Maintaining Your Body's Energy and Sharp Mind

When we're feeling tired and stressed, it's easy to reach for a “quick fix”, strong coffee in the morning, chocolate in the middle of the afternoon, a caffeine-based energy drink to keep us powering through the night. There's no doubt these provide the immediate perception of a lift, but they don't help the body deal with the underlying cause of energy deprivation. The key to proper management of stress related fatigue is about providing the nervous and adrenal system support that enables the body to deal with fatigue.

Eating for energy.

When you consider the rapidly expanding of special “energy” foods and drinks in our supermarkets, you would think we should be bursting with energy. Yet the reverse is true. That's because most “energy” foods and drinks rely on sugar or caffeine to give our bodies a quick boost. Real, long lasting energy comes from simpler (less enticingly packaged) foods.

Try to eat regular meals comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables, wholegrain breads and cereals, brown rice, beans, fish, lean meat and eggs. B complex vitamins are necessary to metabolize food into energy and to help the adrenal system to function properly. A multivitamin and mineral supplements is also useful in delivering the many essential vitamins and minerals we require daily.

A good night's sleep.

There's nothing like deep, restful sleep to help your body recover from one day and prepare for the next. However, that's easier said than done when your mind is racing at a million miles an hour. There are number of herbs that act as natural sedatives. They include skullcap, valerian, passion flower and hops.

Exercise for stamina.

“Don't stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing”

It might seem strange, but exercise can actually give you more energy and consequently relieve stress. Even if you're not the athletic type, try to walk for 30 minutes a day at least three to four times a week . You'll notice a big difference in the way you feel after just a few week.

In previous centuries, people didn't worry so much age related brain conditions. Forgetfulness, speech problems and confusion were simply considered part of getting old. Now that our bodies are remaining fit and strong for much longer, it's increasingly important that our minds also remain active, as much for our families sake as our own. Caring for a person suffering the effects of degenerative brain disease can be extremely draining both physically and emotionally.

Think about our brains.

The brain is the center of our nervous system and the most metabolically active organ in the body. It is made up of some 100 billion neurons and weight about 1.3 kilograms.

The brain utilizes about 20% of the total oxygen used by the body, so a good blood supply to the brains is crucial. Under normal circumstances, the brain uses a continuous supply of glucose as its source of energy. Without constant replenishment, the glucose reserve of the brain will be used in approximately ten minutes.

Food for the brain.

A healthy brain needs a healthy diet. Start the day with breakfast, there is increasing evidence that eating breakfast is associated with better memory function later in the day. A diet high in foods rich in antioxidants, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds is important for brain health. Additionally, DHA, an essential fatty acid found in deep sea fish (exp. Tuna) aids the proper function and development of the brain.

Take Ginkgo.

Herbs such as Ginkgo Biloba have long been used to help improve memory and learning ability, and may help slow progression of age related memory loss.

Ginkgo appears to improve cognition in a number of ways including its ability to affect blood flow to the brain and free radical scavenging. It is recommended as a long term solution for improving cognitive function.

Exercise for your brain.

Exercise increases blood flow and nutrition to the brain. Research indicated that regular exercise is associated with significant reduction of risk of several forms of cognitive decline. Even low intensity exercise such as walking can be helpful. A study found that you only walk 10,000 steps to enjoy the benefits.

Alternate Energy Sources For Your Home

The amount of energy used in the home is at an all time high, and being consumed at an alarming rate. Many people use electricity more than they really need to, and the pay for it without complaining. Others think the cost of it is too high and they want to use it as little as possible. Either way, there are various alternative energy sources that you can use for your home. This can help slow down the depletion of natural resources and save you money.

As technology continues to change and move forward, consumers are being offered many alternatives. While many of the ideas that are being promoted today as alternative energy sources aren’t new, there are more ways to incorporate them than ever before. There is also a way to calculate the savings that these alternatives offer, and that is generally the motivating factor that causes people to move forward with implementing them.

You may have discovered windmills popping up in various locations, and that is due to the fact that wind energy is a great alternative to offering you power instead of using electricity. The windmill has come a long way from the days when it was used to grind up grain. They are more appreciated as a source of energy than anything else.

The energy from the sun, called solar energy, is a great alternative to electricity. You can easily install solar panels on your roof to collect energy. You will only use electricity as a back up source when all of the energy has been used up. The energy from a solar source is able to heat your home, dry your clothes, and run various household appliances. Many people are able to use solar power to supply all the energy they need for their entire home.

