Spring Green Rehab: Give Your Home the Green Light Today Wake up walls, make over countertops ... everything you need to rejuvenate your home environment is right here. With Mother Nature beautifully transforming our outdoor environment this time of year, it’s only natural to feel inspired to rejuvenate our indoor environment, too. Given this natural source of inspiration, it makes sense to do it using green products that are better both for us and for the Earth. Kelly Lerner, a principal of One World Design Architecture, in Spokane, Washington, and... Read more

Kid's Gym - Play as Exercise Summer is here and kids are running wild with boundless energy. Why  not join them? Playing with your kids and their friends is a good way to  bond with them. It’s also a quicker and easier route to keeping in  shape than going to the gym. Twenty minutes of sustained  play—running, jumping or dancing—three to four times a week, builds  energy, improves cardiovascular health, helps overall mood, decreases  tension, tones muscles and aids sleep. The following family ... Read more

The Power of Place The qualities that make a place special to us are highly personal, and they often help us to define who we are. Whether the setting is a lake house, a mountain lodge, a seashore cottage or a backyard at twilight, our sensory connections to these special places shape us in deep and lasting ways. Childhood experiences of our hometowns and memorable spots where we ran free during summer vacations are often deeply embedded in our strongest memories. This relationship to place is one that we carry w... Read more

Eating Greens Can Change Genes: Go Raw for Better Heart Health An international team of scientists led by researchers at McMaster and McGill universities, in Canada, were surprised to find that consuming generous amounts of fruit and raw vegetables modified a gene designated 9p21, the strongest marker for heart disease. In one of the largest gene-diet interaction studies ever conducted related to cardiovascular disease, the researchers analyzed more than 27,000 individuals from five ethnicities—Latin American, European, Chinese, South Asian and Arab—and the... Read more

Anti-Aging Skincare - Turn Back the Clock with the New Treatments and Breatkthroughs With aging still a largely mysterious process, current seekers of perpetual youth and beauty are urging scientists to find ways to slow or even reverse it. New tools to fight lines, wrinkles and sagging skin excite the imagination. Today’s anti-aging toolbox is filled with promise. Tools range from at-home strengthening and refining creams to commercial treatment technologies such as cold laser, intense pulsed light (IPL), light-emitting diode (LED), microdermabrasion, photofacials, and skin ... Read more

Pedaling Pleasure: Find a Bike that Fits Your Style May is here—National Bike Month—heralded by a new Outdoor Industry Association study, which reports that bicycling is adult Americans’ second-favorite outdoor activity, after running. Its popularity is not surprising: Biking provides energizing aerobic and cardio exercise, flexibility, freedom, access and simply makes anyone feel young and vital. “Everyone remembers their first bike and learning to ride it,” says Micah Rice, managing director of national events with USA Cycling, in Colorado Spr... Read more

School's Out: Five Fun Ways to Keep Kids' Minds Sharp This Summer Every summer, kids across the country close their schoolbooks and adjust their inner clocks to the more unstructured hours of summer. They’re ready to let the good times roll. Yet, studies going back decades have documented a resulting “summer slide” among kids who don’t engage their minds as much as school demands during their joyful break, according to Patricia Froehlich, youth services consultant for the Colorado State Library. To combat this, parents can find ways to strike a balance betwee... Read more

The Hormone Balancing Act: Natural Strategies for Feeling Better Hormones rule our lives; it’s a simple fact of biochemistry. In their role as the body’s chemical messengers, hormones affect every human biological system. Without them, nothing works correctly. Women’s hormonal systems are as complex as men’s, although vastly different. They govern reproduction, plus every aspect of health—including metabolizing food, proper immune function, physical and emotional responses to stress and the aging of cells. Teens and Early 20s Puberty and the early reproduc... Read more

Natural Remedies for Seasonal Allergies For many, spring brings joy via outdoor activities amid blossoming flowers and blooming trees, as they visit parks, hike through meadows and jog along roads in the warming air. For millions of allergy sufferers, however, the attendant airborne pollen brings bedeviling sneezes, congestion, teary eyes and runny noses. Hay fever alone, which affects 35 million Americans, shuts many of us indoors. Before resorting to such an extreme measure, try controlling allergic reactions using some of these sim... Read more

Liquid Taste Treats: Try These Healthy Green Drinks Imagine a diet that eliminates the need for calorie counting and never prompts a late-night rummage in search of foods possibly high in fat, sugar or processed ingredients; one that allows you to eat like you do now, except for one small change—the addition of a green drink or smoothie. A green drink isn’t a meal replacement; it’s a supplement (a starter or side dish) to the diet you already enjoy. Simply drink one prior to breakfast and if you are committed to optimal health, another before ... Read more

Mom-to-Mom Wisdom-Calming Advice for More ‘Good Days’ with Fretful Kids Parenting has more than its share of stressful challenges, and today’s moms are often frustrated by conflicting advice. As families search for answers to daily issues, a more holistic and natural approach, known as conscious parenting, has been gaining momentum. According to Lori Petro, founder of TEACH through Love, a child advocacy group and educational resource for progressive parents, conscious parenting comprises the spirit of cooperation, instead of traditional models of discipline and co... Read more

Greenwashing Update: How To Be a Smart Shopper We may think we are protecting our family’s health and the Earth’s environment by buying eco-friendly products, but a second look at some so-called “green” products may reveal we’ve been led astray. When companies hurry to cash in with new product lines touting natural living products, too many of the changes are more cosmetic (new packaging, appealing earthy logos) than chemical; sometimes toxicity levels decrease in only minimal amounts. With green marketing campaigns in overdrive, how can we ... Read more

You Dirty Dog: Tips for the Grooming Impaired   Dogs can get into the darnedest messes, but when they do, these head-to-toe grooming tips will make cleanup easier—on both sides of the tub. Shedding. Every dog needs a good comb-out to remove dead hair. When possible, do this outside, to reduce dander or flyaway fur in the house. Use a tool suited to the dog’s coat from a pet store—a brush, comb or sawtoothed loop to get to the undercoat. Matted fur. Dog hair can felt up faster than a wool sweater in hot water. Always comb the mat sta... Read more

The Buzz on Bees: Funding is Needed for Die-off Research Honeybees are critical to production of some 130 food crops, adding $15 billion to their value. Last winter, U.S. beekeepers surveyed by the Agricultural Research Service reported a total loss of 36 percent of their honeybee colonies, up 13.5 percent from the previous winter. It’s been over two years since Florida beekeeper Dave Hackenberg first alerted authorities to the mysterious disappearance of bees, now known worldwide as Colony Collapse Disorder, but promised research funding has failed... Read more

Baby On Board: How to Sustain Health Before and After Pregnancy It’s vital for a woman of any age to physically prepare for pregnancy and motherhood, for the health of both the mother and the baby. Start by speaking with a trusted medical practitioner, and then consider the following practical advice geared to keep everyone healthy and happy through every stage of the childbirth process.  Getting Ready for Pregnancy Stop taking birth control pills. If you’ve been using a hormonal method of birth control, your doctor may want you to take several months ... Read more