Healthy Living

Transglutaminase: A Delicious Story of Meat Glue

by Almira June 23, 2011

[image source] In March, Australian TV show Today Tonight did a story on a supposed meat glue scandal. Transglutaminase, known as Activa in the culinary world, is a blood-clotting enzyme being used to “glue” small scraps of meat into what looks like prime cuts to sell for a high price. Pork, lamb, fish and chicken [...]

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Lyme Disease: Under Our Skin

by Almira June 21, 2011

“Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, ALS—could it be that some of the cases of spinal cord degeneration are actually due to a sneaky manifestation of Lyme disease?” —Alan MacDonald, MD, Pathologist [image source] What’s lurking in the bushes and tall grasses may prove to be worse than the infamous worry of lions, tigers, and bears (I’m personally [...]

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Liquid Candy: Is Soda Making You Fat?…Even Diet Soda?

by Almira May 24, 2011

“You’ll end up fat, toothless, and dying of cancer. But seriously, regular and diet sodas increase your rise of pancreatic cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, dental problems, and weight issues.” – Lauren Slayton, Nutritionist [image: The Lunch Tray] Sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, soda has been called Liquid Candy on documentary King Corn. As cases of [...]

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DIY: Homemade Toothpaste, Deodorant, Shampoo, Conditioner and Lip Balm

by Almira May 23, 2011

Homemade hygiene. After researching natural allergy remedies, I thought it only fitting to list some all-natural *recipes for homemade whitening toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo & conditioner, and lip balm—they also happen to be really cheap to make! Homemade Toothpaste (Whitening):   Tutorials: Passionate Homemaking, Frugal Granola, Naturally Knocked Up Revised recipe ingredients from Gorgeously Green: 2 [...]

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Water Series: Buying a Home Water Filtering System

by Almira May 20, 2011

Upon waking each morning, the first thing I reach for is a tall glass of clean, delectable water. That luxury has become more apparent as of late. Within the past month, the husband and I purchased some poor-quality “reverse osmosis” water from 2 different water suppliers. The brands: Culligan and Cuzn. We’re not sure if [...]

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Natural Allergy Remedies

by Almira May 19, 2011

[image: Healthy Republic] Seasonal allergies were never an issue for me until I moved to Atlanta. Although spring in the south is gorgeous with fragrant flora showing off new buds and greenery, it also happens to be the time when pollen is at its highest. During the month of April, Pine trees coat everything in [...]

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Water Series: The Luxury of Clean H2O

by Almira March 14, 2011

After learning the effects of fluoride, I followed up on my curiosities about water with the following delicious documentaries (see trailers below).

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Water Series: The Incredible, Edible…Fluoride

by Almira February 17, 2011

In 1950, the U.S. Public Health Service endorsed fluoridation of our municipal water systems.

Fluoride is a toxic waste product complimentary of the phosphate fertilizer industry. The fertilizer industry had this fabulous idea to cheaply rid themselves of their production waste by selling it to the government with the idea that hydrofluorosilic acid helps prevent tooth decay if used as a water additive. Hydrofluorosilic acid is an industrial-grade, un-purified and corrosive form of fluoride, and yet, despite the increasing evidence of its negative effects on human health, the American Dental Association and the Center for Disease Control continue to promote, and in some cases, mandate water fluoridation.

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H&M Conscious Collection

by Almira February 7, 2011

Using organic linen, Tencel, organic cotton, and recycled polyester, H&M is revamping its known business model for turning out cheap, disposable clothing to incorporate a zero-waste, conscious approach to garment production in the form of a sustainable clothing line.

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The Alkaline Diet

by Almira February 5, 2011

During these cold, comfort-food ridden months I’ve been craving something fresh. The Alkaline Sisters has solved my problem. These two sisters decided to change their eating habits to include more raw foods and focus on foods that decrease inflammation in the body and increase energy and overall health. With beautiful food photography, scrumptious recipes, and great resources for alkalizing and revamping your eating habits (and waistline), I believe I’ve found a new favorite food blog!

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The Monsanto Wars

by Almira February 4, 2011

Upon watching Food, Inc. and David Versus Monsanto (see full version here), I was introduced to the farming world in the U.S and got a sneak peak of some of the struggles farmers face daily. The likes of Monsanto and their industry of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are wreaking some terrible havoc, “If you are contaminated, against your wishes, by Monsanto’s GMOs, you no longer own your seeds or plants. They become the ownership of a corporation, in this case, Monsanto,” says Percy Schmeiser, a canola farmer from Saskatchewan, Canada. He claims his fields were contaminated with the Roundup Ready Canola genes, ruining 50 years of work on his 1400 acre farm in breeding saved seeds. The lawsuit lasted 3 years, and ended in favor of Percy and his wife, Louise.

