It should come as no surprise that the cheapest and most widely available pet foods are just as unhealthy as cheap, widely available human foods.  Unfortunately, most mainstream foods for cats and dogs are overly processed and don’t even meet animals’ basic nutritional needs.

When we assess pet food, we look for products that most closely mimic what the animal’s diet would be like in the wild.  Cats and dogs are both carnivores – in nature their daily diet is high on protein and low on carbohydrates.

Despite the fact that this is widely known, many of the most common pet foods feature recipes that are exactly the opposite – low in protein and high in carbs, chemicals, and preservatives, which are just as bad for your pets as they are for you.

No pet owners intentionally feed their pets unhealthy food; if a dog or cat’s diet is lacking in nutrition, it’s almost always because their owner is either uninformed or cannot afford to regularly buy healthier options.  Whichever the case, you should at least avoid buying foods with these 5 harmful ingredients.

Meat “Products”

 In a natural setting, your dogs and cats would be eating fresh prey, like rabbits and mice, which are unadulterated, high quality protein.  That’s why it’s such a shame that so many brands stuff their foods with extremely low quality meat “products.”  Meat by-product and meat and bone meal consist of ingredients that not legally allowed to be put into human food.  However, like most harmful ingredients, these products are much cheaper than the real thing.

Both meat by-product and meat/bone meal are made up of all animal parts, such as bones, lungs, feet, heads, intestines and blood.  The worst part is that these parts can be taken from any and all animals, including the 4 D’s:  dead, dying, diseased, or disabled at the time of slaughter.  This meat is almost entirely unregulated and can be contaminated or diseased.  No pet owner wants to be feeding their beloved pet such polluted food.

Animal Fat 

Animal fat is sometimes known as “tallow” and is derived in a pretty nasty process.  When an ingredient is just listed as “animal fat,” and not as a specific type of animal, it is often a generic mix of animal parts, grease from restaurants, or other oils that wouldn’t be allowed to be used in products for humans. The rendering process that results in this fat involves boiling any and all animal parts available along with used restaurant grease.  The top layer of fat is skimmed off and used in many pet foods.

Beef tallow is also a common ingredient – it’s used to make low-quality pet foods taste better, but offers no nutritional value.   You want to look for pet foods that include specific types of animal fats, such as chicken or poultry fat, which is derived and preserved in a healthy manner.

 Corn

 Corn and grains constitute large amounts of low-quality pet foods, despite the fact that dogs and cats would not be ingesting corn or grains in the wild.  These inexpensive ingredients are used as a cheap filler that helps add substance to the paltry amount of actual protein in the recipe.  The corn or grain products are high in calories, so they make dogs and cats feel full, but don’t give them what they need to stay healthy.  Given too many carbohydrates, dogs and cats can develop obesity and diabetes

There are many excellent brands on the market that don’t contain any corn or grain fillers.  Granted, they are a bit pricier, but that’s because they actually contain high-quality ingredients, which cost more.  These options are much easier on animals’ digestive systems and will not cause allergic reactions the way foods with fillers will.  Though it may be hard to find these at your standard grocery or convenient store, they’re readily available online or in specialty pet stores.

Sugar

 There is absolutely no reason for any type of sweetening agent to be included in your pet’s food.  The only reason it’s used at all is to mask the unpalatable quality of the other ingredients and provide empty, cheap calories.  Keep an eye out for any version of sugar:  cane molasses, corn syrup, sorbitol, fructose, glucose, or propylene glycol.  Be sure to avoid any product that lists sugar in the first several ingredients.

If the food has to include sweeteners, you should ask yourself why the food isn’t appetizing enough as is.  If it contains high-quality proteins, you won’t be able to keep your furry friends away from it.  Also, if pets are regularly fed high-sugar recipes, they can become dependent on sweet foods, making it difficult to transition them to healthier options.  Not to mention that excessive sweeteners can eventually cause serious medical problems such as obesity, hypoglycemia, arthritis, tooth decay, and allergic reactions.

