Organic Living

I became interested in organic living when my husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Once I was told that this cancer was most probably the result of exposure to some toxin, organic living became the goal at our house. I have been collecting books on organic living ever since. This is one of the first books that I found. This book focuses on helping the readers to make smart and safe choices in every aspect of everyday life. The topics are food, health, beauty products, clothing and home design and decoration. The book is subdivided as follows: 1. Introduction 2. The Natural Environment 3. We are What We Eat 4. From the Inside Out 5. The Organic Home 6. The Organic Garden The book is written by a naturopath and osteopath based in England. He has a very informative website that will give you an understanding of his believes and attitudes toward health. (http://www.michaelvanstraten.com) The section on nutrition is especially good. I like the fact that he gives different advice based on the age of the individual. If you have been studying nutrition, you will find that his nutrition advice coincides with conventional wisdom. The organic gardening section is helpful, but you will probably need to supplement with more information depending on the scale of your gardening. Overall, I found this book to be very enlightening and well written. If you are looking for a book that is a comprehensive introduction to why you should be considering moving toward organic living this is a good book to pick up.

This gem of a book is published by Rodale and is for lack of a better word a combination of Zen and Voluntary simplicity living. The photographs and the text via for your attention. And the book is in 5 sections that cover everything from The Natural Environment with an empahsis on farming and where food comes to, then We Are What We Eat which covers why eating organic helps...finding organic foods...oragnic food for health...and the futire.From The Inside Out covers healthily beauty, looking good organically, exercise. mind body spirit and natural remedies.The Organic Home covers recycling, saving energy, eco style, and organic household products. Even I was surprised to learn some new ideas, even though we thought we were pretty organic as it was.The Organic Garden was a favorite section because it covers how and where to plant, caring for the garden which was very informatibe because even though we are avid gardneers it was nice to learn some earth friendly ideas for pests. Choosing plants was good because people still think that the succulent with the purple flowers will look so nice next to the water hungry pole beans. And they don't mix well. And then there is the looking to the future section.The book has a healthy resource and additional reading suggestion section as well. Oh and I love the herb section and believe everyone even if you live in a small space with only a window ledge, should grow a variety of herbs for cooking and teas. The book is shy 180 pages and is semi coffee table size.

This gem of a book is published by Rodale and is for lack of a better word a combination of Zen and Voluntary simplicity living. The photographs and the text via for your attention. And the book is in 5 sections that cover everything from The Natural Environment with an emphasis on farming and where food comes to, then We Are What We Eat which covers why eating organic helps...finding organic foods...organic food for health...and the future.From The Inside Out covers healthily beauty, looking good organically, exercise. mind body spirit and natural remedies.The Organic Home covers recycling, saving energy, eco style, and organic household products. Even I was surprised to learn some new ideas, even though we thought we were pretty organic as it was.The Organic Garden was a favorite section because it covers how and where to plant, caring for the garden which was very informative because even though we are avid gardeners it was nice to learn some earth friendly ideas for pests. Choosing plants was good because people still think that the succulent with the purple flowers will look so nice next to the water hungry pole beans. And they don't mix well. And then there is the looking to the future section.The book has a healthy resource and additional reading suggestion section as well. Oh and I love the herb section and believe everyone even if you live in a small space with only a window ledge, should grow a variety of herbs for cooking and teas. The book is shy 180 pages and is semi coffee table size.