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A Gentleman’s Guide To All-Natural Skin Care

by Almira February 1, 2011

After years of trial and error in search of the perfect all-natural skin care products, my husband has finally narrowed his skin care regime down to just three products—each work their wonders naturally with no harsh chemicals, phthalates, parabens, or sulfates:

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All-Natural Skin Care Secrets

by Almira December 6, 2010

I’m fussy about what I put on my face. It can’t be too waxy or too buttery and it has to be all-natural—no phthalates, parabens, sulfates, etc—see why in my upcoming review on Slow Death By Rubber Duck. Through trial and error, I’ve found 3 products that give my skin the best results (I have “normal to dry”). The best part about this magic 3? They’re far cheaper than the all-natural, organic products you can buy at the store and they last much longer—PLUS there are no added ingredients and preservatives! Without further adieu, here are the 3 miracle workers…

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All Natural Laundry Detergent – Soap Nuts

by Almira October 26, 2010

Laundry Tree – Soap Nuts

One of the more shockingly cool things I’ve come across recently is Soap Nuts by Laundry Tree. They are an alternative to laundry detergents and are actually organically grown dried fruit that are biodegradable, antimicrobial and work in HE washers! You just pop a few of these Soap Nuts inside the little white pouch shown above and throw it into your wash cycle and voila! Clean clothes…

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Gourmet TV’s Diary Of A Foodie – Farm To Fork

by Almira October 25, 2010

Gourmet TV’s Diary of a Foodie is an absolute favorite and lives on despite Gourmet Magazine’s death (RIP). My absolute favorite episode is Farm To Fork (episode 45). I could watch it over and over! It would be such a dream to be able to eat everything you need off of your own land: roaming and livestock along with vegetables and fruits picked at their prime from the permaculture garden!…

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Endurance Running. No Limits.

by Almira August 27, 2010

“Know your limits, but never accept them.” —Unknown Ultra marathons are 26.2188 mi or longer and many endurance runners go even farther. They run like crazy, and perhaps they literally are. I’m not an endurance runner, but I aspire to be one when I grow up. In the meantime, I like keeping abreast of all their [...]

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King Corn

by Almira August 10, 2010

This Month’s Film Review: King Corn, Directed by Aaron Woolf, with co-producers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis {Available on Netflix and Amazon On-Demand} On a scale of 1 (gouge my eyes out) to 5 (enjoyed every moment), I rate it: FIVE STARS Ian Cheney and Curtis Ellis, from Boston, MA, became best friends at Yale, [...]

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Big Ideas For A Small Planet (Season 3)

by Almira July 14, 2010

On a scale of 1 (gouge my eyes out) to 5 (enjoyed every moment), I rate it: FIVE STARS 13 episodes (Games doesn’t work on Netflix, so no-go on that one, but each episode is 25 minutes—so many nuggets of great information rolled into such a small amount of time! I realize this list is [...]

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The Backyard Homestead

by Almira July 13, 2010

This Month’s book review comes from The Backyard Homestead, edited by Carleen Madigan. On a scale of 1 (major qualms) to 5 (enjoyed every moment), I rate it: FIVE STARS Madigan claims that you can “Produce all the food you need in just a quarter of an acre!” and although I haven’t had the opportunity [...]

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Why Choose Organic Baby Care Products?

by Almira July 9, 2010

Although the Johnson & Johnson brand has been supposedly synonymous with safety for years, a month after the recall, we find two class-action lawsuits aimed at Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo and Wal-Mart’s Equate Tearless Baby Wash because it contained the FDA banned methylene chloride.

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Danny Dreyer’s Chi Running: Effortless, Injury-Free Walking And Running

by Almira July 8, 2010

Want to improve your posture, walk and run effortlessly, rid yourself of chronic aches and pains, and stop world hunger? Well, besides that last one, Chi Running is supposed to help you do all of that. Danny Dreyer, author of Chi Running: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running, has set out to teach the world how to run and walk pain-free.
Chi Running Basic Tips:

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Introducing: The Media Club

by Almira July 7, 2010

Though it’s quite mid-summer, I thought I’d start start a little Media Club for those breezy hot days under a tree cuddled up with a nice read, as well as for those lovely nights watching an informative and inspiring documentaries.
SUMMER 2010 READING & VIEWING LIST:

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Introducing: The Healthy Republic Little Shop

by Almira July 7, 2010

From the gardening and homesteading to holistic healing, nutrition and fitness, you can find many of the Healthy Republic recommended reads at the Healthy Republic A-Store. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Since Amazon doesn’t carry everything—try The Little Green Book.
BOOK CATEGORIES:

Media Club: Summer Reading

Nutrition & Healing

Gardening

Fitness

Documentaries

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