A round-up of this week’s environmental, green and ecofriendly news and updates.
A new study has shown that eating processed foods increases your chances of colon cancer.
Emulsifiers are used to improve the texture of some foods, as well as extend their shelf life. They are used in, for example, ice cream, mayonnaise, margarine, creamy sauces, bread and chocolate.
It seems that they disrupt bacteria in the digestive system, leading to inflammation. The study was done on mice, so there’s no guarantee it would also happen in humans.
Also, it doesn’t mean you have to instantly give up eating everything nice. Just eat mostly freshly-made or raw, healthy food, and the occasional treat of ice cream shouldn’t do any harm at all!
It’s that time of year when we buy gifts (for ourselves or others).
And of course, if you’re going to buy things, you’ll want to avoid “stuff” and instead buy ecofriendly gifts.
I’ve got lots and lots of ideas which I’ll be sharing with you over the next few weeks.
But one of my favourites is Teeki active wear. It’s gorgeous, and it’s really green (every time you buy one, you’re recycling 25 nasty plastic bottles!).
I’ve done a great video to show you the different styles – have a look here.
If you ever worry about taking your shoes off, concerned there’ll be an odour, worry no longer.
Some simple, green and eco friendly methods to stop smelly feet are:
Always dry your feet properly, especially in between the toes, after a bath, shower or swim. This will help to prevent odour-causing bacteria from forming.
Keep your feet well moisturized. This will prevent dry skin and keep bacteria levels down.
Steep 2 tea bags in 2 cups of water. Add the tea to a basin of warm water and soak your feet for 15 minutes. Apart from being soothing and relaxing, the tea works as a powerful astringent and deodorizer.
Leaves can be a pesky problem in our gardens at this time of year.
Leaf blowers can save a lot of hassle – but can you use a leaf blower and still live green?
We know that many birds and animals eat plastic litter. We also know that it eventually kills them. (And sometimes we eat them, so plastic ends up in our food chain too).
But I’m often asked if birds and animals are particularly stupid, to eat plastic.
In my experience, animals are rarely stupid.
They simply do what their instinct tells them to do.
However, I was interested to find out this week WHY they eat plastic – I assumed they mistook it for food. That is essentially true, but I didn’t know that they eat plastic waste because it smells like algae – a tasty meal for them.
And here’s another fascinating (though terrifying) statistic for you: About 90 percent of all seabirds alive today have eaten plastic of some kind.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Please spread the Green word and share this info.
And if you’re on Twitter, get a daily green tip by following me – @EcoExpert1 . See you there!
Lots of good information here, Clare. My gifts are all handmade this year with the exception of a few tools my son needs for work. We need better ways of disposing of disposable plastic. Most of us are using less to none at all but there will still be more than enough to cause damage to wildlife. I hate the sound of leaf blowers but I understand if you have a big job, raking can be very hard on the back. I have learned to let them be all winter and compost them in the spring. They keep the roots warm in winter.