Five Tips for Your Health and that of the Earth: Suggestions on How to Be Healthy & Green
There are some lifestyle changes that are good for our health and the environment. For our health we probably think about our cholesterol numbers and our weight. For the environment we might think about recycling or fuel-efficient cars. But it's probably fair to say that besides thinking about pesticides and a few other issues, most of us have not thought about the connection between the Earth's health and our own.
Here are five tips to protect our health and the health of our planet:
1. GO TO BED EARLY. For the Earth, this means using less energy. Household electricity use has increased by over 50% since the early 1980s. For our health it may mean losing weight. Studies show a correlation between short sleep and being overweight. It may have to do with hormones as lack of sleep depresses levels of Leptin (the hormone that tells the brain we're full) and increases Ghrelin (the hormone that makes us hungry).
2. TURN DOWN THE HEAT AND THE AIR CONDITIONING. For the Earth, of course, this means using less energy. For our health it may mean losing weight by keeping our metabolism burning more calories. When the temperature is in the mid-70s, our metabolisms don't have to work so hard to maintain body temperature and we burn fewer calories.
3. EAT LOCAL FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. For the Earth this means using less energy as flying kiwis from New Zealand or grapes from Chile is an energy-intensive way to get our produce. Give some preference to locally grown food. We all know that good health depends on eating fruits and vegetables.
4. DON'T TAKE MORE MEDICATION THAN YOU NEED. For the Earth this means less pharmaceuticals in waste water than can adversely affect aquatic ecosystems. If your body only uses a fraction of any drug you take, the rest gets excreted and flushed away. For your health it means reducing side effects - take what is necessary and no more.
5. WALK OR BIKE TO WORK, TO THE POST OFFICE, TO PUBLIC TRANSPORATION OR ON ERRANDS. For the Earth this means using less energy. For our health this means getting that daily exercise that's required for good health. Combining exercise and commuting/errands builds exercise into our day.
Thank you to Harvard Health Publications.
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