Help Others Help Themselves

Tragically, Rwanda is best known for the horrific genocide that occurred in 1994. Nearly a million people, or about 10% of Rwanda's population, were killed. Refugees have flocked back to land and families are struggling to make a living. Females represent 70% of Rwanda's population since so many men had been killed.

Thanks to Willa Shalit, founder of the Rwanda Path to Peace Project because she convinced Macy’s that traditional baskets made by Rwanda’s inspired women could help bring prosperity to a land overwhelmed by genocide over a decade ago.

Each of these peace baskets is woven with ancient techniques in materials such as banana leaves and papyrus. All have vibrant colors and patterns with Rwanda motifs and sell exclusively at Macy’s. Please realize that proceeds from the sales help these Rwandan women provide food, shelter, clothing and medical care for their families. As of now over 2000 more woman are being trained in production and business skills to further their business.

Your purchase supports Rwandan women weavers and their families. The sale of these beautiful, handmade baskets plays an important role in Rwanda's evolution.

Important Vitamin and Nutrition Facts

Nutritional supplements have their greatest benefit by preserving health and preventing future illness. Vitamins are not replacements for eating healthy they are supplements to give you what your food or intake is lacking. Most foods we eat today have been processed and depleted in nutrients. To compound the problem of the lack of vitamin benefits in food due to modern-day farming techniques, is the fact that vitamins and other nutrients are lost when storing, drying, freezing, and processing your food. You will not get the true vitamin benefits if you just take single vitamins. This is due to the fact that most vitamins and minerals do not work in isolation, and their function is interdependent. Complete vitamin mineral supplementation is the only effective way to get the full vitamin benefits and ensure that all the essential interactions take place, and this is why a high-quality multi vitamin / mineral supplement is necessary.

· Just one cigarette destroys 25-100mg. of vitamin C in your body
· If you are on a high protein diet your body needs more vitamin B-6
· If you live in a city that has smog you are lacking vitamin D because the smog soaks up the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
· Give your heart an energizing boost with CoEnzyme Q-10. An essential factor for cellular energy production, coenzyme Q-10 plays a key role in promoting cardiovascular health.
· If the pasta you buy is packaged in clear cellophane or has a cellophane window it is subject to nutrient vitamin B loss.
· Quercetin is newly discovered anti-cancer agents that can suppress tumors. It is found in yellow red onions, red grapes and broccoli.
· The mineral boron (found in apples, grapes, grape juice and raisins might retard bone loss in menopausal women.
· Vitamin and mineral supplements should be stored in cool dark place away from sunlight, in order to save the potency. Take them off your windowsill.
· Folic acid delays gray hair, promotes healthier skin, prevents some birth defects, and can act as a preventative for canker sores.
· Acidophilus keeps the intestines clean.
· Vitamin E has many great benefits; one being it keeps you looking younger by retarding cellular aging due to oxidation.

Swanson Health Products have most, if not all, of the supplements recommended by today’s leading health experts like Dr. Perricone, Dr. Mercola and Dr. Weil.
Swanson Health Products also has been awarded an "A" rating from the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification program, a designation achieved by fewer than 10% of the nation's nutrition companies.

Exercise to lose weight

For every pound you want to lose, you have to cut back 3500 calories or expend 3500 calories worth of energy above your normal activity. Exercising is the answer. You can lose weight minus the deprivation and research has proven those who exercised peeled an average of six pounds a year. You’ll have extra energy and be much stronger besides becoming healthier mentally and physically. Lastly, you will like your body more. Exercising no doubt improves the self-image because of your better body physique.

