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USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Released

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USDA issues Dietary Guidelines for Americans every five years. The most recent 112 page guideline was issues on January 31, 2011. And the guidelines states that Because more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, the 7th edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans places stronger emphasis on reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity. Really. So it recommends the [...]

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U.S. Resists BPA Ban but Europe Bans BPA in Baby Bottles

The Food Safety Bill could be decided on by the Senate as early as tonight. And what you might not see on the bill is BPA ban on baby products. Meanwhile, the news out of Brussels this morning is that Europe is banning any baby bottles containing the chemical Bispheno-A as early as starting March, 2011. Yup. We are behind Europe when it comes to food safety, again. According to [...]

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How does salmonella infect eggs?

I thought deciphering egg carton labels was hard. Trying to figure out if an egg is contaminated with Salmonella is im-po-ssi-ble. Over 300 million eggs have been recalled after hundreds of people were sickened by eating eggs contaminated with Salmonella. How many times have we heard this type of story line before? Ugh. Wright County Eggs of Galt, Iowa voluntarily recalled over 300 million eggs after 266 illnesses and many [...]

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I did it my way

We were ready to go to bed after a long day of shopping on Sunday to prepare Andrew for college. Last load of laundry was in the dryer as we were getting ready to go upstairs when the lights went out. Again. It was a little past midnight so I guess, it was, technically Monday morning. The Hubby was cursing something harsh under his breath, and Emily was complaining, “It’s [...]

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Deciphering egg carton labels

I’ve been shocked time and time again at the food prices lately. Especially eggs. I’m so used to buying organic, cage free, I mean, free-roaming, no, “happy” eggs that I don’t even flinch, or pay attention to, at the $4/dozen prices. The chickens supposedly roam the farm, without being caged, and eat organic feeds. I buy the same eggs from either at the farmers market ($4/dz) or from Whole Foods [...]

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What would you do if you had less than five months to live?

That’s how long my elderly neighbor has to live – less than five months. She won’t celebrate Christmas this year. OK, so, I am being very blunt today and a tad bit cynical but if you are my facebook friend, you know what kind of a week I had. I don’t mean to start the weekend with this grim thought but let me tell you a little background on this [...]

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Is Agave better than sugar?

I recently posted about Princeton University’s latest research confirming what we assumed along – High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) makes you fat. But long before that study was published, people who questioned HFCS’s health benefit, have been flocking to the natural foods aisles at the grocery store to grab Agave nectar as their alternative sweeteners. Flickr Photo: bludgeoner86 But how healthy is agave, really? Is it safe? How does something [...]

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Dr. Andrew Weill and Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen

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Environmental Working Group just released its updated Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen foods, in partnership with renowned medical expert on natural health and wellness Dr. Andrew Weill. Here is Dr. Weill speaking about why organic is the way to go if you want to avoid eating pesticides with your foods. Because EWG releases a new list every year, I will be updating this list as soon as [...]

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High fructose corn syrup makes you fat. Really?

I recently reviewed a product called Soda Stream and its variety of syrup flavors. One of the factors that I liked about the system was that the syrup did not contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It contained Sucralose (Splenda) which I complained about but that’s another post in itself. I always knew HFCS was bad for many reasons but now, researchers from Princeton University determined ‘why’ HFCS is making [...]

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Stop Antibiotic Abuse on Factory Farms

I signed this petition to “Stop Antibiotic Abuse on Factory Farms” According to Petitionsite.com where you can go to sign the petition, Factory farms use 70 percent of antibiotics in the United States, not for sick people and animals, but for healthy pigs, chickens and beef cattle. Why? The agricultural industry says it helps the animals grow to market weight more quickly. Antibiotics also compensate for the crowded, filthy conditions [...]

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7 Foods Even Food Safety Experts Won’t Eat

Guess what some food safety experts won’t even eat according to Liz Vaccariello from prevention magazine. 1. Canned Tomatoes The expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A The problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain Bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Unfortunately, acidity (a prominent characteristic of [...]

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Hormones and Emotions

I usually receive upwards of twenty articles and blogs in my e-mail every day. I don’t know if that’s too many or too few but I skim through them while having coffee and read the ones that grab my attention for the day. And boy, this article from Care2.com particularly spoke to me this morning. Photo: Care2.com You see, I was really stressed and angry yesterday. Yeah, beat red angry [...]