Of course this is a different type of solar energy than our parents used when they hung clothes outside on the line to dry. Yet the introduction of the clothes dryer is just one more device that uses up electricity.

Water can also be a valuable alternative source of energy. Hydropower is the ability to use water currents to operate generators. Hydropower is another concept that goes back to the era of grinding up grains into flour.

One type of alternative energy source that you may not be aware of is biogas. This is the process of decomposition of various materials. This is a great way to save money on the cost of heating your home, especially if you live in a cold weather area.

There are plenty of different resources for you to consider when it comes to alternative energy sources. They are a great way to save the resource of electricity as well as to save money on the cost of your energy sources. Take the time to find the one that is the most practical and cost effective for your home. Many people don’t live where they can install a windmill but they do live where the sun shines all day long.

We all need to do our part to make the environment cleaner, and you can do yours by choosing an alternative energy source. It is important for us to keep as many of the natural resources for future generations as possible. Once you compare the price of installing the alternative energy source to the amount of money you will save, you will see why it is a win/win situation for you personally and for the entire environment.

Solar Energy: Home Made or Purchased?

Want a Home Solar Energy System?

The thought of not relying on the local power company for electricity, saving all that money in the process by using your won home solar energy system is quite interesting to me. They call this being "off the grid". It is really a feeling of independence, in a way that puts the environment back in our hands, almost like the early settlers of our country.

When you own your own home solar energy system, that makes you independent and free. Just think about as if you were embarking on a whole new frontier like Lewis and Clark, except in the arena of solar energy. You own your own electricity. I mean the sun isn't going to send you a bill, is it?

The home solar energy system can be costly up front. Perhaps that is a problem for you. Some can afford to have a professional install the home solar energy system for them, others will have to install it on their own, if they can. Some will have to install their home solar energy system piece by piece. If you are having trouble financing such a solar system here is a place to go to, http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/related_links_financing.html

If you are looking to convert your home over into using a home solar energy system you can. It may take time but use the available information resources from your local state government's office to provide such info. Don't let cost and inexperience wish away a great opportunity to help the environment and get your independence back, at least in this area.

Try Home Made Solar Energy

There are a lot of benefits to home made solar energy and when we say home made solar energy we mean the kind of systems installed by professionals but made for your home. If you do not have home made solar energy yet, consider converting your home to solar energy. When you have converted over you will notice the difference between the cost from what you had with the local power company to the cost of home solar energy. The difference in your bill and the environment will speak for itself.

Solar energy in the home is a win win situation. You are doing the environment a favor as well as increasing the influence for others to have solar energy homes. In this day of energy conservation and concern for the effect that human activity is having on our planet you want to get a home made solar energy system installed and let your wallet and help our environment relax a little.

Converting your home to solar energy is costly. But the overall cost in the long run will make your new home made solar energy home be free of local electricity, saving you money and making you money because you can store excess power and resell it back to the local grid as they call it..

Which would you rather have, a solar energy system for your home, or the local power company making electricity the old fashioned way that will continue to omit harmful gases into the atmosphere?

Using home made solar energy is a great way to save money and the environment at the same time. If more people took the initiative to convert their home to solar energy this world would become a cleaner place.

Spa Covers And The Energy Star Program

The Energy Star program is run by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy. It is a great idea and has helped manufacturers move toward more energy efficient products in many different areas. Unfortunately though since it is a program paid for with tax dollars it has to be limited in scope or targeted so that the products it covers would be something that the majority of tax payers could see a benefit in.

It would be really great if Every product or innovation that reduced the energy required could be considered however such is not the case. Understandably the program is focused on general energy consumption of household products, washing machines, refrigerators, and materials used in home construction that reduce energy needs.

Some products used in the home, for example computers are included, others in particular pools and spas are not. Unfortunate considering the percentage of household energy consumption that goes into a pool or spa. We have even seen the Energy Star logo used in advertising spas even though the Department of Energy has clearly stated that it will not consider such a product for inclusion as an Energy Star Partner since the majority of taxpayers would not benefit from such a product.

Personally I would prefer that every tax payer would own at least one Hot tub. I can only see this as good for the country. If more people were spending more time in their spa they would be using less fuel driving around and have a lot less stress.

