Here’s the YouTube description:
“Pale skin resembles beauty in Japan, but that no longer counts for everyone. Hina lives her life according to the ‘B-style’, or the ‘black lifestyle’. This includes going to the tanning salon regularly to become as dark as American hip hop artists.”

Ever wonder the difference between multigrain and whole wheat? We wondered too!

Nutrition and public policy expert Marion Nestle recently tackled this question for the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Bread may be the staff of life, but you would never know it from reading the ingredient lists of most commercial products. Commercial breads are indeed much the same, with only a few differences that matter. To decide whether these have anything in them worth eating beyond their calories, you must inspect labels to make sure the first ingredient is whole grain, the total number of ingredients is small and devoid of unpronounceable chemicals, the fiber content is at least 2 grams per 1-ounce serving and the label says 100 percent whole wheat. Anything less is reconstituted white bread with occasional pieces of the original grain added back.

Then there is taste. Artisanal breads begin with just four ingredients - flour, water, salt and yeast – and turn them into loaves so crusty, chewy and fragrant that you cannot stop eating them. If they have some whole grain in them, even better. But handmade breads take forever to make and quickly go stale. Commercial bakeries deal with these problems by rushing the bread-making process and compensate for the loss of flavor by adding stabilizers, dough softeners and preservatives, and covering up the chemical tastes with sweeteners.

Breads with 30 or more ingredients are not unusual and violate my rules:

1. Never buy processed foods with more than five ingredients.

2. To compare breads, you must read labels. Bread companies do not make this easy. Some list the serving size as one slice, some two, and their weights can vary by twofold. When you convert everything to ounces, the nutrient content of supermarket breads looks much alike.  An ounce provides 70 to 80 calories, a trivial difference. The grain is what counts.

The Science:

Wheat grains have three components – the nutrient-rich bran and germ (“chaff”), and the endosperm, which is mostly starch and protein. One hundred percent whole wheat flour contains all three in the same proportion as in the original grains. White flour contains about 80 percent of the original components. It is mostly endosperm. Nutrients in the chaff are lost, so bakers are required to replace the five nutrients least likely to be available from other foods: niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid and iron. The others are not replaced. Neither is fiber. White flour contains only trace amounts of fiber.

Because high-fiber diets promote healthy bowel function and appear to reduce risks of heart disease and bowel cancers, dietary advice is to eat at least three daily servings of whole grains – 3 ounces of 100 percent whole wheat bread, for example. Food labeling rules do not make it easy to figure out fiber content. Some white breads list 1 gram of fiber, but watch out for serving size. It takes two slices to reach half a gram, which can be rounded up to 1.

Whole wheat bread with 2 grams of fiber per 1-ounce slice may have four times as much fiber as white breads. But watch out for breads listing 3 grams fiber; their slices may weigh nearly 2 ounces. In response to dietary advice, commercial bakeries have introduced whole grain breads acceptable to white bread eaters. These grind the wheat bran super fine, add extra dough conditioners to keep the bread soft, and toss in some bran or cracked wheat to make the bread look like whole wheat. Check for fiber grams and the position of chaff ingredients on the list. The further down the list, the smaller their contribution.

And where is the Food and Drug Administration to help with whole grains?

Alas, the FDA has not set rules for grain content. It permits manufacturers to make statements such as “100 percent whole grain” as long as the statement is true and does not imply that the food is an “excellent source.” The FDA’s nonbinding guidance says anything labeled “100 percent whole grain” must contain all three components of the original wheat seed, in proportion.

This regulatory gap permitted creation of the industry-sponsored Whole Grain Council. The council issues a certifying stamp in two forms: 100 percent and Basic. One hundred percent means all grains are whole. But the more prevalent Basic stamp allows refined grains and disproportionate additions of bran or germ.”

Marion Nestle is the author of “Food Politics,” “Safe Food,” “What to Eat” and “Pet Food Politics,” and is a professor in the nutrition, food studies and public health department at New York University. E-mail her at food@sfchronicle.com, and read her previous columns at sfgate.com/food.

1. Hugo Naturals French Lavender Body Wash $8. Pleasant and mostly natural with jojoba, vitamin E and coconut oil. Sold @ Whole Foods, Amazon

2. Simplers Organic Lavender Essential Oil 5ml $11. I use a drop or two in my weekly hair moisture concoction: Coconut oil, shea butter and lavender!

3. Lavender Luvies Spray $7. This spray is perfect for freshening up a room or your linen. Just the right amount of lavender!

4. Hugo Naturals French Lavender Dead Sea Salt Scrub $14. Nice pairing with Hugo Naturals Body Wash.

5. Lavender Luvies Satchels $4.55. The folks at Lavender Luvies used to have a storefront in Seattle and I’d visit at least once a month. These days you can order online or stop by their booth at Pike Place Market (a must visit for tourists.) These fragrant satchels are perfect car air fresheners!

