The Boomer Shopper is not your typical "shopping" site - but of course, there is nothing "typical" about being a Boomer so it fits nicely!

Here we help you learn about and find both the ways and means to go back to our youthful roots of environmentalism. We make living Boomergreen personal, practical, and positive.

Intended for all, not just some of us, The Boomer Shopper provides information & links to products or services that bring big benefits to your life, the planet, and our overall well-being. 

We also throw in some general wellness tips along the way, since health is what this site is all about.  As you go through the site, we hope you'll agree that we've achieved our purpose, and that you enjoy your stay here.

This Months Top 5 Living Well Tips

1. Reeeally Fresh fish: Buy fish caught in an environmentally responsible manner. This culinary practice can help keep the marine ecosystem healthy, without compromising the freshness and taste of your meal.  And DO NOT eat farmed fish.  According to David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, nature didn’t intend for fish, and particularly salmon, to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed fish is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT
2. Cars: If you're in the market for a car, choose the one in your class with the highest fuel efficiency rating. Besides saving money at the pump, you are also living our legacy - we started the environmental movement and this is a wonderful way to live it. 
   
   Oh, and while you're at it, check the air/nitrogen in your tires once a month. Properly inflating your tires improves your gas mileage. Underinflated tires, besides being a safety hazard, waste more than two million gallons of gasoline a day.
3. All Natural Products: Hopefully you stopped using chemical-based home/cleaning/personal products years ago - if you haven't as yet, those chemicals are contributing to your allergies/asthma/early aging/joint pain & more.  Not to mention what they do to our water and air.  And contrary to what Madison Avenue tells you, they are no more powerful than today's natural alternatives, but they are very toxic (home products of levels of dangerous chemicals in them that would not be permitted by OSHA in a workplace, but because home products are unregulated, they can easily get away with this).
   
   If you do buy natural, doing so at a bricks/mortar store is a huge carbon foot-print (think energy used for manufacture, middle-men, store maintenance, transport to store & your transport to/from store).  Instead, there's quite a few very high quality places on-line with all the variety of the store (OK, without the perishables...no doubt better that way...) and often at a lower cost.  Carbon foot-print: manufacture & transport to your door...period.
4. Around the house: Remember our parents saying "turn off that light...wadaya think, we own stock in the electric company???" (as it turns out, my father did own stock in the electric company...you'd think he would've wanted us going around the house turning lights on...).  Well, as with so many things we perhaps didn't appreciate then but do now, turning lights on only while needed, and turning them off when not, can literally save you hundreds of dollars a year, more if you switch to fluorescent bulbs (that also contribute to cutting greenhouse gas emissions; according to the EPA, a new compact fluorescent bulb uses 75% less energy than a standard incandescent and generally lasts 10 times as long).  
   
   Also, reduce your purchases of disposable and overpackaged items or reuse more of what you already have. Doing this prevents waste, saves you money, and is far easier in the long run from all that extra shopping that rampant disposal requires.
5. Dining out: There are places that are "boomer-friendly" and those that clearly aren't, and when you frequent those that are, you will not only have a much more enjoyable experience, but you will see more such places popping up in your area because you made the ones already in existence very successful.  Places with great accoustics so you don't have to SHOUT, that have lots of tasty but healthy menu options, that don't gouge you for good glass of wine, and have knowledgable staff (preferably over the age of 15...). 
   
   This, by the way, applies to all your entertainment/relaxation venue options, that you stop going to places just because they're there but really aren't pleasant, and start frequenting those right for us.  Finally, let your venues know what you like and don't like...they can't take good care of you if you don't inform them.

Now onto the things we can fully recommend for your Healthy-living shopping pleasure!

Aromawear We'll explain this product using their words: "...we have proof of the benefits of aromatherapy, 'the art and science of utilizing naturally extracted aromatic essences from plants to induce relaxation, increase energy, and restore lost balance to mind, body and soul.' With over 300 natural essential oils and countless fabulous blends available today, choose the one that will deliver the benefits you need." Very cool...very Boomer, and very effective.  A unique collection of jewelry and accessories that integrates essential oils with elegant jewelry design in sterling silver and 18 karat gold vermeil.   (click on the pic to go to the website)

Nature’s Inventory Organic Wellness Oils These are oils formulated for a variety of health conditions and symptoms.  They are 100% natural blends of therapeutic strength essential oils mixed with a base carrier oil of organic jojoba oil.  All products are safe, do not have dangerous side effects, and are certified vegan. Some of their biggest sellers include: Night Time Leg Calm for Restless Leg Syndrome, Back Soothe, Mega Headache, Sleep Aid, Breast Support, Bowel Balance, and Joint Support. These Wellness Oils are specially formulated for topical application and designed to address physical and emotional needs.  They offer over 100 products including a full line for women, men, children, babies, and pets. (click the pic to go to their website)

ONLY NATURAL PET STORE This is a leading retailer of natural pet supplies for dogs and cats. We Boomers are passionate about our pets and concerned about their health, we natural products for them is as important as natural products for ourselves. They offer thousands of products from all the leading manufacturers of natural pet care products, including vitamins, supplements, medicine, food, treats, chews, bones, flea control products, grooming supplies, litter, cleaning supplies, and much more. They also offer many hard to find products like organic food and treats, herbal remedies, homeopathy, raw food, flower essences, and natural flea control products. (click the pic to go to their website)

ReNew Life ReNew Life is the top natural digestive care company in the nation. They have been in business since 1997 and their products have won multiple Vity Awards. They also dominate the cleansing and detoxification category in health food stores like GNC and Vitamin Shoppe – CleanseSMART has been voted top cleansing product six years in a row. They also lead the probiotics category, particularly with their Ultimate Flora products, considered the most potent and effective available anywhere. ReNew Life Founder and Formulator Brenda Watson C.N.C, and Medical Director Dr. Leonard Smith bring more than 50 years of combined experience to the ReNew Life Formulas Clinical Advisory Board.  This group is very impressive. (click on the pic to go to their website)