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Wheat-free, Egg-free Fried Rice Recipe

One of our favorite scrape-off-the-left-over-upcycled foods is Fried Rice. I used to have a bag of frozen shrimp and frozen green peas in the freezer for just in case I had one of those, “there’s nothing to cook”, days. Well, I had one of those days yesterday. But since we can’t have soy sauce (wheat) or shrimp (shell-fish), I had to improvise. And improvising in the kitchen is what I’m [...]

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Eczema and Foods Update

This is the list that’s been on our kitchen wall since January 2nd. As you might know from my previous post about Eczema and Food Allergies, my kids have been on this elimination diet for their Eczema…and by default, so are my husband and I. And as you might have guessed, it hasn’t been easy. We’ve had some setbacks as we had a huge birthday party for my parents last [...]

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BPA in toilet paper and pizza boxes?

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Those of you who follow me on Twitter and in blogsphere, know I’ve been trying to get rid of a case of crushed tomatoes. We had this case since before the news broke about BPA tainted canned goods. OK, so we had them for awhile. It was actually part of our emergency stash. But now, we can’t use them because of BPA in the lining. Tomatoes in cans are especially [...]

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Wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, red meat-free White Chili Recipe

This is a beginning of a second week of the elimination diet for my kids. They’ve been on this diet for 14 days for Emily and 8 days for Andrew. They are dying for a juicy steak and mashed potato with butter. Lots of butter. Or a big plate of spaghetti and meatball. And most of all, Clementine Oranges. Well, those dishes weren’t on the menu at Chez Karen. Instead, [...]

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Eczema and Food Allergy

As I said yesterday in my post, my daughter has been sick with a nasty cold since before Christmas. She’s been hacking away trying to cough up phlegm stuck in the middle of her chest, lying on the couch or in bed, just feeling miserable, and fighting occasional fevers and even hives from allergy to the cough medicine – nice, eh? There was nothing her pediatrician can give her for the [...]

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The Natural Dentist Review and Giveaway

Oral hygiene. I abhor talking about oral hygiene. I hate going to the dentist like going to my car mechanic. When my car mechanic tells me I need a new “timing belt” on my car, I wonder, “What’s a timing belt, and why do I need it?”. Similarly, I have no idea if I really do have a cavity as I try to squint to see a tiny opaque spot [...]

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Apple Hill Cake

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I don’t think I posted a recipe on ecokaren before. But I wanted to share this recipe with you because I just made this cake today with Honey Crisp apples that my mom gave us and it was goodelicious – a word my daughter made up. We couldn’t possibly eat all these apples so I decided to make this cake and “use up” some apples. (I ended up using only [...]

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Natural remedies for your health

My poor little (well, not so little anymore but she’s still my baby) daughter is sick. Not too serious; just a little cold. So besides the usual cold remedies like ginger tea (just boiled ginger with honey), Vitamin C (about 4000mg to 5000mg a day), Echinacea, Zinc, and lots of soups, I adjusted her spine (remember I am a Chiropractor?) and I’ll probably acupuncture her if need be. If there [...]

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Backpack safety tips for children

Carrying heavy backpacks are common among school age children and that’s a problem. According to a study conducted by the Simmons College Graduate Program in Physical Therapy, over 55 percent of teenagers carry backpacks that are over 15% of their body weight, a limit that is recommended by American Chiropractic Association as well as American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. By the end of their teen years, for example, more than [...]

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Green Cleaning Your School

When I had my chiropractic practice, one of my patients was a preschool teacher. She had horribly cracked hands. She told me that she’d use Clorox mixture to clean and disinfect the tables and chairs every day. And when a child was diagnosed with Strep throat or pink eye, the cleaning procedure would involve the toys and everything that kids would touch. Well, I remember thinking, if the cleaning products [...]

