by Janice Walton, PhD ~ November 19th, 2008
Two weeks ago, the yellow brick road I had been traveling on seemed to curl up under my toes and disappear. I discovered my younger brother had acute myeloid leukemia, which then precipitated numerous phone calls, doctor appointments, meetings, and decisions that ended with an emergency trip to the hospital for an indeterminate stay.
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Tags: overstressed, stress, stress relief, stress resolutions, stress techniques, stressed out, total health, under stress
Filed under: Health, Mental Health, Stress Management
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by Geri Walton ~ November 19th, 2008
If you’re overweight and feel like you’re hungry all the time, you may be on to something. Dr. Kaiping Yang and his colleagues at the Lawson Health Research Institute who are affilated with the University of Western Ontario, believe belly fat could be making you hungrier. According to a study conducted by Yang and the Ontario researchers, a hormone known as Neuropeptide Y (NPY) thought to be solely produced by the brain has also been discovered to be produced by abdominal fat tissue.
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Tags: abdominal fat, belly fat, Neuropeptide Y, NPY, obese, obesity
Filed under: Health, The 411 on Weight Loss
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by Geri Walton ~ November 19th, 2008
If you’ve heard eggs are bad for you because of the cholesterol found in their yolks, the yolk may be on you. Researchers are finding eggs are more than what they’ve been cracked up to be when it comes to good health. In fact, numerous studies have shown eggs offer some exciting health benefits and may be a key component in total physical health.
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Tags: choline, eggs, eggs health benefits, heart health, lutein, total health, tryptophan, weight loss, zeaxanthin
Filed under: Health, Nutrition
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by Geri Walton ~ November 18th, 2008
Green household cleaners are supposed to be green. So what exactly does that mean? Well, one problem I discovered right up front is that there are NO environmental standards or single entity that determines which manufacturers are or are not green (although an independent non-profit group, Green Seal, has established comprehensive standards to determine environmentally-safe cleaners, only a few manufacturer’s have applied for certification. Unfortunately, those who have applied for certification do not include any of the manufacturer’s examined here). Terms such as eco-friendly, earth friendly, natural, nontoxic, or environmentally safe, mean nothing. Moreover, just because a product states that on their label doesn’t mean the products green, organic, or manufacturered cruelty-free.
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Tags: alternative cleaners, Earth Friendly Products, eco-friendly household cleaners, green household cleaners, Green Works, Method, Mrs. Meyers, Naturally Yours, Seventh Generation
Filed under: Green and Eco-Friendly, Health
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by Geri Walton ~ November 18th, 2008
Bell peppers are nightshade plants and are related to chili peppers. They originated in South America as early as 5000 BC, and Christopher Columbus mistakenly named them “pepper,” which means pimiento in Spanish. When Spanish conquistadors discovered they were extremely tasty, they carried them back to Europe, and, luckily, the plants were hardy and highly adaptable to a variety of climates. In fact, peppers soon became an important European and Asian food staple, and, today, bell peppers are important to a variety of cultures and included regularly in dishes throughout the world.Â
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Tags: bell pepper health benefits, bell pepper nutrition, bell peppers healthy, total health
Filed under: Uncategorized
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by Geri Walton ~ November 18th, 2008
If you want to be an eco-friendly and innovative shopper, you need to shop the Internet. According to the Center for Energy & Climate Solutions, the Internet reduces our dependence on fossil fuels. Joseph Romm, executive direction of the Center for Energy & Climate Solutions, spoke before the U.S. Senate in 2000, and reported, “we at the Center for Energy & Climate Solutions believe strongly that the Internet and Internet technology will be the keys that unlock unprecedented savings of energy and emissions.” Romm also noted that Internet businesses, require less retail space and less energy. Additionally, transportation and shipping costs are reduced because it is cheaper and more efficient for one delivery truck to deliver items to customers rather than have numerous customers drive to the store.
