I guess I thought that using a reusable bottle was as common as recycling at this point, but as I watched dozens of people roll out of Target with discounted cases of bottled water this past weekend, I discovered that perhaps the message has clearly not reached everyone.

Did you know that approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil are used annually to produce plastic water bottles in the U.S. alone—enough to fuel about 100,000 cars for a year. What an incredible waste of resources and a foolish threat to national security—all for a single-use bottle!

Like all plastic, these bottles will be with us forever since plastic does not biodegrade. Rather, it breaks down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that contaminate our soil and waterways and ultimately end up in the ever-growing Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Anything we can do to phase out their usage quickly would be good thing.

Along with plastic bags, plastic bottles are one of the most prevalent sources of pollution found on our beaches. Each year, over 500 billion disposable bottles and cups end up littering our soil, rivers, lakes and oceans, killing countless fish and animals.

There is also overwhelming evidence of adverse health effects tied to Bisphenol A, or BPA, a widely-used chemical in the manufacturing of food and beverage containers, including baby bottles, water bottles and aluminum cans. A reusable bottle is the only way to hydrate on the go while protecting yourself and the environment from this dangerous chemical. While nearly all major brands are free of the toxin now, make sure any bottle you buy is marked “BPA-free.”

There are many types of reusable bottles to choose from, and many different designs and colors to suit anyone’s taste. The most eco-friendly ones are made from stainless steel or aluminum. Some are thermal, allowing you to keep hot beverages hot and cold ones cold.

Choose one you like, and carry it with you so you always have it on hand at home, work, the gym, or on the town!

Shop for Reusable Bottles >>

I just got back from visiting my hometown of Washington, D.C., which recently passed a bag tax wherein retailers citywide charge $.05 for each plastic or paper shopping bag you require. More and more cities are passing similar legislation against disposable shopping bags, particularly because it is increasingly common for U.S. seashores and riverbanks to look like the one above—especially after a storm.

Laws against throw-away shopping bags make good sense if you consider that every year in the U.S., we consume over 380 billion plastic bags, of which over 4 billion end up littering our land, rivers, lakes and oceans, killing hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales, seals, seabirds and other marine mammals that mistake these discarded bags for food. Plastic bags also require 12 million barrels of oil to produce each year, take hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill—or worse—add to the ever-growing Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Anything we can do to phase out their usage quickly would be good thing.

One of thousands albatrosses who die every year with bellies full of our plastic trash. © Chris Jordan

In many ways, paper bags are even worse than plastic bags. Paper sacks generate 70 percent more air pollution and 50 times more water pollution than plastic bags. And paper bags don’t decompose any faster than plastic bags, once they end up in a landfill.

The answer to the question, “Paper or plastic?” is: “Neither, thank you, I brought my own!” Let’s face it, all those grocery bags you’ve saved under the sink will only last so long. A shopping bag you enjoy using and reusing is your most sustainable option.

While any tote bag will do, my favorite reusable bag is the Envirosax bag. Lightweight polyester, portable and waterproof, these unique bags hold the equivalent of 2 supermarket plastic bags, yet they fold down small enough to stow into a glove compartment, pocket or handbag. They fold down so small, in fact, that I always have few on hand for when I’m at the drugstore, the mall, or even making a spontaneous stop at the convenience store. (Do you remember to bring your bags to these places, too?)

Sexy and sustainable!

I also like Envirosax because they are the only reusable bag I’ve found where the bag handles fit over my shoulder, which is important when carrying the groceries and the toddler into the house. My favorite part though, is that they come in dozens of distinctive, stylish patterns—or solid colors to suit a man’s tastes. (Though my male friends say they like Chico bags better.)

Reusable bags can make shopping a little more fun and lot more eco-friendly. What more could you want?

Shop for Reusable Bags >>

“People are so worried about what they consume between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they consume between the New Year and Christmas.”

—Unknown

I like New Year’s resolutions. They provide a great opportunity to reflect upon the successes and shortcomings of the past year, and set goals and intentions for the new one. I don’t believe in making the kind of resolutions in January that ensure I will be self-flagellating in February, but I do think it is important to set progress benchmarks for doing things I care about over time.

Really, a resolution is nothing more than a firm decision to do or not do something. This year, I’ve made four firm decisions for the Small Footprint Family. We will…

#1 Do something physical in the sun with my family as often as possible.
The older I get, the more it seems that the aches, pains and dis-ease of modern life are really the result of deficiencies in sunlight, regular physical activity and nutrient dense, whole foods. These are three essential things we were evolutionarily designed to require in large, daily quantities. And they are also three things American consumer culture has almost completely designed out of our lives over the past 50 years.