Preservatives

Are you starting to see a pattern here?  Many of the qualities that make pet food unhealthy are the very same ones that make processed human food unhealthy.  Methods of producing food cheaply are very similar across the board, except pets have it even worse.  Most common, inexpensive pet foods on your grocery’s shelves feature chemical preservatives like propyl gallate, ethoxyquin, BHT, and BHA.  The last two, in fact, cannot legally be used in human products in many countries, but are still legal in the U.S.

All of these chemicals have been associated with dangerous illnesses such as cancer and liver disease.  Fortunately, there are some effective preservatives that don’t cause health problems.  Look for foods that include natural preservatives: rosemary oil, vitamin E (tocopherols) and vitamin C (ascorbic acid).

Navigating the pet food aisle can be just as challenging as making sense of the rest of the grocery store.  Organic?  All natural?  Low fat?  Fat free?  Translating food labels is not for the faint of heart.  But, you should invest a bit of time finding a high quality pet food that’s convenient and affordable for you to buy on a regular basis.

The best possible option is a BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) diet, which consists of raw meats, organs, bones and even raw eggs.  Following this diet takes some commitment but has a huge payoff:  your pets will have far fewer health problems and enjoy their food much more.  You can always start the transition by incorporating some raw foods into what you’re already feeding your pets.  Check out BARF World to learn more about getting started.

Given that your bet is a beloved member of your family, it only makes sense to take special care in deciding what goes in his little body so that he can stay healthy and happy for many years to come

Going green before you even break ground is one of the most effective ways to make sure your new house is as environmentally friendly and energy-efficient as possible. From the foundation to the roof, there are plenty of ways to aim for efficiency during and after the construction process. The following six building tips will help turn you new house into a green home.

Plot Out the Lot

There’s a lot more to deciding where you want to build your new home than the lot location, especially if you want to build green. Environmental impact and local zoning codes aside, there are many factors that will affect the future of your home and its green potential.

First consider the climate, as in median yearly temperatures. If you are building in a generally warmer climate, then a lot that provides more shade is your best energy-efficient bet. For colder climates, an open, sunny lot will offer the best exposure for natural home heating and lighting.

Use Sustainable Building Materials

Once you’ve found the perfect lot for your green home, it’s time to think about earth friendly building materials. Sustainable means any materials that are either recycled or have a rapid regeneration. For example, recycled plastics are commonly used to make composite wood for trim and decking.

Likewise, recycled and crushed glass is also used as an alternative to granite countertops. As for naturally occurring green building materials, bamboo is a great alternative to wood flooring because it regenerates faster than commonly used hardwoods. In addition, longer lasting products like cement board siding is more durable, earth friendly, and energy-efficient than regular wood siding.

Keep Your Home’s Size in Perspective

The size of your new home has a huge impact on its overall green potential. It’s important to keep in mind how much space you actually need as opposed to how much space you want. Every square foot you add to the construction translates to more materials and increased energy usage in the long run.

Before you chisel the blueprints in stone, think about your new home in terms of your own lifespan. Will your family expand or are the kids heading off to college? Do you need a spare bedroom and an office, or is that space sharable? When it comes to building a new home, experts are there to help you build a house that’s inspired by you and your square footage needs.

Think Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling

Size, lot location, and building materials all work together to make your new home green, but so does the home’s heating and cooling. Not all HVAC systems are built the same, so if you’re going for peak energy efficiency, then an ENERGY STAR® heating and cooling system can help reduce your home’s energy costs by 30 percent or more.

Heating the water in your new home is almost as expensive as heating the living room and bedrooms, so it’s important to choose an energy-efficient water heater as well. Tankless water heaters only heat the water you need when you need it, so there’s no wasted energy involved with continuously heating standby water. Turning your home green is good, not only for the environment, but for your wallet as well.

