A couple of weeks ago I noticed that my skin was really dry. We’ve had some uncharacteristically cold weather around Atlanta this year. Cold, dry air + artificial heat = dry skin.

I took two steps to clear up my dry skin problem: I started drinking more filtered water (including a full glass after breakfast), and I started taking one of my girlfriend’s fish oil supplements with that glass of water. Fish oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids that contribute to skin health.

And, as Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com recently explained, clean water is essential for skin health, too: “Far too many consumers are chronically dehydrated, and as a result they suffer systemic dehydration of their skin, which makes it look older, more wrinkled and less smooth. Drinking adequate water is crucial for supporting your skin health, but you’ve got to drink clean water to accomplish this, not tap water.

“The cleanest water, of course, is natural spring water. If you’re lucky enough to live near a spring, bottle up your drinking water from it (test it for contamination first, of course), and consume that. Don’t buy bottled water as it creates a mountain of waste (plastic bottles). Furthermore, the Bisphenol-A in the plastic bottles has been proven so toxic that it was recently banned from baby bottles in Canada.

“So what’s the next best choice for your drinking water? Bottle your own. Get yourself an Aquasana water filter, which is, in my view, the No. 1 consumer water filter on the market today.”

Great info, Mike! We here at Ambrosia Water Filters agree that the Aquasana water filter is the best value for home water filters.

Shower water filters also help dry skin by removing chlorine and other irritating chemicals from water. If you’ve ever spent a few hours in a chlorinated swimming pool, then you know how badly chlorine can dry out the skin!

Other tips for skin health in the winter:

Use warm water instead of hot water in the shower. Hot water tends to dry out the skin. As soon as you get out of the shower, apply natural skin lotion; this will seal in the moisture.

You may want to consider getting a humidifier, too. Humidifiers restore moisture to dry air. If you get a humidifier, be sure to use filtered water or distilled water. If you use regular tap water, the humidifier will produce a mist that contains tap water contaminants.

Today I venture outside the realm of home water filters to explore an interesting phenomenon dubbed the Avatar blues.

First of all, if you haven’t seen the movie Avatar yet, I urge you to go see it. This is one movie you’ll want to see in the theater.

If you’ve already seen the movie, you may (or may not) be surprised to learn that many viewers are leaving the theater feeling sad, depressed, and even suicidal. CNN reported on the Avatar blues recently and published several comments from fan forum sites.

“I wasn’t depressed myself. In fact the movie made me happy,” said Philippe Baghdassarian. “But I can understand why it made people depressed. The movie was so beautiful and it showed something we don’t have here on Earth. I think people saw we could be living in a completely different world and that caused them to be depressed.”

As CNN describes it, “the world of Pandora is reminiscent of a prehistoric fantasyland, filled with dinosaur-like creatures mixed with the kinds of fauna you may find in the deep reaches of the ocean. Compared with life on Earth, Pandora is a beautiful, glowing utopia.”

Indeed, the 3D film shows us the majestic beauty of floating mountains and allows us to sense the serenity of a forest glowing with bioluminescence.

“I was depressed because I really wanted to live in Pandora, which seemed like such a perfect place,” wrote Ivar Hill of Sweden. “But I was also depressed and disgusted with the sight of our world, what we have done to Earth. I so much wanted to escape reality.”

I would like to suggest that maybe we don’t need to escape reality; maybe we simply need to dive into reality and truly experience it. It can be easy to lose touch with reality – with nature – when we’re constantly immersed in television, twitter, and facebook.

Do you remember the scene in Avatar in which Sam first walks outside in his avatar body? He runs barefoot, elated, and his toes kick up dirt. When was the last time you ran barefoot and felt the soil between your toes?

Pandora is not just a fantasy world of unreal beauty. It is a reflection of the beautiful, real world in which we currently live. In fact, those floating mountains were inspired by the Huang Shan Mountains in China. And if you travel deep into the Southern Appalachian Mountains, far away from all artificial lights, you’ll see the blue-green glow of foxfire, a type of bioluminescent fungi that grows on wood.

But it’s not just the physical beauty of Pandora that makes moviegoers wish they were there. It’s the spiritual connection between the people of Pandora and their environment. The Na’vi share the same biological makeup as the other living creatures on their planet. They can even physically connect to some animals and plants through the neural tendrils at the tips of their hair braids. The Na’vi respect each other, all forms of life, and their environment. They recognize that their environment is part of their identity.

Actor Stephen Lang (who plays Colonel Miles Quaritch in the film), commented, “Pandora is a pristine world, and there is the synergy between all of the creatures of the planet, and I think that strikes a deep chord within people. That has a wishfulness and a wistfulness to it.”

