Monday, July 29, 2019

Help Keep our Planet Clean!


Help Keep Our Beaches and Oceans Clean


In order to help keep our oceans and marine life sustainable, we need to keep our beaches clean. Beaches are home to many creatures, including sea lions and sea turtles that depend on both land and sea to survive. Even sea creatures that live solely in the water are affected by polluted beaches when trash that accumulates on the beach is washed out with the tides. In addition to plastic and paper trash, chemical and human wastes on the beach also wash out to sea.
Plastic pollution impacts virtually every living organism in, or thriving off of, the oceans of our world. Sea turtles, sea lions, sea birds, fish, whales and dolphins are creatures that often are found dead with huge amounts of plastic debris in their bellies, digestive tracts, fins and other internal organs.
Every person who visits any beach in any part of the world can help keep our beaches and oceans clean. We each can commit to making a difference and educating our children, so they can practice green behaviors from an early age. If you haven’t already started, this summer is a great time to take action:
  1. “Take 3 for the Sea” is an organization that teaches people to take three pieces of trash with you when you leave the beach or any waterway. By doing so, you will have made a difference. Participation in this program has burgeoned to 129 countries with 300,000 people educated in helping to make plastic pollution a thing of the past.2
  2. Don’t drink bottled water. More than one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute around the world. 3They require large amounts of energy and water to produce, then end up clogging landfills.
  3. Use re-usable alternatives to plastic bottles. You can buy re-usable water bottles everywhere, but you can only purchase the PiMag® Sport Bottle with the nano-technology filter system at Nikken. PiMagSportBottle-with-straw_small_7-18[2]At home, you can make a difference by drinking filtered water from a PiMag Waterfall®—good for Active Wellness as well as minimizing your personal carbon footprint.PiMag-Waterfall-4-3-18
  4. Use re-usable tote bags and containers. Avoid buying food and other items wrapped in plastic. For example, when buying fresh food, buy whole fruit and vegetables instead of pre-cut, prepackaged versions wrapped in plastic. Shop at bulk food bins and bring your own containers. Carry out with your own totes.
  5. Decrease chemical usage as much as possible. Pesticides, fertilizers and weed killers are harmful for our oceans—the closer you live to the sea, the more likely those chemicals will end up there. About 245,000 square kilometers (about the size of the UK) are known as “dead zones” where marine life cannot survive, due to chemical poisons in the eco-system.
  6. Opt for mineral sunscreens or non-nano zinc oxide as the primary active ingredient. Chemicals such as oxybenzone and octinoxate that are commonly found in popular sunscreens are not eco-friendly. Once these chemicals make their way off beach bodies into the ocean, they can damage coral DNA. Sunscreens without these damaging chemicals are called “reef-safe.” 5
  7. Be careful what you flush down the toilet. Medicines have been detected in ground water and marine life. For example, 4500 wet wipes were found in a 154 square-meter portion of the Thames river in 2017, an example of what doesn’t break down in the flushing process. 6
Share your knowledge of eco-friendly habits with friends and family. The more people who commit to making a difference, the better chance we have of maintaining the lives of our beaches and oceans.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Nikken Sport Bottle is a must for "On the Go" folks


Nikken is a pioneer in water filtration and helps us break the bottled water habit. The PiMag® Sport Bottle and the PiMag® Waterfall feature state-of-the-art filtration that exceed NSF standards. Both feature multiple filtration systems that help remove chloramine, chlorine, cysts, lead and bacteria.

Nikken Sport Bottle
The new improved PiMag Sport bottle is not just a state-of-the-art water filter, but also a health
product crucial to an Active Wellness lifestyle. The new filter has the ability to significantly
reduce certain harmful pathogens in potable drinking water. It’s also a green choice: You won’t be
adding to landfills and polluting ocean waters with plastic. Instead, you’ll be saving a fortune by
not paying for commercially bottled water. Drink municipally treated water, but make sure it’s
safe!

