As
Valentines Day approaches, consider painting the holiday green. Green
as in more healthy and natural. It's easy, and you know what? You, and
Mother Earth, will love you...When that special heart-shaped holiday nears, our thoughts tend to shift to images of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Well, researchers have discovered that hearts and chocolate go very well together.
You may have heard that chocolate, because of its health benefits, has recently become the "in" thing to eat. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that by eating a few squares of dark chocolate every day, you can reduce the risk of a heart attack by almost 50 percent in some people. Now wouldn't that be a loving gesture: give your sweetie enough chocolate for a year? (wink)
How is chocolate good for your heart?
Substances in cocoa beans function in the same way as aspirin in preventing heart attacks. [Speaking of aspirin, you might enjoy my article describing the cool way that you can use aspirin on plants as an Earth-friendly first aid for warding off diseases.]
Our next example of painting Valentine's Day green has to do with flowers. A gift of cut flowers may not be the wonderful expression of love that you intend it to be. That’s because whenever you touch the flowers or inhale the scent of a conventional bouquet, you're probably touching or inhaling poisonous chemicals.
The floral industry is one of the heaviest users of hazardous pesticides. What's more, the majority of flowers sold in North America are imported from countries like Ecuador and Columbia, where many farm workers, 70 percent of whom are women, complain of pesticide-poisoning symptoms from headaches to birth defects.
But things are improving. If you plan to give cut flowers for
Valentine’s Day or any time during the year, you can now make a
responsible, healthy choice. Flowers and ornamental plants, like the
indoor plants you buy at a grocery store, certified with the Veriflora
label are different. The certification
program requires growers to use pesticide-free, sustainable agriculture
methods and conduct fair treatment of workers. The industry is making headway. Two of the largest North American wholesalers of cut flowers are VeriFlora certified. I think all companies who grow safe, pesticide-free cut flowers deserve a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
Make that dark chocolates.