“Ever since I went to see Avatar I have been depressed,” wrote a forum user named Mike. “Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it. I even contemplate suicide, thinking that if I do it, I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora.”

I have a message for you, Mike: You are already living in a world similar to Pandora! No need to off yourself. The beauty of nature is all around you, but you have to make an effort to experience it. You cannot experience the beauty of foxfire by downloading images on firefox. It’s just not the same. You’ve got to get your feet dirty.

Furthermore, we humans are similar to the Na’vi. Okay, so we can’t physically connect with others via neural tendrils, but we have an amazing bundle of nerves in our cranium that allows us to connect with others through empathy, compassion, humor, and love.

I think that the Na’vi show us, as a society, what we might have been like in the past and who we might become in the future. Will we continue to disregard our spiritual connection to our environment? Will we continue to poison our planet and our bodies? Perhaps we will realize that we can have our own Pandora here on Earth by respecting all forms of life – focusing on what we share rather than how we are different – by living with purpose, and by experiencing the beauty all around us.

Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com recently wrote about what he calls the FDA’s “conspiracy of silence to avoid admitting that BPA is dangerous for human health.”

In the article, Adams points out that the FDA has ignored over 100 studies which show that BPA is dangerous. FDA conclusions about the safety of BPA are based on just two studies that were funded by the chemical industry.

“That’s how the FDA operates across the board,” Adams explains. “Ignore all the science you don’t like, and cherry-pick the science you want to believe, even if it’s all been funded by the chemical companies.”

Unfortunately, we Americans are bombarded by dangerous chemicals until they are proven to be dangerous. It seems like chemicals would be banned from use until they are proven safe. However, as Adams points out, such a position would drastically reduce profits for chemical companies.

Thanks to health advocates like Mike Adams, the BPA conspiracy won’t be able to continue for much longer. Too many regular folks are learning about the studies which show that BPA is a dangerous endocrine disruptor associated with cancer, diabetes, developmental problems, and other health problems.

BPA, or bisphenol-A, is a chemical that makes plastics more durable. It can be found in water bottles, baby bottles, aluminum food cans (in the lining), and other food containers, as well as other products like DVDs.

Kelly Wallace from CBS News recently showed that the BPA levels in her blood spiked to five times the average level after she ate a single sandwich made from canned tuna.

Consumer awareness about the dangers of BPA is creating change. For example, many baby bottle manufacturers have stopped using BPA in baby bottles. And many stores now offer BPA-free products.

When it comes to protecting the public from dangerous synthetic chemicals, your choices as a consumer are even more powerful than your choices as a voter. The political process is often slow and cumbersome, but when consumers demand change and speak through their consumer choices, change can occur rapidly.

Here’s how you can help to end the BPA conspiracy:

Stop buying canned food products. Eat fresh food; it’s better for you! You can also buy some products (like marinara sauce) in glass jars instead of cans lined with BPA.

Avoid food that comes in plastic containers. Again, whole foods are better than processed foods. Also, never microwave plastic containers.

Stop drinking bottled water. Plastic water bottles pollute your body and the environment. Instigate change by switching to reusable glass water bottles and stainless steel bottles. (By the Way, Mike Adams recently featured our glass water bottles in his 2010 New Year Health Product Guide!) Avoid aluminum water bottles because they are lined with plastic. For convenient, cost-effective access to healthy, safe water, invest in a home water filter and bottle your own water at home.

Choose glass baby bottles rather than plastic bottles. Even “BPA-free” may be contaminated, and BPA is not the only chemical in plastic. You can buy protective covers for glass baby bottles to keep the glass from breaking.

Replace conventional office water coolers with eco-friendly bottleless water coolers. Bottle-less water coolers provide a never-ending supply of healthy water. By switching to a bottleless office water cooler, you’ll save money and eliminate the need for regular deliveries of plastic water jugs.

Happy New Year! The year 2010 has started with a bang here at AmbrosiaWaterFilters.com.

We’re proud to report that the “Health Ranger” Mike Adams featured our Aquasana glass water bottles in his 2010 New Year’s Health Product Discount Guide at NaturalNews.com.

We’re big fans of Mike Adams here at AmbrosiaWaterFilters.com, and we’re honored that Mike is a fan of our products!

Here’s the description in the NaturalNews.com product guide:

These stylish glass water bottles come in a pack of 6. Each reusable bottle holds 25.4 ounces of water. At only $3.99 each, these Aquasana bottles are a real bargain! Think about it: you pay nearly as much for disposable plastic bottles that pollute your body and the environment. When you invest in reusable glass bottles, you never have to throw them away, and you can rest assured that you’re drinking chemical-free water.