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Raising Healthy Children By Best Selling Author, Nancy Addison

Breakfast Should Not Look Like a Dessert

 by Nancy Addison

 Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But if we are in a hurry or don’t feel like preparing this meal and cleaning up afterward, we may reach for cereal, protein or fiber breakfast bars or other easy-to-prepare, easy-to-eat foods instead. Many cereals on the market today have high amounts of sugar, which is a main contributor to obesity, diabetes and heart disease—specifically, added sugars, not those found naturally in fruits or whole unprocessed foods. Also, when whole, dried fruits are added, they do raise the number of sugar grams.

 Our bodies simply don’t handle sugar well. In fact, sugar affects us like a drug that’s addictive. It can even make us sick. According to the Yale Health Newsletter, a child should be limited to three or four teaspoons of added sugar a day, and an adult to five teaspoons a day. However, many people are taking in as many as 22 to 34 teaspoons of sugar a day. (Note: Four grams of sugar equals one teaspoon.)

 Here’s a key problem with any amounts of added sugar. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, one teaspoon of added sugar can inhibit the immune system for up to five hours. If we feed our children a sugary breakfast and then send them off to school, their immune systems can weaken well shortly after they arrive in class.

 We should be purchasing only the highest-quality cereals with the fewest number of additives. Sometimes decisions may center on budget or time constraints, but we can still make the best choice possible. When reading ingredient lists, look at how big a serving the packaging shows related to the amounts being analyzed.

 Select the brand that has the least amount of sugar and the most whole, sprouted grains that are (preferably) non-gluten and non-GMO. Cut out as much added sugar from all meals when possible and the family’s health will really benefit from that choice.

 Nancy Addison CHC, AADP, is the author of Raising Healthy Children, How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian, Lose Weight, Get Healthy & Never Be On A Diet Again! Contact her at 214-202-9243 or OrganicHealthyLifestyle.com.

For more articles like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex Magazine at www.NADallas.com.

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Salt Cave's Kids Cave

The Salt Cave in Southlake offers Natural Ttreatment for Variety of Ailments

 

The Salt Cave of Southlake is celebrating its one-year anniversary and according to owner Shelly Jackson, RN, BBA, the business has already developed a loyal following, treating a variety of ailments with a natural method known as halotherapy. However, it was a desire to help her own daughter that motivated her to launch the business last year.

Prior to opening the clinic, Jackson, a former nurse with 25 years experience, had a 8-year-old daughter who suffered from acute allergies. It was from sources she couldn’t avoid such as grass and trees, and traditional treatments had side effects.

“I didn’t want to inoculate her little body,” said Jackson.  So she looked for alternatives and discovered halotheraphy. It turned out to be a miracle cure plus it was 100 percent natural.  While there were other clinics in the area, Jackson and her husband opened the center in Southlake to provide their daughter easy access to treatment close to their Colleyville home.  One year later, Jackson said, her daughter is virtually symptom free. Meanwhile, Jackson has helped more than 8,000 clients.

 European doctors discovered the treatment after observing that salt mine workers had healthy respiratory systems.  Over the years, researchers developed halogenerators that can distribute rock salt into an aerosol spray, which is breathed in during therapy.   The Salt Cave uses Himalayan rock salt, imported from Europe, which is known in local folklore culture to purify and ionize the air as well as absorb excess moisture.

Jackson said in addition to treating allergies, halotherapy is commonly used to treat asthma, eczema, rosacea, acne, arthritis, migraines, respiratory ailments, as well as depression and anxiety.  “It’s anti-bacterial and anti-fungal,” said Jackson. “It opens up airways and acts like a big tooth brush for lungs and sinuses.”

 The Salt Cave offers three different treatment rooms. The Relax Cave features inviting cave-like surroundings with chaise lounge chairs, calming music and heated lavender wraps. The Kid’s Cave offers a salt “beach” where children can play in the salt sand while they get treatments. Then there’s the Yoga Cave, where clients can participate in a yoga class facing a mountain mural while getting benefits from breathing in the salty air. In addition, the Salt Bed offers a private setting for full-body halotheraphy sessions.

Since they’ve opened, Jackson said they’ve already had several people inquire about opening franchises. As a result, Salt Cave now offers licensing agreements for those who want to open a clinic in their area.  “We've had lots of interest, that’s why we started offering it earlier than we probably would have,” she said.  Jackson said the treatment sells itself.  “It’s 100 percent natural and safe. There are so many benefits,” she said. “It’s so healthy for you.”

The Salt Cave Southlake is located at 200 N Kimball Ave in Southlake.

For more information like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas -Fort Worth Metroplex Magazine at www.NADallas.com.