FEATURES & BENEFITS
• The new PiMag Sport Bottle is the only water bottle that combines three technologies: nano-
filtration, alkalization and declustering.
• The patent pending nano-filtration technology was originally developed for NASA and dramatically
increases the filter’s ability to reduce potential contaminants from drinking water, now including
pathogens and micro-plastics.
• The patent-pending alkalizing media increases the pH from 7 to 8.5, representing a 15 to 25 fold
increase in pH value, going from an acidic to an alkaline range. Alkaline water decreases
oxidation-reduction potential and helps offset the effects of harmful free radicals.
• Four 4,600+ gauss neodymium magnets help decluster the water, improving bioavailability to the
body’s cell structure because smaller clusters of water molecules are easier to absorb.
• Environmentally responsible: Both bottle and filter can be recycled.
• Bottle made with Bio-treated LDPE plastic from patented Biogreen materials that contain EcoPure®,
an additive that enables it to be completely broken down into biomass that nourishes soil, and
biogas that can be harvested for energy use.
•FDA Food Contact Safe and BPA-, DEHA- and DEHP-free.
• Unaffected by light, heat or humidity.
• Filter components are replaceable, to extend the life of the bottle, further reducing the impact
on landfill waste caused by disposable water bottles.
• Improves taste of water in an eco-friendly manner.
• New improved replaceable flip top drinking spout is more convenient and sanitary and has a loop
that can attach to a hook, belt, backpack or lanyard.
• Sport grip for easy handling.
FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY : ANSI/NSF STANDARDS
Particulates (clarity, sediment): exceeds standard Chlorine reduction: exceeds standard  Chloramine
reduction: exceeds standard
Taste and odor reduction: exceeds standard Cyst reduction: exceeds standard
Lead reduction: exceeds standard
Bacteria reduction: exceeds standard (more than 99.99%) VOCs : exceeds standard
MTBE: exceeds standard

FEATURED TECHNOLOGIES
PiMag Water Technology, patent-pending nano-filtration, patent-pending alkalizing media,
declustering, patented Biogreen materials for bottling

CAPACITY: 21 ounces / 621 ml

FILTER LIFE: Up to an estimated 250 refills per filter; approximately 40 gallons or 3 months of
average use.
13503 Replacement Filter Pack

EcoPure® will not alter the integrity of the base plastic resins. EcoPure® treated, biodegradable
plastics will maintain their original look, durability, and shelf life until the product has been
disposed of in a landfill environment.
EcoPure®’s formula was developed by engineers to activate in the presence of landfill- specific
microbes and enzymes. This means that the organic additive only starts allowing the breaking down
of plastic when it has reached its end of life destination – disposal in a landfill.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Healthy Food That Also Reduces Your Carbon Footprint

Healthy Food That Also Reduces Your Carbon Footprint

Most of us know there are benefits to going organic and going “green.” Although both are beneficial in the pursuit of Active Wellness and for planet Earth, there are differences. Going organic is health-centered while going green requires sustainable practices that impact economic, social and ecological factors that help protect Earth and its resources. In other words, sustainable food is virtually always organic, but not all organic food is sustainable.
Choosing sustainable food helps reduce an individual’s carbon footprint, which is the “amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide.”The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations claims that by switching to organic agriculture farmers can reduce up to 66% of carbon dioxide emissions.Large agricultural companies argue that some organically grown produce have a higher overall energy consumption and land use. This discrepancy presents the most obvious difference between simply organic, and actually sustainable, food.
The rule of thumb is that the less processed the food is, the more sustainable it is. Look at it this way: when you eat a raw organically grown vegetable or fruit, you are eliminating the carbon footprint of the power used in cooking by gas or electricity. Also, some vegetables have a carbon footprint nearly as serious as meat, because they are grown in greenhouses that use a lot of heat and light—for example, hothouse tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Therefore, the approach to reducing your carbon footprint with what you eat requires multiple behaviors:
  • Eat locally produced organic food. An estimated 13% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions result from the production and transport of food. Transporting food requires petroleum-based fuels, and many fertilizers are also fossil fuel-based.3
  • Reducing your consumption of non-grass fed red meat and dairy is not only environmentally friendly but also heart friendly. Livestock is responsible for 14.5% of manmade global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from feed production and processing, and the methane that beef and sheep emit. Every day without meat and dairy reduces your carbon footprint by eight pounds or 2,920 pounds a year.4
  • Research which fruits and vegetables are most carbon-friendly. For example, lentils require very little water to grow. They actually clean and fortify the soil, making it easier to grow other crops. Beans in general (including kidney, black, pinto, etc.) have a low carbon and water footprint. These legumes also have high nutritional values because of their protein and fiber content. Rice, on the other hand, is water intensive.
  • Mussels are harvested on long collector ropes suspended in oceans, and while growing, they eat naturally occurring food in the water. In the process, they filter and clean the water, even extracting carbon to make their shells. They have very little environmental impact.5
  • Buy fish in season from local farmer’s markets or fisheries that practice sustainable fishing. As people become more educated about over fishing, the island of Palau is leading the way in protecting its oceans from poaching and has outlawed bottom trawling. In 2015, Palau established the largest no-take zone in the world, 193,000 square miles of ocean that cannot be fished, mined or drilled.Palau now has a range of partners from commercial, non-profit and governmental organizations, including U.S.-based SkyTruth, a nonprofit that monitors and reports poaching to the police.
  • Buy food in bulk when possible. The less packaging, the more sustainable the food. Use your own recyclable and reusable containers.
  • Eat what you buy. Reduce food waste by freezing excess and re-purposing leftovers. Teach your children early in their lives to develop eating habits that are not only healthy but also helpful to planet Earth. Waste not, want not.
As you reduce your carbon footprint, Kenzen Vital Balance® Meal Replacement Mix can help you with the transition to being more plant-based in your diet. It’s made with organically grown ingredients that provide a nutritious source of vegan protein

