And Now Me!

This is, unfortunately, my last blog post but I have certainly enjoyed blogging these past few weeks. Nutrition and healthy lifestyle is something I'm very passionate about, though I don't want to give you the wrong idea. I am no extreme health nut- I love eating all different types of food, and I have my fair share of guilty pleasures.

I personally think that nutrition plays such a huge part in our national culture. It is cheaper to buy a full meal at McDonald's than it is to buy just an apple from the super market. Therefore, parents are more likely to buy their kids a meal from McDonald's because it is a larger quantity, even though they aren't getting anything nutritional out of it. Our need for immediate gratification and low budgets put a huge hindrance on our ability to have a full, well-balanced diet.

Once a week I see a nutritionist who has always emphasized the power of moderation, and thats the last idea I would like to talk to you about. Moderation refers to the quantity of food as well as the type of food you are consuming. It is perfectly okay to eat a variety of foods, anywhere from cake to fruit, but the key to staying healthy is therefore in portion size. Obesity isn't entirely the result of eating fattening foods, but rather overeating foods that would in any other instance be fine moderately. 

The best way to eat moderately is to be conscious of what is going on. In a super-sized society, we are often presented with more food than what we could ever possibly need. Be aware of your limits and stop when you are starting to feel full, and make sure if you lack one major food group in a particular meal that you make up for it in some other way that day.

Thank you again, and I wish you all "Healthy Living" :)

-Leigh

Eating with High Blood Pressure

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a serious problem that affects 25% of Americans. High blood pressure is the result of blockage in the arteries that causes excessive pressure on artery walls. It is commonly caused by too much sodium in our diets, which is hard to avoid, especially with the excessive amount of sodium used in much American food. According to the American Heart Association, everyone should limit their sodium consumption to 1500 mg a day. Hypertension can also be the result of insufficient consumption of calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Below are some recommended nutritional sources to increase Ca, K, and Mg levels!

CALCIUM:
Dried herbs, cheese, sesame and flax seeds, tofu, almonds, yogurt, and green leafy vegetables

MAGNESIUM:
Bran, cocoa powder (dark chocolate), almonds, cashews, molasses

POTASSIUM:
Spinach, baked potatoes, dried apricots, yogurt, salmon, avocado, mushroom, bananas

Hypertension can also be the result of stress. Review these tips for how to reduce stress!

• Eat regularly
• Eat healthy fats (omega 3 fatty acids)
• More fiber = high alertness and less stress
• Have healthy snacks with plenty of protein and fiber

A Day of My Life

So the end of this senior project health blog is coming, and this may be the very last post unless, I pick this up again at some random point in the future. As a result, I wanted to share a day in my life to show a real life example of living an overall healthy (still with room for delicious albeit not perfectly healthy food) lifestyle. One that I hope is easily applicable to your lives. 

Today I went into Boston and was able to take a couple of pics, so I'll use today as an example. This is sort of a closer look at my life, so hello and nice to meet you!

Although today was a Wednesday, I did not have to go to school (because of this project) and thus, today's schedule wouldn't fit for a normal week day activity, but more for a weekend sort of trip.

I woke up at 4 am this morning to send my sister off to the airport, and my dad came along. We breakfasted with a leftover bao zi and a hard boiled egg. I always start my day with a tall glass of hot water with some lemon juice freshly squeezed into it. For those of you who have no idea what a bao zi is, it is a Chinese steamed stuffed bun, similar to the filling you would find in dumplings.

Then, we said our goodbyes to my darling sister and my dad and I went off to go biking at 5:30 in the morning. It was slightly chilly this morning at 47 degrees, but dressed properly we were all set to go! We parked along the beautiful Charles River. (Photos from my iPhone)

The view from Cambridge's side near MIT campus. Isn't it beautiful?

 We got out our bikes, strapped on our helmets, and rode along the river bank and crossed the bridge back into Boston. Luckily, because it was so gosh darn early, there was hardly anyone else around and it was extremely peaceful.

We rode for about two hours with a rest stop at the Boston Commons in the middle where we sat and stifled our yawns. We later headed back to our car to go find a place to eat brunch.

With the help of Yelp, we found a cute restaurant in Somerville, MA called The Neighborhood Restaurant. The prices were great and the portions were generous as you might be able to tell from the pics. But above all, the food was delicious! I started with cream of wheat, OJ, and some coffee. Then tried a spinach and cheese omelet with some home fries. Needless to say, we left perked up from the coffee and recharged for the rest of the day. I'll use this moment to say that food is extremely important in maintaining your energy so as a result, if you're out and about all day it's fine to be more generous with your normal eating palate. You can make up for it later.

After eating, we left and explored Union Square Plaza so we could walk off some of the food. And along our way, we found this interesting painted wall and so we captured and celebrated our regained energy with a jump for joy!

Along our walk back to the car we found this:

I think it is definitely appropriate. Whenever you can, choose biking or walking over driving! It is not only healthier for the environment, but also great for your own health and fun to do.

