Vitality

via MindBodyGreen If this isn't an eye-opening image, I don't know what is. This graphic from Visual Economics breaks down what the average American consumes in...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Imagine if the very thing you used and depended on to protect you from skin cancer was capable of exacerbating the growth of epidermal lesions and tumors. Well that’s what the Environmental Working Group claims may be the case. A recent study shows that retinyl palmitate, a synthetic form of vitamin A, is carcinogenic on skin exposed to the sun.

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant The old diet and exercise routine just doesn’t seem to be working anymore. You eat your fruits and veggies, avoid carbohydrates (well, you try to), and are physically active at least 3 times per week. Yet, when you step on the scale it won’t budge past your old plop-down-on-the-couch-with-a-bag-of-chips weight. What is it going to take to drop the next 10 to 15 pounds? Scientists have discovered that it’s not your diet or exercise routine to blame, it’s a little endocrine-disrupting chemical known as EDC’s or “obesogens” making it impossible to shed the extra fat.

I was hoping to wear a white dress and walk into town to share my heartfelt joy with my friends. I wanted to roar like a white lion with pride and share the passion of OUR WIN TOGETHER.

By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant MyBike is an electric bicycle retailer based in Boston, MA that provides an alternative mode of transportation that reduces individuals’ carbon footprints, as well as the stress and hassle of sitting in traffic. With motor vehicles as the single biggest source of air pollution it’s about time we find less abrasive ways to get around.

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Buelton California at the Circle JB Polo Ranch photo credits LuxEco Living...

By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate As I wind down for the year I find myself thinking about a book called The Home Within Us and how much that says about my design philosophy. Everything I approach as a designer lies first and foremost in the feeling of comfort, well being, creating a place of safety and sanctuary. Problem solving, space planning, furniture and color selection comes later but it is driven by these things.

By: Molly Cimikoski, Editorial Assistant What if products that are marketed to assist in living a healthier lifestyle, are actually the ones making us sick?...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Whole body, mind and spirit Olivia helps others heal In July,...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Olivia Newton-John and John Easterling, both ardent environmentalists, were married in July of 2008. They have since used the power of their union, their individual celebrity, and their heartfelt enthusiasm for wellness to bring healing to the world. Each has suffered bouts with illness and discovered the earth’s natural medicinal bounty on the road to recovery, awakening them to not only the importance of environmentalism but also of conservation. The LuxEco advocate couple, always on the go—from performing at the Pink Ribbon Gala in Vienna to harvesting anti-oxidant fruits in the Peruvian rain forest—spent some time on the phone with me, discussing their passion.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Seeing Citizen Kane...

By Jazmin Clark, Editorial Assistant We all love our pets, and naturally we want what’s best for them. What better way to show them that love than to extend our own healthy eating practices to the food we provide for them? In today’s increasingly health conscious, green-evolving world there are plenty of organic, grain-free, and holistic options for pet food out there. But how do we know which ones are right for our furry friends?

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World LuxEcoLiving "The hair cut that I'm most proud of, to tell the truth,...

Travels with Journey The Cliffs Resort is a 5 star Doggie Haven Hotel It's a classic experience! The book, Eloise at the Plaza, the story about...

By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant The start of a new year beings motivation to do bigger and better things than the previous year. If improving fitness is one of your resolutions, why not hit a gym that not only helps you shed pounds but also helps the environment? Green gyms and fitness centers are proliferating as we become more conscious of how the health of the planet relates to their own health.

By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin Did you know that most kids’ meals in restaurants have twice as many calories as the meal you’d serve them at home? Not only are the majority of these meals laden with saturated fat and salt, but some even reach a whopping 1,000 calories! Such a meal is high in calories for an adult, and for a child that’s just ridiculous.

By Christopher Gavigan, CEO and Executive Director of Healthy Child Healthy World and LuxEco Advocate Interview Conducted By Nancy Chuda, Founder of LuxEco Living and...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Cows have a voice too! If you can stomach, actually bare...

By Jason Wachob, Founder of MindBodyGreen.com and  LuxEco Advocate A little yoga after a day at the office might be just what you need to...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. This year Healthy Child Healthy World is celebrating its twentieth...