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Take Care of Your Body's Largest Organ

Take Care of Your Body’s Largest Organ

We sometimes forget that skin is the body’s largest organ, and as such, it requires special care. Just as we exercise and eat right to improve heart health and our entire digestive system, we need to tend to the skin—it’s the protective layer that covers all the other precious organs and should not be taken for granted.
July is UV Safety Awareness Month and sun protection is a key factor in maintaining skin health. Both men and women are aware of wrinkling and other skin conditions that are part of aging; however, the most dangerous skin afflictions are various forms of cancer. In fact, more skin cancers are diagnosed in the United States each year than all other cancers combined.1
Most skin cancers are caused by too much sun exposure, specifically, exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. As the Earth’s ozone layer gradually becomes thinner—known as ozone depletion—the amount of UV radiation that reaches us increases, leading to a higher risk for skin cancer, eye cataracts, and genetic and immune system damage. 2 Ozone depletion is caused by the release of chemical compounds that contain gaseous chlorine or bromine from industry and other human activities, and to counteract these effects, the Montreal Protocol was signed into effect in 1987. To date, global cooperation has successfully helped to gradually eliminate the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances. 3
Other sources of UV radiation are man-made, for example, tanning beds and sun lamps. As the public becomes more educated about the dangers of UV ray exposure, spray tans have become more popular. Whether the chemicals in spray tans have long-term effects on the skin are being studied.
Sunburn and tanning are the short-term results of too much exposure to UV rays, and are signs of skin damage. Long-term exposure can cause early skin aging, wrinkles, loss of skin elasticity, dark patches, and pre-cancerous skin changes (such as dry, scaly, rough patches). Frequent sunburns in childhood may increase the risk for some types of skin cancer many years or even decades later. 4
Staying out of the sun entirely is unrealistic and deprives the body of its ability to manufacture vitamin D. Fortunately, there are a few easy precautions to take when enjoying the sun and protecting our skin at the same time:
  • Wear a hat. Not only will it help shield your skin and scalp from UV rays but it will also protect your hair from drying out.
  • Wear shade-protective or SPF rated clothing to help protect your skin from UV rays. Proper clothing may include long-sleeved shirts and pants. (There are even thin sleeves that are popular with golfers to slip over arms to protect against sun exposure.)
  • Wear sunglasses for eye protection.
  • Stay in the shade when the sun is most intense between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Remember that the sun can still damage your skin on cloudy days or in the winter.
  • Choose the right sunscreenThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new regulations for sunscreen labeling recommend that your sunscreen have a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 and should protect against both UVA and UVB rays.5
  • Use the right amount of sunscreenAccording to the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, most people apply only 25-50 percent of the recommended amount of sunscreen. When out in the sun, it’s important to apply at least one ounce (a palmful) of sunscreen every two hours. Apply it more often if sweating or swimming, even if the sunscreen is waterproof. 6
  • When planning outdoor activities, information about how much sun protection is needed is available at the Environmental Protection Agency’s UV index, which measures the daily intensity of UV rays from the sun on a scale of 1–11. A low UV index requires minimal protection, whereas a high UV index requires maximum protection.7
Our True Elements® collection of organic skin care and hair care products is the perfect solution for long-term safe and healthy skin care.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Do You Know how Prebiotics & Probiotics Help the Gut?

Do You Know how Prebiotics & Probiotics Help the Gut?

