Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

With Mother's Day approaching many people are starting to think about gifts for moms. This is an opportunity to thank the mothers in your life. While thinking about what to do for Mother's Day, remember to consider the environment and health!

The ladies at GladRags recently posted a wonderful blog entry about giving green. Many people don't need any more physical possessions. If you do find something perfect for a mother in your life please consider buying something second-hand. For wrapping you can buy or make a reusable cloth gift bag. I personally love using Wrapsacks! I'm a sucker for the track-a-sack feature. For me its rewarding seeing how many times my bags get reused. GladRags also sell reusable gift bags, and are offering 20% off bags until 5/9 (coupon code MAMAMIA). If you get one of their bags, please let me know how you liked it!

For many busy mothers out there, the gift of service is the best. Simple acknowledgment of the hard work that mothers perform is very appreciated. You can treat her by performing some of her usual duties, of course doing this for more than one day is really appreciated!

The gift of health is a wonderful gift. Many places offer gift certificates, and if they don't you can simply offer to pay! Treat the mother in your life to a massage, acupuncture, dental visit, eye exam, or doctors visit.  Many of these are especially appreciated by the underinsured. Imagine how happy she will be to have the gift of health.

Still struggling for ideas? I don't know anyone who could resist a weekend stay at Breitenbush Hot Springs! Cooking and cleaning performed by someone else, natural hot springs, massage therapy- an amazing getaway. Don't forget to arrange a carpool!

Friday, April 23, 2010

TrueNorth

I'm excited to start my residential internship at TrueNorth Health Center next Saturday, May 1st. I will be there for 24 weeks studying how to medically supervise fasting. At the end of the 6 months I hope to earn certification by the International Association of Hygienic Physicians in fasting supervision.

This will be a nice addition to my previous training with Dr Steven Bailey, which focused on juice fasting. Some of you may be familiar with his book, The Fasting Diet: A Practical Five-Day Program for Increased Energy, Greater Stamina, and a Clearer Mind. I'm looking forward to getting experience in supervising water fasts in addition to juice fasts.

While at TrueNorth I will have many wonderful opportunities. I'm excited to be one of the first at the center to work with their new electronic medical records system. The one drawback is it will likely be Windows based, while I prefer working with Macs and Linux. I may also have the opportunity to assist in a research study.

During my time at TrueNorth I will be eating a wonderful vegan diet prepared by chef Ramses Bravo. Many people have commented that I will come back as a twig. I seriously doubt this, and suspect that I may actually gain weight. I'm going to start documenting my weight in my blog posts. I usually weigh around 115, but I put on weight this fall and am currently 123.

I hope to update my blog at least a couple of times a month during my internship. Please feel free to post any questions in the comments section. I hope to share my experiences and insights with you.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Antibacterial Soap Update



Since my post on triclosan containing soaps, new information has been released. A new article in the Washington Post, "FDA says studies on triclosan, used in sanitizers and soaps, raise concerns" states that

The FDA said that recent scientific studies raise questions about whether triclosan disrupts the body's endocrine system and whether it helps to create bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. An advisory panel to the FDA said in 2005 that there was no evidence the antibacterial soaps work better than regular soap and water.
antibacterial soap

Photo credit: npclark2k from morguefile.com

This is definitely a time to think about stopping your relationship with triclosan. The Environmental Working Group has released a new Guide to Triclosan. Please look at their guide for great suggestions.
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