What the Health

Nothing beats a good food documentary to make you want to change your diet. Watching “What the Health” on Saturday night was very eye-opening and thought-provoking. Probably not a good idea to watch it while eating dinner though.
“What the Health” was directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, and produced by AUM Films and First Spark Media.

Directors Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn

What’s it about?

What the Health is the groundbreaking follow-up film from the creators of the award winning documentary Cowspiracy. The film follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases – and investigates why the nation’s leading health organizations don’t want us to know about it. With heart disease and cancer the leading causes of death in America, and diabetes at an all-time high, the film reveals possibly the largest health cover-up of our time. With the help of medical doctors, researchers, and consumer advocates, What the Health exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick.

Join Kip as he tracks down the leading and most trusted American health nonprofits to find out why these groups are staying silent, despite a growing body of evidence. Audiences will be shocked to learn the insidious roles played by pharmaceutical companies, agribusiness, and processed animal food companies in the nation’s health, especially in the most vulnerable communities, and will cheer at the transformation and recovery of those who took their lives into their own hands.

What the Health is a surprising, and at times hilarious, investigative documentary that will be an eye-opener for everyone concerned about our nation’s health and how big business influences it.

Obesity rates are skyrocketing. So many people are sick, taking numerous medications daily or undergoing expensive medical operations. What’s happening to the state of public health in the U.S.?

Available on DVD ($19.95) and online ($9.99), “What the Health” will make you rethink about what you consume on a day-to-day basis. “What the Health” successfully manages to connect seemingly disparate dots linking big businesses like pharmaceutical companies, agribusiness, and processed animal food companies to what’s happening. I kept shaking my head in disbelief and outrage while watching. It’s pretty repugnant when you think how profit keeps winning over public health. It’s so unfortunate that American consumers are thrown under the bus by the very institutions they trust.

Thankfully, the documentary presented a workable solution so hope is not lost.

Disclaimer: A representative for “What the Health” contacted me to watch this documentary online for free. All opinions are my own. This post also appeared in the blog SnapHappy Foodie.

Clean with pHur

Have you heard of pHur, an organic cleaning disinfecting agent?

Water + Salt + Science became pHur’s magic formula. And thanks to painstaking, multi-year testing, it was registered as a proven disinfectant with the EPA on both Federal and State levels.

It is already making a difference in the healthcare industry, replacing multiple toxic products used in hospitals with our alkaline cleaning water and natural disinfecting water.

pHur™ Cleaning and Disinfecting Water can be shipped to doorsteps every 30 days, and in select counties, a certified pHur technician can electrostatically disinfect entire households. Both options give consumers the option to live naturally and live clean.

It’s the first cleaning agent of its kind and perfect for Winter cleaning.

If you’re tired of using those cleaning products that are chockful of chemicals, then you should check out pHur.

The pHur System Kit ($30.95 as of this post) included:

  • 16 fl.oz. Disinfectant
  • 16 fl.oz. Cleaning Water
  • 2 fl.oz. ON-THE-GO Disinfectant
  • 1 Greenspeed Original Microfiber Cloth
  • 2 Sprayer Heads (not in the picture below).


What exactly are the ingredients in each bottle?

pHur Cleaning Water is high pH alkaline cleaning water without hazardous solvents, phosphates or ammonia. There are no added scents or colored dyes. It’s safe on hard and soft surfaces, leaving no residue. The active ingredient is Sodium Hydroxide. pHur Disinfectant’s active ingredient is Hypochlorous Acid. Both Cleaning Water and Disinfectant can’t be used with acids and hydrogen peroxide.

As someone who does a lot of cooking and baking, I used pHur to clean my kitchen countertop, which really gets plenty of action. Imagine my surprise when it worked and it worked well!

Despite its organic nature, there’s a warning in the back that it should be kept out of children’s reach. A reasonable warning, if you ask me, but I looked into that and found this on their website:

If pHur isn’t harmful, why does the label say CAUTION and carry the 10-minute dwell time? pHur™ Disinfecting Water has been registered with the EPA under traditional disinfecting standards. Although contradictory to pHur’s all natural makeup of water and salt and its kill-on-contact power, our label must place traditional warnings and directions on its bottle based on the EPA’s standards for toxic, chemically-laden products. pHur™ Disinfecting Water is THE FIRST disinfecting solution to kill bacteria physically rather than chemically. We’re in desparate need of a new category within the EPA, but until then, we’ll bear the burden of the old labels.

Packaging’s recyclable, so that’s a bonus. Unfortunately, you can’t buy it elsewhere because it has a short shelf life – 30 days. It doesn’t have any preservatives that will allow it to stay in shelves for a long time. According to their website, pHur™ products are currently sold exclusively through phurwater.com to those living in AZ, CA, CO, NV, OR, TX, WA. Here’s hoping it’ll be available in the Northeast soon!

Disclaimer: A representative for pHur contacted me to review their product. I received a sample in exchange for writing a review on the blog. All opinions are my own.

