FitSugar

PVC Shower Curtains = Bad For Your Health

FitSugar — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 02:00:00 -0700

Air pollution affects our health, but most of us think about the air outside being polluted - not the air in our homes. There are many silent culprits polluting our air from odorless radon to stinky off-gassing PVCs (polyvinyl chloride). It seems that PVCs are in just about everything from household items like vinyl flooring, vinyl shower curtains, and children’s toys to beauty products like perfumes, nail polish, and lotions. Plus PVC is very difficult to recycle and never breaks down.

Since many "plastic" shower curtains are made from PVC which off-gasses plasticizers that are potential hormone disruptors. Plus, they are easier to throw away than to clean once they become covered with mildew. These plastic/PVC shower curtains never breakdown and they are difficult to recycle. On so many levels, plastic shower curtains are just plain bad news.

A simple way to improve the quality of air in your house is to replace vinyl shower curtains with cloth ones made of organic cotton or hemp. Of course you should use a nylon liner in stead of a plastic one. You can easily wash both a cloth shower curtain and the nylon liner, so they will be around in your bathroom for a long time, rather than clogging up landfills. Plus hemp is naturally mildew resistant and sturdy, there's a reason sailors made ropes out of the fiber. Some hemp curtains are so thick, they don't even require a liner!

The only downside that I can see is that hemp curtains only come in "natural" and "white" - not so fashionable. Since the green revolution has begun, I think we will start seeing fun colors in these shower curtains.

And you, what kind of shower curtain do you have? Let me know in the comments section below.

Healthy Eating Tip: Cook Pasta in Green Tea

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:00:00 -0700

I was perusing the October issue of Shape and found an interesting tip in one of their dinner recipes. They suggested boiling your pasta noodles with bags of green tea. I thought it was a little odd at first, but then I read that it actually makes your pasta healthier because the noodles soak up the rich antioxidants from the tea. So I decided to give it a try, adding six green tea bags to six cups of boiling water. When I cooked my two and a half cups of whole wheat penne, the green tea added a subtle earthy flavor similar to spinach pasta. Give it a try the next time you make noodles and let me know what you think.

Source

The Green Life Wants You to Recycle That Old Gear

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:00:14 -0700

Instead of throwing that gear out, check out where OnSugar blog The Green Life goes to recycle her old mats, shoes, and workout clothing.Workout wear gets beat up and worn out quickly. Follow Women's Health's recent tips on giving your gear a second life:

Recycle your shoes through Nike Reuse a Shoe program.

Recycle any Patagonia clothing.

Recycle or donate yoga mats through the Recycle Your Mat initiative.

Go green. It does a body good.

Want to see more eco-friendly tips on green living? Start following The Green Life or start your own OnSugar blog. Maybe your stories will be posted here on FitSugar!

Healthy Eating Tip: Bed of Greens Instead of Carbs

FitSugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Going out for a nice dinner doesn't mean you can't have a healthy meal. Many restaurants are amenable to diners' needs, and you can make sure your plate is full of foods you want and need to eat.

Fish, chicken or meat dishes are usually served on an enormous portion or rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta. To avoid a starchy, buttery side dish, simply ask that your protein be placed on a bed of greens instead. Think steamed kale, chard, spinach, or a raw bed of spinach or salad greens. I'm not saying I avoid those carbs altogether, but eating large portions of them makes me feel grossly full. Not only are the greens less filling, but they offer fiber and so many vitamins and minerals. Plus they add and interesting texture and fresh flavor to the main dish. So the next time you're at a restaurant, as for greens instead of carbs. At the end of the meal, your stomach and waistline will be happy that you did.

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Healthy Eating Tip: Add Greens to Smoothies

FitSugar — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:30:00 -0700

When I recently posted my Almond Berry Banana Yogurt Smoothie recipe, FitSugar reader andrennabird had a brilliant idea - add greens to your smoothies. It's a great way to get more nutritious leafy greens into your diet, without even tasting them. The sweet fruit and creamy yogurt hide the earthy flavor, and since you blend the greens up, there's no chewing involved.

I like adding spinach, but you can also try kale, arugula, or sprouts. Just add a few cups of greens to your favorite smoothie recipe, and sip away. Experiment with combinations to see which taste the best, and if you've come up with any delicious concoctions, please share them below.

Healthy Eating Tip: Don't Toss Those Beet Greens

FitSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:13:49 -0700

If you've already learned to love beets, then I've got a new assignment for you. Try eating the beet greens on top that you might otherwise cut off and discard.

