Thrifty Living: Bobble Bottle

Hello!

A little while ago I posted about water bottles and why it's important that you think about how you consume water. Last week, I made a step towards a healthier Hannah by investing in a Bobble water bottle.

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Why, you ask? Well, these clever little bottles filter the water as you drink it! This is a very reassuring thing for anyone who has seen London tap water in a glass (bleurgh!). It only cost me £8.99 and the carbon filter works while you sip. All you have to do is replace the filter after every 300 drinks.

Worried that it's in a plastic bottle? Don't! It's free of all those nasty toxins so it's perfectly healthy.

Lovely clean water :)

Hannah xo

Thrifty Living: Water Bottled!

Buying bottled water on a regular basis? Yes? Stop and step away from the chilled drinks section! I'm here to tell you three good reasons why you shouldn't drink bottled water. Here goes...

1) Think about how much you spend each time you buy a bottle. I've been spending anything from 36p to £1.57 on a bottle of water, depending on where I am when I need one. Factor in a few bottles a week and it quickly adds up!

2) Every time you buy a bottle of water, you're buying a plastic bottle. A plastic bottle. What a waste! Although many of us have taken up recycling, the vast majority of people do not recycle effectively. This leads to environmental destruction, not to mention tragedy for many species of wildlife. For more information on this subject please take a look at 5 Gyres. It's certainly an eye-opener!

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3) Here's a shocking truth I was informed of recently: bottled water is bad for your health! Well, more specifically the plastic bottle is. The plastic contains a chemical element called antimony which leaches into the water from the plastic over time. So what? Well, in small doses, antimony can cause depression or an ill-feeling. But in high doses it can cause violent vomiting and even death. We are dealing with low doses here though people so don't panic! The concern is around the long expiration dates of bottled water; the longer the water stays in the bottle, the more antimony can leach into the water.

So, there you have it. Bottled water = bad news! So what now? I just purchased an aluminium water bottle. It saves me money, I'm not contributing to the plastic bottle phenomenon and no more antimony for me! Plus it's kinda sweet :)

My shiny new water bottle

Health Kick: Hot Lemon Water

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Lately I've been hearing many positive things about having a cup of hot water and a slice of lemon first thing in the morning. So, I decided to try it for myself and build it into my daily morning routine! This sounds easy, except the first thing I crave in the morning is a cup of tea and a spoonful of sugar... And as I'm usually not really awake at that point, I have a hard time reaching for anything other than the teabags. So I decided to list the benefits I've heard about here, hopefully they'll creep into my subconsciousness :)

• Lemons are packed with vitamin C, which just so happens to be one of the first casualties of stress. Hot lemon water will help build up those C levels again ready for whatever the day decides to throw at you. 
• Vitamin C also boosts your immune system, helping you to ward off cold and flu. 
• Lemons contain potassium, important in controlling blood pressure and encouraging brain and nerve function. 
• Pectin fibre helps fight hunger cravings, aiding in weight loss. Lemons are full of it. 
• Vitamin C has skin-cleansing properties and is said to decrease wrinkles and blemishes. It also clears toxins from the blood. In fact, lemon juice can be directly applied to scars to reduce their appearance. 
• Helps cleanse the body of unwanted materials and aids the liver in making bile which is needed for digestion. 
• Lemons help to balance the body's overall acidity, they are very much an alkaline fruit.
• It is a breath freshener and can help in relieving tooth ache and gum disease.
• It will save you from drinking at least one cup of coffee each day ;)
• .... And it helps remove coffee stains from mugs!

And so I have stated my case in favour of hot water and lemon! However, there is one thing to be weary of when starting this new routine of mine... Lemon juice is very good at eroding tooth enamel so it is very important that you brush your teeth after drinking your lemon!

So boil your water, slice a lemon and squeeze the slice into your mug. Drop the slice in and fill with hot water and voila! You have yourself a great kick-start for the day :)

Hannah xo