 

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Susie Marshall

Food Democracy in North Texas

 by Susie Marshall

While it is certainly true that we all can vote with our fork on issues of food sustainability, the concept of food democracy goes farther and deeper than that. It is the idea that we all play a role in the control and governance of our food system. Like any system that requires participation, people actually have to voice their opinions regarding food. How often do we really ask the questions about our food, such as where it comes from, how it was produced who produced it and where was it packed or processed?

 The mainstream food system is a complex web of growers, shippers, packers, brokers, wholesale distributors and retail outlets, with products traveling 1,500 miles or more miles to get to the store. Consolidation and supply chain optimization are the standards impeding democratic participation, and place food producers in situations where they have little control over their own operations.

 But the local food system provides an alternative to this mainstream paradigm, offering a diversity of producers raising food with integrity using methods that support a vibrant Earth. These small producers give us the opportunity to voice our preferences for a food system that promotes many participants, lots of diversity, ongoing conversatiorganiche average person really plug into democracy in the food system, they need to find that local, alternative system in theirarea, buy from those producersand join the broader community of diverse businesses. Valuing this alternative system might also cause us to reevaluate our budget to spend a bigger percentage of it on local food. Doing that keeps money in the local economy instead of sending it off to a faceless corporation in another state. Stronger local businesses have been shown to create stronger local communities with vibrant activities and values.

 Another important part of democracy in the food system is participating in local policy issues. Having adequate and appropriate municipal and community ordinances that enable local food producers to access direct-to-consumer venues such as farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture (CSA) and produce co-ops is the way that the local food system will develop into the robust system we all want it to be. This requires community participation. It takes people involved in food production, as well as those that eat the producers’ food speaking up about what they want.

 Grow North Texas, a diverse group of Dallas urban agriculture stakeholders, helped to change city ordinances to better support urban food production by working with city staff to share a vision for what is possible. The ordinance almost didn’t pass, partly because of some council member objections, but also partly because of the lack of consumer involvement. This is a place where eaters are needed for input to food system engagement. It’s up to all of us to participate in our food system if we are to have food democracy. Susie Marshall is executive director of Grow North Texas, and director of the Gleaning Network of Texas. 

For more articles like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex Magazine at www.NADallas.com

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North Texans are blessed to live in the midst of a fresh food haven, surrounded by abundantly productive working farms and numerous access options such as CSAs, organic food delivery companies, natural and organic food restaurants and delivery services and a rapidly expanding  natural and organic food infrastructure.

The fruits, vegetables and meat we purchase at the farmers’ market are the freshest and tastiest available. We can find authentic homemade goods that simply do not exist in any corporate grocery store. In addition to enjoying each season’s flavor, we are supporting local farmers, protecting the environment, promoting humane treatment of animals and nourishing ourselves in the best way possible. At the local farmers’ market, we have the chance to connect with our community and know where our food comes from and what’s in it.  

Get your copy to keep as a handy  reference Guide - in the July 2015 issue of Natural Awakenings Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex magazine, or go to www.NADallas.com to download.

For more information like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas-Fort worth Metroplex Magazine at www.NADallas.com

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DART and Uber Working Together to Help Customers Complete Trips

 North Texas travelers should find it easier to park their cars and let someone else do the driving because an enhanced collaboration between DART and the popular car service, Uber. Following a successful trial during the Dallas St. Patrick’s Parade, Uber and DART are helping travelers connect with the Uber application through DART’s GoPass mobile ticketing application. Now DART customers can reach the Uber app to order a car to begin or finish their transit trip through the Events & Offers section of the GoPass app. Both apps are available for Android and Apple smartphones through Google Play or the App Store.

This type of connection makes it easier for travelers that begin or end their trips in places not easily served by DART to use a train or bus for the longest portion of their trip. To encourage people to try the new combination, Uber is offering a free first ride (up to $20) to new customers. Transit customers can use the GoPass app to plan a transit trip and purchase a DART pass before arriving at the station or stop.  For more information, visit Uber.com and DART.org.

For more stories like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex magazine at www.NADallas.com.

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Thermography Center of Dallas Partners with Rockwall Complete Wellness Center

Rockwall Complete Wellness Center in Rockwall is now offering thermography services as an affiliate of the Thermography Center of Dallas. According to Rockwall Colonics owner Dominique Robinson, the center begin offering thermography last month after purchasing the equipment and receiving training. “I’m friends and associates of the Thermography Center of Dallas. It was kind of a logical next step,” she says .Robinson is already seeing a demand for the service at her clinic through word of mouth.

