Green is Good For You
July 26, 2007
“Going green” helps keep the planet healthy, but what can it do for you? It’s true that turning off the air conditioner and recycling your trash don’t have immediate health benefits. But keeping an eye on the environment can be good for your body, too. Going green can help reduce your risk of cancer, protect your heart, trim your waistline, and even make you happier!
Drive less, walk more. Why it’s green: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, by leaving your car at home twice a week you can prevent about 1,600 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. Why it’s good for you: Walking or biking to work is a great way to get more exercise into your day. Even if you take public transportation, you’re still walking more than if you drove your car door to door. People who exercise regularly have lower blood pressure, less risk of diabetes, and a lower risk of colon cancer than people with sedentary lifestyles. Exercise is also a proven way to fight depression.
Think globally, eat locally. Why it’s green: Eating local means choosing foods that were produced nearby. A lot of what’s at your grocery store was trucked in from out of state or out of the country, burning fossil fuels all the way. By shopping at your local farmer’s market, you can cut out that long-distance step. Why it’s good for you: Just-picked fruits and veggies taste better than most of what you’ll find at the grocery store, which makes it easier to get your five servings a day. Plus, if you’re shopping at the farmer’s market, you won’t be tempted by high-fat snacks, sugary sodas, or the candy aisle.
Cook for yourself. Why it’s green: Frozen dinners come in a plastic tray, in a plastic wrapper, in a cardboard box. That’s a lot of trash for just one meal! Cooking from scratch creates substantially less waste. Why it’s good for you: In additional to all that packaging, convenience foods tend to be heavy on salt, which can contribute to high blood pressure, and on unhealthy saturated fats, which are thought to raise LDL or “bad” cholesterol. When you cook for yourself, you control the ingredients.
Eat your veggies. Why it’s green: Growing fruits and vegetables is easier on the planet than growing cattle. A rib-eye steak takes about eighteen times more fossil fuel energy to produce than the same amount of protein from grain. Why it’s good for you: A diet low in red meat and high in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products has been proven to help control high blood pressure. You don’t have to cut out meat entirely. Just aim for small servings of lean meat or poultry (6 ounces per day) along with other healthy foods.
Related Links:
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
It's great to hear from you and see what you've been up to. In your blog I feel your enthusiasm for life. thank you.
Posted by: Links of London Bracelets | February 16, 2012 at 12:45 PM