Easy Exercise Secrets

* Keep your butt buffed by doing lunges. Hold 5-8 pound weights in each hand, step forward with your right foot, bend at waist, and touch the ground in front of you with the weights. Now step back, straighten up and repeat using the left foot. Try to 10 lunges on each leg.
* Do you want to maximize your ab moves? Well, slow down your crunches especially in the lifting phase. By slowing down you’ll work the muscles harder.
* Walk the mall for three hours while shopping for gifts and you’ll burn 427 calories plus make your recipients very happy.
* Do a tummy toner at your desk. Sit up straight, place your left forearm on the desk and stack your right forearm on top it. Take a nice deep breath and slowly push down into the desk for 5 seconds. Switch to other arm. Do 10 reps each
* Ride a bike leisurely for 10 minutes and you burn 60 calories. Play tennis for 1 hour and loose 366 calories.
* Try this great thigh toner. While sitting in chair, lift left knee until thigh is off seat. Press left foot up to straighten leg as much as you can, then lower foot slightly. Do seven reps each leg.
* Sculpt your biceps instantly. Place palm of hands on a wall with arms straighten out, push in slowly and with resistance then push back. Do this 15 times.
* Get a littler waist by doing 60 seconds of crunches with legs in the air while raising opposite shoulder and elbow to knee.

You can also purchase some great exercise equipment. The product below is my favorite and the results are amazing! Big Fitness is the leading online dealer of new and used fitness equipment for over 15 years.

Perfect Pushups are the ultimate push up handles because they:
· Move with your body's natural rotation
· Engage more muscles with less stress on joints
· Achieve better results faster! The Perfect Pushup's push up stand will Get You Ripped and get you in shape fast. These push up stands put a new spin on the most popular upper body exercise the push up! You will get measurable results in 10 workouts.

The Best Diet Foods

If you aim to be on a daily diet of 1500 calories, you should plan to get about 900 calories a day from grains, fruits and vegetables.
· Spinach, at 13 calories in 2 cups of chopped raw spinach, is one of the lowest cost sources of nutrition you can give your body. It fortifies your body with folic acid as well.
· Half a grapefruit has only 40 calories and you get vitamin C and lycopene that is great for the body.
· Try multi-grain waffles-2 @ 190calories
· Whole grain breads have enormous nutritional value, vitamins and roughage that your body needs. Calories vary so read label.
· Eat a banana or apple with 1 tablespoon of peanut or cashew butter-200 calories
· 6 ounces of plain low fat yogurt mixed with 2 teaspoons of honey and ½ cup blueberries-200 calories
· Half a cucumber cut in rounds and 10 baby carrots dipped in 1/3 cup hummus-200 calories
· 2 tablespoons of peanuts mixed in 2 ½ cups of light popcorn-200 calories
· Almonds-eat 23 nuts@170 calories-great source of Vitamin E
· 69 calories if you eat a medium orange-or 110 for 8 oz glass of O.J.
· Tex Mex Bake Potato-add 2 tablespoons tomato salsa and ½ cup black beans to your bake potato –283 calories plus added fiber.

Healthy snacks help keep your energy up and prevent excessive hunger and subsequent overeating. If you crave chocolate or delicious snacks that are healthy, there is a new product that will satisfy those cravings and 100 calories only! Vitalcious snacks are healthy and good. Check out below! They cost about the same as a nutrition bar but tastier!

Vitalicious Our all-natural products contain no additives or preservatives and are fortified with essential vitamins & minerals. Fat-free 100 calorie VitaMuffins & VitaTops contain 4-5 grams of fiber, 15 essential vitamins and minerals, soy, oat bran and no cholesterol.
Vitalicious top selling Deep Chocolate VitaMuffins & VitaTops are also only 100 calories, 98% fat-free and contain 6 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, soy fiber, whole wheat and 15 essential vitamins and minerals.

No More Electric Bill - Welcome to Solar Energy

Gain Independence from your Utility Company. Imagine your electric bill being as low as your cable bill. You could also be eligible for generous government rebates when you decide to convert to solar. When your system generates more electricity than you’re consuming, your utility meter will actually spin backwards. You accrue credit with your utility company at the same rate they are charging you. This allows you to reduce your electric bill and drive it toward zero. By using solar power, you can also reduce the amount of electricity you have to buy. Once the equipment has been installed, the electricity generated is free! In addition, PV panels typically have a long life and with no moving parts, they require minimal maintenance. Check out Solar Home for hundreds of different solar products and for sales up to 70% off retail value.

