Get The Gorgeous, Glowing Skin Naturally

Hey, you! Want clear, glowing, gorgeous skin? We thought so. So, we are publishing some facts and ways to get glowing skin naturally....

•   Wash your face way before you go to bed. If you wait until you're ready to hit the sack, you'll be too tired to wash up, and research shows skin repairs itself best around 10 p.m. So let skin breathe easy long before you start snoozing.

•   Wear sunscreen every day, year-round. Botox bites. So use a moisturizer that has an SPF 15 or higher (try   Eucerin Skin Renewal SPF 15 Day Lotion, $10, drugstores). UV rays can do their damage while you're sitting in class, riding in the car or walking the dog.

•   Be nice to your face. Picking, poking and squeezing force bacteria deeper into the skin, resulting in scarring and further breakouts. Yuck.

•   Stop thinking that if your skin feels tight it must be clean. Tight skin isn't clean skin--it's dry skin. If you're rushing to dab on moisturizer after you wash, time to find a cleanser that won't leave you high and dry. Normal and combination skin will benefit most from a gel formula (we love Nivea Visage Refreshing Cleansing Gel, $6, drugstores). Got dry or sensitive skin? Go for a creamy cleanser. Either way, choose a low foaming formula. More lather=more drying. Less lather=less drying.

•   Banish breakouts. If you've got major acne, an acne face wash is for you (we like Clearesil Total Control 5-in-1 Acne Cleanser and Moisturizer, $9, drugstores). If you just get spot breakouts, avoid acne washes. They worsen skin by drying out the clear parts and allowing dead skin-cell buildup. The buildup traps oil under skin, leading to more clogged pores and breakouts.

Franken Foods Freak Me Out

Would you knowingly eat a potato that needs to be transported in hazardous waste containers since every cell contains pesticides? This isn’t food terrorism (at least not the kind we recognize as a crime); this is what passes as improvements to our food supply. Perhaps one day we will learn that we can’t improve on nature.

From Flavr Savr tomatoes to Roundup Ready Soybeans, genetically modified foods are being manufactured and unleashed on an unsuspecting public whether we are ready for them or not. The Grocery Manufacturers of America estimates that 75 percent of all processed foods in America contain a genetically modified ingredient.

Governments worldwide should have insisted on extensive safety testing of genetically modified ingredients before allowing them to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public. But according to an article entitled, “Health Risks of Genetically-Modified Foods” by Dr. Joseph Mercola, the U.S. FDA even states, “The FDA has not found it necessary to conduct comprehensive scientific reviews of foods derived from bioengineered plants … consistent with its 1992 policy.”

Genetically modified (GM) foods are big business in North America, particularly in the United States. They are also supported in Brazil and to a certain extent in Asia. Europe has been appropriately cautious in its approach to GM foods and to date has limited access to the European market, much to the frustration of U.S. business. There is a very real threat that this could change in the near future.

Read more

You Should About Your Lipstick Effects

The lipstick effect is extremely important for the entire make up. Women can hear a lot of different tips on the lips' makeup, which may help choose lipstick colors and shades and also assist in mastering how to apply the lipstick. All these tips are available on the web sites dedicated to cosmetic and makeup. Be pro-active. Browse the Internet, look through women?s magazines or simply read what we have to tell you about the lipstick.



Applying a lipstick is an important part of the makeup. There are a few issues that each woman should remember about the lipstick and the lipgloss. It is not hard to master them, after all. One can find an enormous amount of websites dedicated to cosmetic and makeup, which discuss in every detail such things as who made what, what is so special about their products, how one can choose the right product
, including lipstick colors and shades, for one's particular situation and the skin type, and what lipstick effect can be attained with different lip products.

The first thing to consider is how to choose the lipstick manufacturer. Indeed, the different cosmetic and makeup manufacturers offer a wide range of lips products. They are of different shapes, colors and sizes and help achieve various lipstick effects. The special reviews available online can ease the choice. In most cases, reviews contain very detailed descriptions of makeup products offered by different producers, so reading these reviews can help compare different brands. Also, it should be remembered that makeup manufacturers use a number of potentially dangerous substances in their products, which are also widely discussed in lipstick reviews.

Another thing to consider is the lipstick color. Women can experiment with different colors, but the basic rule is that the lipstick color should match the complexion and the rest of the makeup. Appling color to lips, any woman can change the look of her lips and achieve very extraordinary lipstick effects: lips can get either thicker or thinner (e.g. thinning lipstick effect can be achieved with dark colors). Whatever she would like to achieve is totally in her hands. Or in her lips. That is why many women always carry lipstick in their hand bags.

To provide adequate lips care is important for people worldwide. In hot weather, lips care products help women protect their skin from harmful sun lights. In cold weather, lipstick may prevent chapping and keep their lips moistened.

Applying color to lips is not that easy. One has to follow certain rules to make the lips makeup look better and last longer. It is extremely important to use special lips protectors if the lipstick doesn't contain moisturizing substances; otherwise lipstick can damage lips. Web sites dedicated to cosmetic and makeup also contain recommendations on how to ease applying a lipstick.

Recently, many women have started using lipgloss instead of lipstick. Just like the lipstick, lip glosses may contain protective and moisturizing components. Lipgloss is applied in a slightly different way than the lipstick. Again, recommendations on applying the lipgloss are available in the Internet and in special makeup magazines.

