I found this great video on Girlie Girl Army and wanted to share! It provides a really nice summary of how cosmetics companies are continuing to put cancer-linked chemicals in everything from shampoo to lipstick. This video is really cool if you have never learned about why products are not safe – if you are a natural cosmetic “flirt,” if you will!

If you are still buying mainstream cosmetics, you should know that there are great alternatives to be found. You can find my recommendations for natural makeup here, and you can also find some of my favorite beauty products in my OpenSky store. One of the best ways you can fight for laws that would regulate cosmetics is to boycott the bad stuff, and use your dollar to vote for what is natural and good. I think you can make a huge difference that way!

Anywho, if you’re not using healthy, eco-friendly cosmetics already, definitely watch this!

What are some of your favorite cosmetics brands?

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To Acupuncture or Not To Acupuncture...

So, after my last trip to an acupuncture doctor turned into the nightmare I described in my last post, I checked in with my friend, mentor, and all-around rock star, Christina Pirello, to share my frustration and get the lowdown on just what does and doesn’t work about acupuncture.  

As usual, she brought some serious knowledge to the subject. Here’s what she said…

“Acupuncture is not massage. It’s not recreational and it’s not designed to relax you or serve in the same capacity as massage. It’s a brilliant form of natural, non-invasive medicine that can relieve acute symptoms of illness, injury or disease. Chinese medicine’s approach to illness differs greatly from our western view, hinging on the concept of energy balance, and the life force called chi or ki. In much the same way as western doctors look at blood vessels, the medicine of acupuncture looks at energy pathways that run through the body, called meridians.

The thinking behind acupuncture is that disease is caused by a blockage or a stagnation somewhere along a meridian. The concept of acupuncture holds that inserting fine needles into certain points along meridians will stimulate the flow of energy, unblocking the stagnation that is at the root of the problem. 

Acupuncture is used generally for serious chronic or acute symptoms that are causing physical discomfort and, in my view, acupuncture is not to be used lightly. It is strong and while not invasive, quite powerful.   What’s great about acupuncture is that it can change a condition quickly if it’s the right treatment for the right condition. The thing is that the body likes habits, even when those habits are not good for us.  So, many times, an acupuncturist has to do several treatments to get the body’s energy to stay shifted, so to speak, and prevent it from heading on back into the same imbalance that got you in trouble in the first place.

Acupuncture is great for people who eat animal food because they are more prone to energy blockage and stagnation than people who eat a plant-based diet. Our energy tends to move more freely within the body, although we can see weakened and depleted energy from sugar…and then acupuncture can be helpful in strengthening that weak energy.

Often, acupuncture is used for pregnant women whose nausea is taking over their lives. It can really help with that in a few treatments. It is helpful with any kind of acute or chronic body pain in muscles or joints. It can relieve stress and tension, but usually is used in the time of disease. Moving energy can relieve pain, kick start organs to do their jobs and promote vitality. It can’t stop muscle aches from working out, cure anemia, or cure cancer (and in fact can be too strong for some cancers).  It’s strong medicine.

Some people, for various reasons, need supplements, vitamins and things like acupuncture to move their energy and support health. But in most cases, food will do the heavy lifting for creating health. With the exception of B-12 and D, I am of the mind that we get what we need by eating well. 

Many pregnant women are slightly anemic.  That’s no biggie – after all there are 2 lives working here.  Just eat more greens and other iron rich foods. As a vegan, you will always be what doctors call anemic because their standards are based on a meat eating population. And your blood work is perfect, so that speaks for itself.

In the end, acupuncture is to be used as medicine to treat acute or chronic symptoms. If people just want to feel relaxed and more vibrant, then shiatsu is the way to go. It’s a deep enough massage-like technique that will move energy along meridians but will not be as strong and aggressive as acupuncture. 

In the end, it’s all about how we fuel our bodies. The food we choose creates the health we enjoy…or don’t.”

