HEALTHY CHILDREN, HAPPY PARENTS

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On Saturday, February 2nd I will be participating in the first Parent University sponsored by the Brentwood School Parents Association for the Brentwood school community. My presentation entitled “Nutrition, Sleep Hygiene and Body Image” is at 10:00 am – I encourage you to attend. If you are not a Brentwood Parent, I will be offering this as an audio very soon!

This one day event will take place from 8:30 am – 2:00 pm on the East Campus and features a series of guest lecturers. This is going to be an amazing day for parents and I hope to see you there.

I will be providing specific, practical and easy to apply suggestions that can improve your ability to assist and guide your children to reach their physical potential, tap into their inner strength and achieve their life goals by improving their nutrition and lifestyle.

I will cover issues such as:

  • What to feed your growing child for energy and mental clarity;
  • Why sleep can be your child’s best medicine;
  • How to address the three most common physical complaints;
  • Why time management is key to your child’s success in school and much more.

To find out more about the agenda and additional breakout sessions, click here.

To register, click here.

I hope to see you on Saturday!

Be~Well!

Dr. Susanne Bennett

Susanne5424web

 

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JOIN THE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

If you are looking to get involved locally or on a grand scale with a great non-profit organization, Habitat for Humanity is a great one to join!

Habitat for Humanity works to “eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action”. The non-profit was founded in 1976 by a couple named Millard and Linda Fuller who left the big city to start a new life dedicated solely to serving the community by helping those less fortunate.

What started off as a local project has grown into a nationwide organization that has built over 200,000 homes since its inception. Unlike charity work, Habitat for Humanity requires home owners receiving help through the program to participate and contribute to the global call to action. A down payment must be made as well as a mortgage, which is applied to building and renewing future homes.

Habitat for Humanity is a positive cycle for deserving people all across the world, helping families get back on their feet. Not only do they build and refurbish homes but they fight for new housing legislation year round and keep track of the fluctuating housing market.

The program works off of capital and monetary donations. Raising awareness for the organization is another way to get involved, but donating your time and effort is always an honorable way of showing your support. To find out more information on the organization please visit their website at http://www.habitat.org to see what projects you can get involved in around your community.

References:

http://www.habitat.org

 

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GET TO KNOW THE PACIFIC VOYAGERS

hawaiistar.com

The Pacific Voyagers are a community of people exploring the oceans their ancestors sailed, and working to raise awareness of the effects of westernization on ocean life. This group of pacific islanders have thoroughly studied the ways of their ancestors and live today by traveling the sea, reintroducing old Polynesian traditions of survival, without disrupting our eco system.

The original sea travel started out in 1976 when a Polynesian man wished to reconnect with his ancestral roots by traveling the sea with nothing to guide him but the stars. Since traveling in large ships causes noise pollution and disrupts migration periods and ecosystems just below the water, the Okeanos: Foundation for the Sea was started to honor the great men that spent years exploring the oceans in search of a new world. What began in Taiwan ended up stretching as far as Hawaii!

The foundation was adopted by a man named Dieter Paulmann, who turned it into a community project. Voyages are set up year round, making stops along all different coast lines. Recently the group just ended a short trip along the west coast and docked at San Diego until January, when they will pick up again and travel to the Polynesian Islands.

The project now also works with remote island communities to build large double canoes called Vaka Motu. Everyone in the community participates in the building of these canoes, providing jobs and community networking across waters. The islands that contribute build boats for their villages and use those for travel, fishing and trade instead of having to rely on expensive ferry boats that only come around once every few months.

The Pacific Voyagers is a great foundation that builds on renewable resources and clean living.  Their mission is that through voyaging they will strengthen their “tie with the sea, renew a commitment to healthy ecosystems for future generations, and honor ancestors who have sailed” before them. What a great cause!

 

References:

http://www.pacificvoyagers.org/about-project/goal/

 

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SAVE OUR OCEANS—JOIN THE OCEAN CONSERVANCY

http://www.oceanconservancy.org/

Every year, people from all over the globe band together to join the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).  The name pretty much says it all. The ICC is basically a world wide beach clean-up tradition spanning 26 years to support both local and international beaches that I am just thrilled to be a part of.

Water and beach pollution has been an issue for many, many years. Pollution especially has tendency to injure or even kill animals, and threaten food supplies. In an effort to prevent our oceans from becoming a cesspool of contamination, the ICC has invested their time and money into turning this event into the world’s largest volunteer effort of its kind. Just last year the team beautified beaches, lakes, rivers, and bays, collecting over 4,000 tons of marine trash from over 114 countries with a total of 615, 407 volunteers, worldwide.

