Americans live life in the fast lane and so does the food we consume. When we need a quick bite to eat many of us go to the closest drive-thru or grab something that is packaged and ready to go from the grocery store. It's convenient. This level of convenience, however, has a high price.

Just like it takes energy to chew your food and resources to digest it, it requires a significant amount of energy and resources for the food you eat to reach your plate. Think about your bowl of cereal in the morning. If it's some type of grain, it was grown on a farm. It was cultivated and either shipped, driven or flown to a factory where it was processed into cereal and then put into boxes. Then it was transported to a warehouse until a retailer ordered a shipment. Then it was shipped, driven or flown to that grocery store. The miles that it traveled, otherwise known as "food miles," and the resources used to package it all impact the environment. The more miles your food travels, the more fossil fuels are used, which has an impact on the environment.

The good news is you can make sustainable choices and cut down on food miles by buying locally. This means visiting your local farmers' market and checking out the fresh fruits and veggies that didn't have to travel thousands of miles to get to your plate.

Each of us can take steps to reduce food miles, but there are even more questions you can ask about the food you are buying. It is also important to know how the crops were cultivated and nurtured on the farm. Were pesticides used? If you eat meat, how were the animals raised? Were antibiotics used? Originally, all foods were "organic"-grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers or hormones, but now large-scale farming uses chemicals to spray their produce, which puts toxins into the air and our food.

When thinking about the food you eat it's important to know where it comes from. Did it come from a large farm which ships all over the world or a local family-run farm? By being aware of where you buy your food and how it was raised you will not only reduce fossil fuel consumption, but also enjoy fresh flavors, support the community, preserve open spaces and support your health.

The environmental impact of food wasn't an issue centuries ago. People ate whole and unprocessed vegetables, fruit, grains and beans and chicken, fish and other animal foods because that's what was available. Farmers worked with the natural cycles of the earth. Fresh greens grew in spring, fruit ripened in summer, root vegetables in the fall and animal protein was consumed in the winter. Farmers rotated crops from year to year to allow the soil to retain its nutrients between growing cycles. Animals grazed in different areas each season to let grasses recover and replenish between seasons. Farmers fed the soil with compost, rather than using artificial fertilizing methods. These practices that were used centuries ago and some organic farmers still use today are long-term, sustainable methods of farming that work with the natural environment, instead of adding chemicals to it.

The food you eat has an impact on your health as well as the environment. When you buy local and organic foods you are less likely to ingest certain chemicals. Think about how fresh fruits and vegetables will taste when in their whole and natural state. Experiment. Buy one apple from the grocery store and one from the farmers' market. Notice the difference when you bite into the organic apple versus the one with pesticides. You might notice that the organic apple is crunchier and sweeter.

Changing the foods you choose may require you to slow down a little bit. The reason why most of us buy from grocery stores or fast food restaurants is because we are overscheduled and cannot take the time to go to the farmers' market and choose local and organic foods. Maybe you've never noticed how a conventionally-grown apple tastes because you didn't take the time to chew your food. You will notice that by slowing down, you will be able to make better decisions about the food you eat.

In the next couple of months, I encourage you to get out into the community. Check out your natural food stores. Ask your grocer about where your meat is coming from, and look for grass-fed, certified organic and local whenever possible. Find a farmer's market in your area by visiting localharvest.org or greenpeople.org. These changes may take time, but realize you have the power to create a healthy future by eating whole, organic and locally grown foods.

Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables

Eating locally grown food in accordance with the seasons will help you live in harmony with yourself, your body and the earth, but because produce is available year round, choosing what's in season can be confusing. Here is a list of fruits and vegetables that are in season this summer. Try incorporating them into your meals.

Summer

* bell peppers
* berries: blackberries,
* blueberries, raspberries
* broccoli
* corn
* cucumbers
* eggplant
* green beans
* nectarines
* okra
* peaches
* pineapples

With great regret, I have to share this story with you...it's sad, but very true.

I was at work last night and we had our usual craze between 10PM to midnight (and beyond...yup, I work the overnight shift!). We were trying to sort out an insurance issue for one of our patients in the first lane of our drive-thru (we'll call her Sally) while another car sat waiting in the second lane. While my colleagues were dealing with the drive-thru patients, I was on the phone with a not so happy patient. Evidently someone was here to pick-up her medications and one of them was not ready...she said the person picking up for her was in the drive-thru in a red Bronco (take note of that last part, it's somewhat important!)