By F.R.E.E. Will, LuxEco Editorial Assistant, Author of In The Spice Cabinet series The purpose of this article and the series as a whole is to examine the ingredients that go into some of your favorite dishes, particularly the benefits some of the more familiar (and some not so familiar) herbs and spices contain.

By: Nina Montée Karp, Executive Producer & Director, The Path of Wellness & Healing and LuxEco Advocate The reality is harsh: 1 in 8 of our mothers, daughters, sisters and friends will hear the words “You have breast cancer” at some time in their lives. In fact, every 3 minutes in the US, a new woman is given this frightening diagnosis and as many as 25% of these women will ultimately die of that disease. The figures are startling, but here is, perhaps, the most surprising number of all: Only 10% of women with breast cancer have a family predisposition to get it. In other words, 90% of all breast cancers are provoked not by inherited genes, but by environmental triggers. This is critically important because it means that in up to 90% of cases, breast cancer may be preventable!

By Nancy Chuda founder and editor-in-chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. Do drop in when in San Luis Obispo. Visit the...

By Sahar Ghaffari, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Are you feeling a bit stressed but don’t want to take any prescription medication? Or like your body needs to be cleansed, but don’t want to starve yourself on a diet? Well then a natural alternative for you could be cupping. Cupping is an ancient method of medicine used by cultures around the world to relieve muscle pain as well as release the body of its toxins.

An introduction by Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEco Living and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. In the last two decades, Healthy Child Healthy World has sounded many alarms to awaken parents to the prevailing problems of chemicals in our environment. With an influx of untested chemicals in commerce, coupled by a regulatory system that is stymied by scientific knowledge, the time is now for a complete overhaul of the laws which permit the inhumane testing of chemicals in our air, water and food which affect our most vulnerable citizens. Children are suffering due to these exposures and their health and life expectancy is being altered by an inept system of governance which supplies the demand for agriculture and consumer products without oversight. Years ago, many of us testified in Congress to prevail upon

By Robyn O'Brien, Founder of Allergy Kids Foundation and LuxEco Advocate Now, I’m not sure where you stand on this whole food thing. But if you’re anything like me, you probably don’t want someone telling you what to eat. So when friends first started trying to educate me about terms like organic, local, natural and grass fed, I have to admit, I tuned out (and probably rolled my eyes). Because the reality is that food is never just food. Food is comfort. Food is family. It is security. It is politics. And it is loaded.

Meridith Baer is a storyteller. For the past 15 years, Meridith has designed interiors by imagining who might live in them and telling their...

Introduction by Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. If you haven't had a chance to...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Travels with Journey, The Hallmark Inn Davis, California "The capacity for hope is...

By Sahar Ghaffari, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant In a recent interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN, former president Bill Clinton announced that his recent 24 pound weight loss was thanks to a vegan diet. The 64 year old Clinton went on an “essentially plant-based diet” living primarily on vegetables, legumes, fruit, and protein supplements mixed in with almond milk in the mornings.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Here's a LuxEcoLiving4U time saver. It's called Hay Handle.           Time...

“Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore.” These are the first two phrases that Tosca sings in her famous Act 2 aria, “Vissi d’arte.” The English translation means, “I lived for art, I lived for love.” Puccini’s Tosca was one of Maria Callas’ most infamous operatic roles and the prime example of life imitating art. Callas’ life ended on September 16, 1977 in a Paris apartment. It is said that she died of a broken heart as did opera singer Floria Tosca at the end of the opera. Callas had an extra special gift which was reflected in the art form of opera. Transforming passion through music for the world to hear was what she sacrificed her life for.

By: Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant My Nana is very important to me, and with good reason.  She has taught me so many valuable...

LA Pollution: It may not go away any time soon! By: Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Los Angeles: home smog contamination, congested freeways, smog, and long commutes. “No body walks in LA” as that famous pop song of the 80's astutely observes. And for the most part, they are right: no body does walk in LA. Which is creating more and more pollution in LA. Even the most casual observer covering ground in this megalopolis will take note of how few pedestrians there are. It is a car culture; people sometimes cover 40 + miles in a day just to get to work and back.

"One Today" One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores, peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces of the Great Lakes, spreading...