health

Author

Jill Grunewald

Holistic Nutrition Coach

There was a time in the not too distant past when choosing what to eat was simple. It entailed a jaunt to the garden or orchard and harvesting what was in season or venturing to the cellar for canned green beans or peaches. Meats were processed at the local butcher and cured for longevity. Maybe you traded raspberries for apples with a neighbor.

Resources

On the Web!: 

Local Harvest, localharvest.org

Eat Well Guide, eatwellguide.org

Read Up!: 

Food Rules, by Michael Pollan, Penguin Books, 2009.

Nourishing Wisdom, by Marc David, Bell Tower, 1991.

Act Locally!: 

Weston A. Price Foundation Washington, DC 202-363-4394 westonaprice.org

Minnesota Grown St. Paul, MN 651-201-6648 www3.mda.state.mn.us/mngrown

Author

Amber Collett

Transit for Livable Communities

We walk to raise money and awareness for causes, to get exercise, and to grab a cup of coffee at the nearby coffee shop, but is walking considered transportation? Despite the fact that walking is all about getting your body from point A to point B, it is often left out of the definition of transportation.

Resources

On the Web!: 

National Center for Bicycling & Walking, bikewalk.org

Walk Score, walkscore.com

Mn/DOT Safe Routes to School, dot.state.mn.us/saferoutes/

Act Locally!: 

Bike Walk Twin Cities St. Paul, MN 651-767-0298 bikewalktwincities.org

Minnesota Complete Streets Coalition St. Paul, MN 651-294-7141 mncompletestreets.org

Author

Gabriele F. Kushi, BFA, MEA, CHC, AADP

Board certified Holistic Health Practitioner, macrobiotic nutritional consultant, cooking teacher, and director of Kushi’s Kitchen

 

Resources

On the Web!: 

Kushi’s Kitchen, kushiskitchen.com

Read Up!: 

Embracing Menopause Naturally, by Gabrielle Kushi, Square One Publishers, 2006.

"Increased urinary methylmalonic acid excretion in breast-fed infants of vegetarian mothers and identification of an acceptable dietary source of vitamin B-12," by BL Specker, D Miller, EJ Norman, H Greene, and KC Hayes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan 1988; 47: 89-92.

Author

EUREKA RECYCLING

Recently there has been much discussion about the safety of drinking water. Concerns about tap water, bottled water, and reusable plastic bottles can be overwhelming. The main issue concerning plastic bottles is the leaching of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) which is used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate, the hard clear plastic that is characteristic of many water bottles. It is used to make household goods because of its characteristics: it is very durable, moldable, and has good temperature resistance. Almost all

Author

KASSIE KUEHL

Kasia Beautiful Health Salon

FACTS TO CONSIDER:

The average salon customer is in contact with hair color ammonia about every 4-7 weeks while hair stylists have daily contact with ammonia.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ammonia is listed as a hazardous substance that has related negative health effects including headaches, loss of appetite, and fatigue due to the ammoniated smells.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Resource:

Skin Deep Database
cosmeticsdatabase.com

Author

SARA GROCHOWSKI

Do It Green! Minnesota

Health is more than just the absence of disease; rather, it is a state of physical, mental and social well-being. We use the term health to describe anything from the physical state of our body to that of our soil. More and more studies and stories appear in the media, on the internet, and in research journals about the negative effects of chemicals on our body and our health-from chemicals in plastic water bottles and food storage containers to certain children's toys, or toxins in our own backyard soil. 

Rather than ignore the information and pretend to live

Author

SARA GROCHOWSKI

Do It Green! Minnesota

Since the 1970s, the increase of multi-national food companies has increased the size of not only farms but the overall food system. During this same time period, a slow and steady movement of small farms began selling a variety of products to local communities, building relationships, and changing purchasing habits. With these changes in our food systems, people's eating habits and grocery choices have also changed. A number of terms can now be used for describing our diets today-from locavore, to a low-carbon diet, to slow food, or local.

Author

JENNY BREEN

Local Chef / Educator

Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." So begins Micheal Pollan's recent manifesto, In Defense of Food. It sounds ridiculously simple, and actually, it is. But, we have reached a place and time in our culture where we need to re-learn these simple actions that were once just a way of life. Our food system has become very complex, and we as consumers need to be thoughtful and intentional about our food choices--that is, if we really care about our health and the health of the planet.

Given the impact of our food choices on our own health and that

Footnotes/Endnotes

on the web!

Search for "The Cheeseburger Footprint" at
brightcove.tv

Center for Science,
cspinet.org

The Daily Green,
thedailygreen.com

READ UP!

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan, Penguin Press HC, 2008.

act locally!

Minneapolis farmer's markets
mplsfarmersmarket.com

Minnesota farmer's market association, mfma.org

Author

Compiled by

Do It Green! Minnesota

No pain, no gain, right? At the California Fitness Center, the new mantra may be “no pain, no power.” French inventor Lucien Gambarota has created a revolutionary concept in which energy burned through exercise is converted to powering light fixtures. The excess energy is then stored in a battery. Hong Kong’s California Fitness Center has installed these exercise machines in their club.

Footnotes/Endnotes

To view how the technology works go to: inhabitat.com/2007/03/08/human-powered-gyms-in-hong-kong/

Author

By Linda Lindquist

RN, BSN

Healthcare workers are a hidden, next generation treasure of environmentalists. This group includes, but is not limited to, doctors, such as those specializing in infectious disease, nurses of all disciplines in heath care, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, nutritionists, dietitians, pharmacists, and emergency rescue response workers.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Environmental Health News
environmentalhealthnews.org

Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
h2E.org

Health Care without Harm
hcwh.org

Environmental Health and Nursing Practice, Barbara Sattler & Jane Lipscomb, Springer Publishing, 2003.

Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood, Sandra Steingraber, Perseus Publishing, 2001.

Minnesota Department of Health
St. Paul, MN, 651-201-5000 or 888-345-0823 o health.state.mn.us

Minnesota Technical Assistance Program's Healthcare Environmental Awareness and Resource Reduction Team (HEARRT)
University of Minnesota
612-624-1300
mntap.umn.edu/health/hearrt.htm