be more dangerous than saturated fats and have also been shown to raise levels of bad cholesterol and lower levels of good cholesterol, an extremely bad situation. Ick! Yuck!

Also it's important to keep in mind that when food makers pull out the trans fat, they often replace it with saturated fat, which is barely better. Be sure to read labels carefully and choose non-processed foods as much as possible. The farther away from the way nature intended, means the worse it is for your body.

Tired of all the drug ads?

“Ten years after a rule change allowed drug companies to advertise directly to U.S. consumers, the overall amount spent promoting medicines is 2.6 times what it was in 1996. But direct-to-consumer advertising, which increased by 330% during that period, still only makes up 14% of the nearly $30 billion the companies spend to promote their drugs. The researchers also found evidence that regulators are doing less to police such ads” states and article on MSNBC.

Sadly most Americans can probably name as many drug names as they can US presidents. And all these companies offer a magic pill that will solve your health problem, then in a really fast voice and small print, “disclose” the other problems you may gain from their magic pill.

But are there bigger problems still with taking these pills? As I just learned, yes there is! Most are made from synthetic materials that are “toxic” to your body. Recently, I’ve heard several people from the more holistic health background explain that since the ingredients in drugs aren’t natural elements, our bodies don’t know how to process them properly and it causes extra strain on our already overworked organs. When you take in more toxins than your body can handle (which most of us do), the toxins are stored in your fat…and is related to the reason most people have a hard time losing weight. If your body gets rid of the fat, it must deal with the toxins which it was too overloaded to deal with in the first place.

So in essence, it’s time to rethink the brainwashing from the drug companies. Instead of, “talk to your doctor to see if [fill in the blank] drug is right for you.” Talk to your health care professional to see what you can do you improve your health to the point where you don’t need the drugs or can at least find a natural replacement.

If your doctor isn’t open to reducing your dependence on synthetic chemical drugs, keep in mind the statistic above. If only 14% of drug company marketing money is spent on you, the rest is spent on the doctors (and there’s an awful lot spent communicating directly to us…so I can’t even imagine the brainwashing the doctors get).

Being healthy is about more than good food and exercise…

Wasteful because we can?

According to an article on treehugger, there is a garbage strike in Vancouver and instead of letting garbage pile up, stores are running out of composters!

Visiting a friend in Morton recently, I learned that they have to pay for garbage (I believe there is a charge for each garbage can a house sets out) and recycling is free. I bet that's motivating. Do you know anyone in Morton who doesn't recycle?

Not that I am encouraging a Peoria garbage strike, but it is amazing to see what people are willing do when the pressure is on.

Anyone have a compost? What was your driving force to start composting? Are you taking advantage of curbside recycling? If not, what's stopping you.

Landfills are a health issue. It's time we start looking more closely at what we put in them and what we don't have to.

Water Health Debate: Bottled or Tap?

I recently read an interesting article on bottled water in Fast Company and it brings up a couple wellness issues that I’d like to hear everyone weigh in on.

1. In the article, the author states, “But bottled water isn't healthier, or safer, than tap water” and “24% of the bottled water we buy is tap water repackaged by Coke and Pepsi.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I think there are a lot of unhealthy things in most tap water. Chlorine for example and depending on who you talk to, Fluoride is another reason to avoid tap water.

What do you think? Is reverse osmosis water really worth the expense? (By the way I’ve been doing the research to replace my delivered 5-gallon bottles with an in-home system which ranges from about $150 to $1,595). What about distilled or other purification systems?

2. In the article, they talked about the various places water is bottled from the East Coast to Figi and it got me thinking about the less obvious health impacts of bottled water. Through various research, I deem reverse osmosis water to be the “healthiest” water for me, but I am beginning to wonder about the process of buying it in a bottle? I’ve heard that most plastics leach into my water. (So I’ve bought some special non-leaching reusable bottles.) Then there’s the transportation of the water, which is contributing to global warming. There’s also the extra water, energy and resources used just to make the bottles and to purify the water. So in the long run, is the water really healthier if I buy the 16.9 oz reverse osmosis purified bottles than drinking the “contaminated” tap water? (And have you noticed how hard it is to buy bulk packages of the larger 24 oz bottles anymore?)

I am leaning toward purchasing my own reverse osmosis filter for my sink and using my own reusable bottles, but do you think it is worth the expense and extra hassle?

Note: The original article that prompted this post is really worth reading. It is a balanced article (sometimes for the bottled water industry and sometimes against it) that opens your eyes to many different thoughts and ideas regarding a seemly simple bottle of water.

Welcome

Welcome to the Connected To Wellness blog! Our goal is to draw attention to recent news in the health and wellness industry that is relevant to our readers in Central Illinois (and anyone else who finds us). We encourage you to use this blog as a forum to discuss the issues and strongly encourage our local wellness leaders to share their knowledge and expertise.

Please keeps posts on topic with the goal of creating helpful and thought provoking discussions about what people can do to improve their health and thus their quality of life.

Thanks for being part of this community!