Health

Love Your Skin With Free Health Screenings!

Posted 2 weeks 14 hours ago by Linsey Knerl

Freebies, Health and Beauty

May is skin cancer awareness month, and as a close friend to many skin cancer survivors, I know how important it is to get regular check-ups. If the cost of seeing a dermatologist has you headed for the hills, check out these free ways to get to-notch preventative care!

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Healthy, frugal eating

Posted 2 weeks 2 days ago by Philip Brewer

Shopping, Health and Beauty, Food and Drink

Healthy food at the farmer's market

Every so often, I get hit in the face with two facts.  First, Americans (even poor Americans) are unbelievably rich.  Second, Americans (as a group) utterly lack a cultural tradition that teaches us how to eat a healthy, frugal diet.

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Hungry? Have a drink.

Posted 4 weeks 4 days ago by Paul Michael

General Tips, Lifestyle, Health and Beauty, Food and Drink

Thirst

The chances are, you're dehydrated right now. In fact, over 75% of the American population is deyhdrated, and worse still, over 80% know they are. No big deal? Well, it is actually. Lack of hydration can lead to all kinds of problems, including obesity, fatigue and a much higher risk of certain cancers. So grab a glass or three of water and read on.

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Book review: In Defense of Food

Posted 15 weeks 3 days ago by Philip Brewer

Health and Beauty, Green Living, Food and Drink

Cover of In Defense of Food

The message of this book is simple: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Michael Pollan gives it away right at the start, so I don't feel too bad doing the same. If you already eat food, but you worry about health and nutrition, you'll find this book fascinating and important. If, on the other hand, you're the sort of person who tends to eat less food and more "edible substances" and "food products," you will instead find this book important and fascinating.

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The one website everyone needs to read (apart from WB of course)

Posted 18 weeks 4 days ago by Paul Michael

Extra Commentary

Whistle blower

I like to keep up with all the latest news and info. I'm a big fan of Digg, BBC news, NPR, CNN, all the usual suspects. I thought I was fairly well-versed on the places to get my information and keep me "in the know." Then a friend of mine came over to visit from England, and he gave me a gift. It was a stick of deodorant that contained no harmful heavy metals. When I asked why, he said "what, don't you read News Target?"

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Waste Not! Revisiting the 5-Second Rule and other Kitchen Classics

Posted 19 weeks 3 days ago by Linsey Knerl

Health and Beauty, Food and Drink

Working as a line cook for almost four years exposed me to the dirtier side of the food service business. Generally, I was less-than-impressed with the “unofficial” guidelines to handling food and the dinnerware it was to be served on. Should I even be shocked to find that most people I encounter are a little rusty on common food safety standards? Here’s a quick rundown on some of the basics to keeping healthy in the kitchen without being obsessive.

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The new face of poverty is fat

Posted 21 weeks 12 hours ago by Philip Brewer

Shopping, Health and Beauty, Food and Drink

Depression-era family

Twenty years ago, I parked at a supermarket, near where a poor family had just parked. I knew they were poor, because they looked like poor folks are supposed to look: Their clothes were worn (but mended and clean). Their car was an aging sedan. They were recycling a trunkful of aluminum cans. As I locked my car, they took the handful of change they got for the cans, and headed in ahead of me. There were three of them--man, woman, child--and all three were skinny. It's unusual to see that now. The new face of poverty is fat.

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Get enough sleep

Posted 21 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

General Tips, Health and Beauty

I have a theory about sleep. My theory is this: everyone who routinely uses an alarm clock suffers from chronic sleep deprivation. Using an alarm clock a few times a year (to catch a plane or have a phone call with someone in another time zone) is fine. But routinely getting up before you wake up naturally is sleep deprivation, no matter how much it has become normal in today's world.

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Peanut Butter: The Poor Man’s Protein

Posted 22 weeks 3 days ago by Linsey Knerl

Frugal Living, Health and Beauty, Food and Drink

Peanut butter is a staple food of many households. The rich and the poor alike find it to be filling and delicious. Eating the right variety of peanut butter can also have a positive effect on your health, while reducing stress on your grocery bill!

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Healthy recipes--with cost data

Posted 25 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

Shopping, Food and Drink, Budgeting, Freebies

Farmers market tomatoes

Want to eat a cheap, healthy diet? Want some recipes that use real food instead of packaged food products? Want to argue about how much it costs to feed a family a healthy diet? Here's a free tool, created by the USDA, that will help you with any of those.

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The case for caloric labeling

Posted 28 weeks 2 days ago by Andrea Dickson

Food and Drink

As a conscientious consumer, you have a right to know what you're buying, eating, or wearing. New York City is enforcing a law that requires chain restaurants to provide nutritional information on their menus, to help diners make healthier choices. Will this make any difference in America's battle against obesity? When you go out for a cheap, fast food meal, do you even deserve to know the nutrional value?