Choose Quality Insulation

One of the biggest efficiency pitfalls during the home building process is energy loss due to poor insulation; especially if you’re going for green energy efficiency. So, make sure all exterior walls are properly insulated. In addition, your attic plays a major role in heating costs due to the potential energy loss, so insulate your attic and crawlspaces properly as well.

Post Construction Green Efforts

Just because you built an earth friendly, energy-efficient home doesn’t mean your green efforts have to stop there. From energy-efficient appliances to compact fluorescent light bulbs, it’s easy to go green. Monitoring your water consumption, scheduling your thermostat to heat and cool in moderation, and even planting shade-providing vegetation are all great ways to make your home energy-efficient and green.

Keep in mind these earth and energy friendly pointers during construction, and you’ll have the greenest new home on the block. What’s your biggest conservation concern as you’re building your new home? Please share with us in the comments below.

We all need a chance to wind down and relax after a long day of work or caring for our families. Gardens are a backyard getaway of sorts, allowing us to enjoy nature and take pride in our ability to better the world around us. However, when pests invade, that peaceful little oasis can turn into a battleground. Rather than purchasing costly and potentially dangerous pesticides, give natural pest control a try. It often works just as well as chemical products, and it is better for you and the environment. These five remedies will help you get your garden back.

Prevent Pests from Invading

Don’t wait for pests to become an issue. Keep them from coming to your yard in the first place by ridding your garden of any weeds or debris, two places where insects like to breed. In addition, get rid of infected or failing plants. Finally, focus on building healthy soil so your plants can thrive. Engage in mulching and composting, and use natural fertilizer to top-dress your soil.

Create a Garlic Spray

If you are dealing with aphids, whiteflies or spider mites, a garlic oil spray should take care of the problem. Soak 10 cloves of minced garlic in two teaspoons of mineral oil. Allow it to sit for at least one full day. Using a strainer, separate the garlic and mineral oil. Mix the garlic with two and a half cups of water and one teaspoon of liquid dish soap. Combine and add to a spray bottle. Put the mixture on all of your plants for best results.

Attract “Good” Insects

There are certain insects, like ladybugs and lacewings, which prey on the pests you want to keep out of your garden. There are two ways to get these helpful creatures on your side: you can purchase them and bring them in yourself, or you can add specific plants to your garden to attract the helpful insects that you need.

Ladybugs, for example, eat mites, aphids and whiteflies. They like yarrow, tansy or daisy plants. Lacewings also help control aphid populations, and they are attracted to goldenrod, yarrow, and asters. If you are having a caterpillar problem, plant carrots, Queen Anne’s lace, or even parsley. These plants will draw in chalcids and brachonids, which should eliminate your caterpillar population.

Mix a Soap Solution

If the garlic spray mentioned above requires too much preparation for you, try mixing up a soap solution instead. It will also help with aphids, whiteflies and spider mites and involves just two ingredients: soap flakes and water. Pour eight and a half cups of warm water into a container and allow two tablespoons of soap flakes to dissolve inside. Measure the soap out carefully; too much could damage your plants. Take the solution and apply it to the problem areas once a week.

Set Up Traps and Barriers

There are a number of traps and barriers that can help in your battle against bugs. A cloche protects your young plants from pests; it resembles a small greenhouse. Yellow flypaper works well when it comes to whiteflies and aphids. And, there are pheromone traps available as well, but since they are very effective at attracting insects, you only want to use them along the perimeter of your garden.

Natural pest control is a great alternative to pesticides. With a little bit of work, you can reclaim your garden and get back to doing what you enjoy.

Further Reading:

• Planning Your Organic Garden
• DIY Solutions for the Garden
• How to Start a Vegetable Garden – How to Grow Vegetables
• Medicinal Herb Garden – What To Grow and How To Keep It Growing All Winter
• Ten Great Gardening Tips
• How to Make Your Own Compost Tea

Bamboo products have become really popular recently, and why wouldn’t they?  Bamboo is beautiful, and most of the bamboo products being sold are really high quality.  You can buy bamboo sheets, bamboo blankets, bamboo cutting boards, bamboo flooring, and even bamboo bicycles.  Bamboo is everywhere.