I have always been happiest and healthiest when I have been doing regular outdoor work, whether that be tree care, greenroofing, farming, or at least puttering outside daily in our food garden. Since leaving my greenroofing business to have Babyzilla, I have gotten away from fulfilling this biological need, and I am really feeling the effects physically and mentally. (Not to mention the fact that my Vitamin D levels could use improvement.) So, this year, I resolve to complement our already very healthy diet with daily sunshine and enough outdoor physical activity to get our heart rate up. Babyzilla is very excited about this—as you can imagine any toddler would be!

What are you doing in 2010 to make sure you get enough sun and activity?

#2 Increase our local food consumption by 10%.
We currently get about 75% of our produce, meat and eggs from local organic farms and ranches as members of two CSAs and weekly visitors to the farmers’ market. But here in California, finding local produce year round is very easy: We grow a majority of the nation’s organic fruits and veggies after all. Nevertheless, I’d like to increase the amount of local food we eat by 10% in 2010—including finding a local source for pasture-raised pork bellies, so I can learn to make my own bacon this year!

If you’re wondering why choosing local food is so important, and how to get started with eating more locally-produced foods in the new year, please read Why We Should All Eat Locally.

How can you eat 10% more local foods in 2010?

#3 Reduce our trash output by 20%.
We eat few packaged foods, and compost most of our food waste, but somehow we still produce at least two tall kitchen bags of trash every week. The biggest single sources of trash in our house are disposable coffee cups from the corner coffee shop, spoiled leftovers that contain meat and so can’t be composted, and plastic food bags that can no longer be washed and reused. This year, we will strive to get the thermoses washed more regularly, among other waste-reducing measures.

If you’d like to learn more about composting or reducing your waste output, please read Waste Not, Want Not and Compost Happens.

What can you do to reduce your trash output by 20% in 2010?

#4 Quit extraneous spending and buy second-hand. This resolution is dear to my heart. Some would argue that consumer spending will get the economy going again, so we should all go out and do our part for the country by buying stuff. Never mind that many of us no longer have the money or the credit to keep buying things we don’t really need that were designed to be provide only short-lived satisfaction anyway.

Rather, I believe it is all the stuff we buy—as part of a consumption-driven economy dependent on limitless growth—that has brought us to the brink of the greatest economic and environmental crises humanity has ever seen. The wanton, subsidized exploitation of natural resources and fossil fuels that brings us $5 radios and ripe tomatoes in January simply cannot be sustained. We cannot maintain an economic system or a culture requiring infinite growth on a finite planet. We cannot endlessly consume from limited and vulnerable resources—and we are destroying or running out of a lot of things we’re gonna need in the future. You know, like fresh water.

It’s not enough to recycle your bottles and cans, install CFL light bulbs and bring your own bags. It’s time for a new economic paradigm: one where return on investment is not measured just in dollars, but also in how a product or service benefits regular people, communities, and the fragile land, water and air we depend on—a “triple bottom line” of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

In such an economy, many industries, products and services we take for granted today would no longer be considered profitable or ethical, and they would be replaced by new closed-loop industries, social entrepreneurship and relocalized community economies.

And yet the endless quest for Stuff is not only damaging to the Earth and threatening to our very survival, it is also spiritually debilitating too. Since when did spending money become an American pastime? For all our wealth relative to the rest of the world, Americans are not a happy people. In fact, we are becoming quite depressed, impatient, despondent, and diseased, despite—or perhaps because of—how much stuff we consume.

I believe our unhealthy and unsustainable cultural relationship to earning/spending money in order to acquire material things is supplanting what really matters at the end of the day: strong, authentic relationships with our family members, friends and neighbors; nutritious, whole food meals enjoyed with others; daily sunshine and physical activity; and ample time for recreation, contemplation, reflection and rest.

For this reason, in 2010, I want to spend my money in support of the new paradigm. We will severely curtail buying things we want but do not need, and anytime we do need to acquire something, we will try first to get it from a local, second-hand source before buying it new. Fortunately, San Diego has many, many outstanding thrift stores, and other resources like flea markets, FreeCycle, CraigsList and eBay are available too.

This spendfast means a year-long experiment in not buying any more clothes, shoes, books, DVDs, magazines, excess toiletries, stuff for the kitchen, stuff for the house, stuff for… the sake of Stuff. Should be an interesting challenge. I’ll keep you posted…

To learn more about “spend-fasting,” please read The Story of Stuff – Reducing our Consumer Footprint.

