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One of my husband's favorite TV series is "Monk", with that germa-phobe, or however you spell that, detective, Adrianne Monk. His nurse, Natalie, has to keep a supply of wipes with her so he can clean his hands after he touches....almost anything!
Maybe we don't have to go to the extremes Monk does, but it sure isn't a bad idea to be a little conscious of where your hands go, and wash them regularly, to keep yourself healthy. They say it's right up there at the top of the list of things you can do to maintain health.
I get rather Monk-ish myself when I'm in a public place. After I wash my hands, the last thing I want to do is reach down and turn off the faucet with my bare hands, so I grab a paper towel, dry my hands then use the paper towel when I turn off the faucet, and use it to open the door before I toss it. Is that extreme? I don't think so. I also have some antibacterial hand sanitizer in my pocket book all the time. And at the office, since others use my phone at times, I occasionally wipe the phone off with an antiseptic wipe, like the ones Lysol makes. Okay, now am I being extreme? I hope not :-)
Stay healthy this year, and be sure to wash your hands!
As I look ahead to next week when I'll officially reach the age of 56! (No, that's not me in the picture to the right :-) Studies and articles like the one I read today really ring true. I used to work from home all the time, so could get up and move, sit and work, get up and move, etc. For the past year, I've worked outside the home, and it's a desk job...part time, but still, and then when I work on the 'puter, I'm sitting. Ugh! Things really have to change, and they will very soon, as my office job ends at the end of December! Yipee!
Enjoy the following article:
When it comes to living longer, a new study suggests that physical activity is more important than weight as we age. Ideally, all of us should be both slim and active, but this new study is a “light at the end of the tunnel” for so many who struggle with their weight as they age.
Exercise expert Steven Blair of the University of South Carolina and colleagues tracked about 2,600 people age 60 and up, examining how physical fitness and body fat affected their death rates over 12 years. The study results are published in the December, 2007, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In short, the men and women who were fit, as judged by a treadmill test, but were overweight or obese had a lower mortality risk than those of normal weight but low fitness levels.
Those in the lowest fifth in terms of fitness had a death rate four times higher than participants ranked in the top fifth for fitness. The study showed that even a modest effort to improve physical activity can provide health benefits and lower mortality risk significantly.
The findings are particularly relevant as people in the United States and many other countries live increasingly sedentary lifestyles and obesity rates remain high. At the same time, the populations are aging in many nations.
"If you're obese and unfit and you start taking three 10-minute walks a day and you do that at least five days a week, you're not going to lose an enormous amount of weight; you’re going to still be heavy. But you're going to be much healthier if you do that," Blair said. Blair also stressed the importance of a healthful diet including lots of fruit, vegetables and whole grains.
Article brought to you by Wholefood Farmacy, where foods are rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and – they are the perfect food to snack on before, during and after taking your walk!
My son has been taking some pictures on our property, and he's a quiet type, so it took a bit before I discovered some of his photos doing a screen-saver "Slide Show" on his computer. I asked him about it, and he told me he had uploaded them all to Webshots. So, off I went to webshots, and downloaded the following.
It was taken on Thanksgiving morning, leaves were still falling off the trees at that time due to extended warm fall weather. It was a very misty morning, if you could see through the mist, you would see the lake, some houses on the other side of the lake, backed by a mountain, well, actually a beautiful large hill...my husband is from Colorado and I'm not allowed to call anything in NJ a Mountain...haha! Here's my son, Mark's picture:
Wondering how the three things in the subject heading come together?
There are some interesting new studies that show that low-fat diets many not be as beneficial to certain health conditions as originally thought.
Corn has a long list of wonderful nutrients and health benefits. As a "Jersey Girl" who loves "Jersey Corn", I was surprised to see how many.
And Garlic? Researchers have come up with some interesting new information!
Where can you find all of this? Please visit my website, page down a bit, and take a look at the food list and the health topic list, you'll find Corn in the food list, and the new information on garlic under "Garlic and Onions" on the list. Then along the left, look for the topic related to Low Fat eating.