Thank you Christina! How do all you kind lifers feel about acupuncture?

Photo Credit: Innerlight-Wellness

The health section is proudly sponsored by Kaeng Raeng natural detox. Make sure to check out their 3 or 6 day vegan detox programs here:

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Congratulations to Emmy! She is the winner of the Kaeng Raeng cleanse. 

Thanks to everyone who entered. And I want to give a very special thank you to Kaeng Raeng for sponsoring The Kind Life. 

Don’t forget, Kind Life readers can score 15% off a Kaeng Raeng cleanse with coupon code KINDLIFE15. But hurry, the offer only goes through February 1!  

Today’s post is proudly sponsored by

I am so grateful for the support Kaeng Raeng has given The Kind Life. Without them we would have a very hard time running this site and sharing with all of you Kind Lifers out there.

- Alicia

Hey Kind Life Readers!  Your response has been so overwhelming this month for Kaeng Raeng that I’m giving away another free 3-Day Beginner program this month.  Tried Kaeng Raeng before?  Enter to win one free!  Just share what you loved most about your detox experience.  Haven’t tried it yet?  You can’t miss this healthy and delicious way to jumpstart your healthier year. 

In case you haven’t heard, Kaeng Raeng is an all natural meal replacement detox program designed to rid your body of harmful toxins, jumpstart weight loss, improve digestion, bolster immunity, and give you that natural vegan glow.  It’s super simple:  just drink one meal replacement pouch 3 times per day for 3 -6 days in addition to raw fruits and vegetables. KR contains no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives, and no harsh chemicals. 

Want to know more about this vegan product and company?  Hear from founder and CEO Lindsay Reinsmith on the creating of Kaeng Raeng:

When we were finishing the formula for Kaeng Raeng, we wanted to maintain the principles of a raw vegan diet, but in a form that was convenient and easy for everyone.  We had some serious criteria for Kaeng Raeng, and we think you’ll love the finished product.

We needed it to be FILLING.  So many detox programs are fasts that can leave you starving and cranky.  That’s why we include 13g of fiber, 15g of non-gmo protein, and 100% daily vitamin needs per serving – so you can have the fullness and energy you need to live your normal daily life. 

We needed it to be SUSTAINABLE.  It was a no-brainer that Kaeng Raeng would be vegan and have a low carbon footprint.  We use local ingredients, buy our fruit directly from farmers in Northern California, and we vet each of our suppliers for eco-friendly practices. 

We needed it to be ACCESSIBLE.  That means it’s suitable for most people’s dietary restrictions AND affordable.  Kaeng Raeng contains no gluten, no nuts, and no dairy or lactose.  It’s also in your price range; other luxury cleanses can cost $100/day. Kaeng Raeng starts at just under $15/day!

We needed it to be GENTLE.  With no stimulants or laxatives, you can go about your normal daily life without interruption.

Don’t miss it!
 
Kind Life readers can score 15% off Kaeng Raeng with coupon code KINDLIFE15 (expires 11:59 PST on Feb 1).

And remember, if you want to win one, just comment on what you loved best about Kaeng Raeng!

Today’s post is proudly sponsored by

I’ve always assumed that I get all the Vitamin D I need on a daily basis just from being out in the sun. Of course, too much exposure can be harmful, but living in sunny California gives me the chance on most days to soak up the sun while I’m out taking a walk, gardening or getting to and from my car.  Sometimes I’ll just stop what I’m doing, open my arms, take a deep breath and really feel the sun on my face for a few relaxing minutes.