Ocean Conservancy is working with people from all over the world to take local action for global change. As the BCS (Baja California Sur) coordinator for Ocean Conservancy, I urge you to come out and support our healthy water systems. What is better than getting to spend a day at the beach with friends and family, while contributing to the planet?

In the US, official ICC Day is September 17, 2011, but many countries are supporting the effort on different dates. The International Coastal Cleanup day I have organized will be kicking off on September 25, 2011 at Balandra Beach in La Paz, Mexico. What’s more, we will have an Ocean/Environment festival with live music and entertainment—please bring the whole family!

Please check out the cause and the crew at oceanconservancy.org for more information. You will also be able to find the nearest coast clean up for you to participate in.

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WAGING WARS OVER WATER: CHECK OUT BLUE GOLD

http://www.bluegold-worldwaterwars.com/

Mark Twain once said “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over.” Around the world today, huge corporations are eating up our public water resources, choosing to serve their stock holders over the millions of people around the world without access to clean or abundant water sources. Water scarcity is a worldwide issue that not many people are aware of, but an amazing documentary called Blue Gold is rapidly causing the world to take notice.

Documenting worldwide “Water Wars”, the film discusses water privatization across the globe and the effects on its people. What began first as a book quickly warped into an informative and jarring documentary that follows great factions of people in local protests, disconcerting court cases and chaotic revolutions all around the world as they band together to save our biggest resource from being privatized for profit. The film’s trajectory takes on an unsettling turn as it portrays the corrupt ways in which fresh water is used for political gain and is becoming increasingly limited as it is pumped into housing and the over-development of agriculture.

The producers of Blue Gold have created an ‘action plan’ on the documentary’s website that encourages people to get involved and to stay informed about water as a finite resource. They maintain that “water is a basic human right, the right to survive.” Their site has excellent resources to check out how to fight for the water in your city, and take control of the situation locally. Even if fighting water wars is not on your agenda this week, it would not hurt to learn a little info about it!

References:

http://www.bluegold-worldwaterwars.com/actionplan/index.html

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THEA DIXON: THE ORGANIC CHEF

organicprivatechef.com

We all know what eating healthy looks like. Get enough fruits and vegetables, eat lean proteins, stay away from trans fats, and keep the sugary foods to a minimum. For organic, private chef Thea Dixon however, eating healthy should be a multi-sensory experience that nourishes not only the body, but the mind and spirit, so that when you are finished with your meal you feel energized, satisfied, and rejuvenated.

Thea’s experience in the culinary arts is both tenured and multi-cultural. Having cooked with her grandmother and mother at the age of 6, she developed an appreciation for food early on. By the age of 15, her relationship with food matured and she began traveling, absorbing the cooking methods of different cultures, from Greece to Italy. Her fascination with biology, nutrition, and the synergistic relationship between food and the body provoked her to train as a pediatric nurse as well as travel to Sri Lanka to study Ayurvedic Principles for cooking nourishing, balanced meals.

To have traveled so many places, schooled in cooking methods both creative, unconventional and healthy, Thea brings a lot to the table. She can provide a quality 5-course meal that caters to anyone’s diet from vegan to gluten-free, and is highly focused on Wellness Cuisine. The best part about her talent? She shares it with the world by providing cooking classes at dinner parties. This August 27th I am hosting a cooking class at my house where we’ll all be able to learn a thing or two about preparing delicious, healthy meals quickly. I have never been more inspired by a chef and her passion for cooking—what a treat!

Find out how you can participate in one of her classes at  http://organicprivatechef.com

References:

http://organicprivatechef.com

 

 

 

 

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WANT MORE ECO? CHECK OUT THE DAILY GREEN!

thedailygreen.com

If Good Housekeeping is your type of magazine, thedailygreen.com is your type of website. Published by Hearst Digital Media, The Daily Green is an online consumer’s guide for everything eco. They post daily updates in eco news along with delicious recipes, deals on green products, and natural ways to beautify. It is the first place I go online to keep up with the “green” movement.

The Daily Green got its start, coincidentally enough, on Earth day in 2007. It was picked up by Good Housekeeping this year, and their online readership continues to grow. Having won numerous awards for its great features, tips on green living, recipes and more, their award ceremonies at the Hearst Tower in Manhattan have drawn major attention from celebrities and the media. Their editors have even in appeared in popular shows like Live with Regis & Kelly and the Today show.

