-
Does What You Eat Affect Your Appearance?
Does what You Eat Affect Your Appearance? When you look at your face, what do you see and what should you see? Does what you eat affect your appearance, does it cause inflammation? First and foremost, not all inflammation is bad. The inflammation that helps a sprained ankle heal is a good thing. That is called “acute inflammation”, and to survive, you need that type of inflammation. It helps you heal an injury and fight off an infection. When you have healed and/or recovered, acute inflammation should subside. That’s the way it is supposed to work when we are healthy. The other type of inflammation is “chronic inflammation”. That is…
-
Tiny Steps for Big Changes – How to Change Your Eating Habits
Tiny Steps for Big Changes When I changed how I eat more than six years ago, I made huge sweeping changes very quickly. I did it because my husband was on a statin drug that was not so slowly killing him. By the way, if you take a statin, I suggest you review the possible side effects and be aware of rising glucose levels leading to Type 2 diabetes, memory loss, cataracts and so much more….but I digress. I did not make tiny steps for big changes; I made huge changes to our eating style because we had to get him off the statin. This meant normalizing his cholesterol levels…
-
How to Avoid Getting Old Before Your Time
How to Avoid Getting Old Before Your Time… How to avoid getting old before your time? Don’t buy into advertising and programming. If you are approaching fifty or older, this brief article will connect the dots for you, and if you are younger than fifty, I hope you take careful notes! They are coming to get you, and I want to point out three things you need to be aware of. Awareness is key, and you can decide not to take a ticket and get in line for the whole aging thing that they lay on us. You know…the programming that is subtle and not so subtle to expect to be…
-
Eating Healthfully is Impossible
Eating Healthfully is Impossible…Here’s Why We all have heard how important it is to consume good food to support our long term health and wellness…both mental and physical. But what if eating healthfully is impossible? What if the state of our food production is so compromised that we are incapable of eating healthfully? In an article in the Huffington Post this week, this very topic was discussed in detail. Here is some of what really stood out for me that I want to share with you: “Food has been identified as a major cause of health problems in the U.S., with poor diet to blame for nearly half of all…
-
What is Processed Food, and What Should I Eat Instead?
What is Processed Food? You’ve probably heard about the dangers of processed food. So many health experts are telling us to eat more vegetables and fruits, and to avoid “manufactured foods”. But what is processed food? Just about anyone can look at a chicken nugget and realize that whatever chicken might be present has gone through an extreme alteration. By the time it gets to our plate, it doesn’t resemble the chicken it was intended to be. Some foods that qualify for the definition of processed are “improved”. Some milk, juices and other beverages have vitamins added to them to make them healthier. For the most part, however, processed foods…
-
Does a Mediterranean Diet Reduce Stroke Risk?
Does a Mediterranean Diet Reduce Stroke Risk? Because my own mother’s good health was destroyed by multiple strokes, I am particularly sensitive to and interested in this subject. I want to know the answer to the question, “Does a Mediterranean diet reduce stroke risk?” I also want to establish for you and for me what the basics are that comprise a Mediterranean Diet. There have been numerous studies done on the effects of a Mediterranean diet and our health. Relative to the risk of stroke, the findings indicate that especially for women over 40, a Mediterranean diet is effective in reducing the risk of stroke. The reason is not clear,…
-
Stress and Cortisol
Stress and Cortisol – Is stress killing you? We all know stress is not good for us. Some of us are stress junkies though and feel we are only working to our optimum capacity when we’re feeling stressed. It’s important to understand the relationship between and stress and cortisol and to know what they do to our bodies. Cortisol is a stress hormone; in fact, it is a key stress hormone. Having elevated cortisol levels is a slippery slope and makes us crave sweet and salty foods that put us into a cycle of eat too much and the wrong foods, gain weight, diet, get sick of dieting, eat too…
-
Coping with Holiday Depression
Coping with Holiday Depression It’s not always “the most wonderful time of the year”. In fact, for many and for a variety of reasons, coping with holiday depression can be pretty challenging. Depression is a huge problem at any time of the year, but at holiday season, it can be particularly painful. This is the time of year when the marketing and advertising media tell us we should be skipping through the snow with our loved ones, getting excited over that luxury car with the big red bow on the roof and just plain having a ball! But what if your life is not that great right now? Maybe you’re…
-
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…
-
Gut Health
Five Steps to Good Gut Health – Part 1 of 2 I want to share five different steps over the next two weeks that you can implement today to help you enjoy good gut health. Each of these steps independently will have a significant impact on your overall mental and physical well being, as they are intricately linked. Attempting to adopt too many steps into your lifestyle at once can feel overwhelming. My experience with my coaching clients is that too much at once tends to discourage people from moving forward. I want you to take it easy on yourself, and focus on one step at a time. Set goals,…