It wasn’t until some of you Kind Lifers inquired about Vitamin D recently, that I decided to dig deeper into this subject and see if what I’d always thought was actually the truth. Do those short bursts of sunlight exposure really supply enough Vitamin D to those of us who live and work indoors in large, polluted urban areas? And, if not, what’s the deal with supplements?  Are they helpful? And, if they are, what’s the proper dosage?  For these and other answers, I decided to seek out perspectives from Dr. Neal Barnard and Christina Pirello, both of whom walked me through the whole topic with their usual brilliance and clarity. Here’s what I learned: 

For starters, let’s explain what Vitamin D is. In simple terms, it’s a fat-soluble vitamin that our body manufactures when it’s exposed to the sun. It has a number of purposes, but Vitamin D’s main job is to maintain the right balance of calcium and phosphorus in our blood, help us to absorb enough calcium in our bones and, in general, to work with other vitamins at keeping our bones healthy and strong.

We don’t have to roast in the sun all day long to get a healthy daily dose of Vitamin D, but we do have to get a good 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight to even approach our minimum requirements. But before you go thinking that a few trips back and forth to your car will do the trick, keep in mind that this minimum exposure time will generally be higher for those of us who live in cities and areas where pollution, cloud cover and other obstructions can block the vast majority of the sun’s UV rays.

If you’re getting out and exercising in the sun each day, you’re taking a big step towards meeting your daily Vitamin D requirement in addition to all the other health benefits that regular exercise offers. But, the sad truth is that a lot of us live in situations and areas where our exposure to sun is limited. Our access to sunshine can be affected and compromised by everything from latitude to climate to pollution to even our work schedules. In some cases, physical characteristics like old age, darker skin tones or very young breast-feeding infants have more difficulty getting enough Vitamin D as well. Because of any combination of these and other factors, some of us Kind Lifers might not get as much Vitamin D as we should. If you think this might be the case with you, it’s easy to have your doctor give you a simple blood test that can screen you for any vitamin and mineral deficiencies, including Vitamin D.

The point is, each of us has different individual needs. For me, a plant-based diet and healthy lifestyle fulfills most of the nutritional requirements that others might use vitamin supplements to meet.  Most people should get about 1,000 – 2,000 IU of Vitamin D per day, but, if you belong to one of the more potentially Vitamin D-deficient groups mentioned above, you may benefit from taking supplements.

As always, it’s best to figure out your personal supplemental dosage in consultation with your doctor, based on your specific deficiency levels. Or you can skip the blood test and take a small dosage of Vitamin D if you think you might need it, since excess Vitamin D is not likely to do much harm other than making your liver work a little harder than necessary. If you do take supplements, my sources tell me that the plant-based supplement D-2 is far more preferable and just as effective as D-3 which is not vegan.

How do you guys get your vitamin D? Do you have any favorite vitamin D-rich kind foods? 

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Holy moly! Where do I begin? Because acupuncture emphasizes wellness and a holistic philosophy that is missing in so much Western medicine, I’m always tempted to talk about how great it is.  But then I have an experience like the one I had when I was pregnant and it reminds me why I have very mixed feelings about it overall.

First, let me start by saying that, in general I don’t think acupuncture can do any harm and, for some people, I do believe it can be very helpful.  But the question I have been asking myself is, does it do anything for me that I don’t already get through my diet?

Over the past several years, I’ve tried out a bunch of different acupuncture doctors. There was a time when I was kinda loving it, although I was always frustrated with how expensive it can be (especially when they wanted me to come back multiple times a week and wanted me to buy herbs on top of that).  I mean, it feels good when I’m actually lying there with the needles, but do I really notice a big change when I walk out the door, the way I do when I make a change to my diet?  Not really.  For me, it’s sorta like a great, soothing, expensive nap.

Still, when two different people raved to me about this acupuncture doctor a while ago, I decided to give her a try.  I’d heard that acupuncture can be helpful with some of the nausea and other symptoms during pregnancy, so when I was pregnant, I thought it would be good to have someone I could call on whenever I thought it might help.  I’ve been to a bunch of different acupuncture doctors over the years, some more helpful and effective than others, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was in for with this one!

