It’s time to clean. Just like cleaning the home, the car, and office space is important; cleaning the body should also be vital. This also another simple way to incorporate a green lifestyle. Starting with yourself to promote health is crucial to the environment. If you’re feeling fatigue, having skin problems, pains and aches, or digestive problems, then it might be time for a detox. Detoxification is about resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from the inside out. It’s about releasing toxins from the body and supplying the body with the proper nutrients. Detoxifying can guard against diseases and replenish energy to maintain good health.

According to medical director of Helios Clinic and coauthor of 7-Day Detox Miracle, Peter Bennett, “The body has its own natural healing system…Detoxification enhances this system.” So how does it work? Detoxification means cleaning the blood, mainly through eradicating impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are processed for purging. “Detoxification works because it addresses the needs of individual cells, the smallest units of human life…everyone should detox at least once a year”, says Bennett.

Where to begin? How about starting with food for medicine. There are many favorite household foods that promote cleansing for the body. Here are 12 top cleansing foods for detoxification:

1)      Apples — high in pectin, a type of fiber that unites to cholesterol and weighty metals in the body. They prevent toxic build up and cleanse the intestines.

2)      Beets — a great blood purifier and liver cleanser.

3)      Cabbage — strengthens the liver’s ability to detoxify.

4)      Celery and Celery Seeds – great blood cleansers and contains numerous anti-cancer compounds. Celery seeds include over twenty anti-inflammatory substances.

5)      Flaxseeds and Flaxseed Oil — a great source of essential fatty acids, specifically Omega-3a.

6)      Garlic — known to help reduce blood pressure. It’s best to choose fresh garlic, not the garlic powder.

7)      Grapefruit — known to promote weight loss; it also contains pectin fiber that lowers cholesterol, which cleanse the blood. It’s a great intestinal and liver detoxifier.

8)      Kale – this green vegetable is high in fiber and strengthens liver cleansing.

9)      Legumes — incorporating beans in some meals, you could gain lots of fiber and protection from cancer.

10)  Broccoli Sprouts — extremely high in antioxidants. They help to simulate detoxification enzymes in the digestive system.

11)   Green Tea — purges toxins out of the system, plus it fully load with antioxidants, specifically an antioxidant called catechin, which is known to increase liver function.

12)  Lemon Juice – is known to help the stomach’s digestive ability, plus it’s high in vitamin C.

We’re well into Autumn, now, what with Halloween being this weekend. Most people don’t realize it, but this time of year is a key for practicing being ecofriendly with all the parties and festivities going on! Why not celebrate this colorful time the green way? Get the whole family involved and start planning now. Here are few ideas:

1) Throwing a Party – Send out invites via evite.com to cut down on paper. Host the party the pot luck style and reduce the waste of bags, cans, plastic, and paper plates. This also saves you money on food (remember the 3 Rs). Provide beverages in a punch bowl, served with glasses, to reduce bottle waste. Make homemade candy, rather than passing out store brought candy that can leave a long trail of wrappers. This also reduces the clean up time, perfect for busy families everywhere!

2) Trick or Treating – Buy reusable buckets, bags, or pillow cases. These items are eco-friendly and can hold more candy. Save gas and sneak in some exercise by staying in your neighborhood to collect goodies. Get your creative juices flowing and try designing costumes with unused items in the house or patching up old clothes for a unique style. It beats buying new costumes from year to year. In 2008, the National Retail Federation’s Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey predicted Halloween spending to reach 5.77 billion dollars. This year, try something new!

3)  Host a Neighborhood Cleanup – Let’s face it, no matter how much you put into your green efforts, not everyone will follow suit. But their environmental reluctance doesn’t have to result in negative repercussions for the whole community—not if everyone pitches in! After the Halloween and other parties, plan a cleanup team.. Invite the kids to help, this will teach them about community service and give them another chance to see their friends.

Still unsure what you should be this year for Halloween? Green is the way to go!

