DIY Life

Sure, you see the logo for Marine Stewardship's Council on your local market's salmon filet, but what does it all mean? Here, we'll walk you through four popular organic food labels, why they're great for you, and what they truly mean.

CERTIFIED VEGAN:
These products contain no animal ingredients or byproducts in its manufacturing, as well as contain no ingredients that have been tested on animals.

AMERICAN HUMANE CERTIFIED:
This label contains ingredients from farm animals that engage in normal behaviors, are not caged and are raised by employed trainers.

FOOD ALLIANCE CERTIFIED:
The Food Alliance certification ensures that food producers involved in the making of the product experienced safe and fair working conditions, reduced pesticide use and conserved energy and water.

FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED:
This label is most often found on coffees and/or teas and signifies that the growers received a fair, above-market price for their goods.

Next time you're in the grocery store, look for these important labels and make a difference --- the DIY way.

I've had an extra busy week this week, and my energy just isn't cooperating. By mid-day yesterday, I was ready to throw a pillow on my laptop and call it a day. It didn't take long to realize I hadn't been eating the right foods for breakfast (egg souffle, anyone?), and I vowed to eat healthier next week.

But how can you focus on health when you're strapped for time? Doesn't healthy food take eons to prepare? Not necessarily. Here are my top five favorite health foods that are quick, convenient, and most of all --- delicious:

1. Banana Oat Bran Muffins
You can find the health-conscious recipe right here, and I'd suggest making a batch on Sunday to last you through the week. They stay super fresh in the refrigerator, and are the perfect snack to grab-and-go on your way out the door.
For a complete breakfast... Add a banana, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and a bottle of water to go.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School recently discovered what may become the next tool against jet lag -- hunger.

Though our natural circadian rhythms typically dictate when we sleep and eat, when mice in the study were withheld food, a "secondary" rhythm took over, allowing the mice to wake up when they would normally be sleeping so that they could eat. Researchers aren't sure if these findings apply to humans or not, but they believe that if people fast before a long flight -- at least 16 hours -- they'll adjust to the time difference more quickly.

If 16 hours seems like far too long to go without a meal to you (for a method that's never been tested on humans), here are some other tips from AskMen.com to compensate for the drastic change in schedule that takes place when you cross multiple time zones. Check them out, after the break.

Summer is almost here, the season of less-is-more clothing. If you, like me, spent the winter under heavy sweaters and drinking hot cocoa, you might be spending this spring trying to get yourself in shape for hot weather wear. One of the quickest ways to lose weight and improve nutrition is to drop the junk food. But that is often easier said than done.

Daily soda habits, fast food lunches, and chronic snacking in the late afternoon may have become ingrained habits, a part of your life that will require more than willpower to change. Most health experts agree that you can't eliminate a habit. Instead, you have to replace bad habits with new, healthier versions. Some advice on exactly how to do that, after the break.

Drugstores, supermarkets, and convenience stores have aisles dedicated to products that will attempt to cure all your aches, pains, stained teeth, headaches, diarrhea, cold and flu symptoms, upset stomach...well, you get the point. Every single sick part of our body, it would seem, has a drug remedy attempting to aid in our feeling better in no time.

If you look around your home, you can probably find a cure for your aches and pains in your laundry room, kitchen cabinets, and refrigerator. Prevention has 17 simple solutions for us, using everyday household items to cure our aches and pains, and the remedies are brought to us by MSNBC.com. Some of the remedies include: Drinking aloe vera gel dissolved in apple juice or water will help to get rid of bad breath; irrigating your nose with contact lens solution to relieve nasal congestion; rubbing liquid laundry detergent on a mosquito bite to help reduce irritation; massaging green tea into your scalp to help eliminate dandruff; using duct tape to get rid of a wart; and the essential 8 supplements that doctors trust to naturally fix us.

Home remedies can work just as effectively as a pill, but I think that the majority of people have turned away from home remedies, simply because it is easier to pop a pill or drink some liquid medicine than it is to actually fix themselves a cup of chamomile tea. I have had much success with acidophilus, chamomile tea, oatmeal, honey, and green tea. The next time you get a headache or a pimple, try the items you have in your home first before you spending your money on products that may not work, because the cure may be in your spice rack.

Well, just about everyone across the country is limp and wilted from the excessive heat we've been having, and Halloween marks the beginning of the stressful year end holiday crush. It's no wonder so many people begin to feel truly flattened and wrung out this time of year. This situation is the precursor to the flu season, with colds and sinus infections beginning to raise their ugly heads as well. If you're like me though, you have one of those iron-plated immune systems which seem to rarely let any of the nasty stuff get through. However, if you're like most people, some time within the next 90 days a little unseen bug is going to make a serious mess out of you.