Though we are referring mainly to women when talking about lipstick or lipgloss, it is highly recommended to show men and children how to use both. Colorless lipgloss is helpful from the medical point of view (it was designed specifically for that purpose), as it helps keep lips moistened and healthy. Staying healthy is a good reason to drop off the shame that many people can develop.

Who Is Your Muse?

Who inspires you the most? You know, like a muse*........my muse would be Abby over at
Infusion Fibers. She writes a blog that always inspires me and her photography is artistic, sensitive and fun.

The first time I saw her blog, I moved right back to my own and de-cluttered, simplified and cleaned up my own blog. In her Etsy shop, she also uses natural, organic, sustainable and recycled fibers and fabric. And lives her life accordingly. Her shop is stunning in its’s simplicity and clean look. The bags she makes are the stars...and oh, I want them all.


My other muse would probably be Des from Life’s Ambrosia. I love cooking and her creative and simple recipes along with beautiful photography give a ton of inspiration.

We all know that there are a ton of folks out there who give inspiration and and whose work and ideas we an really identify with. (I know....‘with’ is a preposition, but proper grammar is a tad pompous in this case). I would love to know who you feel inspires you the most and why. Just a few words. If they have a link to a shop, blog or site, please include that too. I would like to see what folks are feeling.






*Muse: Many artists, writers, poets and musicians have said that their creative work has been inspired by an individual whom they refer to as their muse. A muse is someone who has such an influence on another that he or she becomes the focus and inspiration for that person's creative work.

Clean Water, Pleeeeeease!

Right on the tails of my last post re water, I find another slant on water isssues.  There is no replacement for water.  None, nada, not one!  We are in serious denial.

Mark Ruffalo - Gardener and Activist for Clean Water

Somewhere in Upstate New York (Sullivan County in the Catskill Mountains), an impossibly cute, Oscar-nominated actor gardens with his family.  In a recent story he said, "I know all my neighbors. It's beautiful and healthy, and in the winter there are blankets of snow covering the rolling hills.  But I'm raising three kids up there, primarily because it's supposed to be so clean, and all of a sudden I'm in the middle of a public health fight."
The public fight he's in the middle of is against fracking, the "controversial and potentially polluting natural gas extraction process by which tons of water are infused with chemicals."  Ruffalo says, "They blast the mixture underground at such high levels that it fractures the bedrock, which allows the natural gas to escape."

He first learned about the fracking debate at his local farmers market, where he goes to buy the things that he and his wife, Sunrise Coigney, don't grow in their own garden. (But they grow almost everything. They are those people. Asked to identify anything in his salad he could have harvested himself, he lists everything but the cheese.)

In Men's Health we learn that the Ruffalos live in a 150-year-old post-and-beam barn on their 50 acres of secluded farmland. They spend a couple of months in that "healing place" every summer, and the Men's Health reporter found him there "playing with the kids, Dad-erranding to town for supplies, and moving some rock and grading the entrances to the barn."
So, it turns out the character Ruffalo played in "The Kids are All Right" - the laid-back grower of organic foods - was no stretch.
And now that we know that he's a gardener/farmer in Update New York, where there just happens to be a GardenRanter nearby, a site visit and gardener interview are definitely in order.  Michele, you have your assignment and this quote by Ruffalo offers a clue to approaching him: "You know, the people around here just work too damn hard to go to movies, which means that the guys at the local Agway are just as insulting to me now as they always have been. And I like that."  So just insult him like the local farmers do and you're in!  We want photos, too.
But back to fracking, it's just one of many water issues he hopes to see people coalesce around. "Our idea is to go from city to city [and unite] whatever water groups are fighting mountaintop removal, or water scarcity, or gas drilling - anywhere that water is under attack, we host a concert there." 

Courtesy of gardenrant.com

::W A T E R::

The need for fresh water ranks among the most urgent environmental challenges of this century. Only 1% of the world's water can be used for human consumption. Yet it disturbs me that we seem to be doing everything we can to use up or pollute what little we have -- half of the global population will be living in areas of "acute water shortage" by 2030.  That is not far off.  Nor will it be far away.

I am a quilter and bagmaker.  I use cotton every day.  Since the textile industry is one of the largest polluters in the world, I go out of my way to use organic fabrics, including cotton, which require none  of the pesticides chemically treated fibers. The World Bank estimates that almost 20% of global industrial water pollution comes from the treatment and dyeing of textiles.

Waiting for water.......

Cotton production accounts for 2.6% of annual global water usage.

Remember this:  A single T-shirt made from conventional cotton requires 2,700 liters of water, and a third of a pound of chemicals to produce.

The idea of being without water.....for a whole population is a circumstance that I cannot wrap my mind around.  I grew up in suburbia and took water for granted.  In fact, when I was young, I was sure it was free.   Now we live in the country and depend on a well for our water.  This is not a subtle change by any means.  I am always aware of where my water comes from.  The Earth.  My Earth and your Earth.  Of which we are the ultimate stewards.  Together.

Energy Drink and Health Effects

Energy Drinks

Energy drinks, like almost all other drinks and foods that reach the stomach, should not be consumed in large quantities because of side effects they may have on the body

We definitely don’t prohibit the consumption of such drinks, but we recommend only in special situations (exams, you’re tired of driving, you need to complete an important project at work, etc.). Basically this product is used in special situations and should drink water instead. All well and good, but an Australian study says that energy drinks lead to cardiovascular diseases.

Positive effects of energy drinks

There are some positive effects, the worst is that these drinks are often consumed along with a cigarette!