On the way back home, I slept for half an hour and am now ready for the rest of the day. So remember, sleep is important too! Later for dinner I'll be eating lots of veggies and a little bit of protein. Then tonight, sleeping a nice good 8 hours of sleep hopefully.

Hope this helped give an example of how life can be lived healthily and can be achieved without any extra fuss. It truly is a fun and a happy lifestyle, so go out there and make the best of your life with proper fitness, nutrition, and equipped scientific knowledge! Cheers!

Anemia: The Key to Boosting Iron Levels

Anemia is a condition marked by low hemoglobin levels in the blood. Anemic people offer suffer from fatigue because their body is depleted of the oxygen levels needed to function properly. While there are many different forms of hereditary anemia, like sickle cell, the most common form is iron-deficiency anemia which is entirely treatable with a change in diet and iron supplements.

Bone marrow requires iron to produce hemoglobin, so when the body doesn't intake enough iron, the body cannot produce healthy red blood cells. Iron-deciency anemia can be caused by an iron-poor diet (common in youth and vegetarians), pregnancy, frequent blood donation, endurance training, and sometimes caffeine can negatively impact the body's ability to utilize iron. Children need 7-11 mg of iron a day, and women from 19-50 years of age need 18 mg (though they could potentially require more during pregnancy). Men and women over 51 years of age need 8 mg.

Here are some iron-rich foods to try to incorporate into your diet:

• MEAT AND EGGS
• Beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork
• SEAFOOD
• Shrimp, clams, oysters, tuna
• VEGGIES
• Spinach, peas, sweet potatoes, broccoli, collard greens, kale
• FRUIT
• Strawberry, watermelon, figs, prunes, raisins
• BEANS AND OTHER
• Tofu, beans, lentil

10 min Workouts and such

http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/pinterest-logo.jpg

Personally, I love Pinterest. For those who do not know what Pinterest is, it is a social media networking site where each user is represented by the pictures they love. You "pin" images of your favorite things to boards based on categories that you create and basically, it amasses everything you love in one confined place. Other than the fact that it makes me happy, it is also extremely useful.

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Through Pinterest, I have found many helpful tips for living healthily through other user's health boards. Such boards include fitness regimens that are of short time amounts and are extremely useful for when
one is on a tight schedule.

So today, I will show you a couple of these pins to get you started, then you can be off on your way exploring the wonderfulness of new things out there!

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And there are also inspirational ones, motivational ones, helpful ones, and just plain great old advice to be found.

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Hope this helps! and you learn to see the brilliance in Pinterest :)

Rest

Rest is one of the most important aspects to consider when undertaking a new exercise regime. It is great to run everyday and have the motivation to keep up with your goals. However, you need to create time for your own body to recuperate. Just as anything, if you use something too long, it eventually gets worn out. That's why it is important for you to learn how to take care of your body.

The frequency of rest days and the type of rest depends on the intensity of your workouts. If you simply walk everyday or have a light run there is no need to take off a day unless you have an injury. If in fact you do have an injury, one day of rest may not suffice. Of course if you do want to take a day off just because, that is always understandable and perfectly respectable.

However in general, if you exercise at a medium to hard intensity level, a day of rest a week is recommended. This is so that your body can heal and recover from soreness, and growing lactic acid in the muscles. On this rest day, if you are not that sore, you can simply go about doing your average everyday lifestyle. However, if you find yourself in need of some sort of exercise, just not demanding on the bones, yoga and stretching can help.

Check out the Yoga for You post to see basic yoga poses to help stretch common muscle groups used in exercise for inspiration. If you are going to stretch, make sure you properly warm up your muscles before stretching deeply. This is explained in the flexibility post.

Another great soother for a rest day is swimming. Swimming is an all around toning exercise for the body that  gives no harsh impact on the bones. Simply doing the backstroke and laying on your back is fine. Enjoy the break from your usual intense workout.

I tend to have medium intensity level workouts, therefore, on my rest days I still exercise, but it is light and fun. Walking, biking, or yoga are my go-tos. In general I prefer having a rest day on Sunday, so that I can start my week off with a nice workout on Monday and follow it through the rest of the week. However, with my busy schedule, it varies. Even though I may not be able to follow it, I definitely recommend having your rest day on Sunday if your schedule allows. Being able to start your week on the right foot makes it so much easier to maintain proper health.

Make sure you take a day of rest! It is for your own wellness.

A Diabetes Diet Plan

There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, is when the body doesn't produce insulin. Unlike type 1, type 2 is more commonly found in aged populations, where either the body doesn't produce enough insulin or simply ignores its presence. Despite popular belief, people at risk for diabetes can prevents its onset with a healthy lifestyle, and that starts with what you eat. There are many different methods for watching your diet including carb counting and glycemic index. However, studies show that the easiest and most efficient is the plate method.

