'healthy' posts

The holidays are amazing for so many reasons, among them the extra time with loved ones and the pretty decorations draped over anything that will stand still. At the top of this list for me though is the food. I can’t get enough roasted root veggies and pumpkin-flavored…everything. Of course, the holidays have also become a time of overindulgence in such tasty treats. So how do we take advantage of these wonderful seasonal delights in a healthy way?

Since your mind is probably already filled with lists (presents, holiday cards, naughty/nice?), I’ll keep this one short:

Many of us would choose not to go back to school. We’re finished with the exams, the studying and the lectures. But does that mean we don’t have anything more to learn? Unlikely. In fact, most of us could afford to get schooled some more…on health. Do you know the latest recommendations for lung cancer screening? Do you know how to cook heart healthy meals? What about the right way to do CPR, do you know it? Even as a health educator, I find myself at a loss with many of these questions. As students head into midterms and finals, maybe we should all hit the (health) books, too!

Of course, if you’ve been out of school for a while, it may seem hard to jump back in or even know where to jump back in. Where should you start? Consider your local health facility. When it comes to health, the hospital or your local health facility is more than just a place to go when you get sick. Hospitals are also the place to go to avoid getting sick. Learning about health is one of the best ways to do this and many hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities have health classes that can exercise your brain (and even your body, too!) Instead of paying a copay to ask a health care provider some basic questions, why not try a health class? Many are free or low cost and can offer opportunities to ask questions and get much needed answers to health questions.

Talk with your doctor, your neighbors or your friends to get ...

Perhaps a recent flip of the calendar and a gentle drop in the thermometer has reminded you that it’s time to transition from the hassle-free and spontaneous raw meals of summer to the grounding and planned dishes autumn warrants. Despite claiming that we enjoy this season of change and appreciate the opportunity to readopt routines and schedules, most likely we will get lost in our obligations, stretch the limits of our clothing seams, let the darkness of the early setting sun bury our guilt for abandoning the gym, and then collectively and excitedly gear up for fabulous health resolutions when the clock strikes midnight on December 31. Kidding. In all seriousness, I hope you can utilize the following tips and suggestions for transitioning to fall foods while successfully avoiding the seamstress.

Fall Favorites

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No, that’s not a typo. Flu season is upon us. As summer vacations end, kids go back to school and work picks up again, things can get a little cuckoo. The added stress tied with more contact with people as we head indoors to escape the cooling weather mean that we are more likely to get sick.

Germs like the flu love two things: weaker immune systems (thanks, stress!) and people in close contact with each other.  Schools and offices (two of the most cuckoo places this time of year) are ideal breeding grounds for the flu, which still kills tens of thousands of people every year. The bright side of this is that the flu is preventable!

Here are the top four ways to keep from getting sick this season:

In celebration of Halloween, let me share with you some of the freaky foods finding their way into my kitchen!

Foods that go ‘boo’ – Kombucha (kom-BOO-cha)

“Whoa” shrieks the clerk as the checkout belt delivers a frightening surprise before him. “That’s absolutely disgusting. Is that a brain?” Since I couldn’t stop laughing to explain to this nauseated clerk what exactly was living in the glass jar in his hands, let me at least take a stab at convincing you that it’s really not that freaky, and in fact might be pretty good for you.

• What it is: Kombucha is ....

The days are getting shorter, the jackets are coming out and a rainbow of leaves covers the ground. It is fall and even though it might be a bit rainier, it is still gorgeous here in the Pacific Northwest. Of course, as the temperature drops, for many of us, so does our motivation to exercise. But don’t let the shorter daylight hours and cooler weather keep you from giving your body what it needs.

In the United States and in many countries around the world, we rely heavily on our cars to get around, especially when they promise the comfort of heat on cold days and shelter when it rains. This often means we have to deal with more traffic, too. So why not take time this season to rediscover the power of your own two (booted) feet, and avoid the traffic?

Neighborhoods in cities around the country have a “walk score” that rates how easy it is to walk to places like grocery stores, banks and schools. The higher the walk score, the easier and safer it is to get places on foot. The easier and safer it is to get places, the more people walk! The more people walk, the healthier they are.

In fact, people who live in areas with higher walk scores ...

Did you know that the bacteria that live in our intestines account for over two pounds of our body weight? And that there are 10 times the number of bacterial cells in our body than human cells? Some bacteria play a beneficial role in a normal gastrointestinal (GI) tract and are known as probiotics.

Probiotics have a variety of functions in the GI tract including aiding the intestinal immune system and the intestinal nervous system, breaking our food into nutrients, blocking the bad bacteria, and promoting a healthy intestinal lining. With so many important tasks, it is no surprise that probiotics can be used to treat some common GI conditions. Though studies of probiotics are small with considerable variability, there is evidence supporting probiotic use for prevention of diarrhea caused by antibiotic use and treatment of infectious diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, clostridium difficile, and irritable bowel syndrome.

What you should know:

The U.S. FDA considers probiotics as dietary supplements, so their production is not tightly regulated and quality can vary widely. In addition, insurance companies do not cover probiotics, and the cost adds up quickly.

Should I ....