alkaline
There’s no doubt about it: you’ve made the decision to eat healthy. The only question that remains is what exactly eating healthy means. Organic, free-range, natural, local… and alkaline? Believe it or not, that pH scale you learned all about in high school should be finding its way into your diet: it’s time to talk acid or alkaline when it comes to food.

Why You Need More Alkalizing Foods

Several diets highlight the alkaline-acid discrepancy; what it boils down to is this: most people need not worry about not having enough acidity in their diet. The vast majority of foods we eat every day are acidic: meat, cheese, dairy… all of these foods and many more are metabolized by our bodies as acidic. Including important alkaline foods in your diet involves a bit more planning.
All of which begs one all-important question: why?
Before talking about how to introduce alkaline foods into your diet, you may be asking why you should even bother. Good question, with an even better answer. A highly acidic diet lends itself to decay of the body, particularly the bones and muscles. Some studies point to the naturally high-acid diet of the Eskimo as one principal factor why this group suffers from such low bone density. In Japan, bone density is, on average, much higher; the Japanese diet naturally includes a variety ofalkaline foods.
It bears mention that many proponents of alkaline-heavy diets cite other benefits to such a diet. These include but are not limited to acid reflux and high blood acidity. While an alkaline diet has been proven to help with the former, certain recent studies have deduced that blood acidity is not affected by diet on a long-term basis. Blood, being a naturally acidic substance, self-regulates, and while a highly alkaline diet can change the pH of blood for a period of time, the effects are far from permanent.

How to Add Alkaline

At this point, you may have already started making a mental list of alkaline foods… or so you think. The acidity and alkalinity of the food in question is not always linked to the makeup of the food itself.  Lemon, for example, may taste highly acidic, but the way that it is broken down in the body is actually alkaline.
The following foods are alkaline when metabolized in the body. Including more of them in your diet is a great way to start.
  • Apples
  • Apricots
  • Alfalfa sprouts
  • Cantaloupe
  • Grapes
  • Kale
  • Lemons
  • Limes
  • Mangoes
  • Papayas
  • Passion Fruit
  • Pears
  • Pineapple
  • Raisins
  • Watermelon
Article taken from: http://www.organicauthority.com/Alkaline+Foods%3A+Are+You+Eating+Enough%3F



Financial Information
Michelle SingletaryFor job security, try something on the side

By Michelle Singletary, Published: January 31
Part 2

“Not everyone wants to be self-employed, and voluntarily leaving a job in today’s economy can
 sound as crazy as burning provisions in a famine,” she said.
This is a how-to book with a lot of useful takeaways. Palmer says the most successful side businesses
 have these characteristics:
● Low start-up costs. “As side-giggers showed me over and over again, there’s no need to spend big 
before you start earning.”
● Fits well with your full-time work and doesn’t pose a conflict, “which usually means they can be
 done on your own schedule,” she writes.
● Takes advantage of your skill set.
● The hustle is fun. It can’t be just about the money.
Don’t underestimate this last point. How many side businesses have you failed at because you didn’t 
really like the job? Do you really want to stuff envelopes or take online surveys?
Palmer says to ask yourself these questions:
● Which fields are growing?
● Which problems can I solve?
● Can I realistically get paid to do what I like?
So can you create “hybrid income” for yourself? To help you see the possibility, Palmer introduces
 you to hustling entrepreneurs who are cake bakers, home organizers and video editors. She talks
 about her own entrepreneurial venture that she operates on an e-commerce Web site.
Palmer walks you through various business issues, such as figuring out what business to create, 
finding a place to sell your goods or services, branding, marketing and making the time to do it all.
 You’ll find exercises and worksheets.
Not sure where to start? She’s got an appendix with the top 50 side gigs. She describes the jobs
 best suited for certain individuals and lists the resources needed to get started.
I also love that she lists the entrepreneurs mentioned in the book and their side businesses and how 
you can reach them. Among the side-giggers is a social-media manager who has a career blog, an instrument repairer who does voiceovers and a graphic designer who is a classical singer. What a 
lovely way to expose these entrepreneurs to more business.

One thing that drove Palmer to write the book is that many people she talked to said their side 
business helped them have peace of mind. Having the extra money and knowing you can make a 
way for yourself should you lose your main job “can feel a little more stable even in an economy 
that isn’t.”
If you missed Part 1 of this article, click on last month's blog to find it.


Commmunity News & Info








CCS SUMMIT: DESIGNING INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES THAT DELIGHT AND ENGAGE
Presented by CCS Graduate Studies
Monday, April 14, 2014
9 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
College for Creative Studies
A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education
General Motors Auditorium and Knight Foundation Gallery
 
Bringing together some of the most innovative minds in experience design, the inaugural CCS Summit explores the future of human-technology interaction - a rapidly expanding field and the focus of a new master’s program at CCS in fall 2014.
Presentations and interactions by:
  • Tesa Aragones, Senior Global Director, Nike+ Experience Design - Digital Sport at Nike
  • Lawrence Burns, Professor of Engineering Practice, University of Michigan
  • Sheryl Connelly, Global Trends and Futuring, Ford Motor Company
  • Joanne Healy, Dean of Graduate Studies, CCS
  • Mike Jbara, President of ADA, Warner Music Group
  • Jeff Voris, Director of Connected Experiences, Walt Disney Imagineering
  • Roland Yu, Founder of yU+co
To register or for more information visithttp://www.collegeforcreativestudies.edu/summit.