Is Bamboo Green or Not?

There are also articles everywhere telling you whether bamboo is actually green or not.  You can easily find content supporting both sides of the issue, and plenty of it.  So, what is really true?  Is bamboo green?

How Bamboo Isn’t Green

If you’re talking about the process used to manufacture a bamboo product, then bamboo really isn’t all that green.  Bamboo is a woody grass, and to turn its fibers into fibers that can be used to make sheets, blankets, and bicycles, the bamboo fibers have to undergo a chemical process. This process isn’t any less green than the process used to manufacture other products.  For instance, the processes used to make bamboo sheets and cotton sheets are very similar and so are their effects on the environment.  So, while the bamboo manufacturing process isn’t all that green, it also isn’t any less environmentally friendly than other manufacturing processes with which you’re familiar.

Bamboo Grows Fast!

Not only can it grow up to three feet a day, it reaches maturity very quickly, anywhere from one to three years, depending upon the species.  For bamboo lumber products such as flooring, this makes it a greener and more quickly renewable crop compared to lumber.  Trees grow for a minimum of 20 years before they reach maturity; most don’t mature before they are 40-60 years old.

Choosing Bamboo Means Choosing Water Conservation

Bamboo requires no irrigation when grown in its natural habitat.  When you choose bamboo products, you are helping with water conservation.  This is in stark contrast to crops like cotton. To produce enough cotton to make a single T-shirt, you need as much water as a single person drinks over a three-year period.

Bamboo Doesn’t Require Harmful Chemicals to Grow

Bamboo doesn’t require pesticides or insecticides.  This makes bamboo products safer not only for you and the farm hands who cultivate and harvest it, but for all the wildlife and water sources that are killed or polluted each year because of these chemicals.

Bamboo Makes Soil Healthier

Bamboo keeps the soil healthy thanks to its root system.  Bamboo roots are structured like a net. Because of this, they keep the soil together and reduce runoff and soil erosion during heavy rains.

Bamboo Has a Negative Carbon Footprint

A forest of bamboo the same size as a forest of trees will produce 35% more oxygen, giving bamboo a negative carbon footprint.

Bamboo Is and Isn’t Green

So, the next time someone tells you bamboo isn’t green, you can agree with them to an extent.  And when someone else tells you bamboo is green, you can agree with them as well.  Because now you know the truth about bamboo:  its manufacturing processes are no more or less green than other processes, but its growth process makes it one of the greenest and most sustainable resources found on earth.

We are surrounded by toxins. We get it. The thought of how many toxins we encounter every day almost makes us want to vomit (and in some cases, probably does). Although every toxin is something you want to avoid, in many cases, it is simply not possible. However,  you can start to eliminate the more serious toxins you touch daily to significantly lighten your toxic load.

Water

Most people start their day by waking up on their chemically treated mattress, glancing at their EMF emitting cell phone, while considering how many more minutes they can wait before they hit the shower.

This is where the toxin onslaught begins.

More than 2,100 toxic chemicals have been detected in America’s water systems, with fluoride, chlorine, and VOC’s being the main culprits. These chemicals have been linked to behavioral, brain, and thyroid problems as they bio-accumulate in your tissues. These chemicals have also been known to create allergies and increase cancer death rates.

So if you are of the majority who showers in treated water with no filter to remove these contaminants, you are slowly absorbing these toxins through your skin on a daily basis. Don’t be fooled into believing the dose is not harmful; over a period of time these toxins will take their toll.

Personal Care Products

Now that you are all cleaned up (using soap, shampoo, and possibly conditioner in the shower) , it’s time to finish making yourself fit for interaction with other human beings. This process could include any number of personal care products. The typical applications include deodorant, hair products, cologne/perfume, and skin lotions.

