I think the US Center for Disease Control has it right. See the summary here and you can go in and read the full policy if you so desire: http://www.thecanaryreport.org/2010/04/07/centers-for-disease-control/
Monday, June 28, 2010
Home Health Hazards
I talked to some ladies yesterday at a party and was amazed again at how many people have had problems with common household cleaners, perfumes, and even our kids are having problems. Get one or two women together (I am sorry but I have not been able to have the same level of interest when the group is mostly men) and start talking about environmental indoor hazards. We all have horror stories about getting sick from cleaning or headaches from someone's strong perfume or kids with allergic reactions to weird things. How much more data do we need to see before we take action? Asthma in children has been growing at an alarming rate. The US has the highest rate of cancer in children of any country in the world. Heart disease and cancer in adults is growing rapidly.
I think the US Center for Disease Control has it right. See the summary here and you can go in and read the full policy if you so desire: http://www.thecanaryreport.org/2010/04/07/centers-for-disease-control/. Basically, no smelly stuff at work. The CDC even goes so far as to include laundry detergents and personal care products like hairspray and perfume. Of course, some of this is fueled by lawsuits, and companies keep losing those. But, finally someone saw the writing on the wall and made a change for the better. Do you think other companies will follow suit?
In this day and age, there is no reason NOT to use green, non-toxic products. They are out there. They aren't that hard to find. They aren't that expensive - some are much cheaper than what you may have been using in fact.
Take action. Read my other posts. Decide to make one change a month towards going green. It's good for you, your family, and our planet.
I think the US Center for Disease Control has it right. See the summary here and you can go in and read the full policy if you so desire: http://www.thecanaryreport.org/2010/04/07/centers-for-disease-control/
Monday, May 10, 2010
Get off the merry-go-round of dieting
Trying to lose weight? Been on diets before? You need to re-think “dieting.”
The problem with diets is that you cut back on eating and send your body into famine mode. You lose muscle mass and as a result lower your metabolism making it harder to burn fat. Plus you feel more tired. Maybe you lose some weight. Once you go off the diet, however, you have less muscle mass and thus will gain weight back easier than before. Very frustrating. We call it the yo-yo cycle of dieting.
You need to understand a few things. Once you have created a fat cell in your body, you can never get rid of it; you can only empty it. You need to maintain your muscle mass so you can keep your metabolism working at the highest possible level to burn fat. Also realize that as you do lose fat, you are also shedding the toxins in your body. Those nasty things tend to get stored in with the fat and come back into circulation as the fat is used up. Drink plenty of water to flush the toxins out.
You want to include a lot of leucine in your diet. Leucine helps you maintain muscle while burning fat, decrease cravings, stabilize your blood sugar levels, and and will keep you feeling less hungry. You need to keep your body healthy while shedding fat, so eat more, smaller meals. Starving yourself will lower your metabolism and make your body want to hang on the your fat even more. So eat well and often but with smaller portions and try to avoid the things you know you shouldn’t eat. Exercise – find something you like to do that gets you up and moving around: running, dancing, swimming, walking, etc.
Focuses on losing inches not weight. Muscle weighs more than fat but you don’t want to lose muscle mass. Fat weighs less but takes up more room. So focus on losing inches = fat. Take a good, all-natural vitamin to keep your body’s nutrient needs met to help you not feel hungry.
Good luck and stick with it!
The problem with diets is that you cut back on eating and send your body into famine mode. You lose muscle mass and as a result lower your metabolism making it harder to burn fat. Plus you feel more tired. Maybe you lose some weight. Once you go off the diet, however, you have less muscle mass and thus will gain weight back easier than before. Very frustrating. We call it the yo-yo cycle of dieting.
You need to understand a few things. Once you have created a fat cell in your body, you can never get rid of it; you can only empty it. You need to maintain your muscle mass so you can keep your metabolism working at the highest possible level to burn fat. Also realize that as you do lose fat, you are also shedding the toxins in your body. Those nasty things tend to get stored in with the fat and come back into circulation as the fat is used up. Drink plenty of water to flush the toxins out.
You want to include a lot of leucine in your diet. Leucine helps you maintain muscle while burning fat, decrease cravings, stabilize your blood sugar levels, and and will keep you feeling less hungry. You need to keep your body healthy while shedding fat, so eat more, smaller meals. Starving yourself will lower your metabolism and make your body want to hang on the your fat even more. So eat well and often but with smaller portions and try to avoid the things you know you shouldn’t eat. Exercise – find something you like to do that gets you up and moving around: running, dancing, swimming, walking, etc.
Focuses on losing inches not weight. Muscle weighs more than fat but you don’t want to lose muscle mass. Fat weighs less but takes up more room. So focus on losing inches = fat. Take a good, all-natural vitamin to keep your body’s nutrient needs met to help you not feel hungry.
Good luck and stick with it!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Vital to Your Health - Vitamin D
Vitamin D levels are being seen as a "measurement for wellness" now by some doctors; see NPR article http://bit.ly/bQhWfW. But over 75% of Americans are not getting enough Vitamin D; NPR article http://bit.ly/c9wIdn.
