Tuesday, December 25, 2007

The Importance of Clean Water
Have you ever considered the importance of water? Did you know that water accounts for over 70% of your body? We are comprised mostly of water. And further more, our blood mineral content is strikingly similar to salt water.
A healthy water intake can help us in many ways.
- You can think better. A fully hydrated brain actually works better.
- Strength increases. Did you know that your muscles work better when your body is fully hydrated?
- Immunity - even your immune system can function better.
- Flush junk out of your system. A fully hydrated body is better at getting rid of the things it DOESN'T need.
- You'd be amazed at how much more energy you can have when you drink adequate amounts of water.
There are just so many good reasons to take in a good and adequate supply of water. Needless to say, you can probably see why it is important to have clean water.
Advice from experts vary but it is generally agreed that the average person probably needs to take in 2 liters of water per day. Check with your physician before changing your intake though.
Once I worked for a company that sold water filters. One of their products was a 'whole house filter'. The interesting thing about this filter was that it had a clear area where you could see what was trapped in the filter.
Um, I hope you are ready for this. Municipal water supplies rely on recycled water. Many people know this but don't want to think about it.
What this means is that all of your waste water, i.e., when you flush the toilet, goes back into the system. It is 'filtered' and 'treated' and may just come right back at you in the form of a glass of water out of your tap. Not to be too gross here, but this is a fact of life. And you should be aware of it.
What was found in that 'see through' filter mentioned above was little flaky white particles that looked suspiciously like toilet paper.
Now, no chemical analysis was done to validate this and who knows what I was really seeing there. But, never-the-less it made me think about my drinking water.
I use a filter for the water I drink now and I love it. I cook with filtered water too. Drinking clean filtered water is really great. The taste, or actually the lack of taste, because clean water doesn't have taste or odor, can be quite a dramatic contrast to what you might be used to.
Not all filters are created equal. Some take out lead and heavy metals, some just filter for taste. So you really have to do a little research and make sure you are getting a filter that is right for you, one that will fulfill your needs.
Dave Snape writes for To Be Informed - http://tobeinformed.com


Organic Essential Oils – Sourced Directly from Nature's Lap
Essential oils are the pure essence of a plant or herb. However, it is difficult to rule out the presence of pesticides in the so-called pure essential oil, particularly in the age where pesticides form an important constituent of farming. A conclusion thus follows that the essential oil derived from such raw materials may not be as effective for ones purpose; resulting into side effects at times. The craze for organic essential oils springs from the concern for ones safety while using essential oils.
Organic essential oils are manufactured from plants and herbs that have been grown without pesticides. Organic farming coexists with the natural systems rather than dominating them. In the process, the farmer is able to sustain and build soil fertility, reduces pollution and overall becomes a crusader to protect environment.
Pesticides are not the only component that the organic essential oil must be rid of. The farmers must take steps to preserve the soil quality of the land. This will result into enzyme-rich and therapeutically viable raw materials. Using these techniques ensures that the organic essential oil is alive and active.
If compared to the essential oils derived from non-organic elements, one will find that the organic essential oils outscore them. The quality of organic essential oils taken as a whole, curative benefits and aroma are always superior to the non-organic oils.
Thanks to the several certifying agencies, buyers can escape the unscrupulous activities that are going on in this industry. One can easily be duped into taking a non-organic essential oil in place of the organic essential oil. ECOCERT International certified organic essential oils are considered of a good quality through out the world. Soil Association in the UK certifies organically manufactured essential oils.
However, certification of a few oils is difficult. An example of this is the Boswellia tree resin, which is the raw material for deriving frankincense essential oil. It is difficult to certify the essential oil derived from this because it is grown only in wild conditions. In such cases, if the manufacturer is able to source raw material from the actual location, it will be deemed to be grown without pesticides or insecticides.
When shopping for organic essential oils, the buyer must look for terms such as 100% natural or 100% biodegradable. Only the manufacturers of organic essential oils can use the terms or phrases. Another thing to look for when shopping for organic essential oils is its ingredients. If the list of ingredients reveals fragrance oils, artificial colors or synthetics, it is not organic essential oil.
Organic essential oils are available in sizes of 5ml, 10ml and 15ml. Expensive oils come in sizes of 2ml and 1 dram. It is very important to store essential oils in good conditions. Rather than using clear glass bottles, it will be advisable to use dark amber or cobalt blue bottles. These bottles do not allow sunlight to pass through and thus prevent deterioration of organic essential oils. To prevent temperature fluctuations and sunlight to contaminate the oils, the user can purchase or get special wooden boxes constructed to store the essential oils.
Cost of organic oils is more. This is because the cost of producing via organic means is more. However, an essential oil with little or no therapeutic value (for which the buyer chiefly purchases the oil) is of no use. All good things come at a price. The same applies to organic essential oils too. Buyers thus must not shy away from paying a small premium to get the pure essential oils.

Bryan Josling is working with the Horticultural Research Station in Adelaide. He has also been involved with research on plants. To find Aromatherapy essential oils, essential massage oils, essential oils wholesale visit http://www.ndaroma.com


The Power of Stretching
Your muscles ache from a good stretch. This is quite normal and is part of the process. Stretching has seemingly been with us and particular with athletes since the beginning of time.
A very key point to good stretching is to hold the stretch for at least seventeen seconds. This is a pearl of wisdom gleaned from a ballet teacher a few years back. She said that any stretch under 17 seconds was just not effective.
The 17 second rule is exceeded in the high intensity Bikram's yoga where stretches are held for about 30 seconds. Don't forget the high level of heat that is used in Bikram's to extract that last little bit of stretch out of your muscles. An interesting twist that is not necessary to gain benefits from stretching. But, it can't hurt, right?
So what kind of benefits can you expect from stretching? That's an easy one. Have you ever seen the movie, Blood Sport? Did you know that Frank Dux could truly stretch his body to the extreme. The actor that played him was quite elastic as well.
Great elasticity is also something you might see in well trained Spetsnaz(Russian)agents. They often work out with Russian kettlebells too. They are for superior strength gains and the ability to withstand ballistic shocks.
Why are stretching and flexibility considered important to these people? Stretching gives one the ability to have explosive power available at one's fingertips without the need to warm up. Of course most of us are not martial artists or agents. But, you'll be happy to know there are plenty of other benefits.
Let me give you an example. After learning to sit in the full lotus position for long periods of time, my ankles became very flexible. One day I was walking along and my left foot fell into a pothole. This mishap pushed my ankle sideways to about 90 degrees from it's normal position.
Amazingly, this didn't even hurt, not one bit. If my ankle hadn't been so flexible, I may have suffered a sprained ankle. At the very least, it would have hurt for days.
Key point: stretching helps us to avoid injuries. Not only that but if you do have a muscle, tendon or ligament injury it should heal faster, theoretically speaking.
Stretching actually grows the ligaments, tendons and muscles being stretched. They really grow longer over time.
Check with your physician before undertaking any type of exercise, including stretching.

Dave Snape writes for To Be Informed - http://tobeinformed.com