The majority of personal care products contain a number of chemicals and preservatives like phthalates, parabens, aluminum, and petroleum distillates, just to name a few. These chemicals are known hormone disruptors and can cause allergies, attention deficit disorder, and breast cancer.

Consult the Environmental Working Group and their skin deep database to determine the safety of your personal care products, and make better choices if necessary. There are many companies producing organic soaps, shampoos, and personal care products.

Coffee

Now it’s time for what we have been looking forward to ever since we woke up – coffee. Nothing seems to make our heart sing more than the anticipation of the sight, smell, and boost that is our morning coffee.

Too bad most coffee drinkers are completely contaminating themselves.

Coffee is one of the most heavily, chemically treated crops and coffee is highly acidic, with a pH often ranging between 4.5 and 6 (alkaline is closer to 7.4). If your non-organic coffee is not toxic enough for you, the refined white sugar (or worse, HFCS flavourings or artificial sweeteners) and dairy you add to it is sure to add another layer of contaminants that gives your gut a serious knockout punch. Oh, and don’t forget the toxic tap water that is the main ingredient.

If you drink coffee, make it organic and consider drinking it black or with better sugar and dairy alternatives to reduce the toxic load.

Corn

Seriously, is there anything on the shelves that doesn’t have corn in it nowadays? This crop really needs to take a rest and remove itself from a lot of our food supply.

Corn is largely GMO, and is difficult to digest for most people, which automatically makes it a toxic choice. But if GMO corn in the produce aisle wasn’t enough, nearly every other aisle contains it.

Corn can be found in pork, beef, bread, sodas, chicken, fries, chips, cereals, and spaghetti sauces. The only way you can really avoid GMO corn is to buy only organic corn and corn products.

To learn more about how GMO corn gets on your plate without you knowing, watch the documentary, King Corn.

Rice

A staple in many people’s diets, rice has also found its way onto our plate and in our cups on a daily basis. The only problem is with the source and the contaminants that cannot be easily cleaned up.

The majority of rice production takes place in China and India (the top 2 rice producing countries in the world), and accounts for up to 40% of production. This isn’t necessarily a problem until you factor in the major pollution problem these two countries are dealing with and the fact that it directly affects soil composition and makes even “organic” a difficult label to apply.

Recent reports have shown that products containing rice sourced from China are riddled with heavy metal contaminants–lead, tungsten, cadmium, and mercury at far beyond acceptable limits. This makes eating rice in any form from these regions very risky, as heavy metal toxicity is a major health compromising factor.

Cleaning up soil in a heavily polluted environment is a task that takes decades. Until these limits come down to acceptable levels, choose organic rice from reliable producers outside of those regions.

To learn more about the issue with rice, and a supplier that can help you get around it, check in with this report.

Soy

Although soy was once considered the darling of all things healthy, research now suggests otherwise. Soy in its most common forms is actually detrimental to our health.

GMO soy shows up in a variety of packaged foods, most notably soy sauce, soy milk, and soy protein isolate that is found in the majority of protein and meal replacement shakes, as well as protein bars and snacks. These products are difficult to digest and disrupt your hormones to the point that they can cause breast and other cancers related to the hormonal system.

If you choose to consume soy, make it organic (non-GMO) and fermented (like miso and tempeh) to almost completely alleviate the toxic load.

Refined Wheat Flour

Wheat has been the poster child of all things bad, and the gluten free movement has gained more momentum than any other health concern.

Even it its whole form, wheat causes severe toxicity issues. The digestive system is not set up to handle copious amounts. Gluten is very difficult to digest, especially with our deficiency of good gut bacteria. Then you strip it of any remaining nutrients to make it white, and wheat ends up being a better insecticide than food because any bug that tries to live off it eventually dies.

In addition, wheat appears to be making some headway as a fully blown GM crop thanks to Monsanto announcing new research into GM wheat in 2009, with industry groups jumping on board. Thankfully, there has been push back by consumers that has stalled some of their efforts.

