Oaktree Wellness Center Blog

If you like smoothies all year around, take advantage of the abundance of wonderful vegetables and fruits in the winter months. There are some basic smoothie rules to follow if you don’t want to end up with something that tastes like pond scum (although when I do that I still drink it – I just swallow fast!).

During the winter I love a smoothie with kale, spinach, chard or collards. The only sweetener I use is from either blueberries, strawberries, pears, apples, a small piece of fresh ginger, or an occasional banana.

General rules to make smoothies quickly, effortlessly and really good for your health:

Pick your liquid base: This can be straight fresh juice, water, coconut water, or nut milk. Use however much you’d like to desired consistency.

The heart and soul of your smoothie: Vegetables and fruits at either a 2:1 or 1:1 ratio. Ideally, you want to use more vegetables, but this may take some getting use to over time. (In a pinch, organic frozen will do.)

A bit of sweetener: If you aren’t using fruits, you can use a dab of honey or agave, stevia, vanilla bean, cinnamon or nutmeg.

Add a little superfruit: If you have them on hand, add acai, goji or noni powder or dried fruit.

Add some green superfood power: There’s so many good ones on the market – pick one! Choose from chlorella, field grasses, spirulina, blue algae, or any combination. These green foods rock!

Add a bit of this or that: Go ahead and add some bee pollen, maca root, raw cacao, coconut or flax oil, and a tablespoon of chia seeds.

Get creative, throw all the ingredients into a blender, mix well, and enjoy! Way better than coffee……..

by CathyK

No Comments »

Half of the homes tested recently in Chicago contained enough lead in their water to set off a regulatory action, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA research team is hoping to publish the Chicago study results in a scientific journal this year, intending to change the nation’s testing methods for lead. For more information:

Chicago Water Lead Level

by CathyK

No Comments »

Vitamin D deficiency is more common than we realize – especially in geographical climates where there is little sun during the winter season.  It’s assumed that over 1/2 the American population may not be getting enough Vitamin D, possibly increasing their risk for osteoporosis, cancer, and other health conditions.

The best way to obtain Vitamin D is via skin exposure to the most natural source of it – the sun. But with longer work hours and lack of sunlight in certain climates, we depend on supplements to fulfill the daily requirement of Vitamin D.

In the past, it’s been challenging to accurately measure the levels of Vitamin D in the body – that is, until now.

Current methods measure levels of thevitamin D metabolite called 25(OH)D, but test methods can sometimes produce inconsistent results. Researchers have developed a Standard Reference Material, a.k.a. SRM 972, to produce more accurate testing results.

For more information:

New Standards for Vitamin D Testing

by CathyK

No Comments »

Biodiversity Research Institute has recently verified that our beloved songbirds are the latest birds being poisoned from methylmercury in the air that is absorbed by leaves they eat and environments they come in contact with.  The latest data shows that elevated levels of mercury have affected a number of species from the Northeast, as well as loons, bald eagles, bats and mammals.  The study showed that songbirds in particular that are mercury toxic cannot hit high singing notes while trying to mate – this has adversely affected reproduction, egg hatching, vocalization, and mother birds abandoning their nests.

While recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mercury standards are scheduled to take effect over the next four years, our animal kingdom is in jeopardy of continuing to be poisoned. New law reductions aren’t expected to affect the toxicity of the air for another decade or two.

Mercury Poisoning and Songbirds

by CathyK

No Comments »

Who didn’t love hot dogs in their younger days (the meatier the better)? Too bad at the time we didn’t realize they were loaded with dioxins (a term used to describe 100s of cancer-causing chemicals), not to mention sulfites, food dyes and a truckload of preservatives! Americans love their hot dogs at sporting events (even more so at those hot dog eating contests)!

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning on publishing updated information on what are considered to be ‘acceptable’ levels of dioxins in the human body.

With the new guidelines, a traditional hot dog would be considered toxic to a 2-year old. This won’t be good news for those who have come to love eating hot dogs on a regular basis for the last number of decades. For the latest news on dioxin levels check out the following:

Food Politics – Toxins and Dioxin

And if you can’t be without that occasional hot dog smothered in everything, healthier choices might be ones made of organic chicken, turkey or beef with no added chemicals, as well as vegan and tofu dogs.

