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From deodorant to body wash -- whether you're wearing lipstick or foundation or not -- you're exposing yourself to the nebulously-regulated world of cosmetics, according to Julie Gabriel, author of "The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup and Fragrances." In an interview with AOL Health, she talks the best ways to become ingredient savvy, deodorant types to avoid and her 10 commandments for green beauties to follow.

Are you an organic beauty -- buying and consuming organic-only beauty products and foods? Why or why not?

My friends in the southern states are already picking strawberries, and I'm jealous. But in a few more weeks, we northerners will have our own share of spring's sweetest crop.

Strawberries are luscious and juicy enough to be dessert, but unlike shortcake, they love you back. They're rich in vitamin C, manganese and folate, and they pack a powerful punch of antioxidants too. Low in calories but naturally sweet, they're an obvious choice for curbing that sugar craving.

Strawberries are highly perishable, so for best quality, search for them locally. Hit your neighborhood farmer's market or tap your inner-farmer and visit a pick-your-own farm. Because strawberries are on the "dirty dozen" list of most pesticide contaminated produce, it's also smart to choose organic when possible.

Once you've gotten your strawberries home, enjoy them right away, because they go bad quickly:

• Chop fruit (including strawberries) on Sunday night, and enjoy a fruit salad all week long.
• Toss them with lettuce for a sweet salad.
• Add them to smoothies and shakes.
• Throw a handful on your cereal or mix them into your yogurt.

At just 36 calories in 10 strawberries, finding new ways to enjoy spring's sweetest fruit is both fun and healthy!

I try my best to buy organic when I can, but sometimes my wallet is a little too light to justify paying extra for my go-to fruits and veggies. Maybe it's because I'm an organic neophyte, but to be honest, I can't really tell the difference between organic and pesticide-laden produce. But as reports of food-borne illness continue to dot the headlines, I've been left wondering, is organic the answer?

Turning first to the latest and greatest outbreak -- salmonella via peanut -- it seems that buying FDA certified organic doesn't really mean diddly in terms of food safety. Salmonella-contaminated plants in Texas and Georgia hosted rodent infestation, mold, bird droppings and even a federal organic certification.

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Organic clothing has had a bit of a bad reputation -- I know my mind used to immediately go to scratchy fabrics, dull colors, and baggy, unflattering styles. I might live the hippie lifestyle in some ways by trying to be as green as possilbe, but I don't want to look ... crunchy. You know?

Enter Danskin Prima Organics. They sent me a couple of pieces to try out, and let me just say that my mindset has definitely been adjusted. Each piece is made of earth-friendly certified organic cotton, dyed and printed using non-toxic organic dyes and finishes. And that's not all -- each garment comes with a recyclable hangtag made from 30 percent post-consumer waste, attached with an organic cotton string.

The website describes the collection as "feminine and contemporary," saying it "offers you fashionable functional looks created in the spirit of dance style and yoga chic. Sumptuous soft, lightweight quality fabrics and sensational lines wrap you in comfort ... Pose flex and move with ease in gorgeous pieces to wear alone, layer, and even add to your casual wardrobe for a cool highlight."

I'd have to agree with them.

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Acting, ballroom dancing, painting, designing jewelry ... Jane Seymour does it all. And, at age 57, she has a face and a body most 30-somethings would kill for. So what is she doing right? Seymour told Every Day with Rachael Ray what a typical day in her life is like.

• She starts her day with a cup of coffee and a walk on the beach. For breakfast, she enjoys an omelet filled with veggies from her organic garden.
• Around 12:30 she takes a break from sketching, painting and writing to enjoy lunch. A typical lunch is a quesadilla and a spicy arugula salad topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
• She spends the rest of her afternoon painting and credits that with helping her keep her figure. Seymour says, "When you're covered in paint, it's quite hard to put food in your mouth!"
• When her kids get home from school, she leaves her studio and helps them with their homework. She'll usually grab a snack of pistachios, almonds, or dried cranberries.
• Seymour opts for quick and healthy dinners like stir fry. Because she often has friends stop over unexpectedly, she cooks the meat separate from the vegetables so vegetarian friends can still enjoy the meal.

