Hot tips for a healthy July: avoid grilling dangers, chill out by watching fireflies, and more - Natural to-do list: fresh ideas for you

[check] Light Your Fire Right

Instead of lighter fluid, use a charcoal chimney starter, available at home improvement stores for $10 to $15. This aluminum cylinder with a handle requires just a match and crumpled paper to get charcoal glowing. You should avoid lighter fluid because it emits toxic fumes that can cause breathing difficulty. Fill the chimney with hardwood lump charcoal Instead of charcoal briquettes, which often contain harmful additives.

[check] Check Out Nature's Special Effects

If you think fireworks occur only on the Fourth of July, step outside between dusk and midnight. You may see three to five of the nearly 1,900 known species of fireflies, which are especially active in July. Look carefully, as firefly species flash a variety of colors, including blue-green, yellow, and amber. You're most likely to spot them in open fields, in wooded areas, and around water. You can even find them in urban parks. If you live west of the Rocky Mountains, however, you'll have to plan a trip east to witness nature's fireworks. Lightning bugs only live east of the Rockies and are most common in states east and south of Illinois.

[check] Dive into Your Workout

You don't have to pound the pavement to get a great cardiovascular workout. Swimming laps just 30 minutes a day three days a week can strengthen your heart and improve your lung function, says Daniel Frankl, Ph.D., a sports psychologist at California State University in Los Angeles. Any stroke will raise your heart rate, but if you have knee problems, avoid the breast stroke because it can aggravate your knees. Freestyle swimming is the least taxing on all your Joints. If you need gear to get excited about exercise, try wearing goggles and flippers or use a kickboard.

[check] Slip into Safe Sheets

You spend about 25 years of your life snuggled in your sheets. That's why health experts recommend avoiding sheets with "permanent press" or "no iron" instructions on the label. To ban wrinkles, manufacturers treat these linens with formaldehyde, a chemical researchers have linked to insomnia, headaches, and even cancer, opt for organic cotton, cotton Jersey, linen, or flannel sheets Instead--they are never treated with formaldehyde. If you've been sleeping in wrinkle-free sheets for years, don't treat them like toxic waste. Most formaldehyde eventually washes out. Just buy safe sheets from now on.

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