Photo credit: busymommy

Breakfast: good for you and the planet!

Many teens either skip breakfast or grab something starchy and sugary on the way to school. However, from a nutritional point of view, breakfast is the most important part of the day. The solution? A fast and easy breakfast smoothie. You can make your own with protein powder, yogurt and frozen berries, or try Vega smoothie mixes. They have protein for energy, plus all your vitamins and minerals to start the day right. Vega compared its Whole Food Optimizer to a “traditional North American breakfast” including hashbrowns, eggs and bacon, and a “light North American breakfast” including yogurt, cereal and banana. According to the Vega website, there are 38 times more greenhouse gas emissions created by traditional breakfast and 10 times more greenhouse gases created by the light breakfast compared to Vega. Thus, switching to Vega for a year would be equivalent to turning off a 60 watt light bulb for 12,500 hours, or 521 consecutive days (Source: http://sequelnaturals.com/).

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Photo credit: ckaroli

As adults we know what is good for us.  And, of course, our job as parents is to look after our kids; teach them manners and respect, make sure they get enough exercise, eat a healthy diet.  But do we take as much notice of which personal care products they are using?

A study done by The Environmental Working Group (EWG) in 2008 on adolescent exposure to chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products revealed some alarming statistics.  In 20 teen girls aged 14-19 16 chemicals from four chemical families were detected.  These chemicals – phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks – are linked to potential health concerns, including hormone disruption and cancer.

Most everyone by now has heard of parabens (widely used synthetic preservatives) and the harmful effects they can have on our health, including links to breast cancer.  This study by the EWG is the first to expose statistics for parabens in teens.  And the results are disturbing, with two types of parabens detected in each girl tested.

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