Tags: Center for Energy & Climate Solutions, eco-friendly internet, eco-friendly shopping, energy and internet shopping
Filed under: Green and Eco-Friendly, Innovate
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by Geri Walton ~ November 17th, 2008
If you’re just starting to improve your diet, one of the best things you can do is eliminate trans fats. Trans fats are formed when liquid vegetables oils—sunflower, soy, corn, peanut, and so forth—are heated, transformed, and solidified by partial hydrogenation, making them partially hydrogenated oils. When eaten, these hydrogenated oils or trans fats are unnatural to the body, and, so, the body doesn’t know what to do with them, which then results in the formation of free radicals that damage the body in numerous ways, even at the cellular level.
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Tags: eliminate trans fats, how much trans fats you should eat, partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats
Filed under: Health, Nutrition
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by Geri Walton ~ November 17th, 2008
Grapes are one of the most heavily sprayed crops. They get massive doses of pesticides: herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides, and so do you when you drink them. That might be one reason why more and more consumers are seeking organic wines and why more and more wineries are getting on the organic bandwagon and offering toxic-free wines. In fact, it seems vitners are discovering wines without ‘cides offer deeper, richer, cleaner flavors. Moreover, organic wines have no sulfites, and wine connoisseurs claim they have distinct terroir characteristics.
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Tags: Badger Mountain Vineyard, Benzinger Family Winery, Bonterra Vineyards, Frey Vineyards, Frog's Leap, Grgich Hills, Jeriko Estate, Nuova Cappelletta, organic vinters, organic wine growers, organic wineries, organic wines, pesticide-free wines, Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Robinvale Organic Wines, Snoqualmie Vineyard Wines, total health
Filed under: Rejuvenate
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by Geri Walton ~ November 17th, 2008
For people suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a new study recently released by McMaster University, Health Sciences Centre in Ontario, Canada, found that for some patients, natural and over-the-counter remedies may be the cheapest and most effective way to treat IBS. Moreover, Dr. Alexander C. Ford, lead researcher on the project, noted that many of the prescription products available for IBS treatment have been withdrawn or are available only on a restricted basis because they have caused life-threatening symptoms.
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Filed under: Health, Pain Aids
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by Geri Walton ~ November 16th, 2008
Type 1 diabetes (previously known as juvenile diabetes) is an autoimmune disease that attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in a person’s pancreas making it so the body is unable to produce insulin. It affects 5 to 10 percent of those people diagnosed with diabetes, and it increases the chance of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney damage, and nerve damage. Until recently researchers have conducted exhaustive studies hoping to find an elusive and defective gene that caused the problem, but recent discoveries suggest researchers have been on the wrong track.
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Tags: genes, juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes
Filed under: Health
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by Geri Walton ~ November 16th, 2008
You probably know there are many factors that contribute to heart attack risk. Some factors, such as aging, your sex, or your family history, you can’t change, but here’s some things you can change, and in the process you can lower your overall risk for heart attack.
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Tags: factors for heart attack, how to reduce attack risk, reduce heart attacks, risk of heart attack, total health
Filed under: Health
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by Geri Walton ~ November 16th, 2008
Oxalates are organic substances found in all plant, animal, and human life. Our bodies convert other substances into oxalates through metabolic processes, and we consume oxalates when we eat plants or plant products that have them. In addition, oxalates are usually more dense in the leaves of a plant rather than its stem, root, or stalk.
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Tags: autism, kidney stones, osteoporosis, oxalates, vestibulodynia, vulval pain, vulvodynia
Filed under: Health, Nutrition
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by Geri Walton ~ November 15th, 2008

If you haven’t heard, makeup products can get old and become breeding sites for bacteria, resulting in infections. If products are dry, clumpy, hard, smelly, or discolored, toss them. To help you know when your makeup’s reached it’s limit, here’s a chart.
