That's Fit

Most of us are adamant about keeping our bodies and minds healthy. But what about our surroundings? Doing your part and pitching in to help save our earth is just as important -- after all, what's the point of being fit if we don't have fresh air to breathe?

Now you can look good and save the earth at the same time. Prevention magazine recently assembled a list of their top eco-friendly fitness gear finds -- from wicking shirts made from coconut shells to shoes with recycled rubber soles, you're sure to find something that suits your workout and your budget. Check the list out over here.

Today is Earth Day. And you should take the stairs. Not because it's saves a lot of energy. If you take two flights of stairs every day at work, you'll save 72 kilowatts of energy on each day, which saves 90 cents a year in energy costs. You should take the stairs for two other reasons.

One, it's a green thing to do, says Renee Mullen of The Nature Conservancy's Conservation Science Group. And any energy saved is good for the environment.

Two, it's a healthy thing to do. It's good for your body to move. It's good for your head too. So today, take the stairs. Do it every day if you can. But at minimum, do it today.

On April 20, in celebration of the April 22 Earth Day, families nationwide will celebrate our great planet by participating in the Green Apple Festival. If you live near one of these eight cities, you can plug into the music and environmental awareness that will be powering these simultaneous festivities.

Chicago: Lincoln Park Zoo
Dallas: Fair Park
Denver: City Park
Los Angeles: Santa Monica Pier
Miami: Bicentennial Park
New York: Central Park
San Francisco: Golden Gate Park
Washington DC: The National Mall

If you can't attend, do something instead to honor our Earth. Mix it up, like this post recommends. Enjoy a picnic in your favorite local park. Engage in a little eco-running -- tote a trash bag along on your neighborhood jog and pick up any litter you come across. Plant a fruit tree. Start our own compost pile, send a free e-card to friends and family, or simply get outside and marvel at the world around you. And by all means, eat a green apple. It's a Super Food, you know.

April 22 is Earth Day. What will you do on this day to celebrate the diversity of life on our planet? What will you do promote a healthier environment? My mom thinks I should start a compost pile. Our local Home Depot is selling compost bins for $35. This would be a pretty affordable way to make a difference by cutting down on yard and kitchen trash and nourishing the soil in my yard.

Publix GreenWise Market magazine recommends I honor Earth Day by putting together a tropical snack mix with ingredients from around the world. Each yummy item listed below comes from a crop grown in ways that protect the rain forest.

• Dried papaya, diced (Mexico)

• Dried pineapple, diced (Phillipines)

• Dried banana chips (Central and South America)

• Flaked coconut, unsweetened (Philipines)

• Macadamia nuts, chopped (Hawaii)

• Cashews, raw (India)

For more Earth Day inspiration, visit earthday.net.

I love my little boys' magazines. Their National Geographic Kids just arrived today and already I'm diving into the good stuff this publication has to offer. Stuff like human footprints.

Every time you eat a snack, ride in a car, or take a shower, you leave a mark on the world -- that's your "human footprint," say the National Geographic experts who go on to offer 10 ways we all affect the Earth. One look at these incredible facts, they say, and we'll realize how using less really can save the planet.

In our lifetime we will:

• Chow down on 5,054 slices of pizza or 632 whole pizza pies.
  
  

• Snack on 14,518 candy bars, enough to fill about 12 shopping carts.
  
  

• Eat an amount of hamburger meat equal to the weight of a family car.
  
  

• Consume 12,888 oranges. A stack of the fruit would be taller than two Eiffel Towers.
  
  

• Throw away enough trash to fill up about five garbage trucks.
  
  

• Own eight microwave ovens, 10 TV sets, and 13 cars.
  
  

• Use more than 1.2 million gallons of water. This would overflow two Olympic-sized swimming pools.
  
  

• Gobble down 9,917 pounds of potatoes. That's the weight of about eight average-size racehorses.
  
  

• Scrub up with 656 bars of soap. If stacked, these bars would stand taller than a five-story building.
  
  

• Drive about 627,000 miles or 25 times around the world, using enough gas to fill three fuel tankers.
  

Clearly, cutting back can save our planet. It many respects, it can also save our waistlines.

So you want to make a commitment to being green so you've started taking public transport to work -- or maybe you bike or walk. You've also started to make sure you turn off any electrical equipment when it's not in use and you're taking shorter showers to save water. You reduce, reuse and recycle too.

But what about your beauty products? If you're interested in going green with your face, hair and skin products as well, you should check out this piece that offers suggestions for 10 Eco-friendly beauty products that will help you look good and save the planet.

Why do people eat dirt? It may sound crazy, but according to this article, certain people on every continent (except Antarctica) consume chalk, loam or marl. There's been a study conducted to address this very issue. I've heard of quirky college professors eating their chalk, but this story also points to an island in Africa where eating 25 grams of earth indicates she is expecting a child.

It's called geophagy, and some researchers say it's like an addiction. Being choosy about the dirt they eat is actually a big part of it. People who partake in geophagy won't just scoop up their garden to take a bite. Some inhabitants in Africa will actually travel outside their village to get their fix!