In the past decade, word has gotten out more and more consistently that good bacteria helps us digest food and keep the gut healthy and happy. Simply put, a happy gut is responsible for overall health in a big way—both physically and mentally.
Probiotics are the good bacteria that are found naturally in the gut. Probiotics are actually live cultures, which means they’re active and functional, allowing them to help boost immunity, gastrointestinal health and overall wellness.Probiotic bacteria can also be found in yogurt and fermented foods such as sauerkraut or kimchi. Since what we eat and drink passes through our gastrointestinal tract every day, it’s no surprise that our diets affect the gut microbiome. In fact, studies have shown that even a single day of a strict animal-based diet or plant-based diet can alter the composition of the gut microorganisms—but that we typically revert to our regular microbiome once our diets go back to normal.2
Newer research shows that probiotics work more efficiently when assisted by prebiotics. Unlike probiotics, prebiotics are not found naturally in the gut. Instead they are found in non-digestible carbohydrates and fibers that stimulate the growth of good bacteria.Prebiotics are found in fibrous components of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Bananas, onions, garlic, leeks asparagus, artichokes, soybeans and whole-wheat grains are examples of foods containing prebiotics. Prebiotics work by supporting the good bacteria that are naturally present in the gut and help them proliferate.
According to the World Health Gastroenterology Organization, one in three people around the world struggle with gut-related symptoms. These symptoms include flatulence, bloating, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, food allergies, incontinence and abdominal pain.Though not necessarily life-threatening, these digestive discomforts can significantly alter our ability to practice Active Wellness.
Since some prebiotics are indiscriminate and feed both good and bad bacteria, it makes sense to incorporate the right prebiotics to support both natural and ingested probiotics. Well-established prebiotics like inulin, oligofructose (FOS), and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) help fuel the human gastrointestinal tract, which contains trillions of microbes.5
The synergistic effect of prebiotics with probiotics has led to the emergence of a category referred to as “synbiotics” to promote digestive health and overall wellness. When the correct prebiotics are provided in the exact proportions necessary to maximize the desired health effects of the specific probiotic strains through stimulating the growth and activating the metabolism of health-promoting bacteria, symbiosis occurs.Eating whole foods is the best way to obtain prebiotics and add probiotics to the diet.
Nutritional supplementation is also helpful. Take a look at Kenzen Lactoferrin® 2.0,  Kenzen® Cleanse & Detox and Kenzen Vital Balance®. All three of these Nikken nutritional supplements contain prebiotics and/or probiotics

Monday, July 1, 2019

Boost Your Energy Levels During the Summer Months



Boost Your Energy Levels During the Summer Months


When temperatures go up, energy levels go down. Air-conditioning helps, but it can be expensive and gives the body more extreme temperature fluctuations to contend with. Fortunately, there are a few easy things that can be done to conquer the heat and boost your energy levels.
  • If you’re able, simply run cold water over your wrists to cool off. You don’t actually need to take a whole body cold shower. The arterial pulse points in the wrist help cool off the body, because arterial blood flows away from the heart and the cold water will circulate cooler blood throughout the body and ultimately lower your core temperature. 1
  • Do the same thing with cold water on your feet. Arterial pulse points are located in areas where the blood vessels come closest to the surface of the skin. 2
  • Appetites generally dip when the weather is hot, but eating small amounts every few hours is important for keeping energy levels up. Try hydrating fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, celery, green peppers and radishes.
  • Stay away from heavy foods, such as fatty meats and desserts. They take a lot of energy to digest and the effect is sluggishness.
  • Drinking hot beverages may actually help you cool down. The hot liquids enhance circulation and cause you to perspire freely and expel heat. Once the perspiration evaporates, your body cools down. Drinking hot beverages to cool down is effective in dry desert-like heat, not in humid, tropical weather, where perspiration doesn’t easily evaporate. 3
  • Hot spicy foods act the same way as hot beverages. That may be why chili peppers are so popular in hot continents, such as Asia and Africa. The spicy chilis activate nerve receptors in the tongue, which tell the brain to turn on the body’s cooling mechanism: sweating. 4
  • Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning, and save the caffeinated beverages for later. Contrary to popular belief, according to a study in 2013, drinking coffee first thing in the morning depletes energy levels.Try Kenzen Ten4® Energy Drink Mix with its superior blend of matcha green tea that provides 80 mg of natural caffeine for smooth energy support at the suggested times of 10 am and 4 pm. It’s delicious hot or cold.
  • Use ice in a bucket in front of a fan to provide a quick cool down. When the fan blows air over the ice, the surrounding air cools down.
  • Breathe in deeply. When the body doesn’t obtain enough oxygen, energy levels dip drastically. No matter how heavy the air may feel, make a conscious effort throughout the day to breathe in and out as fully as possible. Use your hands to push your belly in as you exhale to release your breath.
  • Clean out your system by keeping your liver functioning at full capacity. “Regular” or not, everyone carries excess waste all year round, which results in lethargy. Cleanses are popular because by lightening the load, you can boost your energy level and temporarily lose weight. Unfortunately, many bodies cannot take the harshness of those 7-14 day cleanses. Using Kenzen® Cleanse & Detox is far more convenient and gentler to your system. With organic natural ingredients, Cleanse & Detox will help your liver function optimally so you feel more energetic.
  • Don't forget to hydrate with the best water possible.   Get used to taking a portable water bottle when on-the-road and using a countertop water filter at home. Filtering tap water at home and from water fountains elsewhere can help remove impurities and make water safer to drink. Pathogens, dirt, chemicals and other contaminants are effectively removed by micro-, ultra- and nano-filters.6
  • For more information or to purchase any of the products referenced go to 
  • www.nikken.com/na/jsj