Refined wheat is found in nearly every packaged product. If you do choose wheat products (even though it is not recommended), ensure that they are organic and sprouted to limit the toxic load.

Refined Sugar

Sugar is one of the most difficult foods to avoid due to our own cravings and the fact that it is found in nearly every packaged product in the grocery store.

Aside from being largely GMO (sugar from sugar beets), refined sugar is literally feeding the candida outbreak that is silently ruining people’s health through hundreds of different disease labels, from arthritis to cancer. Yet, we can’t seem to keep this food out of our diet as it shows up in a variety of forms in packaged foods, as well as our coffee, tea, and baked goods.

If you choose a sweetener, make sure to reference this chart to make a better decision.

Dairy

Even though dairy has also received widespread attention as a gut menacing food or beverage, it still has a stronghold in people’s diets across the world.

If you aren’t putting it into your coffee, cereal, baking, or sauces, you still have to deal with it in chocolate, yogurt, dressings, cheese, shakes, soups, and many packaged and fried foods (often disguised as whey or casein).

The main issue with dairy is that it is largely pasteurized (making it a “dead” food”), and loaded with hormones and antibiotics. Combine that with natural sugars like lactose that are very hard to digest, and you have a

toxic touch point that makes it into many people’s diets everyday.

Animal Meat

Most of us have grown up eating animal meat in one form or another. This daily habit is now more toxic than ever.

Meat is not as simple as it once was. Meat production has become a huge industry infatuated with pumping out as much product as cheaply and in as little time as possible. The cost to us is tainted meat that introduces a variety of toxins into our physiology.

Most of the animals are raised in horrible, inhumane conditions.  On top of this, they are often fed toxic animal parts and low quality grains laced with elements like arsenic to fatten them up quicker at a reduced cost (this is most prevalent in the chicken industry). In addition to these horrific acts, these animals are injected with or fed hormones and antibiotics, which ends up on your plate, now creating a health issue for you. According to data from 2011, more than 80% of the antibiotics produced were fed to livestock.

If you choose to eat animal meat, look for labels saying organic, free from, grass fed, and free range. Even better, know your farmer and understand their operation so you know they are being treated respectfully, fed well, and naturally maintained.

Alcohol

Another common habit, alcohol use has been perpetuated as a way to really enjoy yourself. Although alcohol may seem to help, beer, wine, whiskey and other spirits have created a host of health problems associated with the gut and liver.

Alcohol does not promote health. Although there may be some useful nutrients associated with wine and beer, they are overshadowed by the toxicity created from the alcohol, grains, sugar, and yeast that are present in them. This combination puts a serious smack down on your gut and your liver, two parts of your body that contribute largely to your livelihood.

If you do choose to drink alcohol, exercise moderation and choose organic.

Prescriptions

Most people have caught on by now that prescription medications are some of the most toxic things you can put in your body. With that being said, it certainly isn’t stopping many as it is now estimated that 70 percent of Americans take at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two or more. Antibiotics, antidepressants, and painkillers are the most prescribed drugs.

The unfortunate part of this bandaid solution is that it creates a massive array of complications, with the most damage being inflicted to the intestinal system and liver. This creates a wide variety of symptoms. Just listen to a drug commercial; 10-15 seconds is dedicated to listing the side effects, a clear indicator of just how toxic the side effects can be.

Until an individual is able to come off of prescriptions, there will always be an onerous toxic load from this one act alone.

The Rabbit Hole Goes Deep

Although these daily toxic touch points make up a large portion of your daily intake, there are hundreds of others that make their way into our lifestyle. The list is so pervasive, unless you have done hundreds of hours of research, you can’t even begin to imagine the bombardment our bodies are subjected to over a course of a day.

The safest way to avoid these daily toxins is to buy whole, fresh, and organic foods that do not come in a package. For those that do, ensure the ingredients are minimal and clean, and be mindful of the origin of the product. Choose more natural personal care products, and keep your water clean for hygiene and drinking purposes.

If your health and happiness is worth it, why not get started today?