But is there anything to it? Well some types of dirt actually contain magnesium, sodium, calcium, and potassium. But a British team unearthed the truth and discovered consuming loam actually led to iron deficiency. Either way they have been doing this for about 2 million years. At least we can say with confidence that a little dirt never hurt anyone!

We only have one Earth. And one Life. And one chance. So we might as well do things right, like preserving the gifts bestowed upon each one of us, say the powers that be at A.R.E. Naturals, an on-line shop offering products made from materials drawn purely through the generosity of Mother Nature.

This shop has quite an inventory of green items -- stuff for the kitchen, the bed and bath, the garden, the mind, and of course: The body.

Check out these fitness tools. There's a bamboo yoga block, a hemp yoga mat bag, and a hemp yoga bolster. How about a natural rubber fitness ball? Or natural rubber weight balls? These are just some of the finds you'll discover with one swift click of your mouse.

If you're an earth-loving enthusiast who lives and breathes the green life, this may be just the stop for you. If you've located other great green fitness locations, drop us a comment and let us know how to get there.

There are loads of people out there who do not believe in Global Warming. Or, to be more specific, there are plenty of people out there who do not believe that human beings and all of our nasty, wasteful habits are the cause of the accelerated warming trend that is currently occurring on the planet (after all Earth has heated up and cooled down throughout its existence). Plenty of folks also don't think that this warming will cause the sort of catastrophic events illustrated in Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth".

Whether or not you're a believer, it's a fact that our global home is a fragile place that exists in a delicate balance, and we need to take better care of it. When I say "we" I mean everybody, including kids. As Tanya Ryno at DIY Life mentions, Gore has made his handbook on the subject kid-friendly, offering tips on how your children can help look after the planet. Remember that educated, Earth-conscious kids will become educated, Earth-conscious adults, so now is as good a time as any to help teach your kids healthy, planet-friendly habits.

First there was the whole foods diet. Then there was the low-carb craze. Then eating organic was all the rage. And I'm sure you've heard of cage-free, free range and grass fed. Now there's eating locally. Well, eating locally isn't exactly a new concept--after all, farmer's markets have existed probably as long as farms, but it finally seems to be catching on as a dieting trend.

So what exactly does it mean to eat locally, and what are the benefits? I mean, we've all seen farmer's markets, perused their offerings and even occasionally indulged in some of their maple syrup candy and apple cider but what does eating locally really translate to?

"Local" is defined as anything within a hundred miles. That makes for a lot of possibilities in terms of food options, depending on where you live.

To me, farmer's markets were always the opportunity to get a little something different than what you'd find at a local supermarket. I know the one in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn used to house a woman we referred to as the Cheese Lady who always had THE BEST cheeses anywhere. She had this one spicy white cheddar with horseradish in it that was TO DIE FOR. Sadly, at some point she took her wares elsewhere.

It's no secret that one of the biggest health problems facing humanity right now is the health of the planet on which we live. Whether or not you believe in global warming (and there are plenty of folks who don't), it is hard to ignore that the Earth is not receiving the kind of treatment from its inhabitants that it rightly deserves.

Many are slow to begin making even small changes like the three R's - reducing, reusing and recycling for those not in the know. Mother Earth has got some pretty big guns on her side though, as loads of incredibly famous celebrities are making sure to do their part and also making sure that people know about it.

While the efforts of a few, or even a few hundred, celebs may not be enough to turn things around, they can certainly generate a bunch of publicity and awareness. And as we all know, what's popular among the beautiful and famous tends to become trendy across the globe pretty quick. So check out this list of stars who are doing their part to save the planet and think of what changes you can make to do yours.

Whether you subscribe to the global warming thing or not, it's hard to argue with the fact that we're still chopping down trees and emitting a lot of CO2. What this activity is doing to the atmosphere is still up in the air for a lot of people, but keep in mind that more individuals are starting to get allergies and the "warming up" of earth just may have something to do with it.

Either way, a new company called Zerofootprint aims to change this trend. One of their goals is to help make people aware of carbon emissions. The other goal is to basically reduce the damage we've done by selling "offsets" which do exactly that: offset our own carbon footprint! How in the world do you accomplish that? Well, this company employs three activities to help lessen climate change.

Frito Lay is introducing a new brand of healthier chips called Flat Earth. The new line of snack crisps are made with real fruits and vegetables. Flat Earth fruit crisps and veggie crisps are available in six flavors: Farmland Cheddar; Garlic & Herb Field; Tangy Tomato Ranch; Wild Berry Patch; Apple Cinnamon Grove; and Peach Mango Paradise and retail for $2.99 (6 oz.).

The Flat Earth slogan is "impossibly good" and the logo is a flying pig. All to the suggestion that what once was thought to be an impossible task of creating a chip that was both nutritious and delicious, is now a reality. The vice president of innovation at Frito Lay, North America, Joe Ennan, says that, "Today's consumer demand for healthier options was our call to action to develop the unique brand of Flat Earth baked snacks."

You can learn more about Flat Earth, by visiting FritoLay.Com. If you've tried them, comment about your experience.