6. Avalon Organics Nourishing Shampoo $8. I use this shampoo about once a month, it leaves my hair feeling clean and residue free. Awesome ingredients: Lavender essential oil, Beta Glucan & Vitamin E.

From: Environmental Working Group

Laboratory tests have detected hexavalent chromium, the carcinogenic “Erin Brockovich chemical,” in tap water from 31 of 35 American cities.

The highest levels were in Norman, Okla.; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Riverside, Calif. In all, water samples from 25 cities contained the toxic metal at concentrations above the safe maximum recently proposed by California regulators.

The National Toxicology Program has concluded that hexavalent chromium (also called chromium-6) in drinking water shows “clear evidence of carcinogenic activity” in laboratory animals, increasing the risk of gastrointestinal tumors. In September 2010, a draft toxicological review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) similarly found that hexavalent chromium in tap water is “likely to be carcinogenic to humans.”

Despite mounting evidence of its toxic effects, the EPA has not set a legal limit for hexavalent chromium in tap water nationally and does not require water utilities to test for it. In 25 cities where EWG’s testing detected chromium-6 — in the first publicly available national survey for the contaminant — it was found in concentrations exceeding California’s proposed maximum, in one case at a level more than 200 times higher.

At least 74 million Americans in 42 states drink chromium-polluted tap water, much of it likely in the cancer-causing hexavalent form. Given the scope of exposure and the magnitude of the potential risk, EWG believes the EPA should move expeditiously to establish a legal limit for chromium-6 and require public water suppliers to test for it.

]]> http://newnaturalista.com/2010/inspiration/general/u-s-tap-water-unsafe/feed/ 0 http://newnaturalista.com/2010/inspiration/general/the-land-of-nod-land-of-us/ http://newnaturalista.com/2010/inspiration/general/the-land-of-nod-land-of-us/#comments Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:34:36 +0000 NewNaturalista http://newnaturalista.com/?p=5478

By: NewNaturalista

I noticed something this weekend while visiting The Land of Nod children’s furniture store in the University Village (Seattle). All of the dolls on display were brown! Even the wall ads featured brown little girls.

Dolls on display

Cute little girl with an afro on wall advertisement

Dollhouse Dolls

Stuffed Doll

For those who aren’t familiar with this store, it’s a higher end furniture store for kids – a partner of Crate and Barrel. I am pleased but also curious about the representation.

Is this a marketing strategy or simply a store seeing a need and responding to it? Your thoughts?

CONTEST CLOSED! WINNER ANNOUNCED MONDAY, DECEMBER 20TH

By: NewNaturalista

The best ideas are often born out of frustration. For Israel Segal, his light bulb moment came after adopting African-American twins – and realizing there weren’t many quality options for their hair out there. He wanted to avoid cheap petroleum and mineral oil products – so he created his own natural and environmentally friendly line called Free Your Mane.

Israel recently sent me the entire line! Here are some highlights:

• All of the products are paraben free
• High quality ingredient list
• 7% of the profits go to non profit African-American health and empowerment groups

NewNaturalista Review

Free Your Mane Sulfate Free Hydrating Shampoo $15.95

Consistency: Creamy, lathers well.

Smell: A bit masculine for my taste. I am a fruity girl – my husband however will likely appreciate being able to use it.

Ingredient Highlights: Argan Oil from Morocco, pomegranate seed oil and sweet almond oil.

Overall: I remember an expert on Oprah saying once that shampoos don’t matter, it’s the conditioner that counts. I actually believed this up until recently. I can certainly tell a difference between a shampoo like this versus one that has sulfates in it. My hair felt clean without being stripped. The price is a bit high, but I only used a small amount which means a little will go a long way.

Intensive Hydrating Hair Masque $19.95

Consistency: Creamy, lots of slip!

Smell: Again, a bit musky – but not overpowering. Kind of like when you hug your sweetie at the end of the day or grab one of his shirts – just a hint of cologne, but not too much.

Overall: Free Your Mane refers to this conditioner as “a miracle in a tube!” I would say it’s close. My curls wrapped themselves up in this luxuriously thick mask. After rinsing it out 15 minutes later I could certainly feel my hair was soft and well defined. The only issue, I had quite a bit of frizz along the top of my hair. The second time around the same thing. I don’t usually have frizz there – can’t really explain why that happened!

Conditioning Pomade $15.95

Consistency: This is what a pomade should feel like. It’s not sticky or greasy – but tacky – in a good way.

Smell: See above!

Overall: I use this to seal my ends before I head out. It certainly does the job. A great polisher.

Reviving Spray $14.95

I saved the best for last!