 Thermography complements other treatments at Rockwall Complete Wellness, including colonics, nutrition therapy, ionic foot baths and far-infrared sauna. Robinson began offering alternative therapies after she faced colon cancer and was told she had only weeks to live. When traditional medicine failed, she adopted a raw food diet, began a vitamin C IV and started colon hydrotherapy treatments. That was 17 years ago.

 Today, as a cancer survivor, she’s a believer in alternative medicine and helps others through her wellness spa. Her wellness philosophy is based on her belief that the body is a self healing organism.“To me, health is very, very simple,” she says. “If you give the body what it needs and stay out of its way, then it’s designed to heal itself.”

 That starts with making sure the body is getting the right nutrients.“I’d rather people go to food rather than any supplement,” says Robinson, who is a raw food chef trained in herbology.Colon hydrotherapy is another of her signature treatments. “The colon is the garbage disposal of the body, so if it’s not clean, the blood will not be clean,” she says.Ozone therapy, infrared and steam saunas and ionic foot baths are also treatments to build up the immune system.“It’s not medicine or food that heals the body, it’s really the immune system,” says Robinson.

 Rockwall Complete Wellness Center (formerly Rockwall Colonics & Wellness)  is located at 2455 Ridge Rd, Suite 151. For more information, call 214-771-8900 or visit RockwallColonics.com.

For more articles like this visit Natural Awakenings Dallas- Ft. Worth Magazine at www.NADallas.com

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Jennifer Trejo, Founder Abundant Life Wellness Ctr

Metroplex Naturopath Gives Eight Reasons to Have a Thermogram

 “My breasts are always tender and mammograms are very painful.”

During a thermogram, the high-tech infrared camera scans breasts from across the room, without compression and without pain.

 “I have dense breasts.”

Mammograms have trouble seeing through these dense tissues, but thermograms can provide valuable information on dense breasts.

 “I am in my 30s and have a family history of breast cancer.”

Routine mammograms are not recommended until women are 40 years old. A thermogram can give information years before that first mammogram.

 “I have breast implants.”

There is absolutely No risk of an implant rupturing during a thermogram because there is no compression.

 “I’m worried about the radiation from mammograms.”

A routine mammogram comprises two views of each breast and contains up to 0.2 rad per X-ray (a rad is a measure of radiation dose). Radiation accumulates in breast tissue, and each 1.0 rad of exposure increases the risk of breast cancer by 1 percent. Thermograms use infrared scanning. No radiation is involved.

 “My mammogram was normal, but I’m still concerned.”

Mammograms detect changesin anatomy; a thermogram is a test of the body’s physiology. For additional peace of mind, add a thermogram for a proven increase in detection sensitivity.

 “My doctor found a lump and told me not to worry.”

Thermography detects heat. A “hot” lump is a greater concern than a “cold” lump. For more information, get a thermogram.

 “I’m concerned that a thermography finding will make me worry unnecessarily.”

Like many emerging technologies, it has been suggested thermogram gives a false positive response when an area of concern is identified despite having a normal mammogram. A positive thermographic change is similar to finding plaque in an artery before having a heart attack. All warning signs that afford an opportunity to intervene for health should not be considered false positives.  

 For more information, contact Naturopath Doctor Jennifer Trejo, of Abundant life Wellness Center,at 817-847-0900 or visit AbundantLifeWellnessCenter.com.

 

For more articles like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex Magazine at www.NADallas.com.

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Trinity Environmental Academy opens this Fall

New Green School Slated for Fall Opening

A new charter school, Trinity Environmental Academy (TriEA), is opening this August on the campus of Paul Quinn College (PQC) campus, in the Southeast Dallasarea of Oak Cliff. The partnership between TriEA and PQC is the first public charter/private college partnership in Texas.

TriEA will open starting with grades K to six, providing 228 students the foundation they will need to succeed in our world’s highest growth fields by engaging in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), civic skills and green career pathways. Continuing to add several grade levels per year, by 2021, TriEA will serve more then 1,000 students in a full PreK‐12 program and the intent of improving postgraduate options with a uniquely desired skill set for the 21st century. Situated adjacent to the Great Trinity Forest, the largest hardwood bottomland urban forest in the U.S., the school’s mission is to teach by using both natural and built environments through experiential, hands-on learning.Environmental education is a proven way to ensure that students are more engaged with their learning and community and that they develop the character to steward our region into the future.

Focused on sustainability, environmental stewardship and service learning, primary students will grow their own cafeteria food using the PQC We Over Me Farm as a teaching tool to cascade their learning into their own gardens. Middle school students will take on foreign languages and community‐focused environmental engineering projects, while high school students can earn college credit or certification in biotechnology, agricultural food and natural resources or information technology as a part of the Career and Technology Education strands.

