Five Steps to a Healthier Diet
By Greg Hottinger
The hottest new recommendations for eating healthier are, in fact, nothing new. Eating more organically grown food, for instance, was among the common dietary practices of most Americans until the last century. While they may be simple ideas on the surface, adopting them consistently in our modern fast-paced culture of convenience can present real challenges. If you’re living closer to the land and enjoy preparing food, you know that eating healthy is easy. But if you’re like the rest of us and are living closer to mortgage payments, deadlines, and endless to-do lists, you can upgrade your diet without overhauling your life by following these five steps.…

Commercialization of Organics
By Emily Ray
Why do you purchase organic food? It may be because you want to feel confident that the food you eat has been grown without the use of antibiotics or pesticides. Or perhaps you are motivated by the research showing that a variety of “regular” food often contains harmful synthetic chemicals and hormones. Part of your motivation might be that you enjoy shopping at a local co-operative grocery store where people know about you and know about the products they are selling. Maybe you think that by purchasing organic or natural foods, you are moving away from the major chains and supercenters and are supporting smaller companies. …

SOUL KITCHEN:
Why is "Best" Foof Best?
By Don Bennett
We hear the word “best” used a lot. As a child, I noticed that many car dealers had signs saying, “The Best Prices.” I asked my dad how they could all have the best prices and he said they all can’t: they just say that to get you to come in. So since people can be fast and loose with the word “best,” how do we know what’s best when it comes to the food we eat?

We hear that organically grown food is best when compared to conventionally grown food; food sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Insecticides are used to kill insects that would otherwise damage crops. The fact that eating foods containing pesticides doesn’t kill us instantly as it does the insects, doesn’t mean that these chemicals aren’t harming us chronically, such harm leading to degenerative disease. …

DIGGING IN:
Choosing the Right Organic Fertilizer
By David Hitch
Organic gardening involves using natural products and byproducts to grow plants and enrich soils. In its most basic form, organic gardening is helping Mother Nature’s natural process of transferring energy from dying or dead organisms to new living organisms. Decomposing plant and animal life enriches the soil and allows plants to use the newly available nutrient to grow and thrive. This decomposition also increases what is known as the soil’s microbial life, which works in a symbiotic relationship with the plant and its root structure to uptake and access nutrients more rapidly. There are two items every organic gardener must know about organic fertilizers.…

WHAT'S AHEAD:
September 2005: Women's and Men's Health

- The New Medicine: Beans, Greens, & Tangerines- A dietary prescription for our health
- Rites of Passage for Girls and Young Woman: Helping Girls Become Healthy Woman- A look at the beginning of menstration in girls.
- Becoming Butterflies: An Interview with Susun Weed- The nationally-known herbalist discusses menopause and beyond.
- Saying No to Circumcision- Is it really medically necessary?

Also In This Issue:
An Interview with Rosita Arvigo
Your Mold Questions Answered
Planting for an Autumn and Early Winter Harvest
Take a Tour of the High Country
How Environmental Hormones Effect Your Family

Send in your sustainable building and healthy home questions to healthyhome@newlifejournal.com
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