09 Aug 10 Tightening The Belt
Many people are looking for ways to save money in this lousy economy.
There are a few quite simple ways to do it.
- Walk to the store. If it’s within a mile or two, consider walking in fine weather, or riding a bike. You’ll save gas, and wear and tear on the car, and you’ll burn some extra calories too. Most of us don’t get enough exercise!
- Continuing with cars, why not organize a carpool with some of your fellow workers? Again, you’ll save gas, and wear and tear on your car, and you get to relax a little instead of doing all the driving every day. Another point to think of – if more people carpooled, there would be fewer cars on the road, which means less pollution, so that’s a health benefit too.
- While we’re talking about work, why not pack a lunch, instead of eating fast food every day? That burger and fries can be 1,000 – 1,500 calories a day, and a sandwich made at home can be less than a third of that. Also, even that fast food lunch can be $7 $10 a day, and for Around $10-$12 you can easily buy enough for that homemade lunch to last a whole week.
- What do you drink with that lunch, or indeed throughout the day? Do you really need those expensive lattes, that can come in around 600 calories, and up to $4 each? Why not invest in a thermal mug, and make coffee at home, drink one before you leave, and take another one with you to the office, or drink in the car on the way there, if that’s what you usually drop into the coffee shop for. That alone can save you $15-$20 a week. Even better drink tap water! It’s better for you, has no calories, and doesn’t contain that dehydrating caffeine that 90% of Americans consume each day in either coffee, tea, or soda.
These few simple things can save you up to $50 or $60 a week, which is $250 a month or $3,000 a year! Heck, you could get that new car sooner, move to a bigger house, or have a great vacation instead!
Tags: burger and fries, calories, carpool, coffee shop, fast food, fellow workers, great vacation, health benefit, heck, new car, pollution, sandwich, soda, tap water, ways to save money, wear and tear
19 Jun 08 Water
It’s one of the best things you can have. Not coffee, tea, soda, lemonade, but good old plain tap water.
Bottled water is mostly a fashion fad, and it’s a crazy waste of energy and materials. In the US alone there are tons of plastics bottles going into landfill sites each year. Most people in the US, and most of the rest of the western world have perfectly safe drinkable water from the faucet. I personally drink cupfuls of it every day. In fact bottled water has been shown to have up to one thousand times more bacteria in it than water from the tap, and of course, it’s thousands of times more expensive too!
I always drink a glassful of water when I get up in the morning. It helps to re-hydrate you after sleeping, and not drinking all night.
I spend a lot of time at my desk during the day, and I always have a glass of water on it. I’ve got a pint mug of water there right now.
Drink water during your meals and it will help you digest your food, and keep you hydrated at the same time.
After exercise, and also particularly during hot weather when you sweat more, it’s a good idea to drink extra water too.
If you do drink coffee or soda, or other caffeinated drinks, you should drink an extra glass of water for every cup of coffee you drink, as caffeine is a diuretic, and stimulates your kidneys to excrete more water. That’s why drinking lots of coffee makes you run to the bathroom. The same goes for alcohol too.
Tags: bacteria, bottled water, coffee tea, desk, drinkable water, exercise, fad, fashion, faucet, glass of water, hot weather, landfill sites, lemonade, pint, plastics bottles, soda, tap water, waste of energy
10 Apr 08 Color Ban
The Foods Standard Agency in the United Kingdom has called for a ban on six atificial food colorings after research found there to be a link between them and hyperactivity in children.
In the fall of 2007, some 300 children were given one of two drinks. One had the amount of colorings in that the average child might have in a day, the other drink had no additives at all.
The hyperactivity levels of the children were measured before and after consuming the drink they were given, and those that had the drink with the additive in all showed increased signs of hyperactivity.
The colorings that were tested are;
- Sunset Yellow
- Carmoisine
- Tartrazine
- Ponceau
- Quinoline Yellow
- Allura Red
I would assume that these additives could also have an effect on adults too, if taken in large enough quantities. Personally, I do not drink any kind of soda or artificial fruit drinks, but I know plenty of people that do, and give copious quantities to their kids as well. Whilst there’s probably no case for panic or alarm, I think everyone is wise to check labels for dubious looking ingredients. I tend to go for wholesome fresh foods where possible, as I truly beleive they are better for you, both in terms of nutritional value, and for a lack of additives, and unecessary salt, fat and sugar content too.
Tags: additives, adults, artificial fruit, carmoisine, copious quantities, food colorings, fresh foods, fruit drinks, hyperactivity, hyperactivity in children, labels, signs, soda, sunset, united kingdom, wild kids
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