There are, however, several defense strategies you can employ which will help raise your body's defenses prior to any of the attacks from these annual health marauders. Please follow with me as I outline a seasonal battle strategy of health for you. These are low cost and no cost ways that you can easily take better care of yourself and make your body a little less likely to suffer the ravages of colds and the flu.

At the grocery store this weekend I noticed how many people were buying lunch box snacks. The boxes of crackers, granola bars and fruit cups were packed in carts as people were trying to get prepared for the start of school and other September busyness. While there are lots of good healthy and often inexpensive options, some people discount what they can make themselves and the goodness of having healthy snacks on hand. I've scouted out these great recipes to share with you.

Trail mix cookie bars
These are full of good stuff to fuel kids at recess or keep you going over that 3:00 hump in the day. You could replace the chocolate with yogurt coating if you prefer. Also, make sure you check with your child's school about their nut policy. Many schools are now "nut free zones".

Apple Oat bars
Another healthy and hearty snack. Keep some of these frozen so you can just grab it and go if you're in a hurry. It will be ready by the afternoon and you won't be stuck choosing something from the vending machine.

Hummus and pita
Hummus isn't just good for you, it's delicious and easy to make. If you want to keep it lower fat, replace half of the oil with a tablespoon of light peanut butter. Also, I've blended sun dried tomato in there and it adds a great flavor.

Fruit Kabobs
Children will have fun helping with this one. They can choose their favorite fruit and put it on a skewer. It's a great way to offer some variety without fussing with fruit salad in a bowl and a fork.

All of these snacks should be paired with balanced meals of course. I find homemade snacks to have much more substance than the store bought ones and often offer more nutrition. Most people aren't going to spend their evenings baking for the following day, I am definitely not, but with a little planning you can make sure you have some good snacks on hand. Double your recipes and freeze your baking too. If you're curious about how your pre-packaged snacks measure up, check out this interactive lunch box. Share some of your favorite recipes for grab and go snacks.

If you have a weight problem, most likely the problem starts in your own mind. It may seem a bit crude for me to put it in such basic terms but I'm not very good at candy coating the plain truth and the truth is, if you don't suffer from a medical condition which causes you to inexplicably gain weight, your weight problem is largely in your own hands. That means if there is a solution to your weight situation, you're the first person to consult in addressing the problem.

Try tapping your finger against your desk (tap, tap, tap). Can you explain how you did that? It's simple. Your brain took the thought of tapping and translated it into action. Your one thought moved thousands of cells consisting of muscle, bone, blood and more. The point I want to make here is that every cell in your body is undeniably subject to your brain. For successful weight reduction and maintenance, you must first employ your positively directed mind.

According to Prevention magazine, "the most popular -- and successful -- diet today is the one we make up ourselves."

I suspect they're not talking about a donut and coffee grabbed on the way into the office, a rectangle of frozen food warmed in the lunchroom microwave, and a pizza ordered in at dinnertime and enjoyed with a chilled beer or two. I'm sure that's a popular eating plan, but I doubt it rates as successful unless we're measuring in terms of how realistically we can relive our bachelor days.

No, these guys are talking weight loss, and how to personalize nutritional lore to meet your own specific needs. To that end, they present informed, practical suggestions on how to devise your own diet consisting of healthy eating habits that will stick.

Not all of their recommendations will work for every person, but the idea is you take what suits you and leave what doesn't. So even if sticking gold stars in your diet journal for every serving of veggies isn't exactly something you find motivating, maybe their suggestion to "picture your plate as a clock and limit your carbs to the space between noon and 3 pm" is precisely the kind of portion-control advice that will work for you.

The central premise is that you're more likely to stick to a diet and reach your weight-loss goals if you adapt the rules to fit your life, as opposed to adapting your life to fit a set of rules. Makes sense to me, but have a look for yourself and tell me what you think.

Acid reflux is a nasty health condition which many people suffer from. I personally don't have the affliction but I have friends who do. Acid reflux is the upward passage of digestive acids past the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) and back into the esophagus. The resulting symptoms can range from fairly mild burning to moderately severe pain. Over time, acid reflux will even damage the interior of the esophagus.

I have discovered a recurring theme when I talk to my friends about their acid reflux troubles. It seems that most of them have found significant relief with simple changes in diet and eating habits. I happened upon an article which reminded me about what my friends have said helps their acid reflux discomfort. The article by Joe Barton reaffirms that you can probably relieve some of those symptoms yourself.

First, there are some simple changes you can make before you actually change your food choices at all. Make sure that you're hungry before you eat, don't eat just because it's time to. Take reasonable portions, be relaxed about eating your food and always chew a bit more than you think you need to. It's also a good idea to drink some water along with your meals.