Rebecca

USDA National Organic Standards – USDA ORGANIC Label-Sticker

May 21, 2012 by Rebecca

USDA Organic Seal

If you buy organic produce or organic meat you have probably noticed a green sticker that says ” USDA ORGANIC “. Below we explain some of what this USDA organic food sticker should represent.

Organic Standards

The organic standards describe the specific requirements that must be verified by a USDA-accredited certifying agent before products can be labeled USDA organic. Overall, organic operations must demonstrate that they are protecting natural resources, conserving biodiversity, and using only approved substances. A brief summary is provided below. View regulations.

Organic Crops

The USDA organic seal verifies that irradiation, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers, prohibited pesticides, and genetically modified organisms were not used.

Organic Livestock

The USDA organic seal verifies that producers met animal health and welfare standards, did not use antibiotics or growth hormones, used 100% organic feed, and provided animals with access to the outdoors.

Organic Multi-ingredient Foods

The USDA organic seal verifies that the product has 95% or more certified organic content. If the label claims that it was made with specified organic ingredients, you can be sure that those specific ingredients are certified organic.

Regulatory Process of the National Organic Program

The NOP (National Organic Program) develops the laws that regulate the creation, production, handling, labeling, trade, and enforcement of all USDA organic products. This process, commonly referred to as rule making, involves input from the National Organic Standards Board (a Federal Advisory Committee made up of fifteen members of the public).

CLICK HERE to go to the USDA Government website for the National Organic Program

I hope the above health information has been of help to you.

The above information is opinion based except where noted. Always contact a licensed professional for information on the above subject or BEFORE applying or practicing the above information.

CLICK HERE to view “The Difference Between Certified Organic, Organic, Made with Organic Ingredients and USDA Organic Labels”

Healthy Martin website is designed to assist persons and organizations with finding natural health, alternative health and holistic health choices for you, your family and friends. We encourage people, health organizations and alternative health businesses to use this website to help promote natural, holistic, organic and alternative health lifestyle choices to America.

Filed Under: USDA - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Organic

Back Pain and Spine Problems ?

May 20, 2012 by Rebecca

Do you suffer with back and spine pain problems?

Sometimes when accidents, trauma or neglect happens surgery may be one of the main options to be considered when back and spine pain is involved.

On Saturday we had the opportunity to meet three back and spine specialist from the Back and Spine Center at Martin Memorial. The doctors, John K.B. Afshar, M.D., John R Robinson, Jr., M.D. and John J. Viola, M.D. seemed very knowledgeable about the back and spine and presented themselves as very patient friendly.

Diagnosing Back and Spine Problems

The doctors’ explained that one of the keys to relieving your pain faster is diagnosing its cause early as possible. Your diagnosis can be coordinated through one of Martin Health’s 5 convenient Imaging Centers in the Martin County Area. Each center has state-of-the-art MRIs, PET/CT scanners, bone densitometry and X-rays that immediately produce clear digital images that are transmitted electronically to the Back and Spine Center for analysis.

“That’s why you can get an appointment with a neurosurgeon at the Back and Spine Center within 24 to 48 hours of your tests”. You can even see a physicians assistant the same day. They can also partner with pain management and chiropractic specialists to help you relieve and control discomfort.

Non-Surgical Back and Spine Alternatives

The doctors mentioned that neurosurgery isn’t always the only answer for back and spine patients. That’s why a wide range of non-surgical treatment options are available and considered. At Back and and Spine Center at Martin Memorial a dedicated physical therapist can develop a customized treatment plan for you.
A holistic approach can be developed for you that may include proper nutrition, exercise, weight management, acupuncture and therapeutic massage.

Preventative Back and Spine Care

Preventative care may start with proper use of posture, exercise, proper weight management and limiting your exposure to strains and blunt trauma. Contact your health care provider for specific instructions. And as always proper nutrition is the best foundation to better health.

The above information is opinion based except where noted. Always contact a licensed professional for information on the above subject or BEFORE applying or practicing the above information.

CLICK HERE to view Chiropractors of Palm Beach County, Martin County, St Lucie County and Indian River County Florida.

Healthy Martin website is designed to assist persons and organizations for natural health, alternative health, holistic health in Martin County – Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, Hobe Sound, in Palm Beach County – Jupiter FL, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast of Florida to find healthy alternatives. We encourage health organizations and alternative health businesses to use this website to help promote natural, holistic, organic and alternative health lifestyle choices to America.

Filed Under: Doctors-Physicians in Martin County FL, Healthier living through knowledge and informed life health style choices for better health

For Summer Brides and All Women Who Want to Look and Feel Beautiful !