•  Increases the power of concentration and reaction speed;
•  Person will be more calm and patience;
•  Increase metabolism speed.

These effects can be acquired and if you drink coffee or carbonated beverages, but also their effect will disappear and then you will become lethargic, edgy and to overcome these feelings will drink again.

Should be noted that in comparison to coffee, energy drinks are harmful because of other artificial ingredients that makes your energy to explode.

Energy Drink

When should avoid energy drinks?

• If you are pregnant or breastfeeding;
• Sensitive to caffeine;
• Anxiety;
• You are exposed / stress;
• Suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome;
• Have high blood pressure;
• Diabetes.

Extra energy without energy drinks

People are not naturally constantly tired or angry – need to know the reason for lack of energy causes and prevention of this state.

Factors that simply terminates your “energy”

• Choosing lower-quality food and less healthy;
• A stressful lifestyle;
• Negative emotions;
• Fatigue;
• Lack of exercise

Glucose

Content of energy drinks

1. Taurine – an amino acid that is usually produced by our body and especially in muscle, brain, heart and blood. A person weighing 70 kg, has naturally about 70 g of taurine distributed throughout the body, which is 70 times more than a box of taurine energy drink, which contains 1,000 mg.

2. Glucoronolactone – is a carbohydrate, a kind of sugar, the human body produces glucose. Role in energy drinks is to combat fatigue and give a good feeling.

3. In moderate amounts, caffeine has beneficial effects on the body, stimulates its psychological and physiological functions, improves reaction speed and vigilance. Also, during physical activity, caffeine stimulates fat burning.

Top 5 Nitric Oxide Supplement in Times-Health Wishlist

There are a lot of new nitric oxide products coming onto the market. Nitric oxide is relatively new in the supplement world, but is extremely popular amongst bodybuilders and strength trainers. Personally when I saw the first nitric oxide supplements I thought it was pure hype and nitric oxide would go away. But results have proved me wrong. There are loads of guys getting excellent results from supplementing with NO2.

So what are the best nitric oxide supplements?

1. BSN NO XPLODE

N.O.-XPLODE is BSN´s #1 selling extreme pre-training energy and performance igniter. From the very first serving you will experience elevated physical and mental energy, muscle-expanding pumps, unparalleled strength and stamina; not to mention tunnel-vision like mental focus, allowing you to zone in and have the best training session possible.* By combining all of these benefits in one knock-out formula, you will experience a level of training intensity that you never thought was imaginable, getting you physically and mentally dialed in for the training session that lies before you;* leaving those days of lackluster workouts behind. Once you train with N.O.-XPLODE, you will never train without it!

Why NO XPLODE ?

n order to stimulate muscular growth, you must train at a level of intensity greater than previously obtained; enter N.O.-XPLODE. The five proprietary blends contained in N.O.-XPLODE energize both body and mind, allowing you to obtain that level of intensity necessary to stimulate growth.

Jacking up your performance, N.O. Meta Fusion is a precise blend of vasodilators designed to increase blood flow and oxygen to working muscles, allowing for muscle expanding pumps.

N.O.-XPLODE´s Muscle Volumizing Creatine Matrix, now infused with AVPT Multi-Action Matrix, is a synergistic blend of novel creatine analogs designed to increase ATP production for your workout, allowing you to push a set past its normal limits.* The more ATP one has, the more times a muscle can be contracted, or the more muscle fibers that can be contracted, both leading to either more weight being lifted or more repetitions being executed; an increase in intensity that is fundamental for triggering muscle growth.                          

                                                                       

Contained within Ener-Tropic Xplosion, you have ingredients such as caffeine for energy, coupled with Vinca Alkaloids to increase mental focus; giving you that tunnel-vision like focus necessary to accomplish the task at hand.

To further aid in the process of ATP production, N.O.-XPLODE has also been packed with Phospho Electrolyte Replacers, key electrolytes integral for the production of creatine phosphate.

Finally, N.O.-XPLODE contains Glycerol Hydrating Polymers which, along with electrolytes, help keep the muscle cells properly hydrated and volumized.

To maximize performance and intensity, to push your body to its absolute human limits in the gym, try N.O.-XPLODE, because once you try it, you will never train without it!

2. Gaspari Nutrition SuperPump 250

In the pre-workout category, SuperPump250® is our reigning king of dramatic effects. Consider all this with the additional effects of explosive energy and acute mental focus, and you're left with seemingly very little to consider.*

Why SuperPump 250

• Twice Independently Tested
• Significant Increases in Lean Mass & Strength
• Causes Rapid and Measurable Full Body Pumps
• Stimulates Roadmap Vascularity
• Triggers Explosive Energy and Acute Mental Focus
• Simultaneously Reduces Body Fat Percentage
• Effects Become Noticeably More Potent Over Time With Regular Use

In the Pre-workout category, SuperPump 250™ is the reigning King of dramatic effects. Athletes who try SuperPump virtually never go back to any other pre-workout supplement, and its effects are so profound that the thought of training without it is simply out of the question for most users. In the groundbreaking independent clinical trial, increases in lean muscle mass nearly tripled in a single workout with just 1 dose of SuperPump 250™ as compared to not taking the supplement.

If that's not enough, body fat percentages simultaneously dropped as opposed to no changes in body fat recorded without the supplement. Consider all this with the added effects of explosive energy, mental focus and strength, and you're left with seemingly very little to consider. Ask anyone who tries this super anti-catabolic powerhouse and you'll hear the same answer over and over – you're going to look and feel incredible on SuperPump 250!

