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Joan’s Boomer Blog

Helping Boomers Find Wealth, Health and Happiness in the Second Half of Life

Archive for the ‘Green Living’ Category

Baby Boomers Snap up AntiAging SkinCare Products Despite Economy

Posted by JE Jones on Mar-3-2009

Thanks to baby boomers, the sale of anti aging skin is booming despite the bad economy. According to a report in Consumer Affairs.com, during 2008, sales of anti-aging skincare products rose to over $1.6 billion. In the US, sales rose 13% over the past two years, while general facial skincare products only rose 11%. Experts agree that baby boomer’s wish to remain as young looking as possible for as long as possible will drive this growth 20% through 2013.In fact, nearly all skin care products these days are claiming to stop or reduce wrinkles so how do you know what to believe? Some people look for an expensive price tag. If you spend $90 for a jar of antiaging skin cream, it must be good, right?

The fact is that many expensive antiaging skincare products are no better than the cheaper versions and many contain toxic chemicals and petroleum products. Great antiaging skin care can be found on any budget.

What I look for to keep my skin looking young is natural ingredients. I gave up the parabens, sulfates, petroleum and chemical preservatives long ago. What I look for is an economical, natural lightweight product with no harmful chemicals.

Here are some totally natural, chemical free products you can use to keep your skin looking younger and wrinkle free:

  • Coconut Oil - Many high priced beauty treatments contain coconut oil, which heals, strengthens tissues and supplies nourishment to your skin. Why not use the real stuff? Find pure, organic coconut oil in your health food store.
  • Shea Butter - Shea butter is also in hundreds of anti-aging products but you can purchase real shea butter at your health food store and apply it to your skin where it will be free of chemicals, toxins and preservatives.
Remember youth and beauty start on the inside. Here’s some other things you can do to have smooth, young skin, no matter what your age:
  • Drink lots of water - water flushes toxins from your body which can cause aging and skin conditions such as acne. Many famous women who’s business is beauty, say their number one beauty secret is drinking lots of water.
  • Don’t smoke! - I gave up smoking when I read about how it causes wrinkles. Smoking introduces those toxins into your body, destroys the vitamin B- an important anti-aging vitamin, and it inhibits collagen production, which ages your skin drastically.
  • Routinely detox for health and beauty - I drink Calli Tea daily, as well as making certain detoxifying foods part of my daily diet.
  • Stay out of the sun and use sunscreen routinely on your face- Age spots and aging of the skin are made much worse by sun damage.
  • Exercise - Work up a sweat! This also helps rid your body of toxins and helps keep you young.

Here are some of the books I would also recommend on antiaging skincare and how to look younger:

Now that baby boomers are reaching their 50’s and beyond, they are becoming more and more concerned about healthy aging and antiaging skincare. For my own antiaging regimen, I try to do things naturally. This not only keeps my skin young but the rest of me too.

Posted in: Baby Boomer Health & Weight Loss Tips, Book Reviews, Boomer Living, Boomer News, Fitness After 50, Green Living, Healthy Living, Healthy Living Products
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Healthy Eating Tips: Shop for Organic Produce on a Budget

Posted by JE Jones on Nov-13-2008

This morning’s newspaper said the sale of organic produce is down because of the slowing economy. Most healthy eating tips recommend eating organic produce and there are ways to shop for organic foods on a budget. These simple strategies will help you save money and still buy organic produce and other organic foods.

1. When shopping for organic produce, make sure you’re getting what you pay for.

Make sure organic produce is being displayed separately from conventionally grown produce. Organic produce is legally required to be displayed where it won’t be contaminated by water run-off created when conventional produce is misted. This water run-off can contain pesticide residue which should not touch the organic produce.

Gaiam.com, Inc

2. Beware the labeling “natural.”

Always check the labels for additives and chemicals, which must be listed. All natural on the label does not mean the products are 100% organic. The product may contain some organic ingredients but the labeling “natural” is really just a marketing ploy and has no official meaning.

3. Check for the USDA certified organic label, even if the product says it is organic. Laws and restrictions are not well enforced by the USDA.

Some tips from ShopSmart Magazine to save money on organics:

1. Check the Internet for coupons for organic brands. Check the websites of major brands like Stonyfield Farm, Earthbound Farm and Health Valley which offer coupons.

2. Try discount stores such as Walmart, Sams Club and Costco. I’ve found many Costco brand organic products there under the Kirkland brand. These organic products really do save you money, even though at Costco you have to buy large sizes. Sometimes buying in bulk will also help save.

