Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
10 Steps To A Healthier Heart
Your heart is constantly working, so why not give your heart a “break” by focusing on a lifestyle that will promote a healthy heart!?
10 Steps To A Healthier Heart
1. Keep your Cholesterol low, aiming for less than 200 milligrams/deciliter and keep your Blood Pressure below 120/80. Garlic has been shown to reduce both cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
2. If you smoke, it’s time to quit the habit. Three years after a person quits smoking, their chance of having a heart attack is the same as someone who has never smoked before.
3. Eat more heart healthy fats such as wild salmon, nuts, avocados, olive oil, and flax seeds. Studies show that consuming two or more servings of fish per week is associated with reducing the risk of developing coronary heart disease by 30 percent.
4. Reduce the stress in your life. Take a break. Get a massage. Go on vacation. Meditate! Do whatever you need to do to reduce the amount of stress in your life. Stress has a negative affect on your heart and overall health.
5. Exercise! Physical activity is a huge factor when it comes to having a healthy heart. Aim for either 1 hour and 15 minutes each week of vigorous physical activity or 2 1/2 hours each week of moderate intensity exercise.
6. Get to – or maintain – a healthy weight. Those with a healthy BMI were shown to have less risk of heart disease.
7. Avoid fried, fatty, and sugary foods. Yep, they may taste good, but they aren’t doing your heart (or the rest of your body) any favors since these foods have been linked to heart disease, clogged arteries, cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and the list goes on. In the long run, it’s just best to stay away.
8. Keep your glucose levels down. You should aim to have your fasting blood glucose levels to be less than 100 milligrams/deciliter.
9. Eat more fiber rich foods, such as whole grains, beans, lentils, apples, tomatoes, carrots, pears, and squash (ok, just about all fruits and vegetables).
10. Limit the amount of sodium you consume each day! You should try to have less than 1,500 milligrams a day.
Get Started Today
Choose which step to work on for a healthier heart. You don’t have to try and tackle all of these steps today. Work on steps that are easier for you, and work on them one at a time. You’ll soon realize how good it feels to take care of the little muscle that works so hard to keep you going.
A healthy heart, a healthy you!
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Tags: February, Fitness, Heart Health, Heart Health Month, Nutrition, overall health
Hostess Brand Files for Bankruptcy
Hostess Brands Files for Bankruptcy
In the news this week, I found out that Hostess (who makes fatty and sugar treat such as Twinkie’s) has filed for Bankruptcy.
“Hostess went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2004 and had trouble regaining its footing afterwards, in spite of investments and loans from private equity firms and hedge funds. The Journal reports that Hostess has lined up financing that would allow it to continue operating while in bankruptcy, so its ovens won’t be shut off just yet.” – TIME Magazine
Your “Vote” Counts
The every day consumer, like you and me, has more power than we realize. Business is all about supply and demand, and with the recent bankruptcy news we realize that there just isn’t a big enough demand for Hostess snacks anymore. Thanks to a more health conscious public, people have been buying less and less of the Hostess brand snacks, resulting in a mountain of debt for the company, rather than sales.
I am not trying to relish on this news (OK, maybe I am…) but I believe this bankruptcy sends a strong message to the consumer. The companies that are going to survive or die are based on the product demand, which is based on what we are willing to buy at the grocery store.
You have a choice on whether you see more health foods at your grocery store compared to junk food. Every time you go grocery shopping, you are making a vote on what you want in that store of yours based on what you consistently buy. Companies are paying attention, and if there is a high demand for healthy food, they will supply more of those types of foods. If there is a demand for junk food, they will provide plenty of unhealthy products to choose from. If nobody buys a certain product, It won’t be in business for long.
I’m happy to say farewell to the Hostess brand company. It shows that enough consumers have voted, and our voices have been heard.
Just remember that every time you go to the grocery store, you vote…with your dollar.
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Benefits and Sources of Vitamin A
There are two main sources that you can obtain vitamin A naturally.
1) Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes from animal foods such as calf liver.
