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Healthnotes | Health & Wellness | Chefs with a Passion | Why Buy Locally Grown Food? | Whole House Water Filters | Natural Pest Control | Household Composting | Shopping by Bike | Compare canvas tote bags!

 

Healthnotes

The Co-op's website now features Healthnotes online! Like the Healthnotes kiosk in our Wellness department, Healthnotes online features up to date information about natural health topics, including a Food Guide, Herbal Remedies, Holistic Health, Homeopathy, a Vitamin Guide, and Rx Answers

By clicking the link below you acknowledge that you are leaving the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op's website, all the content you will view is the sole responsibility of Healthnotes, and all the content you view is copyrighted and can only be used as the site specifies.

Click here to visit Healthnotes.

 

Health & Wellness

Check out these articles for great tips and information about healthy living, wellness and natural supplements. (The files are downloadable in PDF format with Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you may download a free copy from Adobe.)

 

 

Chefs with a Passion

Magpie Caterers

Magpie Caterers is unique among Sacramento caterers. Its owners, Ed Roehe and Janel Inouye, are committed to using local, in-season and organic products.

Read the full article

 

 

Why Buy Locally Grown Food?

  • You’ll get exceptional taste and freshness: Local food is fresher and tastes better than food shipped long distances from other states or countries. Local farmers can offer produce varieties bred for taste and freshness rather than for shipping and long shelf life.
  • You’ll strengthen your local economy: Buying local food keeps your dollars circulating in your community. Getting to know the farmers who grow your food builds relationships based on understanding and trust, the foundation of strong communities.
  • You’ll support endangered family farms: There’s never been a more critical time to support your farming neighbors. With each local food purchase, you ensure that more of your money spent on food goes to the farmer.
  • You’ll safeguard your family’s health: Knowing where your food comes from and how it is grown or raised enables you to choose safe food from farmers who avoid or reduce their use of chemicals, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or genetically modified seed in their operations. Buy food from local farmers you trust.
  • You’ll protect the environment: Food travels on average 1,500-2500 from farm to table. Local food doesn’t have to travel far. This reduces carbon dioxide emissions and packing materials. Buying local food also helps to make farming more profitable and selling farmland for development less attractive.


When you buy local food, you vote with your food dollar. This ensures that family farms in your community will continue to thrive and that healthy, flavorful, plentiful food will be available for future generations.

For more information on the Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign, visit Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

 

 

Whole House Water Filters

(Submitted by Anneliese Kaufman, SNFC Marketing Assistant)

Though individuals cannot completely restore the air and water quality of the world around them, they can improve the quality of those elements in their homes. Water quality, even in the United States, can often be problematic as water may contain pesticide runoff, chlorine, cysts and bacteria. Some contaminants, including chlorine and volatile organic chemicals, become more dangerous when they vaporize, posing the risk of asthma, chronic bronchitis, nervous system damage and three deadly types of cancer.

Fortunately, water filter technology has evolved to the point where contaminants can either be treated or removed. Whole-house water filters purify water from a house’s water main thus adding an array of benefits to the consumer. Because they attach at the source of a house’s water supply, whole-house filters remove chlorine and the risk of its emission as chloroform gas. Purified water, unlike untreated household water, will not lead to chemical buildup on pipes and appliances. The filter cartridges for whole-house filters are also fairly inexpensive as they filter larger volumes of water.  Whole-house filters, therefore, are a good investment for those who are concerned about the water quality throughout their homes.  

When selecting a whole-house filter, it helps to be aware of the spectrum of benefits and prices that are available. Cheaper whole-house filters like the Kenmore Whole House 38440, approximately $35, can filter bad tastes, sediments and lead. Though Consumer Reports recommends the Kenmore whole-house filter, the Web site also mentions that for the removal of impurities such as chloroform, a consumer would be better off using a more expensive filter.

Another popular model, the Aquasana Rhino EQ300 costs $1,095 and removes bad tastes, chlorine, arsenic, lead, cadmium and volatile organic chemicals while leaving healthy minerals in the water. Though pricey, the filter has a longer filter life of over 300,000 gallons or three years for the average family. The main filter costs around $800 to replace, but pre-filter sediment cartridges can be installed every three to six months for $40 to extend the life of the main filter. Like the Kenmore filter, the Aquasana Rhino will need to be installed by a professional plumber.

For those whose water filtration needs fall somewhere between the Kenmore and Aquasana models, various sizes and customized filter designs are available.  Lifesourcewater.com, for example, offers filters which range from small family size to corporate size.  Purewaterexpress.com and filters4h2o.com cater to the homeowner who has specific water needs.  So whether you’re a city dweller or rely on an individual well for your water supply, you can rest assured that your sediment, chlorine, iron, manganese, sulfur, acid, methane, radon and bacteria-removal needs can be met. For the best water quality, it is recommended that you have your county health department or a private water-testing laboratory test your water to determine what needs to change in your water supply before purchasing a filter.

Sources:

 

 

Natural Home Pest Control

Finding effective non-toxic ways to control pests on our pets, such as fleas, or in our homes can be tricky. Fortunately, today there are several organizations whose Web sites provide extensive information about pesticides and alternatives. One excellent Web site is that of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides. Pesticide Action Network of North America is another good source of information about non-toxic pest control. Check these sites out next time you have a pest problem.