Dr. Weil, the Medical Doctor who gives advise on Nutrition, posted an article that was a bit of a dig to those of us who have educated ourselves in the area of Nutrition. But at the same time, the article does provide some helpful information and advise. The part I didn't care that much for is the following:
Certified Nutritionist (CN) programs were launched about a decade ago for those who wanted to practice nutrition but either were unsuccessful with the RD approach or didn’t have time to commit to the educational requirements for an RD degree. Although you must pass an exam to earn certified nutritionist designation, you don’t have to complete the same coursework required for the RD degree or do an internship. Usually, the CN designation is awarded to students who have completed a two-year, college-level, six-course program, which includes studies in public health and wellness, anatomy and physiology, normal nutrition, contemporary clinical nutrition, alternative therapies, accessory nutrients, practice management and case studies. CNs hold private licenses and must also obtain continuing education to maintain them...
The description of the course of study is true, the negative spin, saying that it is "for those who wanted to practice nutrition but either were unsuccessful with the RD approach or didn’t have time to commit to the educational requirements for an RD degree" is not and is a bit insulting to someone like myself. I loved my CN training, and the reason I took it is because it provided BOTH the medical/clinical view AND the alternative approaches, including the use of medicinal herbs and such. At the time I took the courses, there were no medical institutions teaching alternative approaches to nutrition, in fact medical doctors received very minimal at best training in nutrition. I learned a lot and I continue to learn a lot even though I am no longer studying. I think it is important to know your own limitations, I know what I am able to help a person with, and what I am not able to help with. If you want to read Dr. Weil's complete article, it's right here. Maybe the sarcastic spin is just to get attention and cause discussion, I hope so.
If so, the following information may be something you need to read. I know we have red meat on occasion, and when we buy processed meats, by that I mean cold cuts, we've been trying to get the Hormel Naturals with no nitrates. Here are some studies that may interest you.
The first large scale study of red meat and processed meat consumption and its effect on cancer risk was recently completed by the U.S. Cancer Institute. The long term study followed 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 for several years, during which time about 53,000 cases of cancer occurred within the study group. For purposes of the study, red meat was defined as all types of beef, pork and lamb. Processed meat included bacon, red meat sausage, poultry sausage, luncheon meats, cold cuts, ham and most types of hot dogs including turkey dogs.
The study findings are published in the December 2007 issue of the journal Medicine from the Public Library of Science. The researchers reported that people who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats have a higher risk of several types of cancer, including lung cancer and colorectal cancer. This study was the first to show a link between meat and lung cancer. It also shows that people who eat a lot of meat have a higher risk of liver and esophageal cancer and that men raise their risk of pancreatic cancer by eating red meat.
According to Dr. Amanda Cross and her colleagues at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, "a decrease in the consumption of red and processed meat could reduce the incidence of cancer at multiple sites.” Study participants who ate the least red meat showed a 20 to 60 percent decrease in risk of esophageal, colorectal, liver, and lung cancer when compared to those who ate the most red meat.
These differences held even when smoking was accounted for. If you’re looking to decrease the amount of red meat and processed meat in your diet, Wholefood Farmacy foods offer an easy and delicious way to take that first step in a healthier direction with their unique wholefood buyers club.
Do you remember the post I did at Thanksgiving about how a place in Fort Collins, CO. was having people save their turkey fat and bring it to a central location to be added to a vat of turkey fat that was then being converted into bio-fuel to fuel trucks?
Well from the news I heard tonight this concept is now taking hold in the fast-food industry. The fats from deep frying are also being collected and converted into bio-fuels. Now this is kind of a dilemma for a nutritionist like me...it sounds good and I want to cheer them on...but couldn't we just skip the deep frying part, give the oil directly to be converted into biofuel, and preserve a few hearts and arteries along with our environment...just a thought :-)
As I update this post, I'm getting over a cold, and honey sounds good right now...I'm just about to go to bed and think I'll have me a spoonful with some added lemon juice.