So, I solved the problem with the upset patient on the phone and had one of my colleagues sell her prescription to the person picking up for her (to the red Bronco guy in lane 2). Meanwhile, Sally ended up coming inside to call her insurance in hopes of solving the problem. Unfortunately her insurance had expired so she ended up taking her prescriptions back (one of which was for Percocet).

We carried on with our work, helping patients as they came along and keeping things straight in the pharmacy. About 30 minutes later, Sally called us and she was a bit freaked out. Apparently, the red Bronco guy (who had been in lane 2 while she was in lane 1) came up to her outside after she left the store and asked her if she had purchased a prescription for a narcotic. If so, he wanted to buy the narcotic prescription from her.

NOTE: Narcotics are prescription medications used to treat severe pain, and they are commonly sold illegally on the street as a recreational drug (gets people high and happy).

The red Bronco guy had overheard the discussion between Sally and my colleague while sitting in the drive-thru. Somewhere in that conversation, the Percocet prescription had been discussed so he knew she was there to pick-up an opiate medication. Even though his business was done at the pharmacy, he stuck around in the parking lot until Sally came out of the store...that's when he made his move.

Luckily, Sally had not filled/purchased her Percocet prescription - who knows what may have gone down if she had! It is unlikely that Sally would have been hurt, but there have been cases like Sally's where people have been attacked. Instead, Sally was just freaked out (rightfully so) and wanted to warn us about the red Bronco guy.

Not only can pharmacies be held up, but you can be too - you may have what the bad person wants. If they want your medications badly enough, they may take drastic measures to get them. I don't want to scare you as it's rare that something like what happened to Sally would happen to you - just wanted to make sure you are cautious of your surroundings!

If you feel you need more privacy at the pharmacy, please let the pharmacy staff know and I'm sure they will do what they can to satisfy your needs...besides, it is the law!

Has Sally's situation happened to you before? Definitely share your story because I believe that the more cases shared, the more cautious others will be!

There can be plenty of causes of bad breath. Have you ever met a person with a bad breath and had to quickly find an excuse to move away a bit? I can bet everybody came across once in their lives with someone who did not smell nice when they talked. And that has a cause. There can be certain medical conditions for that, but also diet and teeth care routine can contribute to bad breath. Of course not everything can apply to you but if it's you who happens to have an unpleasant breath then you should investigate further.

Diet

What you put inside your body can affect greatly your breath, but may not necessarily be the only reason for it. There are certain good things to help with your breath and cleaning throat-that is everything that is green, especially parsley, lettuce, and peas. In addition anything that has not been cleaned or cooked thoroughly can lead to bad breath. How about garlic?-I hear you asking. Well, do you like kissing a garlicky partner? If no then it's not a good idea. However on the long run garlic is very beneficial to clearing the body, it's not really what already inside your stomach.

Habits
Brushing teeth (with electric brush) and flossing between your teeth every day is essential. You must remove any excess food particles. Digestion starts within the mouth so any leftover in the mouth starts to "rotten" and of course will leave a bad smell. In addition to brushing your teeth you must brush your tongue. In fact this should be a very important part of your routine as it is the tongue where bad bacteria grow.

Conclusion
As long as you don't have a medical condition you can simply improve your breath by diet and cleaning routine. If you don't see any improvement then you might be facing a chronic bad breath for which you should seek medical advice.

WHAT ARE THESE ROCK THINGS, ANYWAY?

Also called renal calculi in medical terminology which has the Latin origin ren or renes meaning "kidney" and calculi meaning "pebbles", kidney stones are solid concretions or crystal aggregations formed in the kidneys from suspended urinary minerals. Calcium is absorbed from food in excess and is lost into the urine. Uric acid stones are another type of stones.

While certain foods may promote stone formation in people who are susceptible, scientists do not believe that eating any specific food causes stones to form in people who are not susceptible. Doctors do not always know the reason behind the stone formation. Blood and urine tests help detect any abnormal substance that might promote stone formation.

Urinary tract infections, kidney disorders such as cystic kidney diseases, and certain metabolic disorders such as hyperparathyroidism are also linked to stone formation. In patients with hyperoxaluria, the body produces too much oxalate, a salt.

