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What Is Metabolic Syndrome?
For some reason, I had a hard time understanding what metabolic syndrome was when I first heard about it. Was it a disease, a condition? It seemed to be important, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. This is the reason I decided to create a series of articles in case you are a bit baffled by exactly what it is and what it means for your health, both today and tomorrow. Metabolic syndrome very simply is a cluster of conditions that occur together that increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. The conditions include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat…
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Plant-Based Diet
5 Ways a Plant-Based Diet Will Improve Your Health and Lifestyle In recent years, eating a plant-based diet has come under scrutiny, and it’s become more apparent what you eat plays a significant role in your health and wellness. Heart disease, cancer, obesity – these are just a few of the health issues you are likely to face if you eat processed foods, sugary snacks and frequent the fast food drive-thru. If you find your favorite foods in that last sentence, not only is your diet lacking in fruits and vegetables, but you consistently fill up on foods that have zero nutritional value. Do you wonder why you have no…
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7 Foods That Accelerate Aging
7 Foods That Accelerate Aging Just as food can heal your body, so can your choices also hurt and accelerate the aging process. Even though we are living in a time of unprecedented medical advances and healthy food options, we are also bombarded by foods that only pretend to be healthy for us. The truth is that many of them are very bad for your health. The chances are pretty high you’re including something on this list in your diet without realizing it’s not serving your present and future good health. Preserved Meats Though grass fed, humanely raised meat may be a better choice for you when eaten in limited…
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Emotional Stress Eating
Do You Turn to Emotional Stress Eating? I was talking to a friend the other day, and I asked her what her biggest challenge was relative to healthy eating and keeping her weight under control. She didn’t skip a beat and immediately said, “emotional stress eating”. When she’s bored or worried or under stress, she finds she tends to grab a bag of chips or cookies without realizing it. If you tend to eat when you’re feeling down or stressed to help yourself feel better, you may be an emotional eater. Emotional Eating is also known as Comfort Eating. It’s the act of responding to stressful situations by turning to…
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Stress and Food Choices
Stress and Food Choices There is an aspect regarding managing stress that relates to food in a big way. Some stress actually originates from the foods and drinks we choose to consume. An awareness of which foods amp up your stress levels and which will pour balm on the stress waters will help you manage stress in a big way. It’s important to think about stress and food choices. When you’re under stress, you can eat too much or too little or you can simply eat the wrong foods that actually harm you by increasing your stress levels during an already stressful episode. The first truth to remember is that…
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Health Benefits of Walnuts
Health Benefits of Walnuts I like walnuts although my husband does not. I had no idea about all the health benefits of walnuts! Because I do the food prep for both of us, going forward walnuts will be included; we’ll just hope they are an acquired taste! There’s an interesting article I came across I want to share with you from the Harvard Gazette about the health benefits of walnuts. They are impressively healthy little nuts, and it’s worth taking the time to read this. The article says, in part: A newly developed machine learning algorithm has uncovered information about how eating walnuts can lead to significantly lower risk of…
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Inflammation and Heart Health
Inflammation and Heart Health Inflammation affects just about every aspect of your health and wellness. Today I want to discuss inflammation and heart health. Very simply, inflammation is your body’s natural response when attempting to protect itself from injury or disease. When inflammation is acute, it can save you by protecting your body from infection. In the short-term, it rids your body of harmful intruders and restores you to health. It’s when inflammation stays with you on a slow burn that it becomes “chronic inflammation”. When this occurs, it puts your body at greater risk particularly when considering the functioning of your heart and arteries. As an aside, medical professionals…
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Improve Memory Function
Can you Improve Memory Function Once You Have Started to Lose it? It’s understandable to think that once you begin to lose your memory, you might not be able to improve memory function. However, in most cases there are practices or solutions for dealing with memory lapses, and you can actually improve your memory. You may want to consult your health care professional to receive an accurate diagnosis and a recommended treatment. A doctor may be able to determine the cause of your memory loss. Memory loss can be reversed, depending on the cause. A few of the types that can often be reversed are caused by depression, thyroid problems,…
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The Positive Effects of Vitamin D on Mood
The Positive Effects of Vitamin D on Your Mood If you struggle with bouts of sadness or depression, I have good news for you. There may be a simple solution to help you feel more uplifted and more positive. Studies have shown a link between vitamin D deficiency and mood. Vitamin D is a vitamin your body actually doesn’t store. Each day you need a source of it or you will become deficient, and the odds are pretty good that deficiency will have a negative effect on your health, both mental and physical. The good news is that getting enough vitamin D each day is relatively easy. The Vitamin D…
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Getting Processed Foods Out of Your Diet
Tips for Getting Processed Foods Out of Your Diet If you‘ve been paying attention to just about anything written in the past thirty to forty years, you’ve no doubt heard repeatedly that processed food should only be eaten very occasionally if at all. This is because researchers have studied the effects processed foods have on your body, and their conclusion is very simply that they are not good for you. This knowledge moves many to avoid these foods, so if you are in line with that thinking, the next few paragraphs will give you a few tips to help you with getting processed foods out of your diet. Where to…