Gratis X1 jetski

Electric jetski lets you ride through more waterways

While relatively small and convenient, jetskis aren’t always allowed on all waterways because some areas forbid water vehicles that use a gas-powered internal combustion engine. The Gratis X1 by Free Form Factory just might change things, though. The electric jetski is emission-free and does not make any noise, and the body itself is made from a 100% recyclable polymer blend. Charging it for 1.2 to 4 hours gives you a running time of 30 to 65 minutes, and the Gratis X1 runs at a top speed of 40 knots.

The Gratis X1 costs $17,990 and it comes in four colors. Limited edition versions are also available for pre-order on their site.

La Casa Verde

Want to own an eco-friendly guesthouse in Ecuador?

Doug and Rebecca Greenshields began traveling in South America in 2005, and, thanks to the rich culture and the pace of life, found a new place they could call home: a half-finished construction a mile and a half away from Baños, Ecuador. This was where they raised their two kids and got started on a greener life, even opening their own eco-friendly guesthouse, La Casa Verde. Rebecca has even shared her thoughts and experiences as an expat in an interview with Stuff.

The time has come for the family to move on, however, with Doug about to explore a new career. Which is why La Casa Verde is currently up for sale for the low, low price of $29. All you need to do is buy Doug’s e-book, Back to Earth, and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win the guesthouse. They’re even throwing in $10,000 to help you get started on your new life.

Sounds like worth a shot, to be honest. And hey, even if you don’t win the guesthouse, at least you’ll have a good green living resource.

Photo from the La Casa Verde website

Olli flipflops

Olli flipflops take steps to help people and the planet

In July 2014, Heather Shuster forgot to bring along her flipflops on a trip to Hawaii, so she did the logical thing: she looked for a new pair. You’d think it would be easy to find a great pair of flipflops given where she was, but all she found were flipflops made with plastic. That incident sparked an idea: to create eco-friendly flipflops made with natural rubber and won’t harm the planet or the skin. Olli was born.

She then set out to find natural rubber with which to make flipflops, and her search took her to India and Sri Lanka. She found the sources of the material she needed, but she also found poor working conditions. So, she added one more goal: make eco-friendly flipflops, and make sure that the people who help turn these flipflops into reality are treated well and paid a fair wage. Heather shares on Olli’s Kickstarter page:

I joined the Fair Rubber Association, which means Olli only purchases rubber from audited plantations that maintain Fair Trade standards that include safe working conditions, medical care, and a fair wage. We pay a premium for our rubber which goes directly to the rubber tappers.

The goal now is to raise $10,000 for production. If all goes according to plan, production begins in April and the products will be shipped to backers in July. Check out the Kickstarter page for more details and maybe help Heather out as well in creating these eco-friendly flipflops.

Photo from Olli’s Kickstarter page.

Ecobricks

With Ecobricks, plastic waste is turned into building materials

The concept of Ecobricks has been around for a while, but hey, this blog has been silent for sometime, so we simply have to talk about it now. I’m hearing about a lot more people joining in and making their own Ecobricks at home nowadays, which is great. If you haven’t heard about them yet, simply put, they’re plastic bottles stuffed with non-biological waste, and they can be used to make modular furniture and even buildings. Last year, the #StuffItChallenge was launched in the Philippines to encourage more people to make Ecobricks, setting designated dropoff points for the bricks, which will be used for low-cost housing in various communities.

Ecobricks can be connected using silicone, cement, and other materials, and they’ve been used to build or fortify various structures throughout the world already, such as a clay bottle house owned by Jane Liwan, a utility worker at the Besao District Hospital, in Besao in the Northern Philippines, and a classroom in South Africa. Currently, the Ocean Ecobrick is being developed, which can be used for outdoor and even floating constructions on the water.

Making an Ecobrick is extremely simple, and it’s definitely a good way to eliminate plastic waste and encourage creativity when it comes to building structures, too.

Photo from the Ecobricks website

Eco parking lot, MS

New environmentally friendly parking lot completed in Mississippi

The United States Naval Construction Battalions or the Seabees have completed work on a low-impact 98-slot parking lot for NAS Jacksonville Building 919, the headquarters of Commander, Navy Region Southeast, in Jacksonville, Mississippi. The new parking lot uses permeable paving to absorb storm runoff, and it will be illuminated with LED lights.

Photo from JaxAirNews

The next eco-friendly plastic bags will come from shrimp shells

It’s no secret that the planet is at risk of choking on all the plastic we produce and throw away, which is why researchers and manufacturers are scrambling to find alternatives to plastic, biodegradable plastic, and plastic made out of more natural materials. Researchers at Nile University in Egypt came up with a possibility: making plastic out of shrimp shells. According to The Australian, the team has already created a thin, clear prototype using chitosan, which is found in the shells of many crustaceans. They purchased shrimp shells from restaurants, supermarkets, and fisherman, and “the shells are cleaned, chemically treated, ground and dissolved into a solution that dries into thin films of plastic.”

Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering hit upon the same solution a few years ago and found that material made from chitosan breaks down weeks after disposal and can even provide nutrients for plants.

Photo from YummyMummyClub.ca