Natural Choices — Health Food, Organic Produce, Gluten Free, Vitamins, Supplements — Columbus, Bartholomew County, Indiana

Posts Tagged ‘healthful living’

I spent most of yesterday and all day today creating a new flower bed- in the clay the builder left me for a yard. It was hard work but I know in a few weeks and for years to come I will enjoy the flowers, ground covers and plants. When I have worked really hard and am very thirsty, I want water, or better yet, tea to drink. For some reason, ice cold brewed tea is what seems to revive me.

So after a hard two days in the yard, a glass of tea in hand, I started surfing to find out if I am the only one who thinks tea is the perfect cold drink in summer as well as hot drink in the fall and winter.

Natural Choices has a wide selection of teas for good health.

I found the Tea Association of the United States online. There is a section on tea and health that I found very interesting about tea and cardiovascular health – cholesterol in particular:

Researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) studied the effect of tea on 15 mildly hypercholesterolemic adult participants following a “Step I” type diet moderately low in fat and cholesterol, as described by the American Heart Association and the National Cholesterol Education Program. After three weeks, researchers found that five servings of Black Tea per day reduced LDL (“bad”) cholesterol by 11.1 percent and total cholesterol (TC) by 6.5 percent compared to placebo beverages.

Woo-hoo! That is terrific news for me and everyone else who has to think about cholesterol levels. I think I will eliminate drinking soda pop for a month and replace it with tea. That means I will have to probably make it myself and carry it with me in a mug. But that’s okay because I can go to Natural Choices in Columbus, Indiana. The owner, Carolyn, has a tremendous variety of teas there. Many list organic ingredients.

Sometimes it just happens that the things you really like and enjoy can be the things that can be really good for your body, mood and overall health. Tea, apparently, is one of them!!

–Ellie of the Natural Choices Blog Team

Check out the selection of Alvita, TAZO, Yogi, Good Earth and other teas on the shelves at Natural Choices.

Argh!!!! … or … Ahhh???

Badger anti-bug balm convenient tins fit easily in your purse or tote.

Along with the all the little pleasures of summer time come all the little annoyances – like mosquitoes and gnats. I don’t know which I dislike more. We all understand the bites and itches of mosquitoes, but gnats, well, one in my nose or ear can just about drive me insane, especially so in the midst of an otherwise peaceful night’s sleep.

But, once again, as with so many things, the way to repel the little nippers is to confront them with chemical repellents. But putting those chemicals on my skin – or the skin of those I love – just makes me cringe. So I am declaring this a DEET-free summer! I have found the perfect product at Natural Choices to get me through the summer DEET-free.

Badger anti-bug balm contains no chemicals and is – wait for it – USDA certified organic!! The active ingredients listed are citronella oil, cedar oil, lemongrass oil, rosemary oil and geranium oil. Just rub it on and you’ll smell much better than the exhaust from a city bus (which is what bug repellents smell like to me) AND you won’t be scratching and itching all night either.

With all the rain, and now hot temperatures here in the Midwest, I know the insects are just days away. I know we’ll be ready with a natural insect repellent. The handy little tins can go in my purse or pool bag and I am set to spend time outdoors – bug and DEET-free!

–Ellie of the Natural Choices Blog Team

Natural Choices in Columbus, Indiana is the place for organic products – produce, packaged food, cleaning supplies and personal care items. Stop in or call us today!

Natural Choices has cards for all occasions.

I got an excited phone call from my niece this week. In this age of email and instant everything, I took a little different tack for her birthday. I used the good, old-fashioned U.S. Postal Service to send her a birthday greeting card with a little something “extra” in it. No, not money.

I sent her a Growing Expressions seed card that I picked up at Natural Choices in Columbus, Indiana. She followed the directions, soaking and planting the card in a sunny spot in her yard, and with all the spring warmth and rain lately, the wildflowers seeds embedded in the handmade paper were coming up.

You know, it’s a small gift that keeps on giving – and could for years to come! I mean, if she collects the seeds from the flowers this summer and plants them next year, well, she will be reminded that I took the time to think of her as time passes. Some of the seeds in the cards are perennials so she won’t even have to collect those seeds for them to come back next year. In any event, every time she sees them, she’s going to think of someone who cares about her.

It’s a beautiful sentiment and the cards are equally as beautiful.

Having these cards available at Natural Choices makes it an easy shop when I’m already there getting the fresh, organic produce, gluten-free snacks or herbal supplements. That just makes me realize that Natural Choices isn’t just an organic or natural food store, it is my home store! Food, cleaning supplies, pet supplies, make-up, garden supplies, first aid supplies – I can even find resource books and cookbooks there. Stop in and just peruse the offerings, you’ll be inspired, I’m sure!

–Ellie of the Natural Choices Blog Team

Natural choices shouldn’t be called a health food store, it’s a healthy living store!!