 

 

Household Composting

With the surprising fact that homeowners use more toxins in yard and gardening per square foot than does agribusiness, coupled with the need to establish sustainable lifestyles, composting is a good skill to acquire, whether or not you have a garden. It is a way of growing a lovely lawn without poison or chemical fertilizer and can be done even by apartment dwellers for their indoor plants.

Fundamental Definitions

  • Compost: Compost is the animal and plant material that has been broken down biochemically and mechanically to a fine debris (3/4-inch or smaller). Compost is that point of decay where the nutrients are now available to the soil.
  • Mulch: Mulch is the ground-up woody material, one inch or larger. Mulch is used as protective ground cover.
  • Leaf Litter: Robins love leaf litter. Leaf litter is one to several layers of leaves (as they come from trees or bushes). Without aid, leaf litter does not compost, but does supply some nutrient run-off, and some soil protection.
  • Grass Mats: Layers of juicy cut lawn grass, which when unmixed turns into an impregnable, stinking mat. Grass mats are useful for weed destruction along borders. They eventually break down in a year or so.
  • Food Scraps: The leftovers that we could easily keep out of our water supply (via disposals) or landfill. Given a balance of mulch and other material, all food scraps could be composted, even bones, dairy and meat, without contamination and with good results. However, it is easier to start with waste grains and flour products, vegetables and fruit, tea bags, coffee grounds and egg shells. Food scraps can be composted by themselves or with yard waste.
  • Heavier and Lighter Material: "Heavier" means containing more cellulose, the stiffening in stalks and wood; e.g. , straw, twigs, branches, stems. "Lighter" means made of softer, squishier parts that break down more easily mechanically; e.g. , plant leaves, grass, fruits, small leaves (1 1/2-inches or less).

Did you know?

  • Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass.
  • The average American family produces more than 1,200 pounds of organic garbage every year.
  • About 70% of garbage Americans create is compostable, including yard waste, food waste, wood and paper.
  • According to Citizen's for a Better Environment, between 15-20% of the total municipal waste stream is organic material. All of these materials are very bulky, quickly using up valuable landfill space.

What is composting?

It's nature's way of recycling nutrients back to the soil to fertilize plants and trees. Composting is the natural process by which all organic materials decompose.

Composting is also the most practical and cost effective way of disposing of kitchen garbage as well as garden refuse. Almost 20% of the solid waste stream could be reduced if every American who gardens also composted.

What is compost?

Compost is the end product of composting. It is a soil-like form of decomposed organic material with an earthy scent.

Is composting recycling?

Yes. Just like glass bottles or aluminum cans, yard clippings and food scraps are valuable resources that can be recycled. While aluminum cans may be recycles into a screen door, a window frame or even another can, organic materials can be recycled into a soil amendment or mulch.

How much of Sacramento's household refuse can be composted at home?

Yard clippings and food scraps represent over one-third of the residential waste in Sacramento.

How does compost benefit the soil?

Compost is like a multi-vitamin for your soil. It improves soil structure, texture and the ability to hold air. It also increases the water-holding capacity of soil, meaning you won't need to water as much. Compost improves clay soils by helping them drain better and improves sandy soils by giving them structure. Compost aids in erosion control, promotes soil fertility and stimulates healthy root development in plants.

Why compost?

Backyard composting allows you to recycle your yard clipping and food scraps into a valuable soil amendment right in your own yard. It is also a great way to save money, conserve landfill space and protect the environment.

How can you get started?

  • If you live in the Sacramento city limits, you can get more information and sign up for free backyard composting classes from the City of Sacramento.
  • If you live in Sacramento County, go to the County of Sacramento's Web site for more information and to sign up for free backyard composting classes.

 

 

Shopping By Bike

Imagine a fun and easy way to get some exercise, slow down climate change, and avoid the hassle of getting into the Co-op’s parking lot—all while you’re getting your grocery shopping done. Sound too good to be true? It’s not. You can accomplish all those things just by doing your Co-op shopping by bike. read the entire article

 

 

Local resources for bicyclists

 

 

Safety first! Helmets!

Controlled studies have shown that a rider not wearing a helmet is between two and three times more likely to suffer a head injury in a crash than is a helmet wearer (League of American Bicyclists).

Children under 18 are required to wear helmets that meet
specified standards while riding a bicycle, including as a passenger.

Not all helmets are created equal: Check out this Consumer Reports article comparing helmets: www.consumerreports.org:80/cro/travel/bike-helmets-606/overview/index.htm.

Lots of great bike safety tips can be found at: www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/traffic/index.htm.

 

 

Compare canvas tote bags!

By Julia Thomas
SNFC Education Coordinator

New Co-op tote bags are here

You probably know by now that the best answer to the “paper or plastic” question is “neither,” right? Since 500 bags are thrown away each second in California, bagging your groceries in a reusable tote can help save acres of forest and keep tons of plastic bags out of our landfills and oceans.
You have probably seen cheap reusable bags popping up all over the place–usually vinyl ones made in China. But not all bags are created equal.
SNFC’s new limited edition tote bags are better because they are:

  • 100% certified organic cotton
  • Certified Fair Trade— manufactured in India in a fair wage and fair labor environment. No one under 18 is working in the factories; the workers receive fair wages and vacation time.
  • A beautiful limited edition design by local artist and activist Michael Welch
  • Printed locally by Motion Textile Screenprinting
  • A great green gift for the holidays

Give everyone on your list this stylish bag with a conscience, and help keep thousands of lesser bags from having to be created.

 


 

 

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