No Comments »

by CathyK

Kids learn about the environment from their parents and in school. They want to learn about the planet and contribute to keeping it a beautiful and safe place, and have FUN doing it.

From the Natural Resources Defense Council, this is a cool site with dozens of links for kids to learn from, how they can contribute to helping the environment, activities, crafts, games and puzzles, animal and nature information, and much more!

Natural Resources Defense Council Links for Kids

No Comments »

by CathyK

The 2012 Farm Bill is fast approaching, and our Congress has an opportunity to make some important changes to fix our broken down food system and farming trends. It’s an excellent time to give the people healthy local food they’ve been asking for (which in turn will help decrease the declining health of American individuals), and will boost the farmers’ income in the process from the increased demand. I’d say this is win-win-win for the American public, our farmers, as well as the government.

Awesome in theory, it will be a challenge to get this bill passed. For more information go to the Environmental Working Group’s website:

Local Food and the Farm Bill: Small Investments, Big Returns

No Comments »

by CathyK

Have a question about how polluted your world might be? Want to get involved to help make the world a better place? Check out the World Environmental Organization’s website and list of 100 top pollution sites on the internet (they also have a top 1000 list!).

Whether you’re concerned about clean air and pollution in your state, the EPA, getting involved with environmental and green organizations, or any number of a gazillion other issues, this site has what you need!

World Environmental Organization Website

No Comments »

by CathyK

We all know that there’s no such thing as a safe level of lead in the body – adult or child. Now a federal panel is urging the government to lower the lead poisoning level threshold in children. Considered to be long overdue, many groups are celebrating this recent news that will help diagnose lead poisoning in children. The not so good news is that with cutbacks it’s going to be challenging to implement these changes.

Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer, wrote the following information regarding the new threshold for lead poisoning earlier this month:

http://tinyurl.com/6ndehbx

No Comments »

by CathyK

Do you see 2012 as gloom and doom, as the end of the world based on certain prophecies, or do you see it as a year of opportunity to create like never before, with renewed consciousness, a chance to make things right in your world?

I see 2012 as pure opportunity on many levels, but specifically regarding  health. This is the year of learning, teaching, empowering others and being empowered ourselves.

2012 is also the year of forgiveness, especially for our own shortcomings when it comes to making New Year’s resolutions. In the words of Richard Bandler, co-founder of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), there are 2 kinds of resolutions – things we decide not to do anymore, and things we want to start doing. Either way, according to Richard, the success to staying on track with resolutions lies in planning ahead and making allowances for what we undoubtedly already know will happen (i.e., cheating).

Regarding health and wellness, this would mean making allowances for eating a food we swore we’d never eat again, or not punishing ourselves when we don’t exercise for one day even though we made a commitment to do so daily.

I agree with Richard. Too often, as he states, when we cheat we toss the original plan and start another new one. The right approach should be to make allowances for occasional slip ups so when we cheat, we forgive ourselves, and get back on track.

For me, my resolutions for health include transitioning off of stevia – this is my ‘stop doing’ resolution. It’s not that I think stevia is bad, I just want more green food in my daily diet with less sweet food. This starts with adding fresh lime in my water and not flavored stevia. Will I do this every day in 2012? Probably not. But I’ve done it today and already that’s more than I did last year – and this is what Richard is talking about.

From an exercise standpoint, I plan on adding a new activity 3 days a week – this will be my ‘start doing’ resolution. Whether it’s bouncing on the exercise ball or adding light jogging to my walk routine, I have deliberately planned on NOT doing it every day to set myself up for failure. Three times a week I can handle, and, the best part is, I get to choose which days I will, or won’t, do the new activity.

If you are someone who sees opportunity in the upcoming year, think about what you would like to change in your life – add more vegetables, do saunas more often, spend more time outdoors, or take a healthy cooking class. Each new step you take leads to another opportunity you may not even have thought of. And this my friends, is recipe for a fabulous new year!

No Comments »