Gaspari Nutrition SuperPump 250 has been developed through extensive research and has been shown in independent laboratory testing to promote explosive increases in lean mass and muscle size in your very first workout! SuperPump 250 has also been shown to illicit a simultaneous reduction in unwanted body fat! In one fell swoop, Gaspari Nutrition has made all other nitric oxide and creatine supplements obsolete. Thanks to a precise formulation of ingredients designed to enhance anabolic signaling and nutrient delivery, SuperPump 250 delivers skin-tearing pumps, road-map vascularity and incredible, explosive workouts!.

3. Shock Therapy by Universal Nutrition

If you are looking for a pre-workout shake that will help power you up for the gym and make you feel like hitting the plates, wait no longer. The nitric oxide (NO) activators, creatine and stimulants in this formula will revitalize you while helping to make you seem more vascular and gain size. Shock Therapy can actually motivate you to get into the gym and hit the weights! Unlike many of the other pre-workout NO products on the market, we include an antioxidant complex that is essential when taking nitric oxide stimulating ingredients, due to their oxidative nature on human cells. Now you can have the "perpetual pump," the extreme workout you crave, and keep your body safe from the free radicals that are generated as a side effect of the nitric oxide activation process.

Why Shock Therapy ?

Why should you choose Universal Nutrition's Shock Therapy? It Works. If you want to get energized and motivated in the gym, Shock Therapy is for you. This formula will make for some very intense workouts that will help you put up more weight and will result in mass gains. Your body will feel jacked all day from the blood rushing to your muscle tissue transporting needed nutrients for real growth. We don't use any sugar so there is no worry about fat gains. We use the highest quality ingredients, from creatine all the way to our antioxidant blend. You won't find another product like Shock Therapy; it is truly original amongst pre-workout energizers and cell volumizers.

It has a healthier formula. Since Shock Therapy helps your body create more nitric oxide, you need an anti-oxidant complex to scavenge the hazardous free radicals that are released as a result of the nitric oxide process. Our competitors aren't keeping your health in mind; we are.

It has a better formula. Shock Therapy uses R-ALA to help insert the creatine and nitric oxide stimulating components into circulation, whereas the competition either does not use any form of alpha lipoic acid or uses the standard ALA, which has been proven to be less effective than R-ALA. Many individuals do not like to ingest aspartame and favor sweeteners such as sucralose. Shock Therapy does not use any aspartame, while some of the other popular supplements do. Shock Therapy™ from Universal Nutrition. The one, comprehensive supplement that can change the way you train. Jam-packaged with energy factors, growth nutrients, antioxidants and nootropic "brain boosters", Shock Therapy™ can be your greatest ally in the war against training monotony and progress plateaus. With Shock Therapy™ you'll never go through the motions again.

4. VPX's NO SHOTGUN

VPX sports supplements NO-Shotgun® MHF-1 is the first muscle building supplement of its kind to use a superior synergistic blend of effective compounds combined with a cutting-edge pharmaceutical delivery system that yields mind blowing, skin bursting effects, while additionally enhancing recovery and protein synthesis. Compounds such as Creatine (CEX™), Arginine (AEX™), Glutamine (GEX™), Beta-Alanine (BAEX™) and Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAEX™) that are each combined with Ethyl Ester (EX™) technology to insure maximum absorption and uptake! The Ethyl Ester Compounds used in NO-Shotgun® help these potent muscle building ingredients enter the bloodstream nearly 100% intact, as opposed to the same ingredients without EX™ technology that might only be absorbed at 15% to 40%. This highly advanced EX™ technology shuttles these NO-Shotgun® compounds across the muscle cell membrane where they can cause explosive muscle growth! VPX highly recommends stacking pre-workout NO-Shotgun®

UNLIMITED GROWTH POTENTIAL
University Research Proven to Alter Muscle at the Genetic Level. NO-SHOTGUN MHF-1™ Activates Satellite Cell Proliferation to Promote Muscle Hyperplasia - The Birth of New Muscle*. NO-SHOTGUN MHF-1™ generated the most ground breaking University research in the history of Muscle Science.

• Contains REDLINE® & MELTDOWN’S powerful fat burning and energy technology for mind blowing intensity!
• GBB and MTB Pump (Magnesium Tanshinoate B) for Nitric Oxide induced skin splitting pumps.
• 40,000 milligrams of anabolic PROTEIN FRACTIONS in just one serving! No cheap dextrose or waxy maize fillers.
• With BCAA’s & Fractionated Protein Peptides for maximal muscle protein synthesis and nitrogen retention - to important markers of muscle growth!
• Fueled by Research proven PeptoPro and BPOV for maximum insulin secretion and insulin receptor site sensitivity. Insulin is the most anabolic of all hormones! No carbs, waxy maize starch or sugars needed.
• With COP™ (Creatinol-O-Phosphate) to enhance anaerobic glycolysis and CPT (di-Na Creatine PhosphateTetrahydrate) -- two designer creatines proven in VPX labs to be resistant to conversion to creatinine. This eliminates bloating and allows transport of intact COP and CPT into muscle tissue!
• Beta-Alanine is a hyper-performance ingredient used to increase whole body creatine retention to crank out more sets and more muscle-blasting reps for increased lean mass!
• Satellite Cell Activators for maximal new Muscle Cell Division Hyperplasia! This means larger existing muscle fibers and splitting of these fibers to create totally new muscle.
• Arnold himself referred to “The Pump” as something “Better Then Sex!” It is “The Pump” that signals us hard training athletes lifting for size and definition that we are maximizing our efforts in the gym.
• NO-Shotgun® fuels episodes of physical intensity to induce insane muscle pumps that can lead to muscle growth. The biochemical and physiological response to NO-Shotgun® when combined with intense resistance training causes extra trauma to occur to trained muscle. Greater resistance to muscle results in significantly increased internal pressure (the pump)…And as you know, the better the pump the greater the trauma caused to muscle-tissue. The end result: increased ability to build larger muscle!
• NO-Shotgun® is the most advanced product of its kind…Bar none! VPX is so confident in the effectiveness of NO-SHOTGUN® that we have a $100,000 offer on the table to ANY supplement company that can conclusively prove – in a double-blind University Study – that their product is better at producing lean muscle, generating greater ATP production for more explosive workouts and initiating NO induced, blood engorged pumps.
• Be your own scientist, order NO-Shotgun® today... Not to mention mind blowing workouts, skin bursting muscle pumps and massive increases in lean muscle tissue!

