Quick Bites

Greetings all,

I've been asked to stay on at my internship through the Fall at the NYC Department of Health, Nutrition Strategy Program.  I'm excited to stick around once a week during the Fall school semester, hopefully not burning myself out too badly.  Next semester includes 3 classes and 1 lab, all toughies.  Plus, I get the added bonus of having to apply to dietetic internships for next year, lucky me!

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to give you all a few "quick bites" of information that I've collected from my Whole Living magazines over the summer.  This is the stuff I find interesting, so hopefully you will too.

1) Instead of using harsh fluorides and mouth washes (aka listerine, etc) try simply rinsing with warm sea salt water and 2 drops of spearmint or clove bud essential oils.  Check out Aura Cacia.

2) To maintain a good body pH, eat more alkaline foods (such as fruits, vegetables, and beans) and less acidic foods (dairy and meat).

3) Organic produce stickers will have a 5-digit number beginning with a 9.  Conventional produce is only a 4-digit number and often begin with 4 or 5.

4) The Contamination Scale - if you have the means to buy all things organic, go ahead.  If you can only afford to buy some things organic, buy the following, ranked from worst to worst-est in terms on residual pesticide contamination:

• Potatoes
• Blueberries
• Cucumbers
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Grapes
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Peaches
• Red Pepper
• Celery
• Apples -- the worst offenders!  

5) Look at my adorable little lemon that is growing on my Meyer lemon tree!  Let's hope the branch is strong enough to support the full growth of the lemon!  I'll keep you updated!