What are you doing in 2010 to trade quantity for quality in your life?

Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, Americans throw away a million extra tons of garbage each week, including holiday wrapping and packaging, according to Robert Lilienfeld. Lilienfield is co-author of the book Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are. Here are eight ways to reduce your environmental footprint this holiday season. 

1. Make Your Own Wrapping Paper
Most mass-produced wrapping paper you find in stores is not recyclable and ends up in landfills. Instead, here’s a great chance to get creative! Wrap presents with old maps, the comics section of a newspaper, or children’s artwork. Or use a scarf, attractive dish towel, bandana, or some other useful cloth item. Lilienfield, who has published a newsletter on reducing waste since 1996, notes that if every family reused just 2 feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

And not all gifts need wrapping. “Think back to your three favorite holiday memories,” Lilienfeld said. “I’m willing to bet that they all involve time you spent with your family and friends.”

By giving gifts that can be experienced, like tickets to a baseball game, a trip somewhere interesting, or a homemade dinner, you can minimize wrapping and shopping, and still win points with the receiver. “People like these gifts just as much, if not more” he said. (Indeed, I do!)

2. Buy Energy-Saving Holiday Lights
Thanks to technology, you can now decorate your house with LED lights that use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights, and can save your family up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season! As an added bonus, LEDs release little heat, and they last about 200,000 hours. In the unlikely event that one does burn out, the rest of the lights keep on glowing. Whew!

According to one U.S. Department of Energy study, if everyone replaced their conventional holiday light strings with LEDs, at least two billion kilowatt-hours of electricity could be saved in a month. The savings would be enough to power 200,000 homes for a year! LED lights are available at many major retailers.

3. Add Organic and Local Foods to Your Holiday Feast
Support local family farmers who grow sustainable meat and produce. Not only does local, organic food taste better, but you’ll also be doing your part for your community and the planet too. Find an organic turkey or humane ham and local vegetables for holiday dinner.

4. Get a Pesticide-Free Tree
Demand is on the rise for Christmas trees that are not covered in chemicals; some growers use 40 different pesticides, as well as chemical colorants. The good news is that there are now a number of tree-farms that sell pesticide-free trees, so ask your local Christmas tree seller, or search for an organic tree farm near you.

5. Recycle Your Christmas Tree
Ninety-eight percent of Christmas trees were grown on farms, not in forests, so at least you’re not cutting down an ancient tree. Each year, 10 million Christmas trees end up in the landfill. While your tree won’t fit in the recycling bin with your newspapers and bottles, you can recycle your tree: many cities offer programs to turn your tree to mulch or wood chips. Some cities even use your old trees to do important environmental projects like streambank stabilization. Call (800) CLEANUP or visit www.earth911.org to find the tree-recycling program near you.

6. Recycle Your Old Cellphone
Getting a new cell phone for Christmas? Not sure what to do with the old one? Now, you can drop off that old phone at any Staples store, as part of the Sierra Club cell phone recycling program. Each year, 130 million cell phones are thrown out, weighing approximately 65,000 tons. Recycling your old phone prevents hazardous elements like mercury, cadmium and lead from ending up in our landfills. Find out more.

7. Offset Your Travel
If you or your loved ones are traveling more than 100 miles this holiday season, try to reduce air travel whenever possible, and consider offsetting the fossil fuel pollution generated by your trip, no matter how you travel. These companies can help you get trees planted to reduce your impact.

• Terrapass – Provides carbon offsets for flying, driving, etc.
• CarbonFund – Provides a variety of carbon offset projects to choose from.
• Carbonify.com – Tree planting for offsetting carbon emissions

8. Donate Your Time or Money to an Environmental Group
Get into the holiday spirit by volunteering! There are countless ways to help improve your community—and the planet—from cleaning up a local river to helping inner city kids experience the outdoors for the first time.

How are you being green this holiday season?

We Wish You a Peaceful Holiday and an Abundant New Year!

—The Small Footprint Family

When the continuous operation of a system relies on a long and complex chain of crucial suppliers and resources, all running smoothly, that’s pretty much a textbook example of an unsustainable system. Put another way, the systems we take for granted to deliver everything from plasma-screen TV sets to store-bought apple pie are more vulnerable than we may think. 

