Find a Pediatrician Who Shares Your Environmental Health Concerns
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.
Write a Novel, Lose Weight, Win at Work, and Prevent Disease…With A Lifespan Treadmill...
By Alanna Rosette Brown, a writer/filmmaker, LuxEcoLiving Advocate, and author of Moonpennies. Follow her blog at alannarosette.com
Make a New Years Resolution: Stand-Up and Walk...
The Farm Effect: Are you allergic to nature?
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...
Food fit for a healthier life: Olivia Newton-John’s new cookbook Livwise guarentees you will...
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,...
Reflecting on The Home Within Us
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.
The Powers of Tea Tree Oil
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.
Beauty’s Big Secret: Hidden Toxins in Fragrance
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article entitled “Fragrance Chemicals and the Scent of Suspicion,” the fragrance industry has been keeping vital chemical information from the public. The article says two recent reports, one by the EWG and one by Women’s Voices for the Earth, have caused a stir amongst researchers, environmental groups, consumers, and industry legislation. These reports reveal that on the label of any given personal care product, bottle of perfume, or cleaning agent the word “fragrance” is loaded with unknown meaning. Manufacturers have used this one word, a nondescript listing among the other ingredients, as a catch-all to legally mask the dozen-or-more chemicals not actually listed.
Oil Spill Kills Gulf Coast Shrimp Season; A Culture Hangs in the Balance
By Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden...
Chemical Creepers: Don’t Wash Your Liver In The Sink!
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant
The largest organ in, or should I say on, our bodies…the epidermis. It is defined by the Online...
To Own a Piece of History: The Old St. Angela Bed & Breakfast Monterey...
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World
You don't want to miss the breakfast or the bed...
Community Gardening With Common Ground
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” In the 1970s, several senators began to recognize a literal truth behind this Chinese proverb. They realized the importance of teaching the man how to provide his own food source. When the government grasped the self-sufficiency and power of being able to fish, or in this case garden, they began granting $100,000 per year to gardening programs. This evolved to $100,000 to each of 20 metro areas around the United States, one of them being Los Angeles.
Parenting for Peace by Marcy Axness, PhD: A Book Review
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World.
It...
The Yoga Break
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!
Flavorful News in Light of Kellogg Recall
By: Molly Cimikoski, Editorial Assistant
With the latest Kellogg recall virtually banning several of the sugary cereals that children (and the young at heart) have...
Chemical Dispersant Corexit Being Used In Gulf
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
The powers-that-be have refused the natural solutions being publicly offered by nation-wide volunteers for cleanup of the BP oil disaster. Instead, they have chosen to dump chemical dispersants on the spill site; namely, Corexit. Talk about adding insult to injury. With several urgent prompts being made by eco-concerned citizens, it seems BP’s decided approach—for now, anyway—is to further pollute the already distressed Gulf.
Life Happened, Part II: How Do You Get Cancer?
By Michelle Dennis, LuxEcoLiving Marketing Assistant and author of "COLON TALK", a cancer survivor's blog.
The day I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, I asked...
In the Spice Cabinet: Marjoram, How Sweet It Is
By F.R.E.E. Will LuxEco Editorial Assistant & Author of In The Spice Cabinet series
Although marjoram carries a botanical name that denotes its grouping in the same genus as oregano (Origanum majorana), it does in fact have an alias of sorts to better distinguish between the two, Majorana hortensis. It is also, in culinary circles, distinguished from other less palatable
varieties of the herb by the more common name ‘sweet’ or ‘knotted’ marjoram . From a purely physical standpoint oregano tends to be the hardier of two when discussing ideal growing condition with marjoram requiring much drier conditions, and more in the way of full sunlight in order to reap the best quality. The two related herbs are also distinguished between their flowering tops, oregano flowers typically being a pink/purple while marjoram flowers tend to be white.
Chemicals Are Stealing Our Children’s Future
By Nancy Chuda, Co-Founder of LuxEcoLiving.com and Healthy Child Healthy World.
This Earth Day, April 22, 2010, marks the 19th anniversary of the passing of...
Eight Great Benefits Of Walking
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
I came across this MSN health article on walking and, as an avid walker myself (I walk an average of 12 miles per week), I had to share what I learned. Regular brisk walking can do wonders for your health, and it’s so simple! No gym fees, nowhere to drive to, no certain time to be at that aerobics class. You can just walk out the door at your favorite time of day, pop in a set of headphones, and tour the neighborhood. Research shows there are 8 incredible benefits to this type of moderate exercise.
Laura Turner Seydel shares memories of building her dream eco-home
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...
“Haha” Your Way to Better Health
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.
Citizen Kane at the Hearst Castle was The Screening on Steroids
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...
LuxEco Living Founders, James and Nancy Chuda, To Be Featured On CNN’s “Toxic America”
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,...
Toxic Chemicals: Where You Find Them and What They Do
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...
Chemicals May Be Sabotaging Your Diet
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.
Petrochemicals: A Groundbreaking Report From The Medical Mainstream
By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEcoLiving.com
I have often heard from environmentalists and natural health experts that you can chart the introduction of chemicals (particularly petrochemicals) to our society and see the graph begin to sharply incline after WWII and reach epic proportions from the 1980's. Likewise, you could chart the increase in cancers, diabetes, obesity, autism, heart disease and asthma and see the same stratospheric rise. In fact, you could put the two charts on top of each and see the obvious correlation.
An Angel’s Skin
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...
Fitness Gone Green
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.
Graco Commits to Banning Toxic Flame Retardants from Children’s Products
Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
Step back in time. Over twenty years ago when...
How Fit Are You?
The holidays are coming. You just spent a fortune on that special cream that is meant to reduce stretch marks but did you ever...
Sebelius: Champion of Health AND Wellness
The historic passage of last night's health care reform bill will positively effect millions of American's with immediate benefits as outlined in the House...
Travels with Journey: The San Ysidro Ranch is a 5 paw resort
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...
How busy are you?
This article originally appeared in The New York Times
The ‘Busy’ Trap
By TIM KREIDER
If you live in America in the 21st century you've probably...
Australia Leads Cancer Recovery Through Wellness with $68.9m in Funding
By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEcoLiving.com
When fighting cancer, we often think of disease management through any number of Western medical practices. But wellness...
The Frightening Truth Behind Cosmetics
By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Have you ever wondered how your shampoo fulfills its magnificent claims to give you “shinier,” “sleeker,” “frizz freer,” “blonder,” “brunetter,” (…the list goes on) hair? Annie Leonard, author of The Story of Stuff and The Story of Bottled Water, wondered this of her personal favorite, Pantene Pro-V. She looked at the ingredients on the bottle post-lather and thought, “Sodium laureth sulfate? Tetrasodium EDTA? Methylisothiazolinone? What is this stuff?” After doing some research, she found the truth behind her shampoo was disheartening, to say the least. In her most recent short film installment, The Story of Cosmetics, Annie Leonard tells us how it’s not just shampoo, but many personal care products that contain toxic ingredients. From sunscreen to lipstick, there are disease-causing chemicals in our daily product regimen responsible for cancer, learning disabilities, and much more.