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The Endocrine Society’s report on BPA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wXGrzDIcr8&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ethedailygreen%2Ecom%2Fliving%2Dgreen%2Fblogs%2Fgreen%2Dproducts%2Dservices%2Favoid%2Dbisphenol%2Da%2D55091701&feature=player_embedded”>here

I know most of you heard that Bisphenol A (BPA) is harmful and that hard plastic water bottles, that made Nalgene famous, contained BPA. Since the revelation, Nalgene and other ‘like’ manufacturers voluntarily pulled all their BPA containing plastic bottles off of the shelves and replaced them with “BPA-Free” water bottles. Wal-Mart also volunteered to take all the BPA containing products from shelves as well as Toys-R-Us. There is so [...]

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How green is your diet?

I don’t know about you but I love food. I love to cook and I love to eat even more. But, recently, I wondered how green was my diet. Then, as serendipitous as it might sound, a magazine that I usually recycle, came across my desk with a title, “How green is your diet?” Of course, I immediately took the quiz. I was pleasantly surprised and I wanted to share [...]

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Here comes the sun…little darling

It was ‘goy-geous’ today in NY. And the Beatles’ tune stayed in my head all day. I mean, I couldn’t have asked for a better weather. It was sunny, 80 degrees with clear blue skies with no humidity. And lucky for us, it will be like this, for the rest of the week. I used to love days like this but unlike another song, sunshine on my shoulders doesn’t make [...]

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Bad Guys for Beauty Part 3 – the good guys

This is the final part of the series, “Bad Guys for Beauty”. Now that the bad guys have been revealed, here are the good guys for you and where you can buy some good guys for your body on Etsy. Ascorbic Acid – Vitamin C Keeps products from spoiling, stimulates production of collagen, which slows as you age, and minimize fine lines. Organic Lavender Face Food Moisturizer-Paraben Free by Greensprings0 [...]

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Bad Guys for Beauty Part 2

3) imidazolidinyl urea What it is – the most commonly used preservative after parabens What it does – extends a product’s shelf life. Why avoid? A top cause of contact dermatitis, imidazolidinyl urea may also stress our immune system. Plus, when used with water, it can release formaldehyde, a toxic chemical. Products List 4) PEGs What they are – polyethelene glycol of polyethelene, which are both chemicals derived from petroleum [...]

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Bad Guys for Beauty

Do you read the ingredients in your lotion or shampoo bottle? Does “propylparabens” or “polyethylene glycol” mean anything to you? I can’t pronounce half of these chemicals, let alone, understand why they are in the lotion that I am putting on my skin. After all, skin is the largest organ in the body and it absorbs everything you put on it. So, what are these chemicals that I can’t pronounce [...]

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Swine Flu – Update

Since the time I posted about Swine Flu this morning, World Health Organization has increased the alert level to Phase 5 – the second highest. Dr Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director-General, stated that “all countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans.” This pandemic has gotten the attention of the biggest health organization in the world and has the world on notice about this influenza. But, again, this doesn’t mean run [...]

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Swine Flu – Closer Look

My husband has a sinus infection, complicated by seasonal allergy. But when he said he wasn’t feeling well and looked like he had a fever, we all panicked and asked, “Do you have the Swine Flu?” We’ve been inundated by the news about Swine Flu and of course, that was the first thing that came to our minds. And the word “Pandemic” doesn’t help our nerves either. Just this morning, [...]

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Ahhhh…choo!!

I apologize for being tardy with posting this month. I have had this cold since beginning of the year and I can’t seem to shake it. So, while drinking tea and longing for hot soup, I found these items that I wanted to share with you. Click on the picture for more information. Being that I love to cook but hate to shop, especially when I’m not feeling well, this [...]

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Time for Popcorn!

The schools are closed and the kids are home from a Snow Day today. There’s about a foot of snow on the ground already. It’s kind of a sipping hot cocoa and watching a good holiday movie kind of a day. And, of course, we can’t forget popcorn. We haven’t had microwavable popcorn in our house for years. Originally, I stopped buying them because of Teflon coated popcorn bags. I [...]

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My Favorite Green Products

It’s only been recent that I have been able to find “natural” cleaning products in the local supermarket aisles. I don’t have to go to the “Green Market” to find them anymore. What’s even better, the prices have come down too. Even Clorox makes its own line of “Green Works” now. The big guns are catching up. Finally, they noticed what we want. This is a list of products I’ve [...]

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