Health Tips for the New Year

By CANDACE ROBERTS

Image via Wikipedia

On Thanksgiving 2011, my Aunt posted on Facebook all what she had eaten that day. Assuming she continued to consume leftovers the next couple days after with a mix of stress and alcohol and the result was her third stroke and then death. She’d survived 2 strokes and breast cancer, but her body could take no more.

 

People are not eating healthy these days; maybe because it’s cheaper to eat junk food or the taste alone is enough to make some of us put away the thought of eating healthy. Even though healthy food tastes incredible and so many recipes can be found to substitute your favorite unhealthy meals. The doctor did not prescribe you medicine for you to continue to eat and live unhealthy. It’s not okay to consume food loaded with salt and simply swallow your blood pressure medication and leave it to deal with your body’s reaction to the food.

It’s not easy to change your eating habits, but it is possible and you will benefit from it. I haven’t eaten pork or red meat in 4 years. I rarely consume sweets and salty snacks, but in moderation. You can give up all the unhealthy stuff, but if you must have it, just don’t have it everyday and not a lot of it.

Here are some health tips that I have for you as you go into the New Year! It’s not just about losing weight, it’s about obtaining a healthy lifestyle!

Signs of a stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
• SOURCE

Super foods (help you lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, and, for an added bonus, put you in a better mood):

• Blueberries
• Tea (Green or Black)
• Salmon
• Quinoa
• Beans
• Broccoli
• Oats
• Oranges
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Soy
• Turkey
• Walnuts
• Yogurt
• SOURCE

Reasons to workout (4-6 days a week):

• Keep excess pounds at bay
• Increase your stamina
• Ward off viral illnesses
• Reduce your health risks
• Manage chronic conditions
• Strengthen your heart (A stronger heart doesn’t need to beat as fast. A stronger heart also pumps blood more efficiently, which improves blood flow to all parts of your body)
• Keep your arteries clear
• Boost your mood
• Stay active and independent as you age
• Live longer
• SOURCE

Exercise:

• Walk briskly for at least 30 minutes a day
• Aerobic dancing
• Swimming
• Stair climbing
• Bicycling
• Jogging
• Elliptical training 
• Rowing
• SOURCE

Beginning now, change your life for the better. Refer to these tips as you progress forward. You owe it to yourself to be healthy and happy.

Related articles

• Diet and nutrition (bupa.com.au)
• Food portion control and healthy eating (bupa.com.au)
• How does junk food effect your brain (wiki.answers.com)

The Thin Commandments

By CANDACE ROBERTS

America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments is a new documentary by Darryl Roberts (No relation). Let’s face it, America is obsessed with diets, fitness, health and weight loss. This documentary takes a look into the unhealthy obsession.

Related articles

• ‘The Thin Commandments’: Who Decided That Skinny Was Beautiful? (blisstree.com)

Prevent Diabetes

Diabetes is an irregularity that alters the way your body uses food for energy. Your pancreas produces a hormone called, insulin, which helps move glucose into cells. If you have diabetes, blood sugar levels become too high. Lets first examine the different types of diabetes.

Pre-diabetes means your pancreas is not producing the required amount of insulin. Your blood glucose levels are high, but not enough to be diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes means your pancreas can’t make any insulin. Frequent insulin injections will be needed.

Type 2 diabetes, a person has a sufficient amount of insulin, but the cells have become resistant to it.

Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of pregnant women, usually appearing during the second trimester and disappears after the baby’s birth.

Symptoms of type 1 and 2 diabetes:

-Intense thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, slow-healing sores, extreme hunger, unexplained weight loss, mild high blood pressure, etc.

Here are some ways to help prevent diabetes:

-Lose weight, exercise, eat more fiber, eat whole grains, lower your intake of sugar filled foods.

For more information visit: www.MayoClinic.com and www.diabetes.org

Related Articles

• Understanding Type 1 Diabetes (everydayhealth.com)
• Understanding Gestational Diabetes (everydayhealth.com)
• Get Prediabetes Under Control Before Pregnancy (everydayhealth.com)

Drunk driver victims!