Right off the bat, she walks in the room talking a mile a minute with this crazy, spastic unbalanced energy – not calm or relaxing at all.  Then I tell her I’m veggie, which, looking back, maybe I should have kept to myself, considering what came next.  She then checks my pulse and starts going on about how I’m super-anemic and my liver is soooo weak.

Really?  I told her, “That’s weird, because I just had my blood tested for prenatal and it all checked out perfectly.  A blood analyst actually took pictures of my cells as an example of what beautiful healthy blood cells look like.  No other acupuncturist has ever said anything about anemia and -- oh, by the way -- I feel great. So what on earth are you talking about?”

It went downhill from there.  She goes into this whole thing about how I need to eat eggs and steak.  So, this hyper, spastic woman is telling me that meat and eggs are good, when everything about her is telling me that this not someone I want to be like.  But then I started thinking, “What if I wasn’t as educated about health?  What if I wasn’t so conscious of my own body?  What would I do with what she’s telling me?”

As if she was reading my mind, she continued: “I get tons of vegetarians in here all the time. I tell them to eat meat and they feel much better.”  Great.  So now all I’m thinking about is how this woman is undoing all the good that I and so many others are trying to do. This is turning into the most un-relaxing acupuncture ever!

It went on like that, more of the same, and then at the end of the session she wanted me to buy three different herbal pills.  She was adamant and would not stop pushing them on me.  I guess people just nod and do whatever she says, because when I started asking questions, like why they had chemicals like Red #100 or Yellow #67 in them, she became even more insistent and manic, repeating over and over that I needed these for my blood.  It was truly amazing to me. I felt like I should be offering HER acupuncture! On top of being spastic, she did not look one bit healthy.

So, this is what frustrates me… I want to say “Hey, go to acupuncture if it helps…”  But it can vary so much from doctor to doctor, so just be aware.  The meat-pushers are bad news.  I have met some perfectly lovely acupuncture doctors, but my personal experience was that the improvements for my well-being were pretty minor.  I am still convinced that trusting your food is the most noticeable and reliable source of health and feeling good – far more dramatic and lasting than what I’ve received from acupuncture. 

I wonder if there are other vegan or plant-based advocates reading who also practice Chinese medicine? Speak up if you’re out there! I’d love to hear your perspectives!

The health section is proudly sponsored by Kaeng Raeng natural detox. Make sure to check out their 3 or 6 day vegan detox programs here:

 

Photo Source: 4bpBlogSpot

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Kind Lifer Mary recently shared how she shed weight by cutting out processed foods and amping up her fruit and veggie intake. Check it out:

“Hi there! I read about Jaki and her awesome success breaking her sugar addiction! I can definitely relate. A little less than two years ago, on Valentine's Day, I read Food Inc. and decided I could no longer eat the foods I had spent my life thinking were ‘okay.’ I gave up processed foods, started eating more raw fruits and veggies and adopted a vegetarian lifestyle. Combined with exercise, I lost 105 pounds in a year! I applaud Jaki and people like her for making big changes that can drastically change their lives! Thanks for posting such great stories!”

Mary, congrats! So happy for you!

If any of you kind lifers have a success story to share, private message me or upload your story to your profile and “like” it. I may feature you on the homepage of The Kind Life!

The health section is proudly sponsored by Kaeng Raeng natural detox. Make sure to check out their 3 or 6 day vegan detox programs here:

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I just fell in love again with the nishime (ni-shee-may) recipe from my book- well, I never really fell out of love with it except when I was pregnant. It’s a traditional macrobiotic vegetable dish and though I couldn’t eat one bite of it during my entire pregnancy, just a few weeks ago I started finding it delicious again!  I’m just so happy with how it tastes – it makes me feel so balanced and nourished- sooo good for winter.

If you haven’t tried nishime, it’s on page 273 of The Kind Diet. It’s especially nourishing to the stomach, spleen and pancreas. It’s so, so good for you and very superhero - but also, it’s just yum!