According to the findings of a 2004 study conducted by the Davis Energy Group sponsored Pacific Gas & Electric Co., pool and spa pumps are almost always the largest single electrical end-use (appliance in a home), using more than three times the energy of a new refrigerator. This same study found that the average residential pool pump consumes 2,600 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually with portable spas not far behind at 2,500 kWh per year.

With an estimated 1.2 million pools and about half a million spas the State of California by itself has to have the entire yearly output of one nuclear power plant plus one conventional power plant just to feed the consumption of pools and spas. It’s no wonder the California Energy Commission has recently approved new appliance efficiency regulations that for the first time include portable spas and a maximum allowable watt per hour usage.

As spa manufacturers struggle to meet these new requirements the bottom line for you the spa owner is how do you reduce the expense of operating your already purchased hot tub? Since most of the energy used in the spa is used keeping the water warm for the next time you want to dip into it, getting that water insulated is the key. If wrapping your water heater can make a difference in your energy bill, imagine what “wrapping” your other water heater (your spa) would do.

Your hot tub uses the same type of heater your household water heater does only your household water heater may have twice as many elements to heat up about forty gallons of water while your spa is trying to heat four hundred gallons. Good insulation around the sides and bottom of your spa play a vital role in helping keep that spa water warm. However most of the heat lost from your spa water is going straight up. Insulating the water with the best insulating cover makes the most sense.

With the new amendments of the California Appliance Efficiency Regulations, that state is taking the lead in setting tougher standards for the energy consumption of portable spas. Other states will no doubt follow suit. With the biggest use of energy going straight up out the top, looking for the best insulating spa cover will be the answer for the seriously energy conscious spa owner. The Energy Star may never be offered to spas or spa covers but it won’t be long before meeting the California Regulations for spa energy consumption will be equal to the best endorsement.

Real Solutions For America’s Energy Crisis

America’s insatiable demand for oil, combined with soaring gas prices, has led to happy days for the oil companies. The money is rolling in so fast that they don’t know what to do with it. The spike in demand resulting from the economic ‘awakening’ of the populous Asian countries is also putting pressure on global oil supplies, and more oil fields are becoming depleted.

ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, BP and the other major oil companies don’t want to, or are not equipped to, deal with the reality that their market is slipping away. They know that alternate energy sources will soon be coming on line. But they’re happy with things just the way they are.

Their lobbyists are making sure Congress is aware of this. Just as the tobacco Industry in the 1970’s tried to disassociate smoking and cancer, the oil companies’ incessant TV, radio and newspaper ads are pushing “Junk Science” to retain their business model.

Despite clear evidence that America’s oil dependency is unsustainable, the major firms are determined to “stay the course.” They remain focused on finding oil, natural gas and coal, refining it to use in a multitude of products, and selling these products at a good profit.

How can we break free of this deeply destructive cycle? Fortunately, it’s an election year. We need to make our voices heard at the ballot boxes, through letters to the editor, by call-ins to talk radio, and by contacting our Congressmen and Senators.

Environmentalists and concerned citizens need to tell all Americans that:

• Global warming is a reality.

• Maintaining a continuous oil supply, at any price, is an increasingly difficult challenge. If you don’t believe this, just wait for a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that shuts down our oil platforms.

• The cost of oil is hurting the economy of the entire world, not just the United States.

Energy Solutions

America needs a portfolio of energy solutions, because no single technology is enough to guarantee immediate success and reliability. This portfolio includes:

• Conservation: Using the energy that we have more wisely as both a short and long-term solution. For example, Europe uses less than 1/2 the energy per person than we do in North America. If we copy their proven technologies, we could cut our oil usage in half. Then, we’ll have 12.5 million barrels of oil per day available to reduce oil imports and pay for the cost of new technologies. These new technologies include: more efficient and smaller cars and appliances, more efficient lighting, better building insulation, plus heat and moisture recovery from HVAC systems in large buildings.

• Renewable energy: Creating intermediate and long-term solutions through policy decisions that focus on developing renewable energy sources that don’t increase the amount of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. We can decide to develop and use geothermal (heat from the earth), solar, wind, and tidal (ocean wave) energy.