I think there are a lot of tips we could take from this former Bond girl. If you have the space to grow your own garden, it's a great way to enjoy the freshest produce possible. And, rather than munching all day long, having a healthful and planned snack is a good way to go.

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Chef Gordon Ramsay is picking on Prince Charles, condemning some of the prince's line of organic produce. Boring, he calls it. And processed too.

Did you even know Prince Charles has a line of organic produce? Sure enough. The 59-year-old established a company called Duchy Originals to market a variety of organic foods, including produce, oatmeal crackers and meat. Sounds yummy to me. But Ramsay says, "When I looked at his Duchy food I was gobsmacked, amazed, dumbfounded at what I discovered." Who is this guy to criticize another man's fruits and veggies? He's apparently the police of all things salty and sugary.

Ramsay claims he discovered a lot of sodium and sugar in Charlie's goods -- and high prices too. But the folks with Duchy Originals say they are proud of their top-quality goods, which are made from wholesome, natural ingredients.

Want to learn more about the prince's produce and make your own call? Get the scoop right here. And quick: Hide your salt and sugar -- you don't want to be the next one to gobsmack the Chef, do you?

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Organic foods seem to be everywhere these days -- from the corner store to the grocery store, there are pesticide-free, unprocessed, free-range foods on every shelf. But could you live on nothing but organic foods? Think about it -- you'd only have a handful or restaurants to choose from, and you might have to give up on some of your favourite dishes altogether. Could you do it?

One doctor in California did, and he recently spoke to the New York Times about his experiences on the all-organic diet. "This isn't a way of eating I could recommend to anybody else because it's so far off the beaten food grid," said Dr. Alan Greene. "It was much more challenging than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be tough. There were definitely days where there was nothing I could find that was organic." Still, he thinks it has improved his health. Read the full story here.

Your thoughts?

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If you buy the groceries in your house, you know that organic foods are a bit more expensive than non-organic foods. But a few extra cents and dollars here and there are a small price to pay for fresh, chemical-free foods, right?

Well, not exactly -- According to the New York Times, eating organics doesn't come at a small price. In fact, it can double your grocery bill. For the typical Thanksgiving day dinner: You'll typically be adding $100 to your final toll at the register. That's a bit of a hard number to deal with, particularly with the current economic situation.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't eat organic. Just shop wisely. Check out this post we did a while back listing what you should splurge on and what you should save on.

(via Calorie Lab)

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It's inevitable. You go to the gym before work, shower, and put on your slip-on shoes. But then, halfway through the day, there's a distinct funk coming from beneath your desk -- you've got some stinky feet!

There are plenty of solutions, like wearing shoes with socks, or pouring powder into your shoes. However, I've found something better -- Verikira's Paraben-free Fresh Feet Foot Crème. It's 82 percent organic and contains vinegar, which is one of the best cures for funky feet you can find. But your feet won't smell like vinegar -- it also uses essential oils of patchouli, tee tree, thyme, basil, geranium, and cinnamon.

The best part? It totally works! I put it on in the morning, and then, whether I work outside, sweating in my dirty sandals, or hit the gym, soaking my gym socks with sweat, my feet don't stink. And, at the risk of entering TMI territory, let me say that this has never been the case for me.

Is it possible to eat for a dollar a day? Sure, with a little creativity and a lot of planning. But here's a more important question -- is it possible to eat healthy on a dollar a day?

You've probably noticed that the cheapest things in the grocery store or mall food court are the unhealthiest things -- items like potato chips, candy bars and deep-fried whatevers will run you far less at the till than things like fresh organic produce, salads and lean cuts of meat. One couple, trying to live on the dollar-a-day diet, is finding that out the hard way.

