Weekly Wellness
Issue 206
Featured Article
Eating Your Way to Good Health
Fitness Tip
Bored at the Gym?
Solution: Try new activities until you find something you enjoy such as tennis with a league, inline skating, walking around your neighborhood, or a combination of activities. Also, make your exercise sessions pleasurable. Listen to music or a book on tape, watch television, or read a magazine while you are on a treadmill or elliptical trainer. If possible, recruit a workout buddy -- your spouse, best friend -- or train for a charity event. To break the monotony, do something different every workout. Walk one day, take a new fitness class the next, and lift body building on the third day. Or alternate between several activities in one workout. If you belong to a health club, do 10 or 15 minutes each on a bike, treadmill and elliptical trainer.
Nutrition Tip
The Foils of Starvation
When you starve your body, your body begins to fight back by conserving energy -- it slows down your metabolic rate, which in turn slows down fat loss. Starving also forces your body to start cannibalizing muscle tissue for use as an energy source. This leads to a loss of muscle tone and shape. After time on a starvation diet, you will also become irritable, reduce mental focus and grow tired and weak. Your health becomes compromised and your immune system will be impaired due to an inadequate amount of health-promoting nutrients in your system. After a time, you will most likely binge and end up gaining all the pounds back only this time it is all fat, and usually more of it, too. Every time you go through this process, your metabolism is slower than ever because during the last episode, muscle was burned for energy. Thus, you have to eat even fewer calories to reduce pounds -- you see the pattern? Conclusion: Avoid starvation at all costs!
Herb of the Week
Gotu Kola
Gotu Kola or Bacopa Leaf is a superior herb for the nervous system. Known as "brahmi" which means "godlike" in the Ayurvedic tradition, it is used for its anti-aging properties and as an aid to meditation - it is the most spiritually oriented of all herbs. With bitter taste and cooling energy, it treats any of the doshas. It boosts circulation to the blood vessels of the skin, mucous membranes, nerves and brain. Strengthening memory, concentration and intelligence, it promotes longevity, improves physical strength, and the complexion and benefits age related problems such as hair loss, skin conditions, cellulite and decreased circulation. This herb stimulates the growth of hair and nails, and increases the blood supply to connective tissue.
Quick Recipe
Southwest Chicken and Rice Soup
Heat once can (10-3/4 ounce) condensed chicken and rice soup as directed on label with one soup can water. Stir in 1/4 cup Taco Bell Home Originals Thick 'n Chunky Salsa. Top each serving with 2 tablespoons shredded, reduced fat Cheddar cheese, if desired. Makes three servings, about 1 cup each.
Tidbit(s)
Get Into a Book
Tune in to an audio book while you walk. It will keep you going longer and looking forward to the next walk - and the next chapter. Visit your local library for a great selection. Look for a "whodunit"; you might walk so far you will need to take a cab home!
Food Fixes
If lettuce starts turning a little brown (but not slimy) it may not be suitable for salads, but it is for sauteing. Sauteed salad greens like lettuce, radicchio, and endive make an unusual but tasty side dish. Saute lettuces just as you would spinach. Cook them quickly in a little olive oil, minced garlic, and salt. They taste great, and you cant tell that the greens were once a little brown.
Add leftover, sliced hot dogs and crumbled hamburger meat to baked beans for a quick, delicious dish.
Nuts stay fresh longer when refrigerated in airtight jars. In the freezer, they will keep for a few months.
If you've added too much garlic to soup or stew, put in a small amount of parsley and simmer for ten minutes.