Posts Tagged ‘Health’

National Women’s Health and Fitness Day is observed on the last Wednesday of September.

It is organized by the Health Information Resource Center and the purpose is to encourage women of all ages to develop healthy habits.

Events take place all over the country in locations such as schools, churches, community centers, and health clubs.  Activities vary by location and can include exercise demonstrations, health screenings, seminars, etc.

This year 40,000 – 100,000 women are expected to participate in National Women’s Health And Fitness Day across the country.  For more information, go to

http://www.fitnessday.com/women/index.htm

Will this kill you?

Recently I saw an alarming video clip from the Today show.  The people being interviewed talked about all the horrible, dangerous, bacteria-laden filth that covers our floors.  They made it sound as if you dropped a Cheerio on your floor, then picked it up and popped it in your mouth, you would keel over dead in a matter of seconds!

People!  Stop and think! Since elementary school science class you have known that there are germs everywhere.  Not only germs on the floor but germs in the air, in the water, on your table, in your bed.  We live surrounded by them, even covered in them, every day!  I’m grossed out every time I see that commercial about how your mattress doubles in weight because of all the dust mite carcasses that collect there!

But be honest.  You have to admit that, at least once in your life, you have eaten something off the floor. Maybe you dropped a Frito or an Oreo….

Anyway, what happened when you ate it? Chances are, if you’re reading this, you didn’t die.  Did you have to call 911?  Did you have to take to your bed for several days?  Did you have even one tiny symptom of illness from eating that food off the floor?  Most likely, the answer is NOTHING happened!

Have you ever personally know someone who got sick or died from eating something off the floor?  Probably not.

In fact, have you ever seen a news story about someone who died as a result of floor-eating? I haven’t.

Now, I’m not saying that floors are sterile and we should eat entire meals off them.  I’m not saying that you should allow your child to lick the floor.  And there are some people with compromised  immune systems who have to be much more cautious than the rest of us.

What I’m trying to say is you should apply your own personal knowledge base to a situation before panicking  over alarmist stories you see on TV.  After all, television is in the entertainment business, and stories with a disgusting factor are big sellers.

I once saw a documentary about all the micro-organisms that live on your skin.  It made me feel itchy for days picturing all those critters slithering and crawling all over me. But, when I breast fed my baby, I didn’t dip my boobies in boiling water or pour bleach on them!  Children have been nursing for generations and I’ve never heard of a single one who was killed by breast bacteria!

I suggest coming up with a list of floor eating rules that are within your tolerance level.  Here’s my list:

1. Don’t eat mushy food that has to be scraped up off the floor (mashed potatoes, custard, etc.)
2. Don’t eat off floors in public places.  I used to teach high school and would not even walk barefoot there!
3. If you have guests, don’t serve them food that has touched the floor.  You can’t force your rules on others.
4. Don’t eat food off the floor if you didn’t see it being dropped.  It could have fallen from the neighbor boy’s mouth.
5. If the dropped food is protected by a colorful candy shell, you are home free!  Those suckers have magic properties and can even survive for weeks between couch cushions!

I’d love to see your comments about this post.  Please share it with your followers and friends so we can get a real discussion going!

In my last post, we talked about 5 foods that could improve your mood. Today let’s talk about how these same foods are also good for your body.

• Fruits and Vegetables Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables causes you to feel full so you eat less of the higher fat foods, thus lowering your calorie intake.  Different types of fruits and veggies have various organ protecting properties and strengthen your immune system.  So be sure to consume a variety, not just your same ones every day!
• Fish Many fish, particularly salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids which are important for heart health.  Some studies have also shown that eating fish twice a week can decrease belly fat.  Sounds good to me!
• Cereal Beginning your day with a bowl of whole grain cereal fuels up your metabolism leading to more calorie burning all day.  I know you’ve heard it before but this bears repeating:  people who skip breakfast are way more likely to be overweight than those who don’t.
• Eggs Specifically the yolk of the egg.  Egg whites contain almost no nutrition, except some protein.  Egg yolks contain calcium, iron, zinc, folate, vitamins A,  B6,  B12,  D,  E, and omega-3 fatty acids.  Eat the whole egg!
• Chocolate According to The Journal of Nutrition, indulging in just 2 ounces of dark chocolate per week could decrease your risk of heart disease by 33 percent!  It also contains more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, or green tea!  Who knew M&Ms were actually a health supplement!