Eat it often!

What’s your favorite superhero comfort food?

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If a mother is vegan, will there be enough nutrients in her breast milk?

Susan: Yes. But first, it’s important to note what her child will not be getting. Mothers who are not yet vegan have more chemical pollutants in their breast milk, compared with vegan mothers. Having said that, it is always important to ensure complete nutrition. Women need more Vitamin B-12 during pregnancy and lactation. For vegan moms, it is important to continue B-12 supplementation throughout all stages of the lifecycle. 

Vegan mothers should make sure they have a reliable source of Vitamin D (sun exposure, fortified foods, or talk to a healthcare provider about supplementation) and iodine (iodized salt does the trick) in the mother’s diet while breastfeeding as well. 

Will a pregnant woman, or woman who is breastfeeding, get enough calcium if she is vegan?

Susan: Yes, calcium needs are easily met when consuming plant foods. Leafy green vegetables have the most absorbable form of calcium (kale, collards, broccoli, Brussels sprouts). Beans are a good choice. Supplemented beverages such as soy milk and rice milk can be part of a healthful diet as well.

Does a vegan baby get enough good fat?

Christina: They can if the mother is eating enough fat while nursing and once the baby moves to solid food. Foods like avocado, tofu, oils, oats, pureed cooked nuts and seeds in food (as long as there are no allergies) are good sources of fat for babies. 

Susan: Yes. A vegan baby gets everything the mother consumes. If the mother is eating a good ratio of essential fatty acids and avoiding the less desirable fats, the baby will reap the benefits. If the mother is consuming a typical high-fat American diet, then the baby will be at a disadvantage.      

Are there advantages to raising kids on vegan diets?

Susan: You are doing your kids a huge favor by starting them off on the right dietary path. Building meals from vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and fruits will help them to stay slim, and as research shows more and more, help them stay healthy for life.

When children have healthful, vegan eating habits right from the start, they will learn to maintain vitamin- and fiber-rich, cholesterol-free eating style throughout their lives.

Will a vegan child get enough Vitamin B-12?

Susan: Yes, easily. So long as the mother takes a reliable source of B-12, then a breast-feeding child will get enough B-12. Anybody who consumes a vegan diet will need to take a reliable B-12 source. This is easily done either via fortified foods or supplements, such as any typical multiple vitamin. 

Christina: For Vitamin B-12, both the sublingual tablets and the shots are effective. The difference is with the sublingual, you need to take the supplement daily, and with the shots, you have an immediate reaction - fabulous energy! Most people will not need another shot for several weeks or months. I like both the shots and the sublingual, but for most people, the sublingual is enough (anywhere from 500-1500 mcg daily).

Alicia: You can learn more about Vitamin B-12 here.
 
Is there a difference between raising girls vegan versus raising boys vegan?

Susan: There are no major differences between raising vegan boys and girls. Nutrient needs for the whole family are easily met by providing a varied plant-based diet. Vegan children, in general, tend to consume more protective foods such as fiber, iron, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins A and C, compared with non-vegetarians. They also eat fewer sweets and more fruits and vegetables!

What kind of vegan-friendly lotion helps with stretch marks? 

Christina: There is a product called organic beauty breast cream that says it can prevent and can even help repair existing stretch marks...I have not used it, but it comes highly recommended. On the other hand, I have had experience with pure hemp seed oil and it does an amazing job or preventing and helping to repair stretch marks...and the cool thing is that it’s so high in omega 3 that is soaks right into the skin and doesn’t leave you oily...

Alicia: If you are pregnant or are planning to get pregnant, I highly recommend reading Dr. Holly Roberts' book Your Vegetarian Pregnancy. She has thirty years of experience as an obstetrician and a vegetarian. In her book, she covers the details of nutrition for vegetarian, vegan, and macrobiotic diets for pregnant women. She also discusses the experience of pregnancy month by month - it's a must-read!

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