February is American Heart Month

Courtesy of American Heart Association

Hypertension is the single most significant risk factor for heart disease. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can injure or kill you. It’s sometimes called “the silent killer” because it has no symptoms. One in three adults has high blood pressure, yet, about 21% don’t even know they have it. Of those with high blood pressure, 69% are receiving treatment, yet, only 45% have their blood pressure controlled.

What is High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a widely misunderstood medical condition.

The blood running through your arteries flows with too much force and puts pressure on your arteries, stretching them past their healthy limit and causing microscopic tears.  Our body then kicks into injury-healing mode to repair these tears with scar tissue. But unfortunately, the scar tissue traps plaque and white blood cells which can form into blockages, blood clots, and hardened, weakened arteries. Read the story »

Tips for a Healthier 2010

Courtesy of AmericanCancerSociety.com

Making resolutions is easy; keeping them is hard. Even if you set clear, realistic goals on January 1, many of us find that by mid-year our best intentions have been derailed by work, school, or a busy social schedule. Before you know it, another year has gone by and you find yourself vowing to do better next year.

This year, if your goals involve eating better and exercising more, make your resolutions stick by enlisting the help of these tips and tools. Read the story »

Sunshine Corn Salad

Now that it’s the beginning of the New Year and we have enjoyed so much of the good foods from Thanksgiving to New Years, its time to get back to our healthy eating habits. Here is a great salad that we all can enjoy. What a treat but you can have this salad all year long! Black olives would be great too!

Like the colors of summer, this salad combines corn, bell peppers and yellow squash for gorgeous visual appeal. What a delightful way to enjoy these garden vegetables. (We fixed this corn salad for Christmas dinner and used red and green bell pepper, was just as good and a little darker in color).

Serves 4 1.5 Cups per serving

1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil (extra-virgin preferred)
1 teaspoon snipped fresh parsley and 1 teaspoon snipped fresh parsley, divided use
1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
3/4 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
1 tablespoon water
1/2 medium orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow summer squash (about 2 1/2 ounces), diced
1 tablespoon pine nuts, dry roasted

In a medium serving bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, 1 teaspoon parsley, mustard, salt ad pepper.

In a small microwaveable bowl, combine the corn and water. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 2 minutes. Drain in a strainer. Run the kernels under cold running water for 30 seconds to coll. Pat dry with paper towels. Transfer to the serving bowl.

Add the bell peppers, squash and pine nuts. Toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with the remaining 1 teaspoon parsley.

Nutrition Tip: As soon as corn is harvested, its surgars begin to convert to starch. The sooner it’s eaten or processed after it’s picked, the better. That is why frozen corn can be just as sweet as - or sweeter than - corn that sits for days in the produce department.

Label Lingo: Natural

Americans are shelling out more for “natural” foods than ever before - but does the label guarantee healthier picks? Not Always! Here is what you need to know:

TRUST IT - when its on meat and poultry packaging, The USDA requires these products to be free of artifical ingredients, colorings, preservatives and unnecessary processing.

USE CAUTION - when it is on anything else. Products can be packed with sweetners or flavorings and still carry a natural sticker.

OUR ADVISE - Check the nutrition label. All of the ingredients - good for you and no so good - are listed there. Our Rule of Thumb: Avoide anything you cannot pronounce!!!

How to make a Fat Loss Plate

Courtesy of Robert Ferguson

Making a Food Lovers Fat Loss Plate is remarkably simple. And, best of all you can do it with absolutely anything. To make a Fat Loss Plate, all you need is the right combination of Proteins and Carbohydrates in the right amounts so that you “Optimize Your Glycemic Profile” and move your body from “Fat Storing Mode” to “Fat Burning Mode.”

Read the story »

Label Lingo: Natural

Americans are shelling out more for “natural” foods than ever before - but does the label guarantee healthier picks? Not Always! Here is what you need to know:

TRUST IT - when its on meat and poultry packaging, The USDA requires these products to be free of artifical ingredients, colorings, preservatives and unnecessary processing.

USE CAUTION - when it is on anything else. Products can be packed with sweetners or flavorings and still carry a natural sticker.

OUR ADVISE - Check the nutrition label. All of the ingredients - good for you and no so good - are listed there. Our Rule of Thumb: Avoide anything you cannot pronounce!!!

Tips for Exercise and Weight Loss

Keep a food journal. Write down what you eat, when you eat it, and most importantly, what feelings seem to drive your “hunger.”

The opposite of exercise is innercise — taking a look inside and working on your emotional and spiritual health.

You can find humor in the midst of stress. This is when you really need it and when your sense of humor seems to abandon you.

Say “thank you” after a compliment instead of your natural reaction to discount it. Remember if someone were to give you a gift you would say “thank you.” Be gracious, accept the compliment, and take it in. Read the story »

4-30-09 Exercise of the Week - Ab Crunches

Teresa Mullis, personal trainer at BodyPlex of Jasper, shows Beth the proper way to do the Ab Crunch on a stability ball with a weighted medicine ball.  Roll down the stability ball with feet shoulder width apart, lower back on the ball - hold ball up toward the ceiling, chin up and looking toward the ceiling, contour your back around the ball and pull up with the abs - always looking toward the ceiling - crunch, pulling the lower abs to the spine.

Portion sizes are key to controlling caloric intake.

For many dieters, knowing the proper portion size is the first step to losing weight. Here are some tips: bagels should be the size of a CD, meat should be the size of a deck of cards, side dishes should be the size of a mouse and fruit should be the size of a closed fist.

The American Dietetic Association recommends using these visuals to control portion sizes:

• A medium potato should be the size of a computer mouse
• An average bagel should be the size of a hockey puck
• A cup of fruit the size of a baseball
• A cup of lettuce is four leaves
• Three ounces of meat is the size of a cassette tape
• Three ounces of grilled fish is the size of your checkbook
• One ounce of cheese is the size of four dice
• One teaspoon of peanut butter equals one die
• One ounce of snack foods–pretzels, etc. equals a large handful

Read the story »

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35 One-Minute Weight Loss Secret

Sneaky ways to slim down

By Linda Mooney , Linda Mooney is Prevention’s former beauty editor. She’s currently on hiatus from her Manhattan home so she can write her first novel from Topsail Island in North Carolina.

All you need is a minute to start shedding pounds! Here are dozens of successful strategies to cut calories and burn fat that take 60 seconds or less. With about 1,000 waking minutes in everyday, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to slip these weigh loss tips into your routine and watch the scale go down. If you’ve already begun your weight loss, these can maximize your efforts and speed results.

Read the story »

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