Well, if you’re tempted, urine is sterile, so it shouldn’t hurt you. Unless you have a urinary tract infection, there’s no bacteria or anything that can harm you. It was thought to be a good remedy for a jellyfish sting, but scientists have debunked that myth. Mind you, the person using the shower after you may not be so thrilled with you.

~~~

Source
Image: PhotoXpress.com

Post from: Healthbolt

Environmentally friendly ‘adult toys’ are being taken out of the bedroom and into the living room by a Northwest-based retailer who has launched Earth Erotic Parties.

Aimed at putting a sustainable twist on the more traditional sex toy parties, the Earth Erotic parties will showcase green vibrators, phthalate-free dildos, natural lubricants, recycled whips and all sorts of other ecologically and non toxic adult paraphernalia.

Sounds like a company that’s taking ‘doing it green’ to a whole new level. 

Interested?  Then sneak in and check out this ‘earth erotic party’ video over at Planet Green to  find out more…

Post from: Healthbolt

Soap and water work great but sometimes you just feel the need to use something a little more potent  – like an alcohol based hand sanitizer.

But there’s a lot of controversy surrounding hand sanitizer products. Some people worry about the effectiveness of them. Others are concerned about the chemicals put in them – chemicals such as the endocrine disruptor Triclosan.

Easier, in some ways, to make your own. That way, you exactly what’s in it.

DIY hand sanitizer recipe

In a small bowl, mix ¼ cup each of pure aloe vera gel and grain alcohol with 5 drops of tea tree essential oil. To make it smell less pungent, add 5 drops of your favorite fragrance oil. Using a funnel, pour this blend into a bottle small enough to stash in your purse. (Rinse out an empty tube of makeup or lotion to make use of waste.)

The original recipe came from Ecosalon, but tweaked by Lifehacker in response to comments from ecosalon readers.

(image source)

Post from: Healthbolt

According to the daily green, some Swiss researchers in the mid-1980s did some tests and found that people ‘who used to suffer from headaches and tiredness felt better after working for two years with a cactus next to their monitors.’

Why?

One theory is that the cacti, which grows in areas of extreme heat and dryness, is able to counter the effects of harsh solar radiation.

My theory – the cactus simply reminds people of wide open spaces and helps their minds  escape from the confining office cubicle. A totally unscientific theory but it works for me.

(image source)

Post from: Healthbolt

That’s the word from a recent study commissioned and funded by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council(EPIC)  in Canada. Randomly testing of reusable bags used by consumers in Toronto turned up an interesting result. It appears that the bags were not only carrying groceries. They are also carrying around high levels of mold, bacteria, and yeast.

Full results indicated that…

* Sixty four percent of the tested reusable bags were contaminated with some level of bacteria

* Nearly 30 percent had bacterial counts higher than what is considered safe for drinking water.

* Forty percent of the bags contained the presence of yeast or mold.

* Some of the sampled bags contained unsafe levels of coliforms and fecal intestinal bacteria.

 Pretty gross really.

But before you start throwing away the reusable bags, give some thought to how you are using and maintaining these bags.

Do you place improperly wrapped meat into the bags?  Are they used for multiple purposes, such as for sports events and as a diaper bag? Have they had spilt or perishable foods in them?  Do you wash them regularly? Where are they stored?

Like anything else, proper care is important. Bags need to be washed between uses or at least once a week. They need to be stored in a dry, clean environment. And each bag should have a designated use – groceries, gym clothes, diapers, wine, etc.

I guess, in the end, it all comes down to common sense and good hygiene.

(article source / image source)

Post from: Healthbolt

Mirages are more likely than oasis and drinking water is a scarce commodity. But some German scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart think they might have the answer.

Working in collaboration with Logos Innovationen, the scientists have discovered a process that will convert air humidity into drinking water. And best of all, the process is energy-autonomous via thermal solar collectors, photovoltaic cells, and vacuum tanks. 

Here’s how it works: A brine (salt) solution runs down the tower-shaped unit absorbing water from the air. The water soaked brine solution is then sucked by vacuum pressure into a tank placed a  few meters off the ground. Here, it is heated by solar energy to  boiling point. This allows the brine and the water to separate, with the fresh water being collected and the reconcentrated brine being pushed back up the tower unit to further interact with the humidity in the air.

