|
|
 Even though I’ve been part of the natural products industry for almost five years, this past weekend marked my first-ever trip to the grandaddy of all things herbal, eco, and organic, Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California. From Thursday to Saturday, I met with myriad personal care companies, cruised the show floor for trends, sampled stevia-sweetened drinks and grass-fed beef jerkey, and somehow managed to score 3.25 precious minutes of sunshine and solitude at the Marriott pool.
But as Natural Solutions‘ Beauty and Wellness Editor, I was most intrigued to witness a major milestone in the US organic beauty industry Continue reading Organic Personal Care Takes Center Stage at Expo
 This could have been me ... It sounds strange, coming from an editor at a natural-health magazine: I’m usually an alternative-medicine skeptic. But right now, all I want to do is stand on a mountaintop and sing the praises of Oscillococcinum. Not kidding. If you were following my tweets from Natural Products Expo West, you know that I just got back from a week in Anaheim, California, where I was up to my ears learning about new natural supplements, going to lectures, interviewing doctors, and hobnobbing with who’s who in the natural products industry. (Thirty-four appointments in three days, thank you very much!) And I knew, as soon as I felt the telltale inklings early last week, that if I got sick, I would be hating life at Expo. Thank goodness I had read somewhere (probably in our magazine) that Oscillicoccinum–a homeopathic remedy made by Boiron–has been shown in double-blind, placebo-controlled studies to reduce the duration and symptoms of a cold. Continue reading Thank Goodness for Oscillococcinum
 Tomorrow, the Natural Solutions editors leave for Natural Products Expo West, an annual natural industry trade show in California. We’ll be scouting and schmoozing and finding great new products to tell you about in future issues of the magazine. While we’re gone, tho, we might be offline for a bit. Fear not: We’ll be back to Tweeting, Facebooking, and blogging on Monday. Have a good weekend, all!
 If you’ve dabbled in essential oils or would like to start, check out Aura Cacia’s new iPhone and iPod app, which serves up all you need to know about aromatherapy. Live an Aromatic Life with Aura Cacia outlines the healing benefits of specific essential oils and shows you which ones work best in conjunction—super handy for when you’re standing at the store counter unsure of which oils to buy. Plus, you can scan recipes for massage oils, lotions, foot soaks, and room sprays. Best of all, it’s free!
 It’s Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week (March 8–14). What can you do to help? Visit the National MS Society website to find charity walks and runs in your area. Also find ways to volunteer to spread awareness about this debilitating disease. Or, if you or a loved one is an MS patient, see our story, “New Hope for MS,” where we investigate the newest and most effective natural remedies for MS—including diet, exercise, acupuncture, and supplements.
 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a new online contest: Faces of the Grassroots. The competition invites amateur and professional filmmakers to create videos that raise awareness on issues of environmental justice around the country. Continue reading EPA Announces Contest to Raise Environmental Justice Awareness
 This week, a Colorado state legislative panel shot down the Colorado Women’s Lobby’s Safe Personal Care Products Act. Had it passed, this bill would have banned the sale and distribution of personal care items containing known carcinogens or reproductive toxins throughout Colorado as of September 1, 2011. This would have been the toughest regulation of cosmetics ingredients anywhere in the nation. Continue reading Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act Vetoed
 While most of us would be thrilled to prevent cancer simply by sipping a glass of pomegranate juice, the FDA has some bad news for optimistic consumers–and deceptive manufacturers. The organization announced March 3 that it sent warning letters in late February to 17 manufacturers for “false or misleading” labeling on 22 food products, urging companies to take immediate action or face the consequences of having products pulled from store shelves. Continue reading Don’t Believe Everything You Eat
 I can hardly believe that our annual Beauty With a Conscience Awards are here again. Seems like just yesterday I was sitting on our office floor amid a sea of lotions, potions, and serums, scanning some 1,500 personal care product labels for unacceptable ingredients. Now it’s almost time to bust out the magnifier and headlamp and do it all over again—so we can get that much closer to the fun parts: putting all those awesome (and awesomely nontoxic) natural products to the test and naming our favorites “Best in Beauty.” Continue reading Beauty With a Conscience Awards: Here We Go Again!
 Mary Saunders, LAc, Natural Solutions guest expert and founder of Boulder Community Acupuncture For more than 20 years, I have used acupuncture to help patients restore balance, health, and energy. At my practice, Boulder Community Acupuncture, I use Chinese herbal medicine, dietary changes, and nutritional supplements, as well as discussion of meditation, dreams, psychological factors, books, and yoga—anything it takes to restore balance is up for discussion! Common conditions I address include insomnia, digestive complaints, fatigue, hormonal imbalances that cause PMS and menopausal distress, headaches, stress-related illnesses, seasonal allergies, and colds and flu. Check in often: I’ll be blogging about using acupuncture to treat common conditions, how to find a good practitioner, and more. And if you ever have a question you’d like me to answer, send me an email.
What is Acupuncture?
A complete medical system used to diagnose and treat illness, prevent disease, and improve well-being, acupuncture originated in China more than 3,000 years ago. In traditional Chinese medicine, the body is treated as a whole, and everything is seen in terms of relationship. Health is explained as a state of balance between the yin and yang. The yang force is the immaterial qi or “vital energy,” spirit, fire, heat, activity, movement, doing. The yin counterpart is translated as “blood,” which is linked to but not identical with physical blood, matter, water, cold, receptivity, stillness, being. Disease occurs when either yin or yang is unbalanced, blocked, or stagnant. Continue reading What Is Acupuncture?
|
|
With Us