• Improved technology: Discovering ways to use less energy per unit of production as a short-term initiative. One example requires the cooperation of companies that own mineral processing plants. These plants, which manufacture lime, Portland cement and other materials by cooking minerals in a kiln, can be optimized by using sophisticated mathematical modeling. They can use the information from the models to better control and reduce the amount of oil or natural gas needed to heat the minerals. However, these companies will act only when they are unable to recover their fuel costs from their customers.

Getting The Word Out

We need a massive worldwide energy education program which focuses governments and private investors on:

a) Generating renewable energy at a competitive cost -- including solar, geothermal, wind, tide, nuclear, and biomass energy (ethanol) -- which does not contribute to greenhouse gases. As we invest in developing these energy sources, the prices will come down and their reliability will increase.

b) Eliminating the emission of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) from carbon-based energy sources like coal, oil, and natural gas.

c) Providing generous financing for renewable energy sources.

If you’re worried about the environmental health of our planet and your children’s and grandchildren’s future, it’s up to you to speak out. Now is the time to make our case to the media, elected officials, political candidates and big business.

The owner of an energy conservation company in the 1980s, Pat Benjamin is also an expert on political issues and independent politics. She is the author of The Perot Legacy: A New Political Path.

Contributions to this article were made by Dr. Milton Benjamin, an energy specialist.

Save on Home Heating Energy

To say that you can save on your homes heating system and energy isn't an understatement. Reduced bills on your electricity, maximized heating system, and a whole lot of energy saving phenomenon are things you don't see everyday but desire to obtain.

Everybody longs to reduce his or her expenses on energy and heating system and save more money for the future. Besides, people don't work just to pay the utility bills alone. There are still many things that have to be considered when disbursing money.

The greatest reason for this dilemma is the on-going increase of the commodity prices as well as energy consumption charges. Everything seems to have high prices nowadays. It is best to trim down the other expenses in which you have control of, such as energy consumption.

One of the best examples that utilizes energy more are the home heating systems. Heaters are used by homes that are situated in cold countries.

However, heaters can eat up bigger portions in your electricity bill. In fact, statistical reports prove that heaters are one of the largest energy consumers in every home, that is, more than half of the consumption rate in a given year.

For this reason, it is imperative to think of ways to save on heating systems so as to save on energy consumption as well. As you save on these items, you get more value for your money.

But how? Things are, most of the time, easier said than done. So if you think that it is easy to maximize your heaters and save more on energy, think again.

To help you, here is a list of some energy saving tips that will help you cut back on your heaters energy consumption.

1. Use solar energy

Natural is always the best. To save more on energy, it is best to use solar energy when using water heaters in your homes heating system. In this way, you trap natural heat coming from the sun. You will consume less energy.

With the solar energy utilized in your homes heating system, you can start heating your water for showers or revolutionize your homes heating system and still reduce your electricity bill.

2. Inspect your home

To maximize your homes heating system, it is best to inspect your house for any leakage. Leaks will let the heat seep out from your home, thus, absorbing cold from the outside. Most of the areas that leakage starts to develop are in the windows, doors, and fireplaces.

Once identified, it is best to take some proper actions as soon as possible so as to cut back any unnecessary costs on energy.

3. Sue heaters on frequently used rooms only

To save more energy, only use heaters on areas that are frequently visited and used by your household. For rooms that are not being used, try to turn off the thermostat or close the windows to utilize natural heat.

By doing so, you can cut back your energy consumption through your heater by as much as 50%.

4. Insulate

One of the biggest secrets in maximizing your homes heating system is insulation. A properly and well insulated home can guarantee a comfortable home without using too much energy. Thus, you can save more money by cutting back your energy consumption.

It is best to use some insulating devices on your roof, windows, and other areas that need padding. This will block the heat in and keep it from escaping the house.

5. Get a good heating system

Of course, you can never guarantee lower energy bill if not for an efficient heating system. Defective heating system can utilize twice as much energy as those that are functioning properly. The tendency is to use more force just to boost more heat, and the more force the heating device use, the more energy it will consume.

Besides, defective products would require frequent visits to repair shops and that would be additional expenses for you.

All of these things can help you maximize your heating system and save more energy. In this way, you can save more money and use it on other things that need prioritization.

Kids And Energy

I’m not sure why, maybe because it’s summer, I’m getting a lot of questions and stories about kids and energy. I’ll put them all under that broad category but there have been several different subcategories discussed: kids and ADHD, kids and anger management, and kids and computers.