Sunlight Can Make Your Meter Spin Backwards. Sunlight is a renewable energy source and the conversion of sunlight into electricity via photovoltaic (PV) panels is an environmentally friendly process. It is one that is silent and produces no greenhouse gas emissions or other polluting by-products. You are actually helping the environment! Generating electricity from solar energy reduces your consumption of fossil fuels, which decreases pollution and greenhouse gas emission. By switching to solar power, you will combat global warming and reduce our nation’s dependence of foreign energy sources. Even a small solar electric system has a significant environmental impact.

The underlying advantage of solar energy is that the fuel is free, abundant and inexhaustible. Did you ever leave a hose spread out on your ground in the summer and then hours later squirted it only to find out that the water is very hot? This is the same concept of how solar energy works. With solar hot water you can expect to reduce your household hot water bills by more than 65%. Solar Home offers great deals on solar hot water heaters and a huge variety of other solar products. GO NATURAL!

Natural Gardening Tips

There are natural ways to keep your garden looking green and healthy. Maintaining your garden by lightly saturating it daily with water and using your compost soil will dramatically perk up the growth in your plants. The premium time to water your garden is in the early morning, so rise and shine! And for all those who can’t stand reeling in the hose, here is something for you. This product is the best and revolutionary for the gardener! It’s called the NO-CRANK™ hose.

The NO-CRANK™ hose reels are the only brand to offer hands-free rewinding functionality. NO batteries, nor electricity or springs! It’s available in many designs and can stand free or is mounted to a wall. The NO-CRANK™ hose reduces one of the most stressful parts of maintaining your lawn and garden. The power of water pressure rewinds the hose so you don’t have to! A must have for those who use their hose frequently. Check out the 30-second demo of the NO-CRANK™ hose reel.

Here are some extra natural garden tips

*Mulch your flower beds and trees because it conserves water, adds humus and nutrients and discourages weed growth
*Plant trees, for they add value as they grow by saving energy and money. Trees will shade your home in the summer and let the sun shine in for warmth during the winter.
*The best compost is made up from leaves, kitchen waste and grass clippings. It also improves soil structure, texture and it’s water-holding capacity.
*Think biodiversity when planting. Using many different kinds of plants encourages many different kinds of beneficial insects to take up residence in your yard.
*If you got weeds kill them naturally by spraying full strength household vinegar at those nasty weeds on a sunny day.
*Plant a circle of sunflower seeds around your compost pile. Soon your compost pile will be hidden with beautiful healthy sunflowers.
*Did you know that the soil ph determines the flower color in garden hydrangeas? In acid soil, pink and red garden hydrangeas turn blue or purple. In alkaline soil blue hydrangeas turn pink.
*Don’t throw out old milk, just add water to fill carton and pour on your rose bushes base, they love and thrive on the diluted milk.

Overweight Kids

Overweight kids

Nearly one in four children are overweight in the U.S. If your child is one of them, it’s time to do something about it. Now you can get your child’s weight on track and build their self-esteem.

The PariPlan gives solid steps you can use TODAY to control your child's
weight and build their self-esteem.

Here's what you get:
PariPlan includes:
Tools: Overweight Tester, Calorie Calculator, Healthy Alternative
Calculator, Shopping List Builder, and Calorie Database
Printable Activity Sheets, Tons of Menu Ideas, Shopping Lists,
Action Plans and more

Besides the PariPlan there are other ways you can assist your child in weight loss naturally and effectively.

Here are some examples:
· Reduce their time playing video games and watching television, which are both sedentary activities.
· Be active with your child whether it be bicycling, walking, bowling or a hike in the park.
· You be the role model by eating healthy foods and limiting unhealthy snacks in the house.
· Try to limit your eating out habits and make more nutritious meals at home.
· Give them healthy snacks like frozen yogurt, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, dried fruits, nuts, angel food cake topped with strawberries or breads and crackers made with enriched flour and whole grains, served with fruit spread or fat-free cheese