Vitamin D mainly comes from sun exposure, and from a few foods such as egg yolks, fish, and fortified milk and grains. It is an important component in helping your body absorb calcium for strong bones and healthy teeth. Recent research, however, is showing that Vitamin D is important for far more than just your bones: it may protect against heart disease, some cancers, severe asthma in children, and reduced mental function. It may also help with fibromyalgia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, general muscular aches and pains, and in supporting your immune system.
The appropriate level of Vitamin D is now being reviewed. The current Recommended Daily Allowance for adults is 400 IU. A "high" daily dose of Vitamin D may help prevent bone fractures in older adults; "high" being over the 400 IU recommended. Preliminary research shows intakes of between 1000-2000 IU as being safe and effective for adults. One doctor in the first NPR article cited is taking 3000 IU a day. Personally, I have have upped my intake to 1000 IU daily.
There are concerns that this issue will get worse before it gets better: obesity causes Vitamin D to disappear from the bloodstream and it is a lot harder to get levels back to normal after this occurs. Vitamin D levels have also been found to be low in African-Americans and Hispanics (due to their darker skin blocking sunlight).
What can you do? You can drink a minimum of 4 glasses of fortified milk (10 if you want to hit the 1000 IU level). There is a great chart (Table 3) at http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp about a quarter of the way down the page. Cod liver oil is very high in Vitamin D. Salmon and mackerel also contain significant amounts. But do you eat fish every day or worry about poisons like lead, mercury, PCBs, etc in your fish? You probably ought to consider taking a supplement. I take Shaklee's Vitalizer with iron (being a woman under 50) - 1000 IU of Vitamin D. Whatever supplement you decide on, make sure it does not contain synthetic ingredients - they can do more harm than good.
Decide to do something, please! Let me know what you are doing to ensure YOU get enough Vitamin D.
Questions or comments? Feel free to contact me at kirstenm@frontiernet.net.
Vitamin D mainly comes from sun exposure, and from a few foods such as egg yolks, fish, and fortified milk and grains. It is an important component in helping your body absorb calcium for strong bones and healthy teeth. Recent research, however, is showing that Vitamin D is important for far more than just your bones: it may protect against heart disease, some cancers, severe asthma in children, and reduced mental function. It may also help with fibromyalgia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, general muscular aches and pains, and in supporting your immune system.
The appropriate level of Vitamin D is now being reviewed. The current Recommended Daily Allowance for adults is 400 IU. A "high" daily dose of Vitamin D may help prevent bone fractures in older adults; "high" being over the 400 IU recommended. Preliminary research shows intakes of between 1000-2000 IU as being safe and effective for adults. One doctor in the first NPR article cited is taking 3000 IU a day. Personally, I have have upped my intake to 1000 IU daily.
There are concerns that this issue will get worse before it gets better: obesity causes Vitamin D to disappear from the bloodstream and it is a lot harder to get levels back to normal after this occurs. Vitamin D levels have also been found to be low in African-Americans and Hispanics (due to their darker skin blocking sunlight).
What can you do? You can drink a minimum of 4 glasses of fortified milk (10 if you want to hit the 1000 IU level). There is a great chart (Table 3) at http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp about a quarter of the way down the page. Cod liver oil is very high in Vitamin D. Salmon and mackerel also contain significant amounts. But do you eat fish every day or worry about poisons like lead, mercury, PCBs, etc in your fish? You probably ought to consider taking a supplement. I take Shaklee's Vitalizer with iron (being a woman under 50) - 1000 IU of Vitamin D. Whatever supplement you decide on, make sure it does not contain synthetic ingredients - they can do more harm than good.
Decide to do something, please! Let me know what you are doing to ensure YOU get enough Vitamin D.
Questions or comments? Feel free to contact me at kirstenm@frontiernet.net.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Need energy, fast!
I had to get up early today and drive about 3.5 hours to a workshop. My 2-year-old daughter had me up at 11:30pm and again at 2:30am. I am sure you can imagine how tired I was. I did ok driving there, but boy was I feeling sleepy when I got there. And there was no coffee or tea! Luckily I had planned ahead and brought my energy chews. I took one and almost immediately felt better. For 3 hours and 40 minutes I felt fine and enjoyed and participated in the workshop discussions.
But as the 4th hour was rolling around, my eyes tried to go up the back of my head. So I took another energy chew. Right away I felt more alert. I finished the conference and the long drive home without feeling like I was going to fall asleep. Do you know what it is like to drive through the Mojave Desert in the evening when you are tired? Dangerous! But I made it.
But as the 4th hour was rolling around, my eyes tried to go up the back of my head. So I took another energy chew. Right away I felt more alert. I finished the conference and the long drive home without feeling like I was going to fall asleep. Do you know what it is like to drive through the Mojave Desert in the evening when you are tired? Dangerous! But I made it.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Go Green Now!
Check out this video for green cleaning products http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyQH-sTt7Ak
Make it happen. Contact me kirstenm@frontiernet.net or 760-532-3208.
Make it happen. Contact me kirstenm@frontiernet.net or 760-532-3208.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Body Burden Score
Sloan Barnett's website is great. Take her body burden test. It does take a bit of time to load, but it is such an eye-opener! My score is still above the national average but it is getting better!
Comment back and let me know what your score is.
Comment back and let me know what your score is.
Friday, February 26, 2010
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