5. Muscletech NaNo Vapor

Team MuscleTech™ researchers bring you the second coming...a new naNO Vapor® Hardcore Pro Series formula that has literally changed bodybuilding forever.

Why NaNo Vapor ?

You may think you've been training hard and your regular pre-workout formula is getting the job done. The fact is that most regular pure arginine formulas may not be delivering the workout experience you need to pack on muscle. This is not another "same old" version of a generic nitric oxide formula. Team MuscleTech™ researchers bring you the second coming . . . a new naNO Vapor® Hardcore Pro Series formula that has literally changed bodybuilding forever. Its scientifically advanced power is unprecedented. 

It's a nitric oxide pre-workout formula designed with scientifically studied key ingredients shown in scientific research to build eight times more muscle, instantly increase strength and change your training experience on your very first dose!

It's one thing to feel something happening when you take your pre-workout supplement, but it's another story altogether when you're supplying your muscles with the exact amounts of key ingredients shown to build muscle in published research. Case in point - just two of the multiple key ingredients in the new naNO Vapor Hardcore Pro Series formula are shown to help test subjects gain eight times more muscle than control subjects in just eight weeks (3.72 vs. 0.41 lbs.)! You can read about even more science backing the new naNO Vapor Hardcore Pro Series formula by clicking on the science tab.

The overwhelming potency of this powerful new formula will deliver an experience unlike ever before. When you're on naNO Vapor Hardcore Pro Series, your mental alertness and focus are dramatically enhanced and you feel stronger than ever. In fact, in a third-party, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 18 subjects taking a key ingredient in naNO Vapor Hardcore Pro Series instantly increased strength on the chest press by 18.3% compared to when using a placebo (5,254 vs. 4,442 lbs. of total weight lifted).

Stack with that a white-hot intensity and the new musclebuilding power of this formula's key components, and you have a knockout combination for an explosive workout that drives long-term, solid muscle gains.

A key musclebuilding compound in naNO Vapor® Hardcore Pro Series is shown in third-party research to help test subjects gain significantly more muscle. As published in the prestigious journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 22 untrained test subjects were divided into three groups. At the end of just 12 weeks, the subjects consuming a key musclebuilding compound gained 7.12 pounds of muscle while subjects using a placebo gained only 1.30 pounds!

Another independent scientific study conducted at the University of Sao Paulo with 20 subjects, separated into two groups of 10, showed those subjects using key ingredients in the naNO Vapor Hardcore Pro Series formula gained 8 times more muscle than control subjects in just 8 weeks (3.72 vs. 0.41 lbs.)! Researchers in this third-party study theorized that one of the key ingredients in this complex increased the stimulus of intense training ��" enhancing muscle gains.

In other university studies, one more component of the new naNO Vapor Hardcore Pro Series formula was shown to stimulate the release of catecholamines, trigger extreme mental focus and crank up strength by 18.3%. In a third-party, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 18 subjects taking a key ingredient in naNO Vapor Hardcore Pro Series increased strength on the chest press by 18.3% compared to when using a placebo (5,254 vs. 4,442 lbs. of total weight lifted).

After developing and perfecting the nitric oxide pump-inducing naNO Vapor Hardcore Pro Series formula, Team MuscleTech™ researchers employed a state-of-the-art delivery system putting particle science to work for you: Micro-Diffuse Technology™. The advanced technological system delivers smaller micron-sized particles of a key musclebuilding ingredient with enhanced dissolution and dispersion properties.

Protect Your Liver By Natural Ways

According to some experts, there’s up to a 99 percent chance your liver is not performing at its very best. Your liver is the 4-pound organ that performs more than 500 bodily functions and chemical reactions every day to keep you alive.

1. In fact, this organ manufactures a full quart of bile daily to break down fat… 
2. filters harmful toxins and substances out of nearly 100 gallons of blood every day…
3.  produces more than 13,000 crucial chemicals and hormones… 
4. regulates blood sugar levels… 
5. stores essential vitamins and minerals… 
6. and detoxifies all internal and external environmental pollutants.

However, an overworked liver that is exposed to the everyday pollutants of our modern world can result in a variety of health problems such as…

• High blood pressure
• Chronic fatigue
• Headaches
• Irritable bowels
• Joint pain
• Elevated cholesterol levels

1. You could also be at risk for chronic indigestion… 
2. neuromuscular illnesses… 
3. blood sugar problems… 
4. poor eyesight… 
5. allergies, rashes and itchy skin… 
6. lung congestion… 
7. kidney failure… 
8. or sexual dysfunction.