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10 Kicky Drinks Without the Caffeine

Posted 33 weeks 3 days ago by Linsey Knerl

Food and Drink

At one point or another, you may find yourself needing to cut caffeine from your diet (or at least scaling way back.) While it may initially be a shock to your system to forgo the rush from your favorite coffee variety, I find that it also gets a little boring. As a tribute to all those who have had to do without, I give you 10 drink-worthy options without the jolt.

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Exercise (and alcohol) good for your brain

Posted 38 weeks 5 days ago by Philip Brewer

Extra Commentary

Booze with glasses

A story in the New York Times says that exercise helps human brains build more neurons (a process called neurogenesis). It also reports on some mouse studies that show that exercise actually improves intellegence, at least in mice. Other things that induce neurogenesis: marijuana, alcohol (in moderation), sociability, and chocolate.

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Alcohol is good for your heart

Posted 39 weeks 6 days ago by Philip Brewer

Lifestyle, Health and Beauty, Food and Drink

Booze with glasses
After quitting smoking, having one or two drinks a day is the best single thing you can do for your cardiovascular health. It's better than losing weight, better than getting more exercise, and better than lowering your cholesterol. As the evidence mounted over the past few years, I've grown more and more grumpy with the medical community's hesitance to support moderate alcohol consumption. After doing some research, though, I guess I understand.

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Ten Budget Beauty Products You Can Make at Home

Posted 42 weeks ago by Myscha Theriault

Filed Under: Health and Beauty

man with mud face

Tired of hearing health and beauty product recipes you'd need a chemistry text book to decipher? Here are ten simple ideas you can try today with things most people have sitting in the cupboards and pantries at home.

For the most part, these ideas are pretty unisex. So guys, feel free to indulge too. The only thing you'll need in addition to the ingredients is a few different types of empty containers such as spray bottles, squeezable squirt bottles, and empty jars with screw on caps.

Continue reading "Ten Budget Beauty Products You Can Make at Home"

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Crocs bite! Shoes pose danger on escalators.

Posted 43 weeks ago by Paul Michael

Filed Under: Consumer Affairs

bad croc

How many of you think Crocs are just the best thing since sliced bread? I'd have to put my hand up, too. But several news stories have broken in the last few days that say Crocs are a hazard on escalators and that several injuries have already led to malls and other public places banning Crocs.

Continue reading "Crocs bite! Shoes pose danger on escalators. "

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The Cost of Meat—Too High To Pay

Posted 51 weeks 4 days ago by Lynn Truong

Health and Beauty, Green Living, Food and Drink

US ground beef
Let me start by making one thing clear: I do not think it is wrong to eat meat. It's not because I believe God gave us "dominion" over everything on Earth either. It's because I've watched shows on Discovery; I've seen Planet Earth. Nature doesn't blink an eye when it comes to one species eating another. So I'm not a newly converted vegan animal rights activist condemning all meat eaters. I just think there is a lot of information about the real and true cost of meat that most people aren't aware of. It might make you think twice before buying that $0.99 whopper. And that's all I could hope for. We should want to be able to make informed decisions that affect our personal health, public health, the environment, the animals we use for food, and legislation in our country.

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The Cost of Meat—The Personal Health Argument

Posted 51 weeks 4 days ago by Lynn Truong

Extra Commentary

health forms
This continues from "The Cost of Meat—Too High To Pay." The Personal Health Argument attempts to show that there is few, if any, benefit from eating meat. This will cover heart disease, cancer, and calcium intake. While the meat/dairy industry would have us believe we need both in every meal to have a balanced diet, many studies have shown a high correlation between meat/dairy consumption and major health problems, including heart disease and cancer. Significant decrease in health problems have been associated with moving to a plant-based diet.

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10 killer ways to feel like a million bucks (even if your bank account says otherwise)

Posted 1 year ago by Sarah Winfrey

Filed Under: Life Hacks

Jump for Joy

To get rich never risk your health. For it is true that health is the wealth of wealth.
-Richard Barker

He who enjoys good health is rich, though he knows it not.
-Italian proverb

The first wealth is health.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not convinced yet? There are plenty of studies tying health to wealth (and vice versa), on a national and a personal level. Rest assured, though, this isn't The Secret. If you really want to know a secret, here's one: thinking good thoughts about the universe will only make you more disappointed when they don't come true. But that's another thought for another post. Instead, here are some tried and true suggestions for feeling better.

Continue reading "10 killer ways to feel like a million bucks (even if your bank account says otherwise)"

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Nobody walks in LA - or anywhere!

Posted 1 year ago by Andrea Dickson

Filed Under: Health and Beauty, Green Living

There's a saying that no one ever walks anywhere in Los Angeles. Apparently, that idea has been imported to where I live. Now if only we could get a King Taco.

I just started up a contracting job with a little company named Microsoft. My new team is relegated to a building that's pretty old - such is the case with the less sexy projects at the First Evil Empire (Starbucks is the Second, in case you didn't already know the rankings).

Continue reading "Nobody walks in LA - or anywhere!"

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