Weekly Wellness
Issue 192
Featured Article
Fitness Tip
An Active Lifestyle
An active lifestyle is more than simply visiting the gym for an hour or jumping around in the living room to an aerobics tape. Be creative and find ways to incorporate physical activity into almost everything you do. Here's some suggestions to get you started and help you boost your activity level. Believe me, if you make a conscious effort to integrate more activity into your daily life, it will eventually become second nature. Give some of these suggestions a try! You may have heard some of these before, but they bear repeating as a reminder, if that's the case.
- Walk as much as possible by parking the car a few blocks away from where you're headed or walk to an appointment from your office instead of driving. Whenever you're walking try to focus on long strides and a quicker than normal pace. This gets the heart rate going a bit faster than just meandering along.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk up the stairs as quickly as you can. For a little variation, try slowing down and taking two stairs at a time to further strengthen your legs.
- During breaks at work, walk the stairs, walk around the building or walk down the halls. Find any type of activity that keeps you moving during your break (you can sit at your desk and relax after the break!)
More suggestions next week.
Nutrition Tip
Nuts and Berries
Are you getting enough nuts and berries in your diet? Eating foods rich in antioxidants may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a recent study published in the Archives of Neurology. The study indicates that people with diets high in vitamins C and E are about 60 percent less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease than people whose diets are low in these vitamins. Researchers report that the key to reducing the risk is the combination of the two vitamins. Neither vitamin has been proven to be independently effective in warding off the disease, which affects approximately 4 million Americans.
Nutrient of the Week
Echinacea Root
Echinacea Root stimulates the body's immune system against all manner of irregular conditions. It increases white blood cell production, making it one of the most powerful and effective remedies against all kinds of bacterial and viral conditions. Echinacea is a tissue detoxifier that also stimulates digestion and acts to promote perspiration to sweat out toxins. The three echinacea roots, purpurea, pallida, and angustifolia are considered to be clinically identical and interchangeable.
Quick Recipe
Better For You Potato Salad
Cut one pound new potatoes into cubes. Cook in boiling water for 15 minutes or until just tender; drain. Cool completely.
Mix one-quarter cup light mayonnaise and 2-teaspoons dried basil leaves in a large bowl until well blended. Add potatoes, two peeled, chopped hard-cooked eggs, one shredded carrot and one chopped green bell pepper; mix lightly. Cover.
Refrigerate at least one hour to allow flavors to blend.
Makes six servings.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories: 140
Total fat: 5g
Saturated fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 75mg
Sodium: 105mg
Carbohydrates: 19g
Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 4g
Tidbit(s)
Broccoli sprouts may save your eyes.
The powerful compound sulforaphane protects human retinal cells from damage that causes blindness. You can get sulforaphane in broccoli, but levels are 50 times higher in BroccoSprouts, which are found in natural food supermarkets.
Food Fixes
To remove egg shells from a batter, use the remaining shell to attract the piece.
Maple-flavored syrup, commonly found on the shelves in the store and in restaurants, is actually corn syrup flavored with a bit of maple syrup syrup to keep the cost down.
Keep popcorn fresh and encourage more kernels to pop by storing in the freezer.
Lemons stored in a sealed jar of water will produce twice the juice.