So far, this experimentation has only occurred in the laboratory with a demonstration facility the next step.

This concept has huge potential. Able to function in places with no electricity, it could be the answer to water shortages in the many dry places around the world.

(source /image)

Post from: Healthbolt

Given these facts, the WHO is asking hospitals to look for alternative forms of energy, such as solar panels and wind turbines, to power their facilities. Other actions that suggested include using energy-efficient light bulbs, buying organic foods, and more efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles.

Of course, some hospitals are already doing this and more in their efforts to go green and reduce costs. In fact, last year the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom did a public sector analysis of it’s carbon dioxide use. This showed their emissions at 18.6 tonnes or 3% of all carbon emissions in England in 2004.

As a result, they are looking at emission cutting processes, including offering fewer meat and dairy products to patients.

In the United States, actions are also being taken. Last week, hospital services in New York City came together and pledged to reduce their carbon footprints by 30% over the next decade.

So what’s happening in your city? Is your hospital turning green?

(image source)

Post from: Healthbolt

And so it goes with this Green Vacation Sweepstakes on offer in celebration of the first annual nationwide Solar Day 2009 being held on 21 June 2009. Not to be confused with  Earth Day, Solar Day was created to help educate the public on solar energy benefits and options.  Held on the first day of summer, Solar Day 2009.

Sounds like a great idea. But what sounds even better is a chance to stay at the first LEED Gold hotel (and solar-powered) Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa in American Canyon, California, just south of the town of Napa for three days. If you like wine and spas  (and who doesn’t), this would be a great place to be based while your exploring all the green, solar and sustainable wineries that are located around the valley.

That’s what you could win if you entered Solar Day’s Green Vacation Sweepstakes.

So what are you waiting for? Enter now…

http://www.solarday.com/

Post from: Healthbolt

It’s a Pumgo Scooter - the world’s first pedal-powered scooter.

Check it out…

Think of the all possible benefits…

• Increased exposure to Vitamin D – By being outside, you’ll get a decent quota of Vitamin D, something that’s apparently lacking for many people.
• Fun and entertaining – Remember, laughter and fun is important for good health.
• A stress release – How could you be stressed when riding around like a kid on a Pumgo Scooter.
• An exercise workout – It’s a cardio-vascular workout that will burn calories and strengthened muscles.
• Clean, green transportation – Small enough to sit in the office while at work, this could be the newest way to get around the city and to work and back.

It’s like taking your gym’s stair-climber outside into the sun for fun.

Post from: Healthbolt

But after reading Beth Greer’s book Super Natural Home, I have to say, I’m starting to wonder exactly how safe my house really is. According to Beth Greer, probably not all that safe, especially if you start taking into account all the dangerous chemicals that we invite in and have around our house at all times.

Beth used to be just like you and me, living what she considered a healthy but busy lifestyle. But when a medical crisis (a 5-centimeter tumour in her chest) caused her to re-evaluate her lifestyle, she discovered that maybe her lifestyle wasn’t as healthy as she thought. In fact, she discovered instead of being healthy, it was downright toxic.

So she spent six months cleaning up ‘her act’, eating an all-organic diet, discovered raw food, and cleared out all the everyday chemicals (cleaners  and personal products) from her house. Along the way, her health improved and within the year, the tumor and related pain and never damage seemed to disappear.

Since then, Beth has become an advocate of living a healthy, toxic free life, taking all the research and information she has accumulated while changing her own lifestyle and transforming it into the book Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home, and Planet – One Room at a Time.

This book provides a practical guide to discovering potential toxic hot zones in your house and offers a straightforward soultion-based approaches to dealing with them. Broken into three main categories – what goes in you, what goes on you, and what surrounds you – the book can be used as a road map on how to become an environmental savvy consumer.

Of course, you might think, like I did, that your home isn’t toxic. In that case, I’d suggest heading over to Beth’s webstie SuperNaturalMom and sign up to take the Super Natural Home Quiz.

If you’re results are anything like mine, you might want to run out and get a copy of Super Natural Home. It will definitely help you figure out how to  make things less toxic in your life.

Image: SuperNaturalMom.com

Post from: Healthbolt