But don’t think that prescription or over-the-counter meds can help restore the function of your liver. Luckily there are natural solutions such as exercising and watching your diet, as well as supplementing with natural nutrients that can help you maintain good liver function.

In studies published in the journal Hepatology, researchers have found that exercise and decreasing the cholesterol and protein in your diet can help improve your health if you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)—the most widespread form of liver disease in the developed world.

A study conducted as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that the more protein you eat, the higher your risk category for being hospitalized from cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer—or dying from either condition.

Mother Nature can provide help in the form of natural nutrients such as milk thistle, soy lecithin (phosphatidylcholine), artichoke leaf, turmeric root, burdock, N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC), alpha lipoic acid (ALA), trimethylglycine (TMG), dandelion root and olive leaf.

By using these natural methods and keeping an eye on your diet, you can help revive and regenerate healthy liver cells so you can experience the optimum quality of living that you deserve.

Beat diabetes naturally without side effects

First of all, you will get to know how to beat diabetes naturally through Lifestyle Changes, or by using natural cures for diabetes, or any other natural supplements, without drug side effects.

Next, you can learn how choosing the right food to eat can help you to beat diabetes naturally. Find out what are the Diabetes Foods such as High and Low Carb Foods, and those Foods that lower sugar blood level. You will get to know what your ideal diabetes diet recipe can be.

Then, you will find out how to select the best diabetes diet to lower blood sugar level, or the Low Carbohydrates Diet, and also what are the Diets for High Blood Sugar Level.


You must keep in mind that I'm not talking about weight loss diet. But about carefully eating of certain foods rather than others, and organizing your diet through those foods that can help you lower high blood sugar level, thus you can beat diabetes too.

Keeping on your journey to my website, you will learn about the side effects of new diabetes medications that can cause more damage than heal to your body. So, you can take control of your health, and become doctor yourself, choosing the right solution to beat diabetes.

The last section in my website, I will let to Information on Diabetes Mellitus. Through this section, you can be educated on various info, such as what the causes are, or Various Symptoms of diabetes, especially how to recognize diabetes early symptoms.

You can learn also how glucosamine can affect normal range blood sugar levels, and what are the possible interactions between high cholesterol and high blood sugar levels.

You will get to know what are the possible Diabetes Complications that you should be aware of. Also, you can keep yourself informed about Blood Sugar Level, what are the figures, what do they mean, what are the normal sugar blood Level, how can you achieve it.

Also, you will get to know the latest news on type1 diabetes, worth type 2 diabetes information, and how controlling gestational diabetes can keep you and your baby far away from future damages.

Also you can navigate on more useful diabetes links on the net to get more worthy info.

If you'd like to explore this website, you can start on the left column by clicking on each button. Or you can start from the sitemap. Finally, you may have a look at the bottom of this page, and depending on your area of interest start from there.

Diabetes facts

Every single day, I'm shocked with the fact that this disease is spreading very fast and with a dramatic speed all over the world. 7% of the Americans have diabetes, and unfortunately one-third of them are unaware that they have it. Only when its complications come up, only then they realize to have it.

1 to 6 overweight adolescents aged 12-19 in the USA have pre-diabetes which very soon will lead them to the disease onset.

The most terrible facts go to complications. They not only give some bad damages leading to handicap, such as: blindness, kidney failure, amputation of lower-extremities; they also cause your death or heart stroke.

What is more, according to a new report, the global diabetic population is set to be double in 2030, while treatments will fall and not completely fulfill medical needs.

Goat Cheese Fonduta

3 qts heavy cream
2 qts half & half
10 lbs chevre
1 lb parmigiano
1 cup garlic cloves
2 Tbsp salt
2 tsp white pepper
1 can truffle peelings w/ juices, minced

- bring all ingredients except truffle to slow simmer, stirring often
- cook until garlic softens completely, then strain through chinois
- stir in truffle and adjust seasoning if necessary

Port Syup

1 btl tawny port
1 cup huckleberry compote
2 sprigs rosemary
2 shallots, sliced

- reduce by half

I've moved!

over here

recycled tp~ what’s that all about?

Did you know that most toilet paper is made from the virgin pulp of old growth trees?  Ecologically valuable forests full of old growth trees are being cut down so that we can have soft and lovely paper to wipe our tushes with.  Not only are ancient trees being destroyed, but massive amounts of chlorine are also used to achieve the pearly white color that we’ve come to expect when buying toilet tissue.

‘Ancient forests are the planet’s old-growth and original forests. The world’s ancient forests maintain environmental systems that are essential for life on Earth. They influence weather by controlling rainfall and evaporation of water from soil. They help stabilize the world’s climate by storing large amounts of carbon that would otherwise contribute to climate change. These forests also are home to around two-thirds of the world’s land-based species of plants and animals.’  This site will educate you on where these forests are and why they are essential to our planet’s health. They also offer ways to get actively involved.
I found this article that lists brands of toilet tissue that have a nice percentage of post consumer recycled content.  Recycled doesn’t mean tough and horrible. We made the switch over a year ago, after learning about this issue and we haven’t missed the bleached white stuff one bit.  The two things to look for when buying eco friendly bathroom tissue are 1) a post consumer recycled content of at least 40% and 2) chlorine free processing, labeled as (pcf or ecf).