When you eat these foods, you can feel good knowing that you are doing something good for your body and your brain!

Please share this post with your friends and followers – thanks!

Follow these basic rules to stay fit and healthy for life!

1. Eat only when you’re hungry. Think about it:  are you eating that pastry because you’re hungry or because someone offered you one?  Are you eating the last few bites on your child’s plate because you’re hungry or because you don’t want it to go to waste?
2. Eat healthy foods. You know the drill: lean protein, fruits & vegetables, whole grains, etc.
3. Drink plenty of plain water. You should have a minimum of 8 glasses per day to keep your body functioning properly.
4. Work out every day. At least 30 minutes a day is recommended but if you are having one of those days where you only have 10 spare minutes, at least use those 10 minutes!  Something is always better than nothing!
5. If you break any of rules 1 – 4, forget about it and move on. Don’t feel guilty and, whatever you do, don’t use a slip-up as an excuse to give up!

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Some years ago I switched myself from regular Coke to Diet Coke in order to avoid the calories. I only have one a day, but I do look forward to my 3:00 p.m cold, fizzy, pick-me-up!

I was vaguely aware that sodas somehow leached calcium from your bones and had even heard some people say they actually caused you to gain weight.  But how could that be? I admit I didn’t look very hard for the answers because I think of my diet soda as kind of a reward and didn’t want any reason to give it up!

But  now I know it’s the phosphoric acid in sodas (not just diet sodas) that messes with your thyroid gland and can slow your metabolic rate which, of course, causes your body to burn calories more slowly.

I sort of wish I didn’t know about this because now I’m forced to decide whether to give up my beloved afternoon reward or continue to drink it and know that I’m being stupid.  But, after all, ignorance isn’t bliss; ignorance is just ignorance!

So I consider it my duty to spread this sad news information to all of my loyal readers who also happen to be diet soft drink  lovers.  What will you decide? Please leave a comment.

Getting your skin ready for summer

During the winter months I get really lazy about skin care.   For example, I tend to go weeks at a time without shaving my legs. My rational is twofold: (1) my hair is very pale and doesn’t show unless you’re really close, and (2) my legs are always covered by pants or tights in the winter.  But I knew I had let shaving slide for too long when, one morning after toweling off after my shower, I could feel that static electricity feeling tickling my shins!  Rather than using conditioner on my leg hair, I broke down and shaved.

But now the first warm, sunny days are appearing and I want my skin to be healthy and ready for unwrapping.  Here are some things you can start doing now to have summer ready skin.

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! If you don’t do it already, get into the habit of moisturizing after every bath or shower.  Apply body lotion from your shoulders to your finger tips, and from your hips to your toes.  If you’ve been using a heavier cream on your face during winter’s dryness, you probably want to switch to a lighter weight lotion.

Exfoliate. When I used to live at the beach, my daily barefoot walk in the sand kept my feet smoothed and polished.  But now that I’ve moved inland I have to remember to use a loofah or exfoliating scrub.  Exfoliating the rest of your body occasionally is also a good idea, especially your elbows and knees.  Be sure to follow up with moisturizer.

Use sunscreen. Any skin that will be exposed to the sun needs to be protected.  Depending on your activity level and the length of time you’ll be outside, you might be able to get away with simply using a moisturizer containing sunscreen.  But if you’ll be swimming, sweating, or just soaking up the sun for long periods of time, you’ll need an actual dedicated sunscreen product, and you’ll need to reapply it regularly.

Hydrate! Drinking plenty of water moisturizes your skin from the inside out!  Staying hydrated also helps protect you from heat stroke.