Ronald Doolittle II

Ronald Doolittle II and Ronald Doolittle III aka Trey were riding their bikes on Sunday, April 3, 2011, in Wilmington, NC on River Road, when they were struck by a drunk driver. The accident happend around 9 a.m. Ronald, Trey’s father, died instantly, he was 47. Trey was in critical condition and rushed to the hospital and he never woke up. Dying just 10 days before his 18th birthday.

The driver was, Thomas Grooms, a 63 year old. He was arrested and charged with felony death by motor vehicle, felony driving while impaired, open container, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, among other charges. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.

His mother, Joy, and twin brothers, Tyler and Turner, made the decision to donate his organs. His mother says, “And today I hope there are tears of joy because somebody got his heart….. And his kidneys, and his eyes…and I can’t wait for a year from now…Organ donors and recipients, I can’t wait to meet somebody who’s been saved because of Trey.”

Trey Doolittle

We send prayers out to the family. For more information visit: http://www.WECT.com

To help aid the victims of crimes performed by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, visit Mothers Against Drunk Driving at: http://www.MADD.org

Vegan Cleanse

Image via Wikipedia

By CANDACE ROBERTS

In the past I have done 2 vegan cleanses. One lasted for 15 days and the other for 20 days! This time I have decided to go for 30 days and longer if I can. I am also going to chronicle my vegan cleanse journey. Here I will tell you what I plan to eat, drink, and exercise. For many this process is not easy. For me not so hard because I have already stopped eating certain foods. Three years ago I gave up pork and red meat and haven’t eaten any since. I also don’t drink sodas and rarely consume sweets. So, you can try giving up one item a month and work your way to the cleanse or just start the cleanse today!

My purpose for doing this cleanse is for several reasons. I want to lose weight, eat healthier, detox, and afterwards I hope to at least keep up a vegetarian diet. There are lots of vegan/vegetarian foods that you can enjoy. I love Boca Burgers (which are totally vegan)! Morning Star makes great vegetarian products that tastes just like chicken and sausage patties, etc. At the end of this I will leave some websites for you to check out. In the past I have lost weight and my skin cleared up during the cleanse. I also drink Silk vanilla soy milk (which tastes great) and sometimes the almond milk.

Mainly during my cleanse I only eat fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and oatmeal! Some people only consume fruits and vegetables during their cleanse, but I add a little more variety. The oatmeal is usually the quick oats or Quaker Oats, not the sugar filled oatmeal. I usually add cinnamon, raisins, and Ideal (a no calorie sweetener)! You can add whatever fruit you like to it. I sometimes mix fruit and vegetables in the blender to make a smoothie, again adding Ideal to sweeten the taste. It is best to eat organic fruits and vegetables during the cleanse, but just do what you can, results will still be seen. The only thing I drink is water, tea, coconut water, soy milk, and diet cranberry juice. If you are going to drink juice make sure it isn’t cocktail and try to stick with the “diet” juices because they tend to have less sugar. I love hot teas; I usually drink green and white teas. There are other teas for specific purposes that you can drink, such as, the cranberry tea to help lose water weight and support the bladder. These are the only drinks I consume, period, cleanse or no cleanse.

When it comes to exercise I try to aim for at least an hour in the morning. Sometimes I will do 30 minutes before work and 30 minutes after work. You can do whatever exercises that you like. I change-up the ones I do during the week. I enjoy Turbo Jam, Wii Fit, The Firm, Paula Abdul‘s Get Up and Dance, and Laila Ali & Sugar Ray Leonard‘s boxing workout!

Here are a few sites that I use that will help guide you through this journey:

http://adf.ly/3cfOk

3 Drinks you should add to your daily diet!: http://t.co/fNlAJFS

www.VegetarianTimes.com

www.Peta.org

www.ChooseVeg.com

Books: The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

Dvd: Food Matters www.FoodMatters.tv