"We're used to eating some type of vegetable with every meal and fruit every day. Finding out there was very little way to fit that into our budget, that was a huge struggle," says Kerri Leondard of One Dollar Diet Project in the New York Times. You can read more about her struggle here.

What do you think? Is it possible to eat well on a really tight budget?

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I've complained about school lunches here before, so I'm pleased to report that while visiting my daughter's school recently, I learned that things are improving. In addition to the spaghetti that was being served, kids could pile on a side salad with extra veggies, in addition to the fruit that was also served. And at the silverware table were large bowls of raw carrots and sliced apples for anyone who wanted them. Baby steps are still steps in the right direction, I think.

Still, my dream is that every school child could eat like the kids do at the Kansas School Academy, which participates in Bistro Kids Farm 2 School program. Students at the school eat whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, and dairy, all of it organic, hormone and antibiotic-free.

Though I think organic lunches are a noble goal, I'd be happy if kids just had access to healthier food every day. Sadly, until there's an overhaul of the entire system, that doesn't seem likely. Kiersten Furquain, operator of Bistro Kids, won't even work with public schools due to the massive amount of red tape.

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Eggs, the old standby breakfast food, are a fantastic source of protein. But figuring out what kind of eggs to buy is becoming more and more daunting. Labels boasting free-range, cage-free and fortified might leave you scratching your head -- luckily The New York Times in shedding some light on what they all mean. Here are a few pointers:

• Cage-free means the bird was kept out of a cage, but this doesn't mean they ever saw the light of day
• Free-range means they had regular access to the outdoors, but 'outdoor' could mean a parking lot.
• Pasture-raised means that at least some of their diet was natural (like greens and bugs.) But there's no regulation on how much of their diet needs to be natural.
• Animal Welfare Approved means they spent all their time outdoors in a pesticide-free pasture. They are bathed and not fed any animal byproducts.

Intrigued? Read more here.

(via Well)

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As her reality TV show promises, Brooke Hogan knows best -- but even when it comes to healthy habits? Brooke's eating and exercise habits were recently profiled in Life & Style Magazine. The blonde beauty claims to work out six days a week for an hour and a half each session, and she's often with her dad, famous wrestler Hulk Hogan.

As for eating? The 20-year-old eats mostly organic food, and she mostly eats whenever she's hungry, but she avoids carbs at night. Apparently, her favourite healthy snacks are:

• LaraBar energy bars
• Fruit
• Organic mac n' cheese
• Fruit with lemon juice
• Organic vanilla crackers

Sounds like she's eating fairly healthfully -- what do you think?

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Has anyone else noticed that TV and movies are providing us with more strong, kick-ass female characters? There's Yvonne Strahovski, who plays spy Sarah Walker on Chuck, and we had Angelina Jolie carrying Wanted. And, you might not have seen her yet, but Gabrielle Anwar is just as tough.

She plays the trigger happy ex-girlfriend to the lead character on USA's Burn Notice, and while I wouldn't go so far as to call her character a role model -- she's a little too good at making bombs for that -- she holds her own physically, especially considering she's quite petite. To get ready for her action-packed role, Gabriella adjusted her diet.

She said she cut out "foods with ingredients that I need a dictionary to define. I find that the less animal products I consume the better my general health; the less refined sugars, the less I feel the energy fall out; and the more organic fresh produce I eat, the lighter I feel."

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What's the lowdown on buying organic? It's pretty hard to tell, with the mixed messages we are getting as consumers these days. The definitive study, though, tells us that not only is organic more nutritious, but it is better for the ground water and soil.

A few facts on organic foods:

• they contain up to 90% more antioxidants than conventionally grown food
• they've got higher levels of minerals
• as cancer-fighters, they win the race

Seems as though we should always buy organic, with those stats. Due to availability -- and our budgets! -- buying everything organic may not be an option, and if we're looking to do a real service to the environment, buying what's available locally is a better choice.

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