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Inflammation and Cholesterol
Inflammation and Cholesterol Today I want to share with you some information about cholesterol. Cholesterol, by the way, is not a bad thing. In fact, cholesterol is your friend, and you need it. Before you think I’ve totally lost it, allow me to explain a bit about inflammation and cholesterol. Why in the world would cholesterol be a good thing? Isn’t our goal to get rid of it, or to get our cholesterol levels as low as possible? Cholesterol is found in every cell of your body. You need it to produce hormones, vitamin D, bile acids that help you digest your food, and you need it to produce cell…
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Do you dread the fall season?
I used to dread the fall season. But I don’t any longer. For decades I lived with chronic depression that would get much worse as fall set in. I didn’t know it then, but I was dealing with Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD. It affects many people, and if fall and winter send you into a downward spiral of depression, you may be affected by it as well. I’ll share a couple of tools I used while I was still living as a depressed person, but first I want to give you an overview of why I don’t dread fall any longer. There is so much to this…
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Exercise and Mental Health – another tool to combat depression
3 Best Types of Exercise for Mental Health Exercise and mental health…exercise doesn’t just make you physically fit; it also helps you be mentally fit, so it’s very important not to underestimate the benefit of exercise when you’re dealing with the challenge of depression. Everyone knows how exercise can make your waistline smaller, make your heart healthier, etc. Very few people know just how crucial exercising is for your mental well-being. Just as there are certain exercises you can use to target certain parts of your body, there are certain kinds of exercises you can use target your mental health. Let’s talk about three of these exercises. Aerobics Aerobic exercises…
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Symptoms of Depression – Do you struggle with any of these?
What are the Symptoms of Depression Because depression really challenges and colors your life, it can affect your emotions, your energy, sleep patterns, mental functions, etc. The first step is to ask yourself a few questions to determine if you are dealing with any of the symptoms of depression. Your emotions – While we all experience the occasional “off day”, prolonged feelings of sadness for no apparent reason are definitely not normal. Life is admittedly an ongoing challenge, and events happen in our lives that make us feel sad; feeling appropriately sad is very different from depression. Along with feeling prolonged sadness, emotions that accompany depression may include feelings of…
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A Food Label – Do You Know How to Read One?
A food label can be very confusing, and it’s designed to be that way! Did you ever stop to think that if you knew what was in that package of food you are about to put in your shopping cart, you would put it back on the shelf? Today I want to give you a crash course on the basics of how to read a food label; so what does the writing on the package really tell us? The first thing to remember is that the front of the package is advertising, and it is not regulated by the FDA. They do not have to put the truth on the…
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Sugar and Inflammation
Sugar and Inflammation It was an interesting weekend. We had our eleven year old nephew stay with us for three days, and we were out doing things we don’t usually do. At a popular amusement center, we were waiting to go on one of the rides, and I was surprised by a sign that was posted at the entrance. It read, “CAUTION – For your safety, the ride attendant will ask you to lift your belly, so the safety belt can secure your waist.” I had never seen a sign like that anywhere, and I was struck by the tsunami of obesity that we are enduring. The part that makes…
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How About Some Vanilla Ice Cream!
Did you know today is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day? It is! And although I don’t often eat dairy these days, I still have it once in a while. There are other ice creams that are delicious though and that don’t contain dairy. My current favorite is So-Delicious Ice Cream, and the vanilla is really good! I like to have it plain, with fresh fruit or with a little Morecello drizzled over it. Morecello is a blackberry liqueur. You don’t need much as it’s very potent stuff, but it is packed with flavor and richness and dresses up the vanilla ice cream! My point in sharing this is that you…
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I’d Rather Wake Up to Coffee Cake and Good Food Choices
I’d rather wake up to coffee cake…I recently received an email from a very popular cooking show saying, “Wake up to coffee cake, apple fritters, etc.” It made me realize that it truly is all about good food choices. I’ll be honest with you. I would love to wake up to coffee cake and apple fritters, but then I would be depressed again, probably fighting the pounds and inviting a host of oncoming chronic illnesses that would make me miserable now and in the coming years. If coffee cake and fritters aren’t on the breakfast menu, what in the world is? Delicious food and good food choices, that’s what! I’ve…
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Eye Area – Is yours in good shape?
How is your eye area…this isn’t just for the ladies out there… When we talk about skin care, the assumption is the subject is for women. Increasingly however, men are taking better care of their skin including their eye area, and so it should be! One universal caution when buying any creams, lotions and/or cosmetics or any personal care products for that matter is to please keep in mind that your skin is your largest organ; it’s critical to your long term health that you use products made with good quality ingredients on your skin. A general rule of thumb I use for myself is to note if it is…
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Do You Want to Prevent or Slow Parkinson’s Disease
Do you want to Prevent or Slow Parkinson’s Disease? Seems like a silly question…”Do you want to prevent or slow Parkinson’s Disease”, doesn’t it? Having watched my father live with Parkinson’s Disease for my entire life, first with Parkinson’s symptoms (he developed a tremor in his 30’s) and then in his 60’s with full blown Parkinson’s until his death at 87, I can tell you I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Incidentally, I know realize what my dad suffered from for most of his adult life was termed Parkinsonism (which is defined by certain neurological disorders that cause movement challenges similar to those manifested in full blown Parkinson’s disease). The…