3. If your store has bulk bins, check out the prices of organic products in these. Bulk bins are usually cheaper because you bag your own.

4. Check out the organic store brand labels when you shop. Kroger’s now has Kroger’s Private Selection organic which costs less than name brands. I’ve tried many of Kroger’s organic products and been impressed with their flavor and quality. Other stores, like Safeway, which offers O Organics and Whole Foods which offers Whole Foods Market’s 365 Organic Every Day Value can be great values for your organic dollar.

5. Join an organic food coop. I’ve belonged to an organic food coop for several years. Every other week, I get a large bin of fresh fruits and veggies which in season. All the produce is certified organic and much of it is locally grown, or at least grown in my state, which is Texas. My food coop also offers bulk orders twice a year yearly on organic berries, fish and other specials, such as organic meat. With group buying power you can save money. Check Local Harvest for more information on a coop in your area.

6. Buy bulk organic produce in season when it’s the least expensive and freeze what you can for later. Check for local organic U-Pick farms to see if local organic farmers offer memberships for their products.

7. Check local farms and farmer’s markets for produce labeled “grown without chemicals and pesticides.” Getting the certified organic label is expensive and many farms just opt to sell their produce without the label, even though they don’t use conventional pesticides and fertilizers.

Even in a bad economy, you can make a change to organic produce one step at a time, looking for ways to save money where you can. Healthy Eating Tip: The organic lifestyle pays off in increased health, not only for you, but for the planet.

Posted in: Baby Boomer Health & Weight Loss Tips, Boomer Living, Green Living, Healthy Living
1 COMMENT

Boomer Living Nostalgia - Is Eco-Living Really New?

Posted by JE Jones on Oct-9-2008

I recently read an article in USA today that said, to those over 50, eco-living isn’t really new. Older Baby Boomers and their parents have spent their lives conserving and “living green.” My parents were born in the late 1920’s and lived through the depression and WWII. This WWII generation knows a lot about conserving resources!

When I was a child, we didn’t call it green living but conforming our lives to the environment was just natural to us. My family lived on a small farm in Southern Oregon where we raised our own beef, pigs and chickens. Our milk came from our own cows and our fresh eggs were laid by our own chickens. Most of our food came from our huge vegetable garden, which was fertilized with composted manure from the animals and all of our table scraps, which went into the compost pile.

My mother was a natural at eco-living. She pinched every penny, reused every jar and piece of cloth. She scraped every jar whistle clean of its contents. She still upends the empty ketchup bottle onto the new one to get the last drop of ketchup from the old one before discarding. She even saves tin foil and plastic bags so she can recycle them.

Green living? My mother worked from early morning till late at night, sewing our clothes, growing our food and then preserving it. My mom tended the chickens, gathered and sold eggs and milk to our neighbors. She hung laundry on the clothes to dry and fed and milked cows right along with my father. There was no inequality of pay in our family. My parents worked for the common goal of taking care of our family.

Here’s some nostalgia for you - As kids we spent our days, when not in school, running free around our rural neighborhood. We spent Saturdays down at the creek or climbing the mountain behind our house. Nobody ever thought we’d get stolen. There were no cell phones to keep in touch. If we showed up for meals, everybody figured we were ok. Mostly, we were off being kids.

Recycling? In our family, clothes were handed down till they were in tatters. I didn’t have to wear as many hand-me-downs as my sisters because I was the oldest. My two sisters wore my old clothes though and thought nothing of it. We were excited to get a new outfit when school started and a fancier one - with shiny black shoes - at Easter. Our Christmas presents were mostly clothes that my mom had made and ONE toy that we especially wanted. Nobody knew about designer duds and NOBODY ever suspected that kids could also be consumers.

For fun my parents used to take us to the A&W Root Beer stand for a root beer float on Friday nights and once in a great while we went out to eat. The rest of our meals were all home cooked and home grown. Nothing we ate came from a card board box and we’d never heard of “processed” food or dumping pesticides all over everything.

We didn’t breathe, drink or eat any toxic substances that I know of.

I don’t think it’s strictly nostalgia to be saddened by how much the world has changed since my youth and I’m very happy to see the green living movement going strong. Perhaps we can keep what was good about the past, even while enjoying the conveniences and benefits of the modern world.

Posted in: Green Living, Healthy Living, Nostalgia
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