According to Keith Farnish, “We have been sold The Complexity Myth: the idea that something is only good if it is a product of a complex set of processes, in order that it (or we) can be controlled. We are kept in check by this idea and do not question it because we have forgotten how to live simply; we have been brainwashed to love the world of the complex, and as a result we are prepared to defend the thing that is causing the collapse of the natural world, and our own basic humanity.”

To put it bluntly, we’ve become so utterly dependent on highly complex machinery, bureaucratic social structures and byzantine systems to provide for nearly every aspect of our living, that if a crisis happened (like extreme weather, diminishing groundwater, or running out of oil), we’d be up the proverbial Shit’s Creek. I mean, would you be prepared if you lost electricity to your home for even a couple of weeks?

The alternative: Radical Simplification

From Culture Change:

Simplification has so many benefits that it would not be possible to list them all here in detail, but I can outline four of them which I think capture the essence of simplicity, and show up the myth that complexity is a good, indeed an acceptable thing:

1) Simplicity requires less energy: This is self-evident, for the fewer stages there are in any process, the less energy will be consumed overall. You could argue that heating a house with a load of wood and a hole in the ceiling is more energy-intensive than a combination gas boiler, bu—taking aside the difference between renewable versus non-renewable forms of energy—in order to manufacture the combination gas boiler in the first place requires a similar number of processes as to manufacture a television. If you want more efficient heating, hammering out a rocket stove from a few sheets of metal is relatively far simpler. In addition, the more stages involved in anything, the less accountability is possible, and thus the more opportunity for energy wastage.

2) Simplicity is connected: Following on from the previous point, accountability isn’t really about economics, it is about knowledge. If I were to buy a cord of wood that had originated from a forest far away, then it would have had to pass through a number of stages to get from the source to the user: the felling of the tree(s); the sawing and preparation of the timber; the movement to the port and subsequent transportation by sea and/or land to the point at which it is available to me, or at least the person who gets it to me. Through these different stages I have progressively lost connection with the origin of the wood; I have no sight of the trees, I cannot feel the soil, I cannot smell the air where the tree once stood. I do not care. That is the way of the civilized. Compare this to a person who cuts her own wood from a tree she felled, and uses it to build a shelter. [sic. Connected people do not shit where they eat.]

3) Simplicity is stable: As Thomas Homer-Dixon described so vividly in The Upside Of Down, complex societies are inherently unstable, for they rely on a multitude of different stages and processes connected by an equally complex set of linkages, any one of which can be critical to the efficient operation of the system as a whole. Bring down a major power line to a processing plant, shut down a distribution computer, or blockade a port, and the whole dependent system may break down, particularly one that is already under stress, as so many systems are in the just-in-time economy. If you grow your own food, or ideally are a member of a small growing community, then you may be vulnerable to seasonal aberrations or pests, but so long as you do it right then your food supply is safe, and not subject to the hazards of complexity.

4) Simplicity is democratic: Complexity is used to enforce the systems of control that the Culture of Empire uses to keep us subjects of that culture. One man with a sword can control perhaps half a dozen people without swords; one man with an agenda, and a military establishment under his control can control entire nations. Within a cooperative society, a simple society working on egalitarian principles, no one can wield power without challenge. You have a say, as does everyone, for there can be no ivory towers or impregnable fortresses in the simple society—you need complexity to build them.

According to Farnish, the mindset that brought us the equation “civilization = better living = mind-boggling complexity” is flawed and should be reconsidered in a 21st-century post-peak world. “Unless we are prepared to once again embrace the simple then we have no future as a species…except, perhaps those few remaining people who still live simply.”

Get Real Simple.
There is no singular correct way to simplify our complex way of living. The challenge is to add a bit of radical simplicity and self-sufficiency to your unique life every chance you get. Here are some ideas:

• Plant an organic vegetable garden, or yardshare with a neighbor and harvest more together.
• Grow fruit or nut trees.
• Raise some backyard chickens.
• Get rid of your TV, and in its place, take up something like making homemade yogurt, homebrewing beer, beekeeping, quilting, etc.
• Do any of the above with children.
• Join or start a Transition Community.
• Cloth diaper.
• Install a composting toilet, solar system, wood stove, etc.
• Quit eating foods that come in cans, bags and boxes.
• Buy local as often as possible, especially local food.
• Commit to walking or biking everywhere you can.
• Try to buy nothing new for a year—except food, toiletries, socks and underwear. You may buy second hand, when needed.
• Join a food co-op, CSA or a credit union (or all three!).
• Contact your local and federal legislators and demand strong and swift action on climate change and renewable energy in your community.

