Vitality

By F.R.E.E. Will, LuxEco Editorial Assistant, Author of In The Spice Cabinet series A member of the same family as the more known ginger plant, the rhizome, or root, of the tumeric plant has quite the storied history. Native to the Indian subcontinent tropical regions of Southeast Asia, tumeric has been used in both ancient Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for its anti-inflammatory properties and has been used for ailments ranging from jaundice to various forms of arthritis. Also well documented are the antiseptic properties of the volatile oils contained in tumeric making it quite effective in dealing with skin afflictions from minor cuts to more severe conditions like eczema and psoriasis; not to mention undeniably cheaper than the vast amounts of antiseptic sprays and creams on the market that serve the same function.

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: Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEco Living. Walking around plush suburban America in Hazmat suits because the environment is saturated with toxic chemicals? Well,...

By: Joanna Bateman, Luxeco Editorial Assistant I’m a mid-west girl who recently moved west to California to spread my wings and fly. And if it weren’t for this past August, I’d be one stressed-out-Sally in the big sea of crazy known as Los Angeles. I needed to ground myself so that I didn’t float away in La La land. I needed Yoga camp!

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Saying goodbye to a feathered friend We lost her yesterday. It...

Hands by Guido Daniele Hands by Guido Daniele By Florence "Flip" Ross, LuxEcoLiving Advocate and Contributor If I could bring the planet Earth, back to its natural beauty If I could sing its praise, and make the world assume its duty If I could make the industries clean up their foul pollution Our air, our water, would be clean, and would be the solution If I could force our corporations to help clean up our planet

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 Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Common items in your home that you interact with on a daily basis could be exposing you to chemicals...

by Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health via The...

By Lorri Ballance Laird, LuxEcoLiving Advocate Male breast cancer is on the rise, according to researchers at the University of Leeds, yet awareness of the disease is low and most men are not aware they are at risk. The study, funded by Breast Cancer Campaign and Yorkshire Cancer Research, University of Leeds, reviewed male breast cancer cases in four Western countries: England, Scotland, Canada and Australia. According to the researchers, the incidence of male breast cancer in England rose over a 20 year period, from 185 cases in 1986 to 277 cases in 2006.

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

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 and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World     Santa Barbara's San Ysidro Ranch is a posh, plush puppy...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World For most people the diagnosis of cancer is a daunting...

Picture of the week   A Lions Mane Jellyfish, the largest jellyfish in the world! They have been swimming in arctic waters since before...

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...

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.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Get outdoors and enjoy the breeze it's good for you   I...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World   We had a terrible scare!!! Journey, our 18 month old adopted yellow...

Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Last summer, I had the privilege of interviewing Laura...

By Nina Montee Karp a LuxEcoLiving  advocate for womens health and founding member of Healthy Child Healthy World Reposted courtesy of The Huffington Post You'd never...

By Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Executive Director/CEO, Healthy Child Healthy World and a LuxEcoLiving Advocate   Is there a link between the environment and illnesses such as...

By: Janelle Sorensen, courtesy of Healthy Child Healthy World Looking for a pediatrician is no easy task, especially if your concerns and parenting methods aren’t exactly the same as mainstream America. My husband and I scoured the city for a full year before finding the right one for our daughters. But, it totally paid off. We found an amazingly supportive and brilliant pediatrician whose philosophy was to tell us everything she knew and then let us choose what to do. She had only one provision; if she ever thought the results of a treatment were sub-par, then she would intervene with an alternate recommendation. That never happened and I was always overwhelmed with how much she knew. She could rattle off statistics about best practices in the EU, pertinent studies regarding alternative remedies, and recent outbreaks that could put my children at risk. She was a dream come true. But, alas, we moved. Now we are on the hunt again.

By: Emily Lynne Ion via Heathy Child Healthy World on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Today, the Healthy Child family is mourning the loss of an...

By Sahar Ghaffari, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant You may or may not have heard of the essential oil known as tea tree oil, but it has been an age old remedy for a myriad of ailments. Obtained from the leaves of the native Australian plant called Melaleuca alternifolia, Australian Aboriginals used the leaves to heal skin cuts, wounds, and infections. The name originated from the fact that the leaves of the plant were used as a substitute for tea. Tea tree oil has antiseptic, anti-fungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties which make it useful in a variety of ways.

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...

How to navigate high fructose corn syrup and sugar substitutes to avoid harmful artificial sweeteners in favor of plant based alternatives. By: Molly Cimikoski, Editorial Assistant What if products that contain high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, which are marketed to assist in living a healthier lifestyle, are actually the ones making us sick? As of 2007, American consumers were spending 21 billion dollars 21 billion dollars annually on diet, or low calorie, drinks. From the outsider perspective, this still seems like progress compared to the alternative statistic, with 64% of Americans qualifying as overweight or obese. But what if you found out that the sugar alternatives that many diet products promote are not only ineffective as weight loss methods, but are also dangerous to your health?

By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEcoLiving.com According to the US government, One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives; many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. A recent study put the health care costs of obesity-related diseases at $147 billion per year. With rates having tripled over the last three decades and with millions effected and the percentage of obese or overweight children at or above 30% in 30 states, the childhood obesity epidemic shows no slowing in site... YET. Enter First Lady Michelle Obama. The Goal: Through nutrition education, healthy food alternatives, physical fitness and a coordinated effort between public, private and non-private sector, the challenge of childhood obesity will be solved within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight.

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 Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant As I sit in a cozy coffee shop with the soy latte I was once enjoying, I suddenly wish I had opted for skim milk instead. With my laptop fired up, I stumble upon a website revealing the numerous dangers of what most deem to be a healthy part of one’s diet: soy. Praised for its reputation as a good source of protein while being low in saturated fats, soy is a popular choice for many. What the soy latte orderers of the world aren’t aware of, are the many underlying health risks that come with heavy or long-term use of this popular coffee supplement.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World   OLIVIA Newton-John says she was inspired to lend her...

By: Lewis Perkins, Founder of Women Are Saving The World Now and LuxEco Advocate Article via Women Are Saving The World Now Last week, I had...

A hearty "Haha" or fit of laughter may just be the key to a happier and healthier life. By: Kammie Daniels LuxEco Editorial Assistant A person must smile nearly a quarter of a million times to create one wrinkle. 15 seconds of laughter alone can add two days to your life span. One hearty chuckle burns over three calories. In today’s image and age-conscious society, where children want to grow up, adults want to hit the rewind button, and those in their twenties are considered to be in the "prime of their life", modern research is revealing that laughter is much more than just funny business.

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,...

Did you know that Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) can lead to early death?