Kids and ADHD

Let’s start with kids and ADHD. There seems to be a big trend here in the US of drugging our children so they can “control” their behavior in school. I am NOT in favor of this practice.

Why is there such an epidemic of ADHD diagnoses in our children? I don’t want to oversimplify but I believe one reason is that our children don’t have the opportunities they had in previous generations to run around and expend their energy.

In years past, kids got to play in the parks, in the streets and in their own yards. Today, that happens less and less. Parents are too afraid to allow their children to be outside unsupervised, and rightly so! There are predators out there who would do your children harm. However, kids still need to expend their energy, somehow.

So, many times the activities available to them at home are sedentary, such as playing video games, watching television, talking on their cell phones or using the home computer. None of this provides opportunity to release energy, unless your children are like my niece who paces vigorously while talking on the phone.

Then we send them to school and expect them to sit down and be quiet. In addition, many schools are reducing the amount of physical education time for our kids and I’ve even seen recently that some schools forbid children to run at recess or use certain playground equipment because they fear of physical injury lawsuit. Is it any wonder our children are having difficulty?

Now I know there are parents and teachers out there who have stories of children who have been helped immensely by the addition of Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta or Dexedrine to their daily diet. If you know a child who is being helped by his or her medication, I’m not saying to discontinue it but for every child who is being helped, I believe there are at least three others who are still exhibiting all the ADHD behavior the medication was designed to reduce.

There have been studies done on placebo medications that show that in double blind studies, when neither the patient nor the doctor knew whether the patient was getting the actual drug or the placebo, the ones getting the placebo actually did better. Is it possible there is a placebo effect with some children?

If your child displays what you or the teachers believe is an excessive amount of energy, do your best to create situations where that child can expend energy. I have two boys who could both have been diagnosed with ADHD as children. They were very physical. Luckily, I lived in the country during a time when parents sent their kids out the door to simply “play.” I also spent a lot of my spare time running them around to different athletic events—YMCA soccer, wrestling, flag football, T-ball, basketball, you get the idea. This definitely helps.

Kids and Anger Management

I spoke with a woman over the weekend whose son is 10 years-old and she says has anger management issues. We didn’t really get into his specific behaviors but it caused me to reflect on some inherent differences between males and females.

I think that from very early on, boys and girls deal with their anger differently. As a general rule, girls need to talk about it to feel better, while boys need to work it out physically.

So if you have daughters, you want to teach them verbal skills to be able to work out their frustrations but with boys, you will need to provide opportunities for them to work out their anger physically—maybe with a punching bag, racquetball, running, or martial arts. The list of possibilities is truly endless but don’t expect your boys to “talk about it,” at least not until they’ve had the opportunity to release the anger in a safe physical manner.

Kids and Computers

This week, a mother contacted me about her child disobeying her limits with the home computer and sneaking time beyond her allowed limit.

In this situation, the mother had a need to protect and nurture her child. She wants to be able to loosely supervise her daughter’s time on the computer to possibly prevent her from falling prey to adults who victimize children by finding their victims on the Internet. She also wants to support her child’s need for physical activity so she restricts her computer usage and encourage outside physical activities instead. Is this mother wrong? Absolutely not.

Her daughter, on the other hand, has a desire to be on the computer. All her friends are on there and want to know why she isn’t. They don’t have limits while this girl does. This girl is quite accomplished on the computer and can build website pages for her friends. She also has a high need for freedom and doesn’t like being restricted and the computer is plain fun to her. She gets her love & belonging, power, freedom and fun needs met with the computer. Is she wrong? Absolutely not.

How does it get resolved? I think the way to resolve this issue is for the mother and daughter to sit down and talk about what each other needs and wants in the situation. If the child can convince her mother that she has the skills and knowledge necessary to protect herself from predators and she agrees to engage in other healthy activities each day, then her mother could relax her restriction on the amount of time she has on the computer.

In this case, and many others like it, the daughter wouldn’t be able to meet her freedom need with the computer if there wasn’t a rule to break. Sometimes we create the very behavior we are trying to stop with the rules we make. When a person has a high need for freedom, they will inevitably break the rules, particularly the ones they don’t like or that don’t make sense.

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs you’ll ever do and the stakes are incredibly high. We all do the best we can and hope for good results. Fortunately, when we have good intentions are kids generally survive in even thrive.