May 10, 2012 by Rebecca

Holistic Tips To Looking Your Best:

You are only as pretty as you feel. The secret to “true beauty” is to work from the inside out, as well as the outside in.
It is important to reduce exposure to toxins of all sorts, including stress, and watching what we put in the body, as well as what we put on it.
This is what your skin needs to look its best. Follow these basic necessities for a natural skincare routine:
Cleansing (morning and night for oily skin, just at bed time for dry skin) and moisturizing (all skin types) are the basics of daily skincare. Soaps are generally too harsh and drying for facial skin. Use a non-soap cleanser instead, preferably one that is pH balanced.
Oily skin will need a toner after washing to control oil secretion, and then a moisturizer, while dry skin can go straight to the moisturizer.
The next step is to use a facial mask which deep cleans, nourishes and revitalizes skin. Look for products with fruit-derived exfoliates. The facial mask should contain plant-based ingredients.
There are several good skin care products on the market today. The products I love and use are the Arbonne RE9 Advanced Facial Cleanser, Toner, Restorative Day Cream SPF 20, Night Repair Cream and Cellular Renewal Masque. Like all the products on the Arbonne Line, the RE9 Advanced products are healthy, botanically (plant) based and safe.

Filed Under: Healthier living through knowledge and informed life health style choices for better health

The Self Abuser and Health – Health Level 1

May 7, 2012 by Rebecca

The Self Abuser – Level One of the Healthy Living Steps

Anorexia Nervosa

Over Eating

Repeated Negative Mental Decisions

Drug Abuse

Alcohol Abuse

External Physical Self Abuse

If you suffer or are in engaging any of the above mentioned situations please seek PROFESSIONAL HELP as soon as possible.

You may think family and friends can and to some degree they may help and support you, but most of the time it is some or most of your family and/or friends who are contributing to the unhealthy self abuse either by condoning or encouraging your negative behavior pattern. A professional can sort out the whys and the who in your life and help expedite your road to a healthier life.

Based on my many years of experience most self abusers’ symptoms will remain with them to one degree or another. The main change in a self abuser’s negative actions will come from PROPER help and usually in the form of how you react when your negative situations and perceived negative feelings arise. Just like the person who lost a leg can have a happy life with a job and family you too can have the same. The person’s missing leg will always be missing but the way he or she handles their situations will become easier and more focused on the potential positives instead of the negatives.

If you find yourself at this “self abuser” level in whole or in part please reach out for professional help and move up to a happier and healthier life for you, your family and friends.

Next; Health Level Two of Healthy Living Steps; Are You a Fast Food King or Queen?

Healthy Living Steps

Filed Under: Health Levels and Steps to Better Health

Azomite Soil Additive – Fertilizer

May 4, 2012 by Rebecca

WheatGrass Health Benefits

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

Cleaning Your Wheatgrass Juicer

CLICK ON THE ABOVE BANNER TO PURCHASE AZOMITE

Azomite – Trace Mineral Organic Fertilizer

Azomite is an organic, all natural trace mineral fertilizer and soil additive. It infuses your growing soil & compost with over 60 trace elements vital for good health. Great for growing wheatgrass many other plants.
NOW available in 2 lb, 10 lb and 44 lb bulk.

Pictured above; azomite being added to organic soil (CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE)

Azomite requires no mixing. It is odorless, will not burn plants and will not restrict aeration or water penetration. Unlike most fertilizers and soil additives, azomite is not a manufactured, chemically prepared fertilizer. It is 100% natural with no additives, synthetics or filters.

CLICK ON THE BANNER TO PURCHASE AZOMITE

Filed Under: Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass Growing Stages of Growth

May 4, 2012 by Rebecca

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

WheatGrass Health Benefits

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

Cleaning Your Wheatgrass Juicer

Pictured above are three stages of wheatgrass growth.

“click on pictures to enlarge”

When to Harvest Wheatgrass?

Pictured below is day seven of wheatgrass growing cycle and time to take your first partial harvest for juicing.
Harvest wheatgrass by cutting just above the top of the soil. It is always best and optimal for nutritional and live enzymes effect to harvest and juice when wheatgrass has been freshly cut. If mold appears rinse your wheatgrass thoroughly before juicing.

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass?

Pictured below is day eight of the wheatgrass growing cycle.
At some point in the growth cycle the wheatgrass is at an optimal nutritional juicing point. This point is just before or as the grass starts to split and begins it’s reproductive cycle. This is why I recommend to harvest all the wheatgrass at this point and juice what you need to immediately consume and store the rest in a container in the frig. Harvested or cut wheatgrass placed in a container will last about seven or eight days in a common refrigerator. Do not let harvested wheatgrass freeze and do not eat or juice wheatgrass if it has begun or has turned yellow.
High humidity during the growth cycle may cause mold to grow at the base of your wheatgrass. If mold does appear rinse your wheatgrass thoroughly before juicing or consuming raw wheatgrass.