What will you do to radically simplify your life in 2010?

There are consequences to our national habit of sending food to landfills. American food waste has significant environmental, economic, and cultural ramifications.

On average, Americans waste 40 percent of our food supply, which is more than 1400 calories of food per person per day, reports a new study by a team of National Institute of Health researchers. That food waste costs us $136 billion nationally, or about $600 per household each year. In other words, the food we waste is more than enough to feed the nearly 10% of Americans experiencing hunger right now. 
According to WastedFood.com, wasting food squanders the time, energy, and resources—both money and oil—used to produce that food. Increasingly, great amounts of fossil fuel are used to fertilize, apply pesticides to, harvest, and process food. Still more gas is spent transporting food from farm to processor, wholesaler to restaurant, store to households, and finally to the landfill. Food waste now accounts for more than one quarter of the total freshwater consumption and about 300 million barrels of oil per year!

And if that weren’t enough, food rotting in landfills contributes to global warming. Landfills are America’s primary source of methane emissions, and the second-largest component of landfills are organic materials. When food decomposes in a landfill, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. Furthermore, wet food waste is the main threat to groundwater or stream pollution in the event of a liner leak or large storm.

Given the prevalence of food waste, what can we do to keep it out of landfills? The Environmental Protection Agency provides a useful resource with its Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy. At the top of the list is “source reduction,” or, in laymen’s terms, buying less. That means planning dinners, making specific shopping lists, and sticking to them. At restaurants, this means ordering sensibly and taking home leftovers.

Reducing waste also means buying locally produced food as much as possible. If farmers have strong local demand for their products, and can deliver foods often fresh-picked the day before, there is naturally less spoilage and waste. And with strong local farm markets and CSA programs, you are less likely to buy more than you need for the week.

After source reduction, feeding hungry people through food recovery or gleaning is the next best way to curb food waste. Food-recovery groups rescue edible but unsellable food from supermarkets (see photo above), restaurants, and institutional kitchens. Gleaning, meanwhile, is the practice of picking crops that a farmer plans to leave in the field. Whole fields are often left unharvested because the crop’s market price won’t justify the expense.

Feeding animals comes next in the hierarchy, so don’t feel too bad about slipping your scraps to Spot. On a larger level, hogs, cows, chickens and other livestock could make great use of commercial food waste. Many independent farmers are thrilled to reduce their feed costs while diverting food from landfills.

Fats and greases can be diverted to rendering plants that make soap. If you’re brave enough, you can try this at home. Increasingly, used cooking oil is being used as a fuel source for biodiesel vehicles, or “grease cars,” an engine conversion to which, if you’re brave enough, you can also try at home.

Another waste-to-energy scheme is anaerobic digestion. While it’s not yet on the EPA’s hierarchy, the process harnesses bacteria to convert food and yard waste into bio-gas that can power vehicles or create electricity. Americans have long used the process to create energy from animal manure, but businesses on both coasts will soon use the process to transform supermarket and municipal food waste into power.

At the very least, food should be composted. Many individuals, schools, universities, hospitals, and municipalities have been doing so for years. Composting costs roughly the same as regular waste diversion and, depending on landfills’ tipping fees, can be even cheaper.

What comes at a high price, however, is wasting a resource like food by sending it to landfills. When that happens, we squander the time, money, resources, and effort that went into producing that item while ignoring the environmental impact.

In the spirit of not wasting food, here are two easy and delicious recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers…

Black Friday Pie

• 1 cup mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes or yams
• 1/2 cup cubed or shredded cooked turkey
• 1/2 cup cooked cut green beans
• 1/2 cup turkey gravy
• 1 cup prepared stuffing
• 2 Tbsp. butter or coconut oil, melted

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Thoroughly grease a 9-inch glass pie plate.
2. Spread mashed potatoes or yams onto the bottom and up the sides of the greased pie plate. Fill potato crust with the turkey, green beans, and gravy. Smooth stuffing on top of the turkey and gravy to create a top crust.
3. Brush top of pie with melted butter. Bake pie until stuffing is golden and crispy, about 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Turkey Soup with Root Vegetables

• 1 roast turkey carcass, cut into pieces
• 12 cups cold, pure water
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 Spanish onion, chopped
• 1/4 bunch Italian parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 whole black peppercorns

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and diced
• 1/2 pound rutabagas, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. minced Italian parsley
• 2 cups pulled turkey meat (optional)
• salt and black pepper to taste

1. Bring the turkey carcass and water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Skim off and discard any scum that forms.
2. Add the chopped celery, chopped carrots, chopped Spanish onion, 1/4 bunch parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns and return to a simmer.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 3 hours. Strain the turkey broth through a mesh sieve and skim off any fat that floats to the surface.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the red onion; cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the diced celery, diced carrots, parsnip, and rutabaga; cook 5 minutes more. Stir in the garlic and chopped parsley, and cook for 1 minute more.
6. Pour in the turkey broth, add pulled turkey meat (if using), season to taste with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer over high heat.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are nearly tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
8. Cover and remove the pot from the heat.
9. Serve and enjoy!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Cheeseslave!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Small Footprint Family to yours!