These hearty leaves look very much like Swiss chard, and not surprisingly, they cook and taste like chard too. Better yet, they're incredibly nutritious. One cup of beet greens has just 39 calories and no fat but contains 220 percent of your daily allowance of vitamin A and 60 percent of your RDI of vitamin C.

Plus, if you're preparing a dish with beets, cooking the greens gives you an instant side dish! Try blanching them in boiling water for a few minutes, then drain the greens before sautéing with a little olive oil, salt, and garlic.

Healthy Dose Link Time

FitSugar — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:10:32 -0800

Simple tips for tweaking common grocery cart items - Health
American Idol winner Ruben Studdard lost 100 pounds! - MindBodyGreen
Trying to master the push-up? Here's how - ACE
Go totally au naturel and make your own deodorant - Oh She Glows
Kim Kardashian seeks carb-free snack advice via Twitter - FitCeleb
Baywatch babe Nicole Eggert dishes on Celebrity Fit Club - That's Fit
Turn up the heat in your next meal with chili flakes - Vitamin G
Banana and yams and curry with chicken in a soup, oh my! - Fit Bottomed Girls

Hey Miley, Stand Up Straight!

FitSugar — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:00:43 -0800

Did you catch Miley Cyrus on the red carpet during this year's Oscars? Her gorgeous Jenny Packham gown was overshadowed by her hunched-over posture. She was joined by repeat slouching offender Kristen Stewart, who stood slightly taller than usual on the red carpet. Besides not looking so hot, slouching can erase all of the hard work you've done at the gym and affect future workouts.

Here, a few tips on checking and improving your posture:

Did you know standing just a little bit taller can make you look 10 pounds lighter? That's right, it's that simple. To instantly drop the pounds, try this posture checklist.
Consider trying a Pilates class, even just once. Pilates focuses on your all-important core and encourages great posture by engaging your deep ab muscles and keeping your spine neutral.
Perform a quick posture check during the day. Get into the habit of checking your posture each time you do a repetitive activity like going to the ATM, standing in line for your morning coffee, or waiting for a traffic light to turn green.
Bad posture can even cause back pain. If you don't notice an improvement simply sitting and standing a little bit straighter, try the Alexander Technique, which teaches basic body mechanics while improving posture.

Not only will improved posture make you look taller and thinner, it'll help your running and walking workouts

Ideal Bite: A Sassier Shade of Green

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:00:00 -0700

Help take a bite out of global warming with Ideal Bite, an eco-living email newsletter. I truly appreciate the daily bite-sized tips I find in my e-mail in box everyday. So much so that my friends at Ideal Bite decided to sponsor a post here so I could tell you more about what they do.

Basically, all you have to do is sign up for their e-mail newsletter and receive easily digestible and practical tips for making your life a bit more green. The ladies behind the newsletter are hardly eco-perfect themselves, but we do get to benefit from their experiences as they work on greening their daily lives. It is this wonderful mix of "incremental environmentalism" and keep it real attitude that inspires tiny steps towards creating a smaller carbon footprint of your own. You can also create your own personalized library of tips, kind of like keeping an electronic recipe file, but this is a recipe for green living.

Looking for ways to be green in your local scene? With Local Bites you can get city-specific tips for NYC (sign up here) and San Francisco (sign up here – you know I have) with Chicago, LA, Seattle and Denver editions coming soon. Think globally. Act locally.

If you find going green intimidating, this is the site for you. With tips doled out in bite sized chunks, you don't need to worry about biting off more than you can chew.

Ideal Bite: A Sassier Shade of Green

FitSugar — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:00:00 -0700

Not so long ago Kermit the Frog lamented that it's not easy being green, but he obviously wasn't hip to the website Ideal Bite.

Since I like this site so much, my friends at Ideal Bite decided to sponsor a post here so I could tell you more about the Bite. Basically, the site offers bite-sized ideas for light green living e-mailed directly to you, every weekday. If you sign up for their daily newsletter you will receive tips like what is the best organic wine to pick up on your next trip to Whole Foods, no matter if you biked there or drove your SUV. They also have the low down on eco-fashions delivered in a short and sassy manner, just like that skirt you just bought. You can also create your own personalized library of tips, kind of like keeping an electronic recipe file, but this is a recipe for green living.

Ideal Bite only recommends products and services that they themselves have tested. So their recommendations will be good for you, your wallet, your sassy lifestyle and the PLANET!!! The tips are delivered with a serious dose of humor and humility since the writers candidly share eco-imperfections that we can all relate to.

If you find going green intimidating, this is the site for you. With tips doled out in bite sized chunks, you don't need to worry about biting off more than you can chew.