Initially I was skeptical – after all my hair loves creams, shea butter and coconut – what could this “spray” do to revive my curls? I was pleasantly surprised! I woke up last Tuesday with a head full of crunchy curls. It was the perfect day to try out something new – and I frankly didn’t know what to expect but I thought, “Hey my hair couldn’t look any worse.” After a few sprays I worked it through – and by the time I got to my car I was shocked by what I saw in the mirror! All of my “crazy mind of their own” curls no longer looked like Einstein’s famous do. They were well formed and moisturized. Israel tells me baobab oil is the magic. It’s a “fixed” oil and great for moisturizing.

Interested in trying out the entire Free Your Mane system?

Here’s your chance! Just leave a comment below and we’ll randomly pick one lucky winner!

By: NewNaturalista

The wonderful folks from Room 26 Cabinet of Curiosities featured these black beauty ads from the 1939 Negro Industrial Fair in NYC.

This gives us an interesting look at a time when a woman’s success was measured by her ability to get a husband. Your thoughts?

By: NewNaturalista

A few weeks ago I featured two beautiful flight attendants based out of Houston (click here for original story.)  They were proudly wearing their natural hair, which is a big deal – 40 years ago it could have gotten them fired:

Dr. Gwen Sharp from The Society Pages recently featured the story of Deborah Renwick – a 6 year veteran with United Airlines who was fired for wearing an afro.

Renwick cut her fro down to 2 inches at the request of her bosses, but it wasn’t enough. She was quoted in a 1969 Jet article. “At the time my supervisor informed me I’d have to get a hair cut. My afro was only 2 inches long – much shorter than many white stewardesses’ hair.” Black professionals rallied in support of Renwick, threatening a boycott. Her attorney at the time, NAACP’s Cornelius Toole said Miss Renwick was being “penalized because her hair is kinky, not because it’s too long.”

Renwick’s story is a reminder of the struggles those before us went through to simply be themselves. It’s safe to say women like Renwick paved the way for flight attendants and all professionals to wear their natural hair without fear.

By: NewNaturalista

It must have been sample day at Whole Foods.

Every time I turned a corner there was a clerk at a table giving away free samples. My daughter stopped at one particular table, and before I could grab her little hands she scooped up a sample cup of Genesis Today Acai 100. Poor little thing, she downed it like a shot and quickly puckered her lips and gagged. No added fruit juice, sugar or water — this stuff is strong! (No need the chastise the little one, I think she learned her lesson.:)

“There’s been so much hype about the acai berry and unfortunately scammers are making lots of money off just putting a miniscule amount in their products,” said the clerk as he poured me a cup. “Acai 100 is pure and concentrated.” In other words this clerk was saying this product, is the real deal. I hesitantly downed my cup and got curious. Maybe there is something to the hype? The clerk quickly honed in on my interest. Here’s what he said:

ACAI 100:

• Made from the whole Acai Berry, including the Epicarp (the dark purple/black skin), the Mesocarp (the pulpy meat) and the Endocarp (the seed)
• 30,000 mg of pure Acai Berry Juice in every 1 fl. oz. serving
• Processed through a unique maceration process that has been used for thousands of years by the indigenous people of the Brazilian rainforest and other bordering South American countries

Benefits of Acai:

• Rich in Macronutrients such as: Proteins (Amino Acids) & Essential Fatty Acids
• Contains over 3.5 times the Anthocyanin (Cyanidin 3-Glucoside) levels of red wine (per equal volume)
• Contains naturally occuring plant based Essential Fatty Acids (fatty acid profile similar to olive oil) & Phytosterols which may support healthy cholesterol & blood sugar levels
• Rich in Fiber which supports a healthy gastrointestinal tract
• Supports healthy joints, healthy inflammatory processes & acts as a powerful free radical scavenger.

The acai berry in Brazil and Peru. The key I later learned, is getting a quality organic acai product. I felt pretty confident in this one so I bought the smallest bottle (4 fl oz.) for $7. It should last me a few days.

Any of you guys ever tried it? Tell us your experience. Is it worth the hype?

By: NewNaturalista

Fellow product junkies, now you have a reason to go crazy – or try something new!

Karen’s Body Beautiful – coupon code: THANKYOU

Jane Carter Solution – Purchase $25 travel kit and receive a free styling product

Thank God I’m Natural Books, Hoodies, T-Shirts 25% off

Carol’s Daughter – coupon code: MILK2

OTHER GREAT DEALS!

Oyin Handmade - 20% off Friday

Koils by Nature – Free shipping & 25% off Friday coupon code:  Blackweekend

Afroveda - 15-20% off various products – coupon code: DMBF30

Darcy’s Botanicals – 25% off – coupon code: NaturalCurls

KNOW OF OTHERS? TELL US ABOUT THEM!