What really intrigues me about this magazine are its categories. It reads like a newspaper, and they have fun categories like “Ask an Organic Mom” and the “Green Cheapskate Blog,” which dishes all the dirt on how to be more conscious about spending habits while still taking the earth into consideration. They have a great list of green cook books, and tips for saving energy, like staying cool without having to run your air conditioner. What also sets them apart is a great little section called  Weird Weather Watch, which is like a photo blog where climatologists and photojournalists from The Daily Green post pictures of strange changes in the climate. They are definitely worth a peek!

References:

www.thedailygreen.com

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COCO ECO MAGAZINE: VOGUE MEETS GREEN!

We all know the green market is growing. People are becoming more environmentally conscious when it comes to building houses, buying cars, and grocery shopping. There are also plenty of great websites out there that will dish all of the great gadgets, restaurants, and clothing for the eco-minded individual, many of which I have mentioned here on my blog. But there are not many green websites out there that you can call “glamorous.” What happens when you pair up the glam of Vogue magazine with the simplicity of living green? A dynamic and chic, online magazine with a green focus called Coco Eco Magazine.

Launched in October of 2008, Coco Eco Magazine is headquartered in Los Angeles by Editor-In-Chief and London native Anna Griffin. The magazine puts the glam into green like no other with its paperless  issues featured on a global digital platform, giving magazine readers an entirely interactive experience. Instead of receiving printed issues each month, you can become a subscriber straight from their website for a great price, and indulge in a multi-media magazine reading experience like no other. They define their content as “glamorous, original, and eco-chic,” spanning categories like travel, beauty, fashion and lifestyle, not to mention celebrities!

Coco Eco Magazine is the only magazine I know of that gives the idea of “going green” a complete makeover. Being glamorous is so often associated with synthetic products, it is good to see a collective group of people striving to maintain a balance between luxury and sustainability. Currently the eco-glam magazine has over 7000 subscribers, and their readership continues to grow. At $9.95 a year for six issues, that is an offer too good to pass up!

References:

http://www.cocoecomag.com/

 

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LADY GAGA GOES ORGANIC?

There are few people nowadays who have not heard of Lady Gaga, notorious for her outlandish fashion sense and sold out performances. Not to mention her the infamous meat dress and rosary swallowing, which are just a few of the stunts that have solicited whopping media attention to the italian-born popstar, along with millions of dedicated “monster” fans worldwide. I for one admit to being a big fan of her pop/electronic dance music, and my respect for her peaked recently when I discovered that she is actually a big fan of organic food!

A few short months ago, ABC News published an online piece listing all of the food Lady Gaga requests when she is on tour. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that among her many tour necessities, quite a few of them consisted of organic and even vegetarian foods!

While it has also been rumored that an oxygen tank has also made the list of Gaga’s unexpected tour requests, Lady Gaga routinely asks for organic tortilla chips and salsa, organic peanut butter, organic ginger and lemongrass tea, and vegetarian hot dogs. Burning hundreds of calories a night on stage, I always assumed she followed somewhat of a healthy diet, but who would have thought the infamous pop star had an organic side as well?

It just goes to show you, you can not judge a book by its cover, especially with a performer as electrifying as Lady Gaga. I can appreciate the hope and confidence she inspires in young adults through her music, and if she can influence younger people to start eating organic food too then I am a big fan!

References:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/lady-gaga-extra-oxygen-muscle-milk/story?id=11832995

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Check Out my Article in Natural Child World Magazine!

Recently, I submitted an article on healthy sunscreens to a great magazine with a “natural” focus called Natural Child World Magazine. A bimonthly magazine with an ecological focus, Natural Child inspires practical and alternative methods of child rearing that are hard to find in mainstream family magazines. Nowadays there are more chemicals and harmful ingredients in our products and food than we realize, and those are just the types of topics Natural Child magazine touches on.

I am so grateful to be one of the regular major contributors to a magazine with such an honorable purpose—encouraging a sustainable upbringing for our children. Everything about the magazine has a 100% natural focus, from diapers to nursery furniture. Each article is published solely with the baby and the environment in mind, so you can get a healthy dose of knowledge on where to find the best organic baby foods, how to conserve water in your home, as well as information on natural baby products.

The article I contributed focuses on the healthiest sunscreens to use for children, which is not such an easy decision with the daunting number of sunscreens out there, not to mention the chemicals within them that can potentially harm the skin. I always advise my patients to buy sunscreens that contain mainly zinc oxide as it is the most natural ingredient that will prevent harmful UVA and UVB rays from penetrating your the skin which can cause burns, skin aging and possibly even cancer. Also, steer clear of sunscreens with “nano-particles,” which may induce the spread of free radicals!

My article is already published in the Summer (June) issue, it is available in various locations and you can also read the current issue on Natural Child’s website at www.naturalchildworld.com.

References:

http://naturalchildworld.com/

 

 

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