Weekly Wellness
Issue 243
Featured Article
Easy Ways to Eat Your Vegetables -- Easy ways for you to incorporate healthy vegetables into your daily diet!
Fitness Tip
Aging, Disease and Exercise
As we age, some of the most serious concerns we face are the increased risks of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other diseases. The good news is that phytonutrients -- found in fruits, vegetables and black or green tea -- might be protective against disease. However, exercise is also very important. The vital organs are really totally dependent on strength -- the strength of your heart pumping and the strength of muscles.
The number one way to increase strength is to increase physical activity. Exercise also helps arthritis by reducing joint swelling and lessening pain. When you're exercising, you're actually nourishing your joints and the cartilage at the end of your joints by increasing blood flow and sugar to them.
Nutrition Tip
Rev up Your Engine with Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate Crash Course:
- Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy.
- Carbohydrates are sugars and starches, and they are found in foods such as breads, cereals, fruits, vegetables, pasta, milk, honey, syrups and table sugar.
- Sugars and starches are broken down by your body into glucose, which is used by your muscles for energy.
- For health and peak performance, more than half your daily calories should come from carbohydrates.
- Sugars and starches have 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram. In other words, carbohydrates have less than half the calories of fat.
- If you regularly eat a carbohydrate-rich diet, you probably have enough carbohydrate stored to fuel activity.
Quip or Quote of the Week
Quote:
"He who has health has hope, and he who has hope, has everything". --Arabian Proverb
Quick Recipe
Spicy Cod Steaks
Heat broiler. Dust four (5 or 6-ounce) cod steaks with 1 teaspoon cumin and salt and black pepper to taste. Spread 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard over cod. Dot with 1-tablespoon butter or margarine. Broil three to four minutes per side or until cod is opaque throughout. Serving Suggestion: Rice salad and sourdough bread.
Tidbit
Your Kidneys
To keep your kidneys healthy, watch your cholesterol. Researchers at Harvard and Oxford Universities looked at the cholesterol levels of 4,400 men. Fourteen years later, those who'd had low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol or increased levels or non-HDL cholesterol were more likely to have kidney dysfunction. The incidence of kidney failure has doubled over the past decade in the United States, and researchers say cholesterol may harden arteries in the kidneys the same way it does in the heart.
Food Fixes
If your honey crystallizes, place the honey jar in warm water and stir until the crystals dissolve. Or, place the honey jar, with lid off, in a microwave-safe container. Microwave on Low, stirring every 30 seconds, until the crystals dissolve. Be careful not to boil or scorch the honey. If you feel the honey container isn't microwave safe, use the warm water method instead.
Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to cranberries while cooking them and they will not require as much sugar.
Chunks of charcoal placed in the refrigerator will help absorb any bad odors.