2) Vitamin A comes from Carotenoids (alpha-, beta-, and gamma- carotene) which our bodies convert into Vitamin A and comes from many fruits and vegetables.
Check out the many health benefits of Vitamin A and find out how to get more of it in your healthy lifestyle!
Health Benefits of Vitamin A
• Vitamin A has been shown to help fight against age-related ocular diseases such as macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma. Vitamin A helps to improve night vision by allowing the eyes to more effectively distinguish between light and dark.
• Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant and can help protect us against skin diseases and some cancers.
• Vitamin A plays an important role with the white blood cells in the body which fights infections and boosts in the immune system.
• Vitamin A prevents urinary stones from forming by producing calcium phosphate in the body.
•Vitamin A is known to be an essential to the reproductive process in both women and men.
• Vitamin A helps keep bones and teeth healthy and strong.
Natural Sources of Vitamin A
• Sweet Potato – 438% DV
• Spinach – 377% DV
• Carrots – 407.6% DV
• Calf Liver – 1,600% DV
• Kale – 354% DV
• Swiss Chard – 214% DV
• Collard Greens – 308% DV
• Winter Squash – 214% DV
Justification to Obtain Vitamins and Minerals Naturally
From what I have studied, it’s best if you can get your vitamins and minerals through natural sources rather than supplements.
Here’s why: Vitamin A works in conjunction with Vitamin D when obtained in the proper amount. You can obtain the proper amounts if you eat a variety of vegetables (Vitamin A) and get the proper amount of daily sun exposure (Vitamin D).
If you have too much Vitamin A (supplments) it can detract from the benefits associated with the Vitamin D and can even be potentially toxic. If you don’t have enough Vitamin A, the Vitamin D cannot function properly within the body.
Percentage Daily Value Sources provided by whfoods.org
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Tags: vitamin A
Did Snooki Safely Lose Weight?
Snooki (AKA Nicole Polizzi) from the popular reality TV show, Jersey Shore, is one of the many stars who have recently lost a lot of weight. For the 4’9″ reality star, her 15 pound weight loss is a substantial difference! Snooki now weighs in at 98 pounds and many want to know how they too can shed some excess weight.
How Snooki Lost 15 Pounds
Snooki weighs in at 98 pounds (which isn’t bad considering her height) and the rumor mill was in overdrive trying to figure out the secret to her recent weight loss. Luckily, Snooki let her 4 million plus followers on Twitter in on her little weight loss secret.
Snooki wrote on her Twitter page “Glad to hear reports that say I look good =) but it’s not because of HCG! Thanks @Zantrex!”
There you have it! Snooki has had the help of the diet pill Zantrex to help her reach her goal weight. I’ve also read recently that according to recently that Snooki also credits alcohol and becoming a gym rat to her weight loss success. Yikes. While the rest of Hollywood is providing their congrats to Snooki, I’m going to take this opportunity to warn my readers against the dangers of poor diet, alcohol, and dangerous weight loss pills mixed with gym time.
Yes, Snooki lost weight and looks great, but you can do better than that. You can create a healthy lifestyle that will last longer than the latest Hollywood fad diet.
Is Zantrex Safe?
Let’s face it. Zantrex is a diet pill. You know how I feel about those, right? With that aside, is Zantrex any different? Is it safe? I did some research and the short answer is: No, Zantrex is not safe. It may help with quick weight loss but it just doesn’t provide a long term solution to weight loss, which is what you really want, right? Diet pills are just the “easy” way out, so I understand why it seems to appealing.
For long term weight loss and health, focus on healthy eating and drinking habits and avoid those dangerous diet pills, no matter which favorite starlet is promoting the product.
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Image Credit: SkinnyvsCurvy.com
Healthy Holiday Traditions
I have a lot of fun traditions during this time of year, and I am sure many of you can relate. After I got married, my husband and I started a new tradition that I absolutely love – Ice Skating on Christmas Eve! I love knowing that we have created a healthy holiday tradition that’s fun for the whole family, something we look forward to every year! What healthy holiday traditions do you look forward to each year?
Happy Holidays from everyone at Skinny Twinkie!
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Tags: christmas