One Time Growing Cycle for Wheatgrass and Proper Disposal

Wheatgrass is great because the growing cycle is only between seven and fourteen days. The difference in the time growing cycle is due to watering, sunlight, humidity, temperature and soil differences.
Wheatgrass can be grown and harvested only once. Please discard your post harvest growing remains properly. Proper disposal may include compost or mulch it into your outdoor garden. Organic wheatgrass growing remains have a high natural organic make up and will add to the natural value of vegetable garden soil as well as many other types of gardens.

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

Cleaning Your Wheatgrass Juicer

Click the banner below to order WheatGrass Growing Supplies

Filed Under: Wheatgrass

Cleaning Your Wheatgrass Juicer

May 2, 2012 by Rebecca

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

WheatGrass Health Benefits

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

Cleaning Your Wheatgrass Juicer

click on pictures to enlarge

Most wheatgrass juicers come apart (as pictired above) to enable you to thoroughly clean your juicer. Cleaning the juicer after use is important.

Do not use the juicer after the juicer sits for more than one hour after juicing. Some of the wheatgrass roughage and juice stays in the juicer and will begin to break-down (will become rotten) and therefore compromise the quality of your next juicing session.
I clean my washable juicer parts after each use with warm or cold water and dry completely. Once a month I soak the washable parts overnight in a mild dish detergent and then rinse thoroughly and let completely dry before the next use.

Filed Under: Wheatgrass

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

April 18, 2012 by Rebecca

Read and view pictures on how I juice and drink my harvested (cut) wheatgrass.

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

WheatGrass Health Benefits

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

Electric wheahtgrass juicer is shown below (yes, for optimal wheatgrass juicing you need a “wheatgrass juicer” not an everyday juicer). A low speed electric or hand crank wheatgrass juicer is best. The low speed creates minimal heat and minimal oxidation both which damage the live enzymes.

Do not let harvested wheatgrass freeze and do not eat or juice wheatgrass if it has begun or has turned yellow.
High humidity during the growth cycle may cause mold to grow at the base of your wheatgrass. If mold does appear rinse your wheatgrass thoroughly preferably with filtered water before juicing or consuming raw wheatgrass.

click on pictures to enlarge

Turn on your fully assembled wheatgrass juicer and place your harvested wheatgrass in the wheatgrass intake. If needed use push pole to push wheatgrass to the grinding/juicing area (DO NOT USE HAND or FINGERS)

Wheatgrass juice will exit from the wheatgrass juicer from two areas; 1) the juice exit spout and 2) the wheatgrass roughage exit spout. I use a long shallow bowl to catch both. Keep adding harvested wheatgrass to the juicer until your desired amount of juice is juiced. Sometimes I will re-juice the roughage to get the juice which may have been missed on the first try.

Drinking Your Wheatgrass Juice

Your juiced wheatgrass is now ready to be consumed directly or by adding it to a drink or smoothie. Some folks add coconut water or filtered water to their wheatgrass juice.

wheatgrass juice with coconut water added in pictured above

I will try and consume at least one to two of ounces wheatgrass per day. When I’m trying to recover or clean out my system I will consume at least two ounces of juiced wheatgrass in the morning and at least two ounces in the afternoon. I try and not eat two hours before drinking wheatgrass juice and not to eat for one hour after drinking wheatgrass juice. This two hour time before consumption allows the digestive system to clean out so the wheatgrass juice can be easily absorbed into the digestive tract.

How Long Does Juiced Wheatgrass Last ?

You can save your juiced wheatgrass by covering it and refrigerating (preferably in a glass or BPA free plastic storage container). Juiced wheatgrass is always best consumed when freshly juiced from freshly harvested wheatgrass. However; my freshly juiced wheatgrass will last a couple days and still be drinkable when refrigerated properly. I always try to keep in mind that wheatgrass, like most live plants, will begin to breakdown within one hour after being juiced. Refrigerating the juice only slows the deteriorating process down and the longer you let the juice sit the more it will separate. So, the longer you wait to consume juiced wheatgrass the less benefit.

In this busy world we live in it is not always practical to exactly follow the above wheatgrass drinking suggestions therefore do the best you can to obtain your optimal wheatgrass juicing situation.

Cleaning Your Wheatgrass Juicer

Most wheatgrass juicers come apart (as pictured above) to enable you to thoroughly clean your juicer. Cleaning the juicer after use is important. Do not use the juicer after the juicer sits for more than one hour after juicing. Some of the wheatgrass roughage and juice stays in the juicer and will begin to break-down (will become rotten) and therefore compromise the quality of your next juicing session.
I clean my washable juicer parts after each use with warm or cold water. Once a month I soak the washable parts overnight in a mild dish detergent and then rinse thoroughly.