In an effort to maintain high expectations and graduate students as career- and college-ready, PQC and TriEA will work together to offer dual-credit, specialized technical certifications and continued support as students seek higher education opportunities after graduation. This public/ private relationship is designed to be an innovative PreK-16 matriculation partnership.

Working with the University of North Texas, TriEA will develop a unique environmentally focused curriculum that aligns with Texas educational standards and starts on the path to becoming the state’s first Green Ribbon School, asdesignated by the U.S. Department of Education. TriEA and PQC seek ongoing community support to help bring these exceptional education choices to the families and students of Oak Cliff.  For more information, visit DallasGreenLearning.org.

For more articles like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas-Ft Worth Magazine at www.NADallas.com.

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Texas Solar Energy Exceeds Parity via Solar Program in Dallas-Ft Worth

 Texas' first unlimited solar buyback program has achieved a significant cost breakthrough through a SolarCity/MP2 Energy that offers solar-generated electricity to Texas Homeowners for less than utility power without local incentives. Customers that sign up for SolarCity service and for electricity service from MP2 will receive full credit for all the solar electricity they provide to the utility grid.

 Known as full "net metering," the practice is common in most of the U.S., but available for the first time in Texas exclusively through this partnership. This program will initially be available to qualified homeowners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with expansion to additional markets expected later this year.

 Under the program, SolarCity will install solar panels to provide solar electricity to Texas homeowners, and homeowners will sign up with MP2 for any additional electricity needs. MP2 will track customers' solar energy production and consumption every month. Customers that produce more than they consume will be credited at the full retail value for excess production, including transmission and distribution service charges.

 Most retail electricity providers in Texas limit the credits for solar power produced—typically up to 500 kWh per month—or require them to forfeit any unused solar power at the end of the month. There will not be a cap for this program and  customers will be able to carry forward any excess generation to subsequent monthly bills until the customer can fully utilize it for the year.

 Texas is the nation's largest energy producer and is among its top five energy consumers per capita, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Texas residents have traditionally enjoyed electricity prices below the national average, and solar power adoption in the state has largely been limited to areas where local incentives drive down the cost of solar electricity.

 "With an average of 240 sunny days per year, Texas is often considered a sleeping giant when it comes to its potential for solar power, and unlocking this state has huge implications for the solar industry at large," says Jeff Starcher, chairman and CEO of MP2 Energy. "To date, solar has only worked where there are local incentives. With this new partnership, we are making solar a practical option for residential customers in Texas."Customers will be allowed to lock in a fixed rate for 12 or 24 months, as well as terminate their contracts without fees or penalties.  For more information visit MP2Energy.com.

For more stories like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas-Ft Worth Magazine at www.NADallas.com

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Compost Benefits North Texas Drought Conditions

 Composting involves the recycling of organic material. Compost is the product of the controlled biological decomposition of organic material that has been sanitized through the generation of heat and stabilized to the point that it is beneficial to plant growth. Compost bears little physical resemblance to the raw material from which it originated. This organic matter resource has the unique ability to improve the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of soils or growing media. It contains plant nutrients, but is typically not characterized as fertilizer.

 Compost is produced through the activity of microorganisms that require oxygen, moisture and food in order to grow and multiply. When these factors are maintained at optimal levels, the natural decomposition process is accelerated and the microbes generate heat, water vapor and carbon dioxide as they transform raw materials into a stable soil conditioner.

 Active composting is characterized by a high-temperature phase that sanitizes the product and allows a high rate of decomposition, followed by a lower-temperature phase that allows the product to stabilize, while still decomposing at a lower rate. Compost can be produced from many raw, organic materials such as leaves, manure or food scraps. State and federal regulations exist to ensure that only safe and environmentally beneficial composts are marketed

 Compost is extremely versatile and beneficial in many applications because it has a unique ability to improve the properties of soils and growing media physically, chemically and biologically. Although some equate the benefit of compost use to lush green growth caused by plant-available nitrogen, the real benefits of using compost are long-term and related to its organic matter content.

 The addition of compost will yield healthier soil for plants, turf grass, trees and shrubs. It also impacts water quality and quantity, and therefore, the environment and our quality of life. By adding compost, the soil is also protected from wind and water erosion, retains larges volumes of water and filters out contaminants. These benefits are so important that municipal composting plans are beginning to appear around the country. The addition of compost may provide greater drought resistance and so the frequency and intensity of irrigation may be reduced; a significant benefit because North Texas is predicted to continue experiencing drought conditions for the near future.

 For more information like this read Natural Awakenings Dallas-Ft Worth Magazine at www.NADallas.com