Detoxing your Body

In today's over-processed 21st century world, it's imperative to flush the toxins from our systems on a regular basis.

Fasting can be very beneficial to your body and provide a great boost to your overall health. Most nutritionists say that 1-2 20-hour fasts per week can be a great benefit both physically and mentally. While many different types of fast exist, the simplest is to spend a 20-hour period eating nothing and drinking only water. Some even take it a step further drinking herbal laxative tea from the health food store or soaking in a bathtub of Epsom salts to encourage removal of toxins from the body.

Olive Oil: The Fountain of Youth

Olive Oil: Spain

Olive oil has long been known to have great health benefits. Rich in antioxidants, just two tablespoons a day can help to reduce the risk of heart disease. Olive oil is also thought to lower cholesterol, and help to prevent heart attack and stroke.

Those in the natural remedy crowd also use olive oil in both their diet and on their skin. Jeanne Calment, who holds the title of the longest confirmed lifespan at 122 years, often attributed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance to olive oil both in her diet and on her skin.

Choosing a Multivitamin

With shelves of vitamin supplements on the market, it can be a daunting task to choose the right one for you.

First, it is ok to choose generic brands, oftentimes these brands are just as good as the ones with fancy advertising.

Also, there is a slight different in the multivitamins for men and women. Women's vitamins often contain iron, which is a necessary supplement, whereas men need little or no iron.

Lastly, test your vitamins by placing one in a glass of water. It should dissolve in under a half hour. Some vitamins can take up to two hours to dissolve and are therefore useless, as they won't absorb into the bloodstream.

Enjoying the Sunshine

Because the sun can have a devastating effect on our bodies no matter what age we are, it’s important to take a proactive role in offsetting the harmful rays when out and enjoying the nice weather. Some tips to remember are:

*Find a sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays and wear it even on the cloudy days.

*Avoid exposure to the sun in highly reflective areas such as the sand, water and snow.

*Stay far, far away from tanning beds!

*Try to avoid the sun when it’s at its strongest, between the hours of 10am and 4pm. Here’s a tip: if you shadow is shorter than you are, the sun's rays are very intense and you should seek shade.

Carol Alt: Supermodel and Raw Food Revolutionary

For anyone else watching The Celebrity Apprentice, you’ve no doubt noticed how stunning Carol Alt looks. The biggest secret she's hiding is that she's 47! It’s surely not possible for someone to look that good naturally at 47. But she does, and I think she's found the fountain of youth. It’s a raw food diet. She claims no needle has ever come close to her wrinkle-free face.

A raw food diet is different from vegan; raw-foodists eat raw meat and unpasteurized dairy. Shocking I know! I personally can't jump on board with the raw meat thing, but I’ve never been a great meat eater anyway, so considering a raw vegetarian diet is something I’m interested in.

Carol says that at the age of 34 and the height of her career she was feeling worn down and sick on a regular basis. Prescriptions for insomnia, headaches and sinus problems became her daily life. After nearly losing out on modeling jobs, she sought out a holistic solution. Thirteen years and two books later she's found it. It’s raw food and she swears by it. Studies have shown that as soon as food hits the heat the very enzymes and vitamins that make it so inherently good for us immediately diminish. It’s also harder for the human body to digest cooked foods.

Carol now says she feels better than she did in her twenties, and she certainly looks it! I’ve never been one to commit 100% to any one diet, I am very interest in learning more about this one and many incorporating some its principles into my own eating habits. While I’m not willing to reach for the raw chicken breast just yet, I think I will be seeking out Carol Alt’s book the next time I hit the bookstore.

Contaminated Water

As many of you may have heard, studies were released in the last week finding that many of the major metropolitan cities in the U.S. are drinking water containing pharmaceuticals. 24 cities were found to have one or more drugs present in the water supply, contaminating water for more than 41 million Americans. This is a devastating finding because we're just not sure how the drugs are finding their way into the water. It's ironic that all of the prescription drugs we take to make us healthy are seeping into the water supply and potentially making us sick.

Scientists have also studied the animals living in or drinking the water that’s affected. Fish were affected the most, with some showing stunted growth or even deformities. While many of the cities affected had only one prescription drug present, Philadelphia was the clear winner (or loser in this case) with a whopping 56 different drugs present. It’s unclear whether in-home filtration systems are helping to clean the water. While many people’s natural inclination may be to invest in bottled water, remember, last month studies showed links with plastic and cancer. Unfortunately, that's not a safe route for those citizens affected. The only way to overcome adversity is to stay informed. If you live near one of the major areas affected by the water supply, stay up to date with what local officials are recommend citizens do.

Beef. It's not what's for dinner.

I’ve always been an environmentally conscious gal. I was raised in a rural area, so I always had an appreciation for the plants and animals around me. My motivation for being environmentally friendly is purely selfish; I like this earth we live on. I'm sad when I see littered paths and the ever-constant condo construction sites. I want to share with you why it’s important to save the earth that sustains us. Kurt Vonnegut once said that humans are a disease on the earth. I think he’s right, but I also think it’s not too late for us to turn that around.

Beef. Just two pounds of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gasses than driving for three hours while leaving all of the lights on back at home. Seriously. Beef = bad. Greenhouse gasses from beef make up 18% of emissions, more than vehicles. And this is only counting the methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide released from the cow’s digestive system, not the raising and transporting of it. But, don't worry, you really don't have to cut beef out of your diet for good; cutting your consumption in half can greatly reduce the amount of emissions released. And when you are in the mood for red meat, try going organic. Organic beef raised on grass instead of concentrated food uses 40% less greenhouse grasses and 85% less energy. And when you’re in the mood for a burger, try something different and go vegetarian. Veggie burgers are really good and environmentally friendly. Plus they're better for you!

A Clean Home is a Happy Home

A battle I've always had is keeping my home clean. It’s ironic really, I grew up with a mother who was fanatically clean, spending hours every evening cleaning things she’d only just cleaned the night before. Perhaps I’m still rebelling from that. Regardless, one goal I always have at the beginning of the week is to make the effort to keep my house clutter-free. It's been five years and counting with little success.

Marilu Henner is a firm believer that a clutter-free home equals a clutter-free life. I’ve come to believe her. There is no greater feeling than being in a clean, clutter-free environment. I find that I really just get mad when my house looks like a tornado swept through it. People who live in that way are really only neglecting themselves. I've spent so much time in the past rushing to pick up the house before company arrives (I’ve been known to lie about not being home because my house was too dirty to whip into shape), but what about keeping my home clean for me? Someone once told me they like to keep their house spic and span because they have to live in it. Believe it or not, that was a revelation to me!

So in honor of spring, I resolve to keep my house a little cleaner than I have in the past. Martha Stewart offers just six things you can do every day to keep a clean home, starting with making your bed.