(Image Source: ursispaltenstein.ch)

The focus of my blog is how the individual’s efforts can effect a situation dramatically. Much of what I focus has to do with simple solutions. However, I wanted to take a second to recognize the entertainment industry for its steps for creating a more environmentally aware culture. Award shows are gearing up to make 2009 the most ecofriendly year imaginable. Celebrities promoting the ability to reduce their carbon footprint at highly profiled events are guaranteed to target the correct audience; the teen generation.

In August, the Teen Choice Awards, sported a green carpet made out of synthetic grass, which musicians, such as Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears walked. This support was just enough to promote the go-green theme to a young audience.
The 2009 Tony Awards aimed their go-green message towards a different demographic. Throughout the event, related theatre telecasts were broadcasted, to motivate theater communities to adopt environmental friendly practices in their production.

At the 2009 Emmy Awards, producer’s announced their “Green with Emmy,” campaign. Their production consisted of lighting that reduced energy, tickets printer on tree-free paper, and catering with recipes made with local produce.
The Grammys also made their first step to changing the environment. Winners and nominees were given gift-bags made with eco-friendly material and program books made from recycled paper.

It’s important for highly anticipated and televised award shows to promote their audience to become more environmentally aware. Music and entertainment are the best way to reach many different demographics to reduce their carbon footprint. Congrats and thank you to the forces behind these insightful programs and efforts!

(Image source: bryan-brown.com)

Granted, I’m not suggesting that water bottle sandals are for you, but there are a number of uses for the plastic that go beyond attire and water containers. Americans purchase an estimated 34.6 billion single-serving water bottles each year. Bottled water is the single most used among all beverages, which includes alcohol, juices, and soft drinks. The growth of water bottles has increased greatly from 3.3 billion in 1997 to 15 billion in 2002. Now that’s a lot of plastic. Most bottled water is consumed away from home, normally at the park, at the gym, in the office, and while driving—areas where there is no recycling. There are hardly any areas to recycle outside the home.

About eight out of ten bottles make it to a landfill or incinerator. Hundreds of millions find destinations as litter on the roads, parks, beaches, in streams, and other waterways. Taxpayers pay numerous dollars each year in disposal and litter cleanup cost. Many people throw away water bottles after using them, because they find no need to reuse them.

Here are eight ways to reuse water bottles:
• Refill bottles with water and freeze to use as an ice package for lunch boxes
• Refill bottles with your favorite beverage or protein shake
• Refill bottles with sauces and salad dressings
• Refill bottles with water and poke holes in the top to sprinkle plants.
• Keep them and use them for students’ science projects
• Save money for a rainy day
• Reuse bottles for weights—refill different size bottles with sand or water.
A liter bottle filled with dry sand weighs about 2.6 pounds!

Washing your clothes doesn’t have to be an expensive and wasteful process. Ease up on your energy bills with these simple tips:

1. Wash your clothes in cold water.

2. Fill the machines to full capacity.

3. Put a towel in the dryer. This will help soak up the moisture and cut down on drying time.

4. Keep the filters clean at all time (this will also help prevent fires).

5. Set your water thermostat temperature at 120°F.

6. Dry clothes only halfway and then hang them on a drying rack for the remainder of the time.

7. Hang clothes worn only once in the fresh air (unless of course they are pretty rank!). This will eliminate the need to waste water and energy, yet freshen up your wardrobe easily and cheaply.

(Picture source from LGE.com)

The great things about kids are their curiosity and their uncanny ability to pick up on every little thing. Yet, as we age, we are less likely to break our habits. This only emphasizes the importance of teaching children ways to reduce waste and think globally.

1. Teach them to turn the water off when they brush their teeth and take baths. The best way for youngins to learn this is by you setting the example.
2. Make turning off the lights a game. Every time they do this, they get a nickel or dime (depending on the age of the child). Show them how much they’ve saved at the end of a month!
3. Set up a compost pile in the back yard and give each child a specific task for which they are in charge.
4. Grow a garden. This is a great way for kids to take a personal interest in how things grow and value the process.
5. Decorate canvas shopping bags and take them every time you go to the store, grocery or any other. Kids will love toting their personalized carrying cases, and they’ll learn a valuable lesson about saving plastic and paper bags!

(Photo borrowed from Abceeds.com)