—Dawn, Ivan and Babyzilla

With all the headlines about the H1N1 flu and the excitement over the vaccine, you would think that there is nothing you can do except get your shot and pray not to get sick this year. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Considering that communicable diseases like colds and flu are highly contagious, your best bet is to prevent becoming infected in the first place. 

Even if you do get sick this season, the severity and longevity of illness is highly dependent on the strength of your immune system and your body’s ability to fight off the invading virus. And if you DO choose to get the flu shot or swine flu shot, a strong immune system is a MUST to help prevent potentially serious side effects.

Low Immunity Sets the Stage for Sickness
Any illness, whether bacterial, fungal or viral, shows up in individuals who are “susceptible.” Making healthy lifestyle choices during cold and flu season (and all year round) will help build defenses in your body. But there are several very easy, all-natural steps you can take to arm yourself against colds and flu.

1. Eat Probiotic Foods
They say that 80% of your immune system is located in your gut—those trillions of beneficial bacteria in your intestines that help you fight disease and absorb nutrients. Keeping this population healthy and strong is arguably your strongest defense against colds, flus and other diseases.

Replenish your gut daily by incorporating wholesome fermented foods and drinks into your diet like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchee. Fermenting your own vegetables is far more effective and affordable than buying probiotic supplements or other mass-marked products that only claim to boost your immunity. Not only will keeping your gut flora healthy help protect you from disease, but it can also give you better digestion. And from real ginger beer to homemade pickles, there are so many delicious ways to enjoy probiotic foods at least once a day. Learn more about making probiotic foods. >>

2. Eat Enough Good Food
Make sure you get three meals a day that include fresh fruits and veggies, and enjoy healthy snacks if you need them, so your blood sugar stays relatively even throughout the day. Stock up on raw fruits and vegetables for their antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber and enzymes. The nutrition that you get from raw fruits and veggies is unparalleled. Many vitamins, including C, are antioxidants and will protect cells—including those of your immune system—from damage by toxins in the environment. Dark-colored produce (berries, kale, broccoli) tends to be higher in flavonoids, polyphenols and other antioxidants.

3. Get Enough Sleep
Whatever amount of sleep you need to feel refreshed in the morning, whether that’s 6 hours or 10—make sure you get it! Insufficient sleep depresses the immune system, opening the door to colds, upper-respiratory infections, and other nagging ills. Consider your caffeine intake. Studies show that caffeine suppresses the functions of key immune agents, such as lymphocytes and T cells. Caffeine also robs your body of minerals and vitamins, and it dehydrates you. If you drink coffee, make sure you add an additional two glasses to your water intake per cup of coffee. A mineral supplement helps to offset caffeine’s damage, too.

4. Consume More Glutamine
Your immune cells rely on an amino acid called glutamine to do their jobs. “Glutamine comes from protein foods, and if you’re not eating enough of those, your body will borrow from skeletal muscle, especially if you’re working out,” says Jose Antonio, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., CEO of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. In one study, marathon runners who took glutamine instead of a placebo had less chance of experiencing an upper-respiratory infection after racing.

Bone broths made from grassfed beef or chicken are an outstanding source of natural glutamine, and adding a cup a day to your diet can really boost your immune health. But if you are an athlete, you may need to supplement with more. After exercising, try taking 5 to 15 grams of L-Glutamine. Your white blood cells and your muscles will thank you. When German researchers analyzed a series of muscle biopsies, they discovered that levels of glutamine decreased as the donor’s age increased, suggesting that supplementing with the amino acid now may help slow the steady muscle loss that usually occurs along with aging.

5. Get Plenty of Vitamin D
The majority of adults and children in the U.S. are deficient in the sunshine vitamin, putting them at greater risk for all infections. A number of recent medical trials have demonstrated that individuals with the lowest levels of vitamin D had the highest rates of serious illness and infections.