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Tags: eyeliners, eyeshadows, lipsticks, makeup, mascaras, when is makeup old, when should you get rid of makeup
Filed under: FYI Beauty Secrets, Rejuvenate
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by Geri Walton ~ November 15th, 2008
If you think pesticides are just bad for the environment, several studies have shown these chemicals also increase a man’s risk for Parkinson’s disease. In fact, a recent Mayo Clinic study confirms that men who used herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides ten or more times a year may be at risk to develop Parkinson’s. Â
Mayo Clinic researchers conducted phone interviews with 129 people who did not have Parkinson’s and 149 people who developed the disease between 1976 and 1995. Although researchers were unable to know the precise exposure level, they were able to determine that “men with Parkinson’s were 2.4 times more likely to have had exposure to pesticides than those who did not have Parkinson’s.”
Tags: fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, Parkinson's disease, pesticides, total health
Filed under: Health
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by Geri Walton ~ November 14th, 2008
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is an essential water soluble vitamin we can’t manufacture in our bodies and must be obtained through diet. Fortunately, we can find it readily in most fruits and vegetables. Without vitamin C, people can die of diseases, such as scurvy, and, in fact, you’ve probably heard the story about British sailors dying from scurvy in the 1700s. The cause of their deaths was eventually figured out by a Scottish naval doctor named James Lind. Lind discovered the sailors needed citrus, and after that British sailors went to sea with limes, and that’s how they inherited the nickname “limeys.”
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Tags: health benefits, stomach cancer, vitamin C
Filed under: Did You Know, Health
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by Geri Walton ~ November 14th, 2008
The latest way to achieve total health, maintain acceptable weight, and choose beneficial foods, comes from the world of mobile phones. Your phone can be more than a way to say hello to your friends because mobile sources provide such information as which restaurants, foods, or seafood are the safest, and you can even track your diet plan to make sure you’re staying on your weight loss path.
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Tags: cell phone health, cell phone nutrition, diet, fish, mobile health, mobile nutrition, Nutrition, seafood, total health
Filed under: Health, Innovate
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by Geri Walton ~ November 14th, 2008

Look for this Symbol on Aminal Welfare Approved Products
If you’re into the environment and want to make sure the dairy products, poultry, and meat you consume are raised humanely in a healthy atmosphere, a new accreditation known as the Animal Welfare Approved program provided by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has recently been established for livestock raised by pasture-based farmers. The program “unite[s] conscientious consumers with farmers who raise their animals with compassion.” Their seal is different from the seal given by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in that their program “take[s] into account all aspects of an animal’s life, from appropriate genetics and [natural behavior] to assurances of comfort and freedom from intensive confinement.”
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Tags: Animal Welfare Approved products, cage free, free range, grass fed, humanely-raised animals, pastured raised, USDA organic
Filed under: Activate Yourself, Causes, Green and Eco-Friendly
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by Geri Walton ~ November 13th, 2008
Google is watching the USA flu trends and has developed an inovative tool that predicts when outbreaks will occur. Right now their indicating the flu trend is “two weeks of ahead of traditional [trends].”Â
If you want to learn more about flu shots read Why Do I Need a Flu Shot if I’m Fifty Plus? because it’s still not too late to get a flu shot.
If you want to learn more about google and their flu prediction tool click here to see the trends. You can also examine your chances of contracting the flu by moving the cursor over your state.
Tags: flu shots, flu statistics, flu trends, google flu trends
Filed under: Health, Innovate
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by Geri Walton ~ November 13th, 2008
If you want to reduce the pollutant levels in your home, save some money, reduce your exposure to toxins, avoid fragrances or dyes, and skip the protective gear needed to clean, here’s some great Green Cleaners that won’t harm you or the environment. They’re made from basic ingredients—distilled white vinegar, salt, baking soda, borax, and so forth—yet, for all their ordinariness, they’ll still do a great job.
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Tags: green cleaners, save the environment
Filed under: Health
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by Geri Walton ~ November 13th, 2008
It seems that aspirin offers more than just headache relief. According to an article in the Dermatology Times, researchers found when rosacea sufferers—people who have chronic facial redness and inflammation—were given 81 milligrams of baby aspirin (enteric coated) each day, their blush significantly decreased.
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Tags: aspirin, prevent rosacea outbreaks, rosacea
Filed under: Health
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