In addition, more than 70 percent of people with a rare hereditary disease called renal tubular acidosis develop kidney stones. Hypercalciuria is inherited and it may be the cause of stones in more than half of patients.

TRACING THE STONES

Kidney stones are treated according to their sizes, that's why they need to know where the stones are held inside your body. Diagnostic images give the doctor important information about the stone's size and location. If the stone is too large to pass easily, pain continues as the muscles in the wall of the narrow ureter try to squeeze the stone into the bladder. As the stone moves down the ureter, closer to the bladder, a person may feel the need to urinate more often or feel a burning sensation during urination. If the stones stay small enough, they can travel through the urinary tract and exit the body through the urine without being noticed.

Most stones pass out of the body without any intervention by a physician.

THE ROCK BANDIT'S YESTERDAY AND TODAY

Children today seem to live a lifestyle that puts them at risk of kidney stones, meaning they consume sugar-filled drinks and a fast-food diet that is high in sodium, a known risk factor in the formation of kidney stones, says Gary Faerber, MD, a urologist at the University of Michigan Health System.

Men are more prone to have stones than women. Additionally, stones are often caused by dehydration, either by not drinking enough liquid or losing too much due to high heat conditions.

However, kidney stones tend to be way down on the list of possible problems for most people.

SOME NATURAL REMEDIES

Your diet may very well affect kidney stone formation. If you don't want to get these BAND-its forming inside your natural filters, then "wash" them away by drinking water! That is the primary thing to do for prevention!

Do you want to treat your stones in an all-new, refreshing and savoury way? Well, worry no more. Lessen the intake of calcium and take magnesium.

Watermelons would also be very advisable for patients of kidney stones. These include Couch Grass and Cleavers.

WE ALL COME TO A CONCLUSION

You want to know more other than what's above, right? Do you want to have a better grasp of your ailment and how you could permanently extinguish it?

So what are you waiting for? Grab the opportunity. Please visit the website listed below for more information.

Yes, it can and here is how.

The most frequent cognitive deficits noted in persons with diabetes are:

Slowing of information processing speed

Slowing of motor speed

Decreases in vocabulary and intelligence

Lessening of attention span

Decreases in motor strength

Loss of memory

The single most important factor that affects cognitive deficits in diabetes is glycemic or blood sugar control. Both too low (hypoglycemia) and too high (hyperglycemia) blood glucose can affect cognitive function. When you keep your blood glucose as close as possible to normal, all of the above items improve.

Complications such as neuropathy (loss of feeling), retinopathy (loss of eye sight), and nephropathy (loss of kidney funtction) may take years to occur with diabetes. Cognitive deficits can occur much earlier (especially when your hemoglobin A1Cis higher than8.4%).

In elderly diabetic persons this is especially true, with more than 10% showing at least some cognitive deficit due at least in part to poor blood glucose control.

Okay, so what can you do to keep your brain sharp? In other words, how do you keep all your marbles?

You can keep your blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible. In keeping a tight control over your blood glucose you will sharpen your brain and prevent any further deterioration.

There are three main ways of doing this.

The first is to control your diet by counting your carbohydrates. Your health care professional can tell you how many carbohydrates that you should eat.

The second method is to exercise. Exercise has been proven over and over again to lower blood glucose (and it makes you feel better). Exercise can lower your blood glucose for hours to days after you are done. Make sure to check your blood glucose both before and after you exercise to make it remains within a normal level. Your health care provider can tell you what normal levels are for you. Never start an exercise routine without checking with your health care provider.

The third method is medications. Not all diabetics take medications but if you do, make sure you take them properly. If you receive a new prescription for a medication make sure you ask questions of both your physician and your pharmacist until you know:

What the name of the medication is

What the medication is for and why you are taking it

When to take the medicine.

If you still do not understand your new medication, continue to ask questions. Do NOT give up until you understand. (As a nurse I have seen numerous patients admitted to the hospital because they took their medications incorrectly. On one occasion, I know one patient died because of his lack of understanding of his new prescription). Do not be afraid to be a pest. Ask and ask again until you understand your medications (and this is true of your current medications as well. You do not have to wait for a new prescription to gain understanding of your medications.)