Almost every spring my husband and I go to Lancaster, PA for our Anniversary in April, and each year, we stop at the same spot in Honeybrook on the way to our motel to pick up a very large jar of honey for the coming year. We then re-fill our "honey bear" as it empties. Last year we came home with raw wildflower honey from hives right on the property where we shopped. A few days ago, I received the following about the health benefits of honey, and thought you would enjoy it for yourselves and for your children.
"Many parents are concerned about the recent FDA recommendation that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines not be given to children under 6 years of age because of a lack of effectiveness and potential for side effects.
"With this recent news in mind, a team of researchers from the Penn State College of Medicine decided to put nature to the test. They tested the effectiveness of three different approaches for children who were having trouble sleeping due to a cough.
"The children in the study were given either no treatment at all, a little bit of buckwheat honey or dextromethorphan (DM), the chemical cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cold medicines. The children receiving the honey or DM took it about 30 minutes before bedtime.
"The research team found that honey was more effective in reducing the severity and frequency of nighttime cough compared with DM or no treatment at all. Honey also allowed the children to sleep better. The findings are published in the December, 2007, issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
"According to the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Ian Paul, Penn State’s director of pediatric clinical research: "Honey provided the greatest relief of symptoms compared with the other treatments. With honey, parents now have a safe and effective alternative to use for children over age 1 that have cough and cold symptoms”. Some of the children were hyperactive for a short time after being given the honey, Dr. Paul said. However, children who received honey slept better and so did their parents, he noted.
"Paul cautioned that honey should never be given to children younger than 1, because of the rare risk of infantile botulism. In addition, he noted, cough medicines that mention "honey" on the label actually contain artificial honey flavor not real honey.
"Honey has been used for centuries to treat upper respiratory infection symptoms such as cough. In addition, honey has antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, and also soothes the back of the throat.
Once again, science has proven that food really can be your medicine.
Article by The Wholefood Farmacy, the Wholefood Buyers Club.
I'm into my 2nd day of a REALLY nasty cold, I missed posting yesterday because of it, and am happy for my laptop so I can snuggle into a corner of the couch in my 'jammies and slippers, with a box of tissues close at hand, and type between blowing and sneezing. No, I don't take any over-the-counter meds to suppress my symptoms, I stopped doing that years ago, and just help the body along with the work it's doing ridding itself of the little "bugs" that are causing the problem. The colds seem to go away much more quickly that way.
I've enjoyed soothing chicken soup, click here you'll find some information and a great recipe for chicken soup at my Happy Healthy Children blog.
I've also been taking herbal combinations called Lymph Gland Cleanse and AL-J, one having natural antibiotic type properties, and the other natural decongestant properties, and trying to drink plenty of liquids.Okay, I feel a sneeze coming on! See you soon!
Some time ago I had someone contact me who was about 40 years of age and wanted to make some fairly dramatic lifestyle changes. This person was doing fairly intensive exercise program including cardio, weights, and pilates, at the gym about 5-6 days a week.
The question was whether or not it is safe to continue on this rigorous program while fasting.
Turning 40 is one of those "wake-up call" ages, I remember starting an exercise and weight loss program at that age myself.
I did suggest that it would be a good idea to cut back on any intense exercise during times of fasting so that your body can use all that energy the you would be using in exercise to cleanse and because you will not be receiving the food-energy that you need to exercise. I also suggested drinking plenty of pure water throughout the day to flush out toxins that will be released during fasting. I do have a more extensive article on fasting at my website.
Walking or other easy-going exercise shouldn't be a problem, but let your body tell you if it is too much.(Clipart courtesy of Clipartheaven.com)
One of my husband's favorite TV series is "Monk", with that germa-phobe, or however you spell that, detective, Adrianne Monk. His nurse, Natalie, has to keep a supply of wipes with her so he can clean his hands after he touches....almost anything!
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