Rebloged from: http://blog.ecoetsy.com/2011/02/recycled-tp-whats-that-all-about/html

Quilting Tutorials....a ton of 'em!

Links to free tutorials...some mine, others from around the web.  Enjoy!

 

 Baby Quilt Tutorial

 

Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorial

Circle Quilt Tutorial

Crazy Nine-Patch Lattice Quilt

Disappearing Nine Patch - (easy and fun block good for Linus)

Flossie Tea Cakes Tutorials

Hexagon Tutorial (using mylar bases)

Modified Bento Box Quilt - (I made it...check out flikr)

PaintBox Quilt Along (I am in the process of making this and it is major fun)

Saturday Market Skirt (Patti Henderson)

Sewing Zippers In Bags (you can do it!)

Stitch and Flip Hexagon Tutorial

Straight Line Quilting from Tallgrass Prarie Studio

String Quilt Block Turorial

Sweet and Simple Nightie (made this from 'guess who's' voile!

Wonky Patchwork Pillow

 

 

::C O T T O N:: HOW THIRSTY IS YOUR TSHIRT

LE POTAGER from Benoit MILLOT on Vimeo.
With a grateful 'Bravo' I thank BenoitMillot for his touching video (s).  To enjoy more his work, please visit the link above.


Cotton is one of the most environmentally destructive agricultural crops. In pesticide use in the US alone, it is staggering – 125 million kilograms annually.

The need for fresh water ranks among the most urgent environmental challenges of this century.

The textile industry is one of the largest polluters in the world. The World Bank estimates that almost 20% of global industrial water pollution comes from the treatment and dyeing of textiles.

Cotton production accounts for 2.6% of annual global water usage. A single T-shirt made from conventional cotton requires 2700 liters of water, and a third of a pound of chemicals to produce.

Many believe that conventional cotton uses much less water than organic cotton, but in fact the opposite may be true. By beginning with healthy soil, organic cotton farmers need not supply intense irrigation for their crops—the plants themselves use water much more efficiently due to the inherent health of their surrounding environment.


Organic cotton has undoubtedly sounded like the overwhelming choice thus far, but nothing is perfect. India, Turkey, Peru, China and Africa currently grow more organic cotton than the United States does. What does this mean? It means that the next organic cotton T-shirt you buy was likely grown hundreds of thousands of miles away, shipped around the world to be processed, then shipped to a retailer and finally to you. That’s a big carbon footprint for one T-shirt!

All hope is not lost for organic-cotton fans who appreciate local production. States such as Texas, California and New Mexico are continually expanding their organic cotton production. Still, the United States is one of the world’s top conventional cotton producers, making it a vital force in the cotton market and one we should continually influence to embrace organic growth and production.


About GMO .... There’s a reason that the Department of Agriculture does not allow the use of GMO seeds for organic cotton—they aren’t as successful as they sound on paper. Monsanto, a manufacturer of GMO seeds and pesticides, claims that a study showed its Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis, a naturally occurring soil bacterium) cotton yields 30 percent more fiber than non-GMO seeds. A little digging quickly proved that Monsanto was a sponsor of this “scientific” study.

Why Is Slow Weight Loss Better Than Fast Weight Loss?

Temptation to try fast weight loss diets is very high if you have been trying to shed weight for a long time. However I must say that taking a slow and steady approach to weight loss is much better than fast weight loss. What really makes fast diets ineffective in the long run is their inability to speed up your metabolism. Most diet plan that promise quick results, rely on water weight loss therefore you regain your weight very soon.


On the other hand taking a holistic approach to overall health takes care of your weight naturally. You will see some remarkable results if you focus on your overall health instead of your weight. In fact weight gain is a result of your poor internal health. Fixing your digestion, metabolism, liver functions and immune system will trigger your fat burning mechanism naturally.

Following are some valid reasons why slow weight loss is better than fast weight loss

Metabolism- Slow weight loss method speeds up your metabolism therefore you do not remain dependent on the ‘fast diet’. Moreover various other functions are regulated by your metabolism therefore you regain your overall health instead of shedding a few pounds.

No Nutrition Deficiency- Fast weight loss diets fortified with many ingredients that flush out nutrients from your body. Of course you lose some weight but often you end up disrupting your body’s nutrition balance which results in many other complications.

No Side Effects- Dehydration, lack of energy, fatigue and nausea are some of the side effects of fast weight loss formulas. A slow weight loss method saves you from these side effects.

No Expert Supervision is required – The moment you start suffering from above mentioned side effects, you need medical supervision. You must take expert advice while taking a fast weight loss diet anyway.  On the other hand you can lose weight slowly without worrying about medical supervision.

Cost- Fad diets are often expensive and unhealthy. You do not lose anything except your hard earned money.

Fast weight loss diet is effective only if it has been prescribed by qualified doctors or dietitians. Safety of these diets is very important therefore you must have yourself checked before trying them. Calorie controlled diet plans are good if your body responds to them without suffering from any side effects.

Health benefits of Coconut

Coconut is found almost around the world, especially in the tropics, the coconut is considered as one of the most useful and nutritious fruits in the world. Many call it the Tree of Life. From its leaves to its trunk, down to it the roots, nothing is wasted. Coconut is a tropical fruit that is rich in protein. The meat of the coconut is very good in destroying intestinal parasites, that we get from eating infected food.