You can get Vitamin D naturally by daily exposing your arms and face for 20 minutes in the sun, but most people need even more than this. Good sources include good old fashioned cod liver oil (my favorite brand here), grassfed beef liver, egg yolks from pasture-raised chickens, and fatty fish like tuna and salmon. You can also buy liquid Vitamin D supplements which are very effective and easy to take.

6. Eat Mushrooms
Even the inexpensive and humble button mushroom is loaded with polysaccharides called beta glucans. Numerous medical studies have shown that beta glucans can positively modulate and strengthen the immune system and prevent infections. In addition to finding it in all types of delicious, fresh mushrooms, you can also buy Beta Glucans as a supplement to take during cold and flu season.

7. Use Thieves’ Oil Generously
Thieves’ oil is a 1:1 blend of the essential oils of clove, cinnamon, lemon, rosemary and eucalyptus. The blend is based on a recipe developed by a group of spice merchants in 15th-century Marseilles, France, who turned to thieving when trade was shut down due to a plague. They protected their health as they robbed the dead, sick, and dying by applying a combination of herbs, spices, and essential oils to their clothing and skin – a recipe which has since been unearthed in the British archives and used in the present day.

Thieves blend has been clinically tested and proven to be more than 99% effective against airborne bacteria (study conducted at Weber State University, 1997). It has been used to treat everything from candida and bacterial infections to toxic mold to colds and flu. I often take a drop and rub it into my hands after I use a public restroom. You can also mix several drops into a spray bottle of water, and use the spray to help disinfect surfaces around your home.

Because essential oils are made of light molecules, they are easily absorbed by the respiratory system and can be highly effective in treating sinus and respiratory disorders. I slather Thieves on my throat and chest to treat a cold, or on the bottoms of my feet to keep well, and boost my immunity all winter long. Sometimes I’ll take a drop in a cup of hot water or tea to clear my sinuses and soothe my throat.

Please note: Thieves’ oil should only be made with therapeutic-grade, organic essential oils. Please be aware that the source of the oils is important, and labeling can be misleading. Some brands of essential oil can be very toxic! DO NOT use essential oils internally or on your body unless you’re sure of their quality and safety. Resource for safe, high quality essential oils here. >>

8. Drink Plenty of Water
Even overnight, during what amounts to an 8-hour fast, your immune reserves are being drained. Hydration becomes even more important when you’re sick. Fluids not only transport nutrients to the illness site, but also take toxins away for disposal.

When you wake up, drink water to replenish all the systems that have been active during the night. Green, black, or white (not herbal) tea is another immune-friendly vehicle for consuming water. You should be drinking, in daily ounces, half your body weight in pounds. (i.e. Body weight in pounds, divided by 2 = number of ounces of water per day.)

9. Drink your Lemons
Lemon is the ideal food for restoring acid-alkali balance. Drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice in water, or adding it to tea, salad dressings (in place of vinegar), baking or cooking, helps maintain the body’s internal “climate” at a pH which supports healthy bacteria instead of the viruses and harmful bacteria which thrive in more acidic environments.

You can also use apple cider vinegar to improve your body’s alkalinity, but the taste of lemons is much more pleasant! We make a quick homemade lemonade by squeezing the juice of one lemon into a glass of ice water or iced seltzer water, and adding a packet (about 1 tsp.) of stevia powder. Stir and enjoy!

10. Quit the Sugar
If you do only one thing to boost your immune system, eliminating sugar will do the most. You will see noticeable results in your energy levels, weight distribution, immunity and your ability to think clearly when you break the cravings and stop eating refined sugar. Many holistic nutritionists consider sugar a drug for its impact on the human body; I have known practitioners to prioritize eliminating sugar from the diet over recommending that people quitting smoking. Healthier sweeteners such as honey or stevia do exist, and can be used in moderation, but avoid artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Equal; they are more toxic than cane sugar.

Most importantly, if you are feeling like your “fighting off a bug” or “coming down with something,” avoid sugar and sweet foods at all costs. In my experience, sugar is enough of an immune depressant that eating sweets of any kind might likely tip the scales against you and bring that cold or flu on full strength.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays hosted by Food Renegade and Prevention Not Prescriptions hosted by The Kathleen Show!

Approximately 85,000 chemicals are in use today. According to the Breast Cancer Fund, complete toxicological screening data is available for only 7% of these chemicals, and more than 90% have never been tested for their effects on human health. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, household cleaning products rank among the most toxic everyday substances to which people are exposed, and most chemical brands are not safe. Some especially toxic household cleaners include ammonia, chlorine bleach, aerosol propellants, detergents, petroleum distillates and toluene. Many of these substances not only harm the skin, but they also give off toxic fumes that affect the person using the product and everyone else in the area. 

