Wednesday, September 25, 2013

8 Cool Cucumber Facts

Cucumbers are in your shopping cart occasionally, right?  Well here are 8 reasons to add cucumbers to your diet more often. 

Alkalize your body:   Cucumbers are one of the top green veggies to help keep your body in an alkaline state.  If your body is in an alkaline state, disease will be unable to grab a foothold. Remember, fruits and veggies and minimal meat and dairy.

Vitamins: You may be surprised to learn that cucumbers actually contain some great vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, Folic Acid, calcium plus loads of potassium, magnesium and zinc.  Cucumbers actually help provide many of your daily vitamins.

Fight Cancer: Cucumber contains some cancer fighting agents. Surprise! It contains
secoisolariciresinol, lariciresinol and pinoresinol.  These are 'plant lignans' and there is recent evidence to suggest that these lignans help reduce cardiovascular problems and hormone associated cancers (breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate).

Arthritis and Gout: Cucumber is an excellent source of natural  mineral silica that promotes joint health by strengthening  connective tissue. Cucumber lowers level of uric acid in your system which can help relieve arthritis and gout pain. 

Hair and Nails: The wonderful mineral silica, contained in cucumber,  is also a boon to your hair and nails.  It makes nails stronger and hair shinier.  

Eliminate Toxins: Since cucumbers contain a lot of water, it is like a little broom cleaning away the waste products out of your body.  Eating a lot of cucumber will help dissolve or keep kidney stones at bay. 

Weight Loss and Digestion: Cucumbers have a high water content and lower calorie count so they are an ideal source for people who are dieting. Use lots of cucumber in your salads or munch on cucumber sticks with low calorie dip.  The fiber in cucumber is great for your digestion. 

Cholesterol: Researchers have found that sterols help decrease cholestrol levels.  Guess what?  Yup, cucumbers contain sterols to help lower your cholesterol.  Who knew!

Cucumber is an easy 'green' to add to your life. I love cucumber salad and make it every week.  It's quick and easy.  Now I'm going to add cucumber snacks to my lunches.  How about you?   

          Your Fairly Green buddy, 


Karin's Easy Cucumber Salad
2 seedless cucumbers, peeled, thinly sliced (preferably organic :)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon organic sugar (or stevia to taste)
1/4 Teaspoon dill
  1. Shred cucumbers (slice paper thin) and add salt. Let drain in colander for 5 minutes.
  2. Mix yogurt, vinegar, sugar together. Add cucumbers and dill. Toss and serve chilled.



Saturday, September 7, 2013

An Apple a Day - Reasons to Eat Organic

Welcome to Fairly Green, an easy way to add tidbits of information to help live a cleaner, greener life.

Fairly green...that’s me..... I eat mostly organic...but I’m not a vegetarian. I grow organic peaches and I grew an organic garden this year, which was pretty successful. I do use certified organic skin care products (Miessence - of course). I do not eat stuff that comes from a can or a box....well, almost never. See what I mean? Fairly green.

So this is to help us all become better at being green which will give us better health. Where did I start?  Many years ago I started with organic apples and slowly added other "clean" elements to my life.  I found the Australian company, Miessence in 2009 and created when I fell in love with all the certified organic products they offered.  I am always learning and sharing.  Becoming healthier is a process.  Bits of information + like-minded people = Fairly Green.

An Apple A Day
Our first baby step into fairly green is to eat organic apples. Apple season is right around the corner, so this is a good start. Remember that old saying: an apple a day keeps the doctor away?  There actually is scientific evidence that an apple a day, does keep the doctor away. Here’s 6 reasons why:
  1. Immune booster: apples contains Vitamin C which improves your immune system. A lot of people who lack Vitamin C in their diet have poor healing, bruise easily and have bleeding gums.
  2. Prevent Heart Diseases: the reason it can prevent both coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease is because apples are rich in flavonoid. Flavonoids are also known for their antioxidant effects.
  3. Prevent Cancers: notice the plural. Apples help protect against cancer. Researchers at Cornell University have identified several compounds—triterpenoids—in apple peel that have potent anti-growth activities against cancer cells in our liver, colon and breast.
  4. Fight cholesterol: apples contain phenols, which have a double effect on cholesterol. It reduces bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol. They prevent LDL cholesterol from turning into oxidized LDL, a very dangerous form of bad cholesterol which can be deadly.
  5. Protects your brain from brain disease: this is something many people don’t know. Apple has substances called phytonutrients, and these phytonutrients prevents neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's.
  6. Healthier Lungs: unique to apples is phlorizin, a flavonoid. Researchers at the University of Nottingham found that people who ate 5 apples or more per week had lower respiratory problems, including asthma.
Now I've been eating organic apples for several years now and I didn't know all this great information.  You don't need any more reason to put some nice juicy organic apples in your shopping cart.

          Your Fairly Green buddy,

Organic Skin Care ProductsOrganic Hair Care ProductsOrganic Cosmetics