Today, many scientists are looking into the wonders of the virgin coconut oil. It has  many health benefits, which include skin and hair care, stress reliever, weight loss, maintenance of cholesterol levels, increase immunity,   proper digestion and metabolism, cure from certain kidney and heart problems, diabetes, dental care, bone strength and even HIV. Nothing is more nutritious than this tropical fruit.


Other Health Benefits of Coconut :

• Prevents simple goiter (enlarged non-toxic thyroid) because of its organic iodine content.
• Good body builder, so it is a food recommended for building up the body muscles of thin and emaciated individuals.
• Constipation and for any build-up of gas in the stomach and intestinal tract.
• Coconut milk has been found to help cases of sore throat as well as relieving stomach ulcers.
• Coconut oil has been found to heal cuts, scratches, burns and sunburns.

• The oil has also been recommended for facial massage and is reported to be good as a wrinkle remover.
• Coconut oil is also good for the scalp and hair and makes hair dressing unnecessary.
• Intake of at least 2 Tbsp. of Virgin coconut oil per day can lessen your Vitamin E requirement.
• Coconut water is good for kidney and urinary bladder problems.
• Another health benefit of coconut and coconut oil is that MCTs are mostly made up of a specific fat called lauric acid which is an antiviral and antimicrobial agent.
• Coconut oil’s immune enhancing abilities making it a powerful cancer fighting food.

Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm.

Sitting Too Much? One-Minute Breaks Can Help

In the last year, we've been repeatedly told by scientists that too much sitting causes excess weight gain, increased risk of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, pain, fatigue, and early death.

Many of us learned of those reports while—where else?—parked in a chair, sitting in front of a computer. A large chunk of the population finds itself in the sedentary state, sitting, on average, for half of every workday, which in turn translates into a sedentary state of mind, too. And while a new study published in the European Heart Journal finds that even exercising moderately to vigorously at some point during the day doesn't fix the damage done by sitting too much, it offers a practical workaround: Taking little breaks—as short as one minute—throughout the work day can help prevent some of the health bummers associated with too much sitting.


Australian researchers used data from more than 4,750 adults; they used movement data collected by a device attached to participants' hips while they were awake. Researchers also looked at waist circumference and blood pressure, blood fats, inflammation, and cholesterol levels. The found that the people who were most active during the day recorded a sedentary time of 1.8 hours, while the most sedentary recorded a whopping 21.2 hours per day. The person who recorded the most breaks (even short movement breaks) hit nearly 1,260 in a week, while the most sedentary people recorded just 99 in a full week's time. The researchers found that extended periods of inactivity correlated with larger waistlines and higher risk of cardiovascular problems.

Looking at the number of breaks in sedentary time, the most significant difference found was in waist-circumference measurements. The top 25 percent of people who took the most breaks had a more than 1 ½-inch smaller waist measurement than the 25 percent of people who took the least breaks. The latest study also found that even people who work out regularly at moderate to vigorous intensity were not protected from long bouts of sitting, so even if you regularly exercise, incorporating short movement breaks into your day is important to protect health, the researchers found. "Our research showed that even small changes, which could be as little as standing up for one minute, might help to lower this health risk," explains Genevieve Healy, PhD, a research fellow at the School of Population Health at The University of Queensland in Australia. "It is likely that regular breaks in prolonged sitting time could be readily incorporated into the working environment without any detrimental impact on productivity, although this still needs to be determined by further research. 'Stand up, move more, more often' could be used as a slogan to get this message across."

Australian researchers used data from more than 4,750 adults; they used movement data collected by a device attached to participants' hips while they were awake. Researchers also looked at waist circumference and blood pressure, blood fats, inflammation, and cholesterol levels. The found that the people who were most active during the day recorded a sedentary time of 1.8 hours, while the most sedentary recorded a whopping 21.2 hours per day. The person who recorded the most breaks (even short movement breaks) hit nearly 1,260 in a week, while the most sedentary people recorded just 99 in a full week's time. The researchers found that extended periods of inactivity correlated with larger waistlines and higher risk of cardiovascular problems.

Looking at the number of breaks in sedentary time, the most significant difference found was in waist-circumference measurements. The top 25 percent of people who took the most breaks had a more than 1 ½-inch smaller waist measurement than the 25 percent of people who took the least breaks. The latest study also found that even people who work out regularly at moderate to vigorous intensity were not protected from long bouts of sitting, so even if you regularly exercise, incorporating short movement breaks into your day is important to protect health, the researchers found. "Our research showed that even small changes, which could be as little as standing up for one minute, might help to lower this health risk," explains Genevieve Healy, PhD, a research fellow at the School of Population Health at The University of Queensland in Australia. "It is likely that regular breaks in prolonged sitting time could be readily incorporated into the working environment without any detrimental impact on productivity, although this still needs to be determined by further research. 'Stand up, move more, more often' could be used as a slogan to get this message across."


What it means: 
When Bob Marley sang, "Get up, stand up," he wasn't imagining workers chained to their desks all day, eyes frozen on computer screens. Still, mounting research suggests that you should emancipate your booty from your seat, even if it's just for a minute at a time. That's good news for people who aren't able to break free regularly for a half-hour walk or an exercise class.

Move more often.
If your employer isn't willing to set up a Trek Desk workstation in the office, don't feel doomed. Just make a conscious effort to make movement as much a daily routine as meetings and checking email. Instead of emailing an employee, walk over to his or her office; take the stairs; even get up and stretch or do a few yoga poses. If you find you're still having trouble moving more, set up email alerts to make sure you get up and move a few times an hour.