Saturday, October 30, 2010

Managing Cholesterol

Greetings!!

There are several ways that you can begin to manage your own cholesterol whether you have a genetic predisposition or not. You can truly lower your cholesterol without drugs if you do ALL of these things every day.  I am not saying that it is easy, but if you do it, you will see a change. And even if you don't do all of these things at once, even some of them will offer heart healthy benefits to you. Start with a few, then add a few more after a week and continue that until you are doing all of these things every day:
  • Eat oatmeal for breakfast.  Steel cut is the best, but use old fashioned if you can't deal with the steel cut.
  • Eat a handful of almonds every day (a combination of almonds and walnuts also works). Buy them UNSALTED and raw from the baking aisle.  1/4 to 1/3 cup per day is good.
  • Eat 1-2 Tbs milled or ground flax seed. This can be added to the oatmeal, to your yogurt, sprinkled on salad, or my favorite is adding to my Juice Plus smoothie!
  • Take psyllium husk (most commonly found in Metamucil but can also be found in health food stores in its pure form). 
  • Eat 1/2 cup legumes every day. 
  • Eat an apple every day! (yes that old adage about keeping the doctor away works)
  • Take plant sterols (2-3 grams a day. These substances are found in many foods now but can be taken as a supplement easily. And of course they are found in high levels in the Juice Plus brand that Healthy Environments promotes.).
  • Use soy protein (soy milk, edamame, soy nuts, tofu, etc).  I know--there has been some bad press around this issue. That was with very high doses and not using foods. So stick to the foods and not the high doses in supplements.
  • Take garlic--and eat it too!  Aged garlic extract is a good source.  But put real garlic cloves in your food as often as you can.
  • EXERCISE--yes, that means move on a regular basis. Even if you focus on walking 30 minutes a day, that is perfect! 
Not only are the above steps good for lowering cholesterol, but many are generally healthy habits as well.  The reasons are complex and directly influence different ways that the body produces and attacks cholesterol.  But, for most people, this plan will allow you to improve your cholesterol outlook without drugs.  All you need to do is go to the grocery store with these things on your list.
 So, rather than focusing on what you need to give up and what your doctor has told you to 'stay away from, focus on this list of TO DOs.  Check them off every day for heart disease prevention and to move towards healthy cholesterol levels.

To Your Health....

Deborah Mumm
Healthy Environments





Friday, October 29, 2010

Halloween is for Sugar Lovers


Happy Halloween!

Here are a few Halloween fun facts from the National Confectioners Association:

* 93 percent of children go trick-or-treating every year.
* Each Halloween $2 billion is spent on candy.
* 30 percent of kids report that they SORT their candy first when returning home with trick-or-treat loot
* Kids say they prefer homes that give: anything made with chocolate (68 percent) followed by lollipops (9 percent), gummy candy (7 percent) and bubble gum or chewing gum (7 percent).
* Parents favorite treats to sneak from their kids’ trick-or-treat bags are snack-size chocolate bars (70 percent sneak these), candy-coated chocolate pieces (40 percent), caramels (37 percent) and gum (26 percent).

Halloween is the most child-centered holiday of the year, with Christmas and Hannukah running closely behind. It’s also the most sugar-centric day of the year, and perhaps should be considered the grand kick-off to a season of overindulging our appetites, climaxing at Thanksgiving, ending sometime between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when we vow to shed the holiday ten.

Most of us allow our children to enjoy some of the spoils from Halloween, but doling out loads of candy over the weeks and months that follow can skew a child’s sense of the amount of sugar needed to make a treat sweet (and yummy), making healthful treats made with lower quantities of sweetener unappealing (a.k.a. yucky.)


Deborah Mumm
Healthy Environments

Halloween is for Sugar Lovers

Happy Halloween!

Here are a few Halloween fun facts from the National Confectioners Association:

* 93 percent of children go trick-or-treating every year.
* Each Halloween $2 billion is spent on candy.
* 30 percent of kids report that they SORT their candy first when returning home with trick-or-treat loot
* Kids say they prefer homes that give: anything made with chocolate (68 percent) followed by lollipops (9 percent), gummy candy (7 percent) and bubble gum or chewing gum (7 percent).
* Parents favorite treats to sneak from their kids’ trick-or-treat bags are snack-size chocolate bars (70 percent sneak these), candy-coated chocolate pieces (40 percent), caramels (37 percent) and gum (26 percent).

Halloween is the most child-centered holiday of the year, with Christmas and Hannukah running closely behind. It’s also the most sugar-centric day of the year, and perhaps should be considered the grand kick-off to a season of overindulging our appetites, climaxing at Thanksgiving, ending sometime between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when we vow to shed the holiday ten.

Most of us allow our children to enjoy some of the spoils from Halloween, but doling out loads of candy over the weeks and months that follow can skew a child’s sense of the amount of sugar needed to make a treat sweet (and yummy), making healthful treats made with lower quantities of sweetener unappealing (a.k.a. yucky.)


Deborah Mumm
Healthy Environments

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Alkaline Water & Chile Miners

Greetings!

Once it was learned that 33 Chilean miners were trapped underground, one inspirational woman made it her mission to deliver the best hydrating water to these miners so they would survive.

Here is her story....

Chilean Miners & Water

Amazing!

Deborah Mumm
The Wetter Water

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Awesome Books, Articles & Tips for Wellness

Greetings....

There are many fantastic programs out there to help with many health and wellness issues. Take a look at a few that I have found to be helpful.

You can save hundreds of dollars by using some of these programs...and doing things yourself. Check it out!




Have a healthy day!

Deborah Mumm
http://www.healthy-environments.com