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

Filed Under: Wheatgrass

Harvesting, Storing and Saving Wheatgrass

April 18, 2012 by Rebecca

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

WheatGrass Health Benefits

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass

Cut mature wheatgrass just above (about one half to one inch) the soil surface.

Optimal or Best Time to Harvest Wheatgrass or Cut Wheatgrass

At some point in the growth cycle the wheatgrass is at an optimal nutritional juicing point. This optimal harvest point is just before the grass starts to split or bud (also known as joints or the pre-jointing stage) and begins it’s reproductive cycle. When whaetgrass prepares itself for it’s reproductive cycle it pulls a tremendous amount of nutrients from the soil and into its stems and leaves. This is why I recommend to harvest all the wheatgrass at this point and juice what you need to immediately consume and store the rest in a container in the frig.

Humidity, Mold and Wheatgrsass

High humidity during the growth cycle may cause mold to grow at the base of your wheatgrass. If mold does appear rinse your wheatgrass thoroughly before juicing or consuming raw wheatgrass.

How Long Can You Store or Save Harvested-Cut WheatGrass

Harvested or cut wheatgrass placed in a container will last about seven or eight days in a common refrigerator. Do not let harvested wheatgrass freeze and do not eat or juice wheatgrass if it has begun or has turned yellow. Needless to say, just like almost all living harvested foods the longer you store them the more the food breaks down and changes.

click on pictures to enlarge

Put your freshly cut/harvested wheatgrass in a container for cold storage.

Cover your wheatgrass container and put in your refrigerator in a place where it will not freeze.

One Time Growing Cycle for Wheatgrass and Proper Disposal

Wheatgrass is great because the growing cycle is only between seven and fourteen days. The difference in the time growing cycle is due to watering, sunlight and temperature differences.
Wheatgrass can be grown and harvested only once. Please discard your post harvest growing remains properly. Proper disposal may include compost or mulch it into your outdoor garden. Organic wheatgrass growing remains have high natural organic make up and will add to the natural value of vegetable garden soil as well as many other types of gardens.

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

Filed Under: Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass Growing Trays

April 18, 2012 by Rebecca

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

WheatGrass Health Benefits

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass Growing Trays

Wheatgrass growing tray (plastic tray size shown aprx.= 20″ L x 10″ W x 2.5″ D).
When using plastic growing trays or any plastic always try and buy “BPA Free” plastic.

Notice drain holes in bottom of wheatgrass growing tray.

“CLICK ON pictures to enlarge”

Pictured above is a solid bottom wheatgrass growing tray which I use as a catch tray and a second watering tier.

How To Grow WheatGrass – Growing Instructions

Cover seed growing tray with a vented or upside down draining growing tray or board to keep the seeds dark until seedlings sprout into light green new wheat grass. Please do not use newspaper as some recommend, newspaper contains ink and other chemicals which may leak in to the growing process.

click on pictures to enlarge

Notice 3 tier tray configuration; vented tray on top, draining growing tray middle, solid catch tray on bottom.

At this point you may want to add a no drip (solid bottom) growing tray underneath the wheatgrass draining growing tray to catch over watering. Adding this bottom tray properly also adds a second watering system to the roots that almost always grow through the drain holes in the bottom of wheatgrass growing tray.
SPACE BETWEEN TRAYS; the hanging roots from the top tray will need to easily reach the water in the bottom tray. Therefore, make sure your spacer lift height between top and bottom tray is no more than one half inch. The spacer between trays should always be as chemical free as possible. If used out doors only; you may want to drill an overflow In this bottom no drip catch tray at about the one inch high mark to avoid over-watering/soggy conditions. If indoors you may want to leave the bottom tray with NO holes for added protection for your floors or counters from water damage (but be careful not to over water to avoid constant soggy soil conditions).

Filed Under: Wheatgrass

Organic Standards

Organic Crops

Organic Livestock

Organic Multi-ingredient Foods

Regulatory Process of the National Organic Program

Diagnosing Back and Spine Problems

Non-Surgical Back and Spine Alternatives

Preventative Back and Spine Care

The Self Abuser – Level One of the Healthy Living Steps

Azomite – Trace Mineral Organic Fertilizer

When to Harvest Wheatgrass?

Click the banner below to order WheatGrass Growing Supplies

Cleaning Your Wheatgrass Juicer

Juicing and Drinking Wheatgrass

Drinking Your Wheatgrass Juice

How Long Does Juiced Wheatgrass Last ?

Harvesting and Storing Wheatgrass

Optimal or Best Time to Harvest Wheatgrass or Cut Wheatgrass

Humidity, Mold and Wheatgrsass

How Long Can You Store or Save Harvested-Cut WheatGrass

One Time Growing Cycle for Wheatgrass and Proper Disposal

Wheatgrass Growing Trays

Healthy Tips for Better Health

Health Help Products

HealthyMartin.com