Everything from dermatitis to headaches to cancer have been associated with the chemical products we use to clean our furniture, bathrooms and clothes, including air fresheners. Traditional cleaning agents infect our lungs with carcinogens, assault our immune system, and expose us to unnecessary physical stress. They are also typically made from petroleum, and remain toxic in the earth’s soil, water, and environment for generations.

In contrast, green cleaning products are typically made with common kitchen ingredients like water, white vinegar, baking soda and castile soap. Some also include coconut or orange oils, and other powerful plant ingredients.

Making the switch to naturally derived, biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning products is easy. Today’s green cleaning products have been proven to clean just as well—if not better than— traditional cleaning products without the side effects associated with the use of toxic chemicals. As the health and environmental impacts of conventional cleaning products become more thoroughly understood, more and more brands of healthy, green, and effective cleaning products have started hitting the market. Look for brands like SimpleGreen, Mrs. Meyer’s, CitraSolv, Ecover, Seventh Generation, and Method next time you are at the store.

Shop for Green Cleaning Products >>

In these financially challenging times, being green often means saving money too! These effective, non-toxic homemade cleaners cost just a few dollars to make:

Homemade Glass Cleaner

Using isopropyl alcohol and white vinegar together makes a quickly evaporating spray glass and mirror cleaner that competes with national brands. This formula can also be used to give a nice shine to hard tiles, chrome, and other surfaces.If you use old newspaper to wipe your windows and mirrors, you’ll have the ultimate eco-friendly, streak-free shine!

• 1 cup rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar

Mix together in a reusable spray bottle.

All-Purpose Disinfectant

• 2 tsp. borax
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 3-4 cups hot water
• 15 drops tea tree oil

1. Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle and mix well.
2. For extra cleaning power, add 1/4 tsp. liquid soap to the mixture.

Tub and Tile Scrub

• 1-2/3 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup liquid soap
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar

1. Mix all ingredients, adding the vinegar after the other ingredients are well mixed. (if you add the vinegar too early it will react with the baking soda).
2. Immediately apply, wipe and scrub.

Toilet Cleaner

• 1 cup of borax
• 1/4 cup vinegar

1. Pour both borax and vinegar into the toilet before going to bed. In the morning, scrub and flush.

Furniture Polish

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice

1. Mix into a bowl or spray bottle, and polish furniture with a soft cloth.
2. Wipe dry with another cloth.

Laundry Enhancers

1. To brighten laundry, add one half cup of strained lemon juice during the rinse cycle.
2. For a fabric rinse, add one quarter cup white vinegar during the washing machine’s rinse cycle to remove detergent completely from clothes.
3. To reduce the amount of laundry detergent you need to use, add baking soda or washing soda. These minerals soften the water, which increases the detergent’s power. For liquid detergent, add one half cup soda at the beginning of the wash. For powdered detergent, add one half cup soda during the rinse cycle.

Nothing would protect the environment and reduce our dependence on oil more than reducing our transportation footprint. Transportation accounts for more than 30 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. In big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Washington, D.C., car pollution causes the grey smog that leads to hotter summers and those horrible red, orange and even purple air-quality days that cause asthma in children and other health problems in adults. 

According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), public transportation in the United States saves approximately 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline and about 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Yet only 14 million Americans use public transportation daily, while 88 percent of all trips in the United States are made by car—and many of those cars carry only one person.

Here’s how commuting wisely could make a difference for your family:

• Energy Independence. If just one in 10 Americans used public transportation daily, U.S. reliance on foreign oil would decrease 40 percent.
• Safety. Riding a bus is 79 times safer than riding in an automobile, and riding a train or subway is even safer.
• Health. Studies have shown that people who use public transportation regularly tend to be healthier than people who don’t, because of the exercise they get walking to and from bus stops, subway stations and their homes and offices.
• Cost savings. According to an APTA study, families that use public transportation can reduce their household expenses by $6,200 annually, more than the average U.S. household spends on food every year. If you can bike or walk, you’ll save even more.

While living close enough to walk or bike to work is the healthiest, cheapest and most eco-friendly option, public transportation and carpooling are very good choices too. But perhaps the best reason to leave the car at home is that you can sit back, read the paper and avoid the stress and headache of dealing with rush-hour traffic!