You may not need a hard hat and steel toe boots at work, but there are hazards of having a desk job. At the risk of sounding extreme, sitting all day can lead to fatal and serious health risks.

You may not even realize how much sitting you are doing,
1)  At work     2) In the Car, or Commuting     3) Watching TV, iPad, Video Games, Computer, or Reading

Some health problems that can be caused by sitting for hours every day are: heart disease and organ damage, muscle degeneration and blood clots, disc damage, soft bones, over productive pancreas and diabetes. Further symptoms caused by sitting are high blood pressure, insulin resistance and extra fat around the abdomen.

You may think, “Yes I sit all day at work, but I hit the gym at least 5 times a week”.  
FYI: you are still at risk if you do not move the rest of the day.

It is recommended that you have 30 minutes of physical activity every day.  “Thirty minutes is two percent of your day, what about the other 98 percent?”, asks Mark Tremblay, Director of the Health and Active Living and Obesity Research Group at CHEO Research Institute in Ottawa.

An article in Maclean’s magazine, by Kate Lanau, reports that a team at the University of Leicester and Loughborough University in England conducted 18 studies including 80,000 participants. The results showed that sitting for long periods increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease, including individuals that work out once a day but still spend most of their hours static.

 “After an hour your metabolism starts to sleep. The body becomes less adept at vacuuming sugar and fat from the blood stream, causing them to build up and insulin level to spike.” Peter Katzmaryk, Professor, Pennington Biochemical Research Center

We are in charge of our health, be aware and use simple solutions:
1) Walking/standing meetings 2) Standing desks 3) Walking breaks4)  Desk stretches

Written by: Amy Trachter and Nicole Whitely
Links to Washington Post and Maclean's Magazine

Your gigantic non-organic produce tastes bland, doesn't it? It's about to make a lot of sense...

Organic Produce: plants grown without the use of (synthetic) fertilizers, fungicides or inorganic fertilizers and prepared without the use of preservatives. - David A. Bender, Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry

The truth about the opponents, organic produce and "conventional produce" is that the larger the fruit or vegetable, the more ground the nutrients have to cover. The same goes for flavour.

In an NBC news article written by Sarah Burns, it is explained that the farming industry's desire for bigger and faster growing crops is what has led to large yield, huge sizes and uniform shapes. But the very things that increase speed, decreases produce's ability to absorb nutrients from the soil, sun and water.

"By avoiding synthetic fertilizers, organic farmers put more stress on plants, and when plants stress, they protect themselves by producing photochemicals". - Alyson Mitchell PhD.

Organic produce are slower growing compared to their opponent and have a lower yield, leading to a high nutrient content. "Plants have a finite amount of nutrients they can pass on to their fruit and vegetables, so if the produce is smaller, then its level of nutrients will be more concentrated". - Donald Davis, PhD.

Example:
An organic apple orchard contains a specific amount of apple trees. Each side of the tree is exposed to a different amount of sunlight, each patch of soil holds a variety of nutrients, and each tree absorbs the water it is fed differently. These components all effect EACH apple's flavour and nutritional content.

Non-organic apple orchard: each tree is synthetically fertilized, leading to a larger yield and size, less flavor and nutritional content per apple.

So next time you think, "WOW Cauliflower, you HUGE", know that bigger does not mean better.

"You should sit and meditate for 20 minutes a day. Unless you are very busy, then you should meditate for an hour."  - Zen Proverb

Mediation:
Most people have heard this quote but find they still don't have the time! Meditation is an entirely beneficial practice for you and also for everyone around you. If you have no idea where to start don't get discouraged! There is a simple, powerful way to begin to tap into this practice. As you breathe in, silently say "In" and as you breathe out, silently say "Out". This is a simple way to bring you back to your body and the present. It is said that you cannot worry and breathe at the same time, so the next time you feel stressed, anxious or even overwhelmed just breathe through it.

Mindfulness:
Meditation helps you to cultivate and maintain a level of presence and awareness; presence in the sense that you feel your power as a human being and an individual. This is to go beyond any preconceived notion you have about your personality, actions, appearance etc. Being mindful greatly improves your self-respect and sense of self.

Awareness:
Awareness acts like that age old cartoon of the angel on your shoulder. It’s the whisper in the back of your mind leading you to the path most right for you in that moment. Both these acts ripple into your life, making your interactions with others more open, informed and beautiful.

Is it hard to be mindful all of the time, to be aware of how you’re feeling, in the present moment?

It does not matter what feeling you have. Anxious, calm, strong, kind, generous, etc., taking the time to meditate to be aware of the moment you are in is the first step to being mindful.

Written by Nicole Whitely and Amy Trachter
Links to GaiamTV meditation videos.