Help Keep the beaches clean. Guest writer Chris Gay

Guest Blogger Chris Gay

Today I will have a guest blogger, Chris Gay.

http://www.chrisjgay.com

http://chrisgay.wordpress.com

Chris  is a freelance writer, (including this national humor piece for Writer’s Digest) broadcaster, voice-over artist and actor. Just published in December was his theological, paranormal thriller novel Ghost of a Chance.  He has written three humor books: And That’s the Way It Was…Give or Take: A Daily Dose Of My Radio Writings, Shouldn’t Ice Cold Beer be Frozen? My 365 Random Thoughts To Improve Your Life Not One Iota, and The Bachelor Cookbook: Edible Meals with a Side of Sarcasm. ( Summer 2013)

July National Clean Beach Awareness Month

2013 marks the tenth anniversary of Clean Beaches Week, (CBW) which is celebrated July 1^stthrough 7^th each year. The festivities focus on four primary initiatives,* with those being Food, Recreation, Travel and Environment.

Seagulls, reclusive Midwesterners and the agoraphobic aside, I think we all can appreciate the beauty and serenity of a nice, clean beach. It’s in that spirit that we’ll take a closer look at what the Clean Beaches Coalition is promoting through those very initiatives. Let’s start in some particular order:

Food: Healthy eating is encouraged during CBW, with the spotlight focused squarely on seafood. While it’s unquestionably an integral part of a proper, well-balanced diet, (And sure to make oceanfront restaurants happy) the only seafood you’ll see me eating are Pepperidge Farm pizza-flavored goldfish and the occasional order of fried clams at some New England fair or another. But then, not everything is about me.

Recreation: What better way to celebrate CBW than with a beach activity? Ocean-based fun includes fishing (Which can also be a great workout; though generally more so for the fish) and surfing. For those who prefer their beach time with less action and drying salt-water, there’s walking and reading. (Though the risk of a paper cut from the latter cannot be entirely ruled-out.)

Travel: In a number obtained from the Connecticut Fictitious Statistics Bureau (Est. 6.26.2013, 8:56a.m. EST) more visits are made to the beach annually than to the …well, it’s not my blog, so let’s let the rest of that joke go. At any rate, what’s being showcased here is energy conservation. So if you’re going to the beach, please walk, bicycle, carpool or teleport there. (If you have the technology.) Also, be sure to engage in “green activities.” Which I can only guess means things like playing beach bocce with forest or olive drab-colored balls.

Environment: Other than Tiger sharks, no one likes to see litter at the shore. (And they can’t even reach the trash on the sand, anyway. Or…can they?) Moving along, the 4^th of July holiday is the biggest one spent at the beach annually, and it (I’m guessing not coincidentally) falls squarely in the middle of CBW. Look, those garbage cans you see sprinkled all along the sandy landscape aren’t the abandoned works of lazy sculptors; they’re there for use at your disposal. (Get it? I love double entendres. But I digress.)

The reality is that regardless of which beach you frequent, all people have to do to greatly enhance the experience for everyone, is to simply maintain respect for others and clean up after themselves. It’s easy, really.

Thanks so much for your time and attention. Now, go enjoy the beach!

*Information referenced on CBW from the Clean Beaches Coalition and cleanbeaches.com

Artwork by Amanda Dagneau

How to get healthier finger nails

Best Foods to Eat for Healthy Nails

Dry brittle nails can be a result of a deficiency in iron. Foods that are rich in iron are
eggs, spinach and fortified cereals.
If you pair them up with Vitamin C rich foods such as
citrus, bell peppers, and tomatoes
it will help the body absorb the iron.

A folate deficiency can make the nails look dull. Great foods that contain folate are
lentils, beans and spinach

For brittle flaking nails include more fatty acids in your diet to moisturize the nail beds.
2 Tablespoons of flax-seed oil or flax-seeds is an easy addition to your diet.

For strong hard nails eat about 6 ounces of protein like salmon, mackerel, lean meat, roast turkey, pork loin and cornish hens.
The protein helps make keratin. Keratin is what helps make the nails strong.
Great ways to eat these foods
smoothies or juicing
fortified cereal with strawberries
an omelette with green and red peppers. For an extra kick and some salsa
spinach salad with tomatoes

Your finger nails can tell a doctor a lot about your overall heath. Many illness can be found by inspecting a persons fingers.

The answers to your health problems could be found at the  tip of your fingers.

Mayo clinic has some good pictures of nail conditions and the health issues that it could be caused by

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nails/WO00055

Source

Readers Digest July 2013

Mayo Clinic

Great scents that will help you sleep better

Floral scents can help you sleep better and catch a few extra z’s

I love the smell of fresh flowers. Flowers can freshen a room with color and light fresh aromas.

Jasmine

Is great for light sleepers. The scent will help you experience deeper REM cycles. Put the flowers in a vase or plant the Jasminum polyanthum ( the vine like plant) outside of your bedroom window and let the aroma sooth you to sleep.

Lavender

This plant has amazing effects on sleep and stress.   The flowery aroma slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure. People with insomnia  that sprinkled lavender oil on the sheets found that they slept better and woke up feeling refreshed.

Gardenia

This is one of my favorite flowers. The sweet scent soothes uneasy sleepers. It is also used to help manage anger and impatience.

These are great scents to incorporate into your home.  Weather it is used fresh or in an oil or candles. These soothing smells can help everyone sleep better and feel at ease.

Beets another powerhouse vegetable

Sharpen your mind by eating beets

These gems are great anti inflammatory and for detoxification.

These colorful root vegetables contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.
These  vegetables are rich in antioxidant  carotenoids, and in particular, beta-carotene.

The nitric acid in beets increases the blood flow in your body including the brain that are associated with degeneration and dementia.

Eating beets raw packs more nutrients.  A great way to eat them raw is by juicing at adding them to a salad.

A great way that I like to eat beets is by roasting them

Oven Roasted Vegetables

• 4 beets ( Different colors looks nice )
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium red onion, cut into wedges
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 apple sliced
• add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar if you want it sweeter

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a  bowl, whisk oil,
• vinegar and seasonings. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat.
• Transfer to two greased  baking pan. Bake, uncovered,
• 30-40 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Yield: 7
• servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 152 calories, 6 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 347 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber,