Photo courtesy: StatePoint

Courtesy of StatePoint

When you feel strong, nothing can hold you back. From building your muscles to strengthening your mind and conditioning your body, every day you strive towards looking and feeling healthy in the truest sense.

Here are some tips that will help to improve your long-term health.

Amp Up Your Workout:

Don’t let your workout routine get stale. Mix up your regularly scheduled program to work different muscles and ward off workout boredom.

Take time to regularly evaluate your fitness regimen and make sure you’re spending enough time on improving your endurance, strength and flexibility.

For instance, training for a big race? Shave a few miles from your long run and supplement it with a bike ride. And, switch up non-cardio days with a barre, yoga or Pilates class.

Also, don’t forget to carve out time to warm up with dynamic stretches before your workout and deep stretches afterward. Get out a foam roller to stretch and massage your muscles to keep them limber. Using a foam roller will help to increase the range in motion of your muscles, which can help prevent injuries during future workouts.

Smile With Strength:

Oral health is an essential part of staying healthy in the long-term. Strengthening and repairing your enamel from everyday wear and tear can be part of your daily personal health routine.

Similar to how moisturizing lotions and conditioners replenish skin and hair, by brushing with toothpaste such as Colgate Enamel Health Mineral Repair Toothpaste twice daily, you can help strengthen weakened enamel by replenishing it with vital minerals. This toothpaste replenishes natural calcium and other minerals back into weakened enamel, for stronger, healthy enamel. More information about Enamel Health toothpaste can be found at colgateenamelhealth.com.

Fuel Your Body:

Give your body the fuel and energy it needs to keep you strong and healthy.

Start each morning with a breakfast full of nutrients and protein to set a good tone for the rest of the day. Make your mornings easier with simple tricks like preparing overnight oats the night before so you have no excuses to skip this crucial meal.

Stick to a healthy eating plan with meal planning. Prepare as many lunches and dinners for the week as you can on Sunday, before work and family obligations get in the way.

Look to fill those meals with a balance of lean meats and proteins, legumes, fruits and vegetables, and healthy grains like brown rice and quinoa.

A healthy balanced diet will improve your energy level throughout the day and during workouts. You should also make sure that you are hydrating post-workout with water, or for an extra hydration boost, try coconut water.

When you amp up these aspects of your overall routine your body will feel the difference and you will see the difference. Follow these tips and you will feel stronger than ever.

Photo courtesy: Google Images

By Amy Movius, MD
Too much sitting is seriously bad for your health. The sobering fact is that prolonged sitting shortens lifespan. Compounding this unsettling truth is that we live in a world where prolonged sitting is encouraged, or even mandated. We sit when we commute, when we need to do anything at a desk (think work and school), and very often when we have free time – we sit or recline while watching TV. The average person in the US sits over 9 hours a day!
Sitting – like smoking – is an independent health risk factor. This means that it is as bad for athletes or fit people who otherwise sit a lot as it is for non-exercisers. Another way to think about it is this: exercising for an hour a day or being a normal weight doesn’t “protect” you from sitting. Research has found that active people can be just as sedentary as a typical “couch potato” when not engaged in exercise. Even the highest level of exercisers did not have decreased sitting time. Ironically there is some evidence that regular exercisers may put less effort into non-exercise activity than people who don’t exercise at all. One article termed these individuals “active couch potatoes.” Unless you have a job that requires you to move around, chances are you are sitting too much regardless of how regularly you go to the gym.
The negative health effects associated with sitting include heart disease, diabetes, cancer and depression. It is also associated with shorter lifespan from “all causes.” A study published in February 2016 found that every extra hour spent sitting was associated with an increased risk of diabetes, independent of high intensity exercise. The mechanism by which sitting does such harm isn’t clear.
Fortunately, it is much easier to counter the effects of prolonged sitting than it is to quit smoking.  Here are some tips to help you get healthier:

1. Take standing or walking breaks from sitting every hour; just 1-3 minutes seems to be protective. Reminding yourself with timers or alarms can be helpful and there are several apps available for this as well. If you can’t stand up, at least change your position frequently.
2. Stand when you don’t have to sit at work – such as when having a conversation with a coworker or talking on the phone.
3. When watching TV, stand up whenever the commercials are on.
4. Use standing desks if available.
5. For encouragement, remember that merely standing uses 30% more calories than sitting, and that can really add up.

So whether you’re a jock, a bookworm, a knitter, or an executive – stand up for yourself!  Maybe take a short walk while you’re at it!

Photo courtesy: Google Images

What’s the best produce to buy?

Courtesy of Food Network

Spring is finally here! And with it, fresh, locally grown produce is starting to return to farmers markets that have peddled root vegetables all winter. But how do frozen and canned rank? Are they always inferior to the fresh stuff? Let’s break it down.

Fresh, uncooked produce tends to be highest in the nutrients that break down or get leached out with heat (especially water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C). Many nutrients in produce are also highest at the moment the fruits or vegetables are picked and then start to degrade with time — so if it’s fresh but has been shipped a long distance and takes a week or more to get to the supermarket, it’s probably not bursting with nutrients. The same is true if you buy a picked-that-morning lettuce from your farmers market and then let it sit in your fridge for several days.

Canned produce is cooked as part of the canning process, so it’s often lower in water-soluble vitamins. On the other hand, some vitamins get intensified by cooking — canned peas, for instance, have three times the vitamin A of fresh, uncooked peas. Most canned vegetables have salt added, although you can sometimes find “no salt added” varieties (typically for an up charge). Canned fruit can be canned in fruit juice or in syrup — syrup adds a lot of extra sugar that’s not good for you.

Frozen produce is frozen soon after picking, so a lot of the nutrients are locked in. And, since it stays frozen until you’re ready to use it, it’s often a better bet nutritionally than those fresh peas you bought last week and meant to use but didn’t. However, the texture is definitely compromised, and so it works better in some dishes than in others — you can’t use frozen spinach in a spinach salad, for instance.

Your diet should include a variety of fruits and vegetables. Explore your supermarket and see what new foods await you!

Courtesy of Natural News

Many Americans do not understand the importance of magnesium in the same way they understand calcium or iron, for instance. Nonetheless, adequate magnesium levels are crucial for brain, cardiac and muscle function and it is needed, along with silica and Vitamins D and K to promote bone health. Magnesium deficiency is more common than many people suspect, and below are 5 warning signs that could indicate a deficiency in this important mineral.

1. Ringing in the Ears or Hearing Loss
   Tinnitus, or a constant, high-pitched ringing in the ears is a common symptom of magnesium deficiency, as is hearing loss. There are have been a number of studies done on the relationship between ear health and sufficient magnesium levels. In one Chinese study, it was found that magnesium in sufficient quantities will prevent the formation of the free radicals that can lead to hearing loss. In a study at the Mayo Clinic, it was found that treating patients who had experienced hearing loss with magnesium supplementation often helped restore that loss within three months.
2. Muscle Cramps or Tremors
   Magnesium is crucial to optimum muscle function. Without it, the body would be in a state of convulsion, because it is this mineral that allows the muscles to relax. That is why, for instance, a magnesium oxide drip is used to ease women in labor and why magnesium is found in so many sleep-inducing supplements. A lack of sufficient magnesium, therefore, can lead to facial tics, muscle cramping and twitching or cramping of the feet while trying to sleep.
3. Depression
   The link between low magnesium levels and depression was understood over a century ago, when doctors would use it to treat this mental health disorder. Modern science has backed this up, with a study at a psychiatric hospital in Croatia finding that many attempted suicide patients had severely low levels of this important mineral. One advantage of magnesium over traditional antidepressants is the lack of side effects sometimes associated with these medications.
4. Abnormal Heart Function
   As previously discussed, low magnesium levels can have an effect on muscles throughout the body and this includes the heart muscles. Insufficient magnesium can induce a condition known as a cardiac arrhythmia, in which the heart fails to beat regularly and this, in turn, can cause a greater risk for complications like heart attacks and strokes. That is why, for instance, doctors at the Henry Low Heart Center in Connecticut treat their arrhythmia patients with a medication which contains magnesium.
5. Kidney Stones
   Many people believe that kidney stones are caused by an excess of calcium, but in fact it is a lack of magnesium that is the culprit. Magnesium prevents the formation of these stones by inhibiting the binding of calcium with oxalate, the two compounds which make up these stones. Kidney stones can be excruciatingly painful, so it is good to know that something as simple as magnesium supplementation can prevent them!

If experiencing any of these symptoms, consulting with a healthcare practitioner is a good idea. It is also wise to follow a diet which includes foods like okra, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, almonds, soy or black beans, cashews and spinach as these are all natural magnesium sources.

Courtesy of Food Matters

Many people realize they have a sensitivity to gluten when they eat a food containing it, because afterwards they will experience aches and pains, headaches, lethargy, irritability, acne, and digestive discomforts such as bloating or gas.
Changing to a gluten-free lifestyle can seem overwhelming, but if you’re ready to make a commitment to your health and cut gluten out of your life completely, here are some suggestions that will help:

• Roast, grill or slow cook meats to have on hand throughout the week-healthy meats are perfect to always have on hand in the fridge, pre-cooked and chopped up so you can quickly whip up a meal;
• Have plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables on hand– go to local farmers markets on the weekend and stock your fridge with fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables. You can pre-cut vegetables and store in containers- wrap them with a moist tea towel to extend the freshness. Excess fruit can be easily chopped and frozen in small ziplock bags to be added to smoothies or made into purees or jams;
• Utilize your oven and slow cooker– a slow cooker can be handy when you have little to no time to make dinner. Put your meat, veggies and stock into the slow cooker and leave it on while you’re at work, and you will come home to a dinner that only needs to be plated up. The leftovers can be eaten for breakfast or taken to work the next day;
• Use gluten-free flour alternative-keep nut and seed flours (almond, hazelnut, sunflower seed meal, etc.) on hand and store them in the freezer to extend the shelf life and deter them from going rancid. You can also use coconut, buckwheat, arrowroot, tapioca and banana flours;
• Shop smarter-Learn to navigate the supermarket aisles and aim to shop in mainly the perimeter where all the fresh foods are kept;.
• Become a label reading expert-avoid refined and processed packaged foods and stick to whole, fresh and seasonal food. If you do purchase something in a package, avoid anything with an ingredient list that looks like a chemical laboratory. Dubious ingredients you don’t recognize, more often than not, will contain gluten;
• Vary your diet-when you first begin, you may be scared to branch out and try new things. Don’t be afraid to have fun and get creative in the kitchen. The internet is brimming with healthy gluten-free meal, snack and drink inspirations;
• Stock your kitchen well-make sure you have your pantry stocked with the basics, such as turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, pepper, Himalayan salt, coconut oil, olive and nut oils, nuts, seeds, dried fruits and coconut, rice, quinoa and buckwheat. Make sure your fridge is packed and ready with basics like homemade pesto which can be added to plain meats and salads for extra flavor. Lastly, try growing a garden or a small patch where you can plant your own leafy greens and herbs;
• Become informed-if you’re a parent, you have a job to educate your children about wholesome real foods and why it is important for them to not consume food which has been manipulated, refined and overly processed. Become informed and educated about food and don’t be cajoled by advertising and marketing- many times you will find that it can be misleading.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Weil080700

Courtesy of Dr. Andrew Weil

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies that protect global and individual health, is trying to spread the word about one of its most valuable pieces of research – a Shoppers’ Guide to Pesticides in Produce. The 2015 version is based on the results of pesticide tests performed on produce and collected by federal agencies from the past nine years.
Nearly all of the data used took into account how people typically wash and prepare produce – for example, apples were washed and bananas peeled before testing. The following “Dirty Dozen Plus” had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions – or to grow them organically yourself:
• Apples
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Celery
• Spinach
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Cucumbers
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Snap Peas (Imported)
• Potatoes
• Hot Peppers
• Kale
• Collard Greens
Why should you care about pesticides? The EWG points out that there is a growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can have adverse effects on health, especially during vulnerable periods such as fetal development and childhood.
Also keep in mind that maintaining your family’s health is not the only reason to choose organic food. Pesticide and herbicide use contaminates groundwater, ruins soil structures and promotes erosion, and may be a contributor to “colony collapse disorder,” the sudden and mysterious die-off of pollinating honeybees that threatens the American food supply. Buying or growing organic food is good for the health of the planet.

Photo courtesy of Google Images

By C Doussett MPH, RDN

The vast majority of us want cut-and-dried answers. We want to know what the best supplements are, how much sleep to get, how much water to drink, the best foods to consume, how much to eat and the best time to eat, the most effective exercises and the peak times to perform them. We desire to know the “best” (optimum) and “first in order” (prime) information to make our lives productive, rewarding, and free from distracting demands. In this spirit, here are a few answers that are steeped in science.

1. Water is fairly easy- drink when you’re thirsty and avoid darkly colored urine. While overhydration is not as common as dehydration, it can be just as dangerous, so drink plenty of water but not too much. Stock up on water and have plenty of BPA free or glass water containers on hand. As for food, Michael Pollan succinctly stated, “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants”. It does not matter what food camp we align with if the above dictum is ignored. One caveat: protein should be at every meal, carbs should be eaten early in the day or after training, and fats should be eaten only in the afternoon. Protein powders can be excellent additions for busy people who are seeking simplified and healthy solutions.
2. Sleep seven to nine hours per night. In most individuals, less or more than this amount may result in overeating (non-homeostatic appetite), a decrease in resting metabolic rate, and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar [glucose]). All of the aforementioned conditions lead to weight gain and compromised immune systems. Experiment with natural and safe sleep aids such as melatonin (inform your physician), magnesium (with added L-Threonine to access neural tissue more effectively), and herbal teas such as valerian, chamomile, or hops.
3. Exercise- A combination of cardiovascular exercise (running, swimming, biking etc.), resistance training (busting the weights), and high intensity interval training (HIIT-start/stop movements cycled through power intervals) is best. Cardio is not only for heart health, it provides our brains with an influx of oxygen and nutrients, further increasing our odds of staving off forms of dementia and depression. Resistance training three times per week (for skeletal and mitochondrial biogenesis) prepares the body for the demands of both daily and future life. Lastly, HIIT (flexibility and lymphatic fluid movement) is an excellent way to challenge oneself and experience fat-burning and toning benefits simultaneously.
4. What is the best time to work out? The short answer is whenever you enjoy it the most and will make it a lasting habit. The science shows, all things being equal, the afternoon is the best time. Firstly, in the afternoon our skeletal muscle is naturally less sensitive to insulin. Exercise sensitizes our body to accept glucose and to clear blood sugar before it moves to fat tissue to be repartitioned. Thus, afternoon exercise can help avoid a phenomenon known as “Afternoon diabetes”. Better sugar control means muscles perform better and longer. Secondly, while testosterone is higher in the morning, so is cortisol- which is a hormone that can have limiting effects on training adaptation. In the afternoon, the testosterone to cortisol ratio is improved (it is lower). Thirdly, we must consider our core temperature, which is optimal in the afternoon for both genetic expression and mitochondrial output. Working out in the cold of morning means brains, muscles, cells, and bodily fluids are all at their slowest. Spoiler alert: there is a reason world records get broken in the afternoon.

Sometimes, it is best, in the face of undecided science, to follow the example of a certain brightly-colored, anthropomorphized semi-truck and simply “Roll Out!” We do the best we can with the data we have until our choices are sufficiently challenged or our goals change. Ask a nutritional consultant to assist you in making your individualized approach to a healthy lifestyle.

By Brittany Thomas

Type “sugar” and “culprit” into your favorite search engine and you’ll find no shortage of health reasons to knock sugar out of your diet.

For example, three authors argue in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that, despite ample exercise, too much sugar consumption can still leave you fat. That’s in addition to new studies published earlier this year that indicate too much sugar triggers brain defects, liver disease and breast cancer.

“The toxicity of excessive sugar consumption is well-documented, yet it’s so prevalent in our packaged foods that we may be digesting it without knowing it,” says nutritionist and juicing pioneer Cherie Calbom, who is known as “The Juice Lady.”

But with vigilance you can ditch the sugar in your diet, says Calbom, who tackles the subject in her newest book, “The Juice Lady’s Sugar Knockout,” and she offers her Sugar Addiction Quiz atwww.juiceladycherie.com/Juice/the-sugar-knockout. She says March, which is National Nutrition Month, is the perfect time to start. A few ways to begin include.

• Pick the right day to start.A birthday or celebration dinner is not the best time to commit to a new diet. You’ll eventually develop the willpower to navigate through special events, but it’s not a good idea to start with an unusual challenge.
  • Go cold turkey.Studies show sugar is as addictive as cocaine and heroin, so it’s not something you can ease into or pursue in half measures. If you eat a little less to gradually eliminate it from your diet, you’ll keep getting triggered into wanting more sweets. You have to completely let it go.
  • Scrutinize every label. We are naturally inclined to crave sugar, which is why manufacturers try to smuggle it into their products. The only way to root out sugar in all its forms – soups, condiments, breads, etc. – is to read grocery labels carefully. The sooner sugar is mentioned, the more that’s in there.
  • Make emergency snack packs. Whether shopping, traveling or at work, you don’t want to be caught hungry without a healthy option. Plummeting blood-sugar levels will make it that much harder to resist sugar-laden treats. Nuts and seeds, veggie sticks, turkey jerky and apples are among the healthy options.
  • Take time to de-stress. Stress causes spikes in cortisol, a hormone that makes you irrationally hungry, leaving you susceptible to sugar-laden snacks. When stressed, take a long, deep breath in for five seconds, hold, and then let it out to a count of five. Deep breathing is said to activate your vagus nerve, which properly regulates metabolism.

“There is much more you can do to break sugar addiction,” Calbom says. “It’s very doable, but you must commit to it!”

About Cherie Calbom, MSN (a.k.a. The Juice Lady)

Cherie Calbom holds a Master of Science degree in whole foods nutrition from Bastyr University. Known as “The Juice Lady” (www.juiceladycherie.com) for her work with juicing and health, she is author of 31 books, with millions of copies sold worldwide. No stranger to healthy diet trends, Cherie joined George Foreman as nutritional spokesperson in the Knockout the Fat phenomena that forever changed grilling in America.

Courtesy of Myfitnesspal.com

When we think about inflammation, we often think of it as helping us heal from an obvious injury (like a wound) or fighting harmful bacteria. This is good inflammation, working in our favor to keep us healthy. But on the flip side, when the immune system is too active, it can make us sick.

We know that major chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, are linked to weight gain, but did you ever wonder how those diseases and inflammation are all intertwined?

Understanding inflammation, especially “bad” inflammation, will help explain this connection.

The difference between “good” and “bad” inflammation

Inflammation is a process you can’t actually see, so how do you know if it’s “good” or “bad”?

Think about the last time you got a bruise. The blood and fluid that rushed in to create that purplish swollen area is the definition of inflammation. As you heal, inflammation subsides and eventually goes away. This is how “good” inflammation is supposed to happen.

But sometimes inflammation can get us into trouble. An example: an allergy where our immune system overreacts to relatively harmless foods (think: peanut butter, shellfish, eggs) or substances (think: pollen, dust, latex).

Poor habits like eating an unhealthy diet, not exercising enough and consuming too much sugar can contribute to a bad type of inflammation called “chronic” inflammation. These habits turn the immune system “on” and help it stay activated for a long period of time. Along with other factors, chronic inflammation can lead to chronic illness.

Inflammation and illness

The way our immune system reacts to smoking and stress increases our risk for heart disease. How? Smoking and stress damage cells and activate your immune system, leading to a low level of chronic inflammation. Over time, chronic inflammation makes your arteries more likely to collect plaque, which stiffens and clogs them, and can lead to heart disease.

Chronic inflammation contributes to type 2 diabetes by worsening “insulin resistance”, a condition where your body produces insulin but your cells don’t respond to it very well so your blood sugar stays abnormally high. How does chronic inflammation do this? Simply put, fat cells are capable of creating chemical signals that lead to chronic inflammation. But they mainly do so when you habitually eat too many calories and sugar. These chemical signals also mess with the way that insulin works in our bodies, aggravating insulin resistance.

Chronic Inflammation and weight gain

If fat cells can contribute to chronic inflammation, then it’s reasonable to expect that weight gain, especially in the form of fat tissue, also contributes to chronic inflammation. As we gain weight, some fat cells expand beyond their capacity while trying to do their job storing extra calories as fat. When this happens, they turn on and add to the inflammation already present in our bodies. At this point, these cells aren’t just fat storage warehouses—they’re like little inflammation factories, sending out signals to activate the immune system. Losing weight allows the fat cells to shrink back to a more normal size and turns off the signals that trigger chronic inflammation.

6 tips for reducing chronic inflammation

Changing your diet and losing weight are two of the best ways to lower inflammation. Here are some tips:

1. Eat antioxidants and polyphenols:Eating antioxidant- and polyphenol-rich foods can cut down on inflammation by reducing “free-radical damage.” Free radicals are generated by the body when it’s in a state of stress. If the immune system becomes overwhelmed by free radicals, cells are harmed and inflammation gets worse. Antioxidants and polyphenols are great for fighting that process. To get them, try drinking green tea and eating a rainbow of fruits and veggies; here are some examples of what to reach for: broccoli, kale, collards, rutabaga, turnips, berries.
2. Consume essential fats: Getting a good ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in your diet is important for reducing inflammation. Most of us consume too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3, so the key to balancing things is to increase omega-3 intake. Omega-6-heavy foods like seeds and nuts and their oils, and refined vegetable oils (used in many snack foods, crackers, cookies, etc.), tend to stir up inflammation, while foods high in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, flax and chia seeds, avocado and walnuts dampen it.
3. Add spices:Turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and ginger have all been shown in studies to have anti-inflammatory properties. You can’t overdo these, so sprinkle them liberally onto your food.
4. Exercise:Moving around releases a burst of anti-inflammatory proteins from the cells to the rest of the body. However, moderate exercise is key. An example of moderate exercise is 45–60 minutes of cardio, such as walking or jogging, about three times a week.
5. Stress:Cortisol, the so-called “stress” hormone, wears many other hats, including regulating the immune response. Reducing stress helps to keep hormones like cortisol under control and that, in turn, helps lower inflammation.
6. Sleep:Lack of sleep makes the body ripe for infection, while more sleep has the opposite effect. A review of several studies published in 2008 found that sleeping less than eight hours a night was linked to weight gain. There is a complex yet harmonious dance occurring in your body during restful sleep; this strengthens your immune system in a good way.

Photo courtesy: Google Images

Courtesy of Jaime Oliver.com

Eating healthily is all about balance.  Every now and then it’s perfectly okay to have pie for dinner or a nice slice of cake at teatime- treats are a part of life –but it’s also important to recognize when we’re pushing things too far.  Indulgent food should be enjoyed and savored, but only occasionally. It’s important to remember that the majority of our diet should be made up of balanced, nutritious everyday foods.  Make healthy food a priority in your life and allow it to bring your family and friends together.  Learn to love how it makes you feel, how delicious it is and remember that a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise are the keys to a healthy lifestyle.

Here are ten easy tips to live by:

1. Cook from scratch – This is one of the most important life skills you can learn.  It allows you to have complete control of what goes into your food;
2. Eat a balanced diet- Aim to eat a balanced diet that contains each of the food groups in the correct proportions;
3. Variety is key, eat the rainbow- Fill your diet with a wide range of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, whole grains and naturally low-fat dairy foods. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, different colors provide your body with different nutrients it needs to stay strong and healthy- it’s not just greens that are good for you!
4. Understand what you’re eating- Make an effort to learn about the food you’re eating-we all need to understand where our food comes from and how it affects our bodies;
5. Eat nutritious calories- Make sure the majority of your energy intake comes from nutritious calories that also provide your body with nutrients like vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber and good fats. Avoid empty calories;
6. Don’t skip breakfast – Breakfast kick-starts your metabolism and helps you to be alert and awake throughout the day. Make sure you always eat a nutritious breakfast.  Make it wholesome and make it count;
7. Read the small print- It’s important to read packaging correctly. Be aware of the recommended portion sizes, and the sugar, salt, and saturated fat contents;
8. Drink more water- Water is an essential part of your diet. Drink plenty of water and avoid empty calories from things such as soft drinks, energy drinks or juices with added sugar.  Eat your calories, don’t drink them;
9. Keep active- Exercise is an extremely important factor in staying healthy, so try to be as active as you can;
10. Sleep well- Make sure you get enough sleep, it’s an essential part of being healthy and directly affects how well we are able to learn, grow and act in life. While we’re asleep, our bodies have that all-important time to repair.

By Robert Rosenberg, D.O./Everyday Health

You know how your brain acts when you’re tired: it’s hard to remember things and your thoughts are sluggish. Sleep deprivation strongly impairs memory and learning, and research confirms this (though the actual mechanism causing these deficits has escaped detection). However, a recent study done on persons with sleep apnea may provide some much-needed answers as to why.

The researchers from the University of California, San Diego, checked 55 sleep apnea patients’ blood cortisol levels every two hours for 24 hours. The patients underwent sleep studies the following night and then took a battery of tests to assess cognitive function. The researchers looked to see how many times they stopped breathing, and how often their oxygen levels dropped in response to airway obstruction.

Previous research has assumed that sleep-related memory problems are caused by a drop in oxygen. But this study found that it was elevated cortisol levels that best predicted cognitive dysfunction.

The results are in line with previous studies that have demonstrated chronic exposure to elevated cortisol levels can result in impaired cognitive function. In fact, prior studies have revealed adverse effects of elevated cortisol on the brain’s hippocampus. The hippocampus is a structure that resides in the temporal lobe of the brain. It is intimately involved in acquiring information and consolidating that information into long-term memory.

Why is this important? It may explain why sleep-deprived individuals frequently exhibit poor memory and concentration abilities. We know that insomnia sufferers and those who chronically get inadequate sleep because of life style choices, have elevated levels of stress hormones such as cortisol. These folks do not have sleep apnea or low nighttime oxygen levels, yet they frequently exhibit cognitive dysfunction similar to patients with sleep apnea. Perhaps what they have in common is elevated levels of the hormone cortisol.

It is plausible that overstimulation of the adrenal gland produces the excess cortisol. The common thread is stress, produced by either insufficient sleep, or in the case of sleep apnea, fragmented sleep. Measuring cortisol levels in patients with sleep apnea and insufficient sleep may provide an important diagnostic tool. I am hopeful that this might serve as a motivator to convince people of the importance of good quality sleep. If it worked, a simple lab test may convince people to take their sleep and sleep disorders seriously. I am aware that much of this is still speculative. However, if future studies related to sleep continue to demonstrate this relationship, the possibilities are exciting.

Courtesy of StatePoint

While flu and cold are common to every region of the world, different cultures have developed their own solutions to tackle the all-too-familiar and dreadful symptoms.

Today it’s thought that 70 percent of your immune system lies in your digestive tract, so many of these alternative healing methods rely on food for its curative properties. While some alternative treatments have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration for efficacy, many people swear by them. If you are suffering this cold and flu season, incorporating these remedies into your get-well plan could be worth a shot.

• In Japan: Hot green tea is poured over a crushed ume, which is an alkaline-rich Japanese pickled plum. Drinking this “umeboshi tea,” full of iron and potassium, is said to help ease fever associated with the flu.
• In the Dominican Republic: A paste of honey, finely chopped onion and garlic, and the juice of at least half of a lime, is taken before bedtime. The garlic and lime juice, rich in vitamin C, boosts immunity.
• In France: For those with the flu, a homeopathic approach is taken using Oscillococcinum. This unusually named medicine has been a favorite flu fighter of the French for more than 70 years. Clinical studies show that it reduces the duration and the severity of fever, chills, fatigue, headache and body aches. It is recommended that you take it at the first sign of flu symptoms.
• In China: A restorative dish is made from healing fritillaria bulbs (Chuan bei mu) and an Asian pear. The center of the pear is scooped out to form a bowl. A teaspoon of honey is mixed with fritillaria extract, which is then poured into the pear. The covered dish is steamed for 45 minutes to create a warm elixir to soothe the throat. For maximum effect, a honeysuckle and licorice root tea chaser provides added immune support.
• In South America: A plate of sliced onions is placed on a nightstand overnight. The scent from a freshly chopped onion helps break up mucus and congestion, just as it causes the eyes to water and nose to run while cooking. Loaded with sulphur compounds, onions also improve circulation.

For more helpful tips about the flu, visit http://www.Oscillo.com for access to a four-part podcast series “Tackling the Flu, Naturally.” Experts explain how the flu virus works in the body and why having a strong immune system is so important; how flu spreads; when children should stay home from school; and more.

Feeling under the weather? Beyond your go-to medications, get inspired by the whole world for treatments that are said to alleviate symptoms and restore wellness.