The plate method refers to how we fill our plate at meal time to ensure that e are giving our body what it needs. Follow these easy steps when creating your plate:

Create an imaginary line down the center of your plate, and then divide one of those halves into a half (there are now 3 sections on your plate- 50%, 25% and 25%)

1. Fill the 50% with non-starchy vegetables
1. Spinach, carrots, lettuce, greens, cabbage, bok choy
2. Green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, tomato
3. Veggie juice, salsa, onion, cucumber, beets, okra
4. Mushroom, pepper, turnup
2. Fill one of the 25% sections with starchy foods
1. Whole grain products like bread and cereal
2. Oatmeal, rice, pasta, cooked beans
3. Potato, green beans, corn, sweet potato
3. Fill the last 25% section with a meat or meat substitute
1. Skinless turkey or chicken
2. Seafood (tuna, salmon, cod, shrimp, oyster, crab)
3. Tofu

Cardiometabolic Exercise: Walking

An easy way to get involved with actively moving each day is to enroll in your community centers' exercise classes, schools', YMCAs',or gyms'.These places are great because they give you a community to help keep you motivated. However, if group programs are not your thing, don't fear. Studies have shown that self-directed lifestyle activities are every bit as well as supervised structured exercise programs.

There are many different options to choose from for exercising. In planning your exercise, keep in mind your body type, personal goals, schedule, facilities available, and supports at your disposal.

Walk to Health
One of the special things about walking is that you don't need special skills or special equipment. In all weather you walk, just cover yourself up if its chilly, grab an umbrella if its rainy, and you're good to go!
However, if the weather is hazardous, do not endanger yourself. You can walk around your house, on a treadmill, or around a mall indoors.

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There are a couple of tips for walking:
Try to keep your posture erect with your chin up, eyes forward, shoulders square.
Keep back straight, belly flat, and buttocks tucked in.
Keep arms close to your torso, bent at your elbows.
Land on your heels, and then roll forward to push off with your toes.
Swing your arms with each stride, keeping up a steady rhythmic cadence.

Walk for transportation is great, also taking the stairs instead of the elevators are an excellent addition to your life. You can make walking as intensive or non as you want. Strolling or power walking or somewhere in between is all perfectly fine. However if you do plan on power walking please invest in a proper pair of shoes.

A good pair is one that fits comfortably and is built for walking. The shoes should feel supportive but not constricting. Look for a padded tongue and heel counter. The uppers should be light, breathable, and flexible. The insole, moisture resistant, and the sole, shock absorbent. And the toe box should be roomy even with thick athletic socks.

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Another key point is if you are walking outside where cars drive past, wear bring clothing! It is highly important that you do not camouflage into the road so that cars can see you and move around you. It is for your own safety, so help the cars notice you. If you're walking on the road, walk facing the cars, so basically opposite the side you drive.

Enjoy the Weather!

It's now full spring and the temperature outside is creeping upwards. The day is beautiful, getting longer, and becoming more available for going outside. However your life style is, you can fit in a fun workout outside.

Walking, running, biking, skating, scootering, skipping, galloping, etc. are great ways to enjoy the fresh open air. Especially during the weekends, take your family out to a bike trail or grab some friends and go roller blading.

For the weekdays, take time in the mornings to do some cleansing breaths, and get some fresh air by taking a nice morning stroll before heading off to work. This will relax you, prepare you mentally for the day, and awaken your mind.

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If mornings are busy, you can take a easy walk during your lunch break or after dinner. A good half an hour of moving is perfect with the coupling of fresh air.

On the weekends, try to do something new. Make your exercise an event. Maybe call up a couple of friends and play a pick up game of ultimate frisbee, soccer, or basketball. Take your kids out to a park, lake, or beach as the weather runs into summer.

Even though its still in the 60s and 70s please make sure to properly prepare yourself for the sunny weather. Proper hydration and sun protection is important for your own health. Always carry with you a water bottle and sunscreen.

Enjoy the outdoors!

Eating with Acid Reflux

Acid reflux is when tissue in your esophagus has burned as a result of acid from the stomach going into the esophagus, and despite popular belief, it can be treated entirely naturally. Acid reflux can be caused by many factors, commonly including obesity and overly acidic diet. To treat acid reflux, therefore, you will need to increase the alkalinity of your diet. Here are some general tips for foods low in acidity:

• Foods high in fiber (vegetables, beans, nuts, and whole grain)
• Veggies high in minerals (cucumbers, lettuce, eggplant, and pumpkins)
• Drinks without carbonation or caffeine
• Gum (causes high salivation that neutralizes acids)
• Foods that are easy to digest (rice, fruit, aged cheese, beans and pasta)
• Foods high in digestive enzymes (fig, papaya, pineapple and yogurt)

Along with the foods that compose your diet, I also suggest changing hte periods, amount, and length of each meal you eat a day. For example, instead of having three large meals, try having six smaller ones. Large meals stretch the stomach and cause irritation. Preferably large meals should be eating during hte middle of the day as opposed to at night. When the stomach has a lot to digest, it speeds up and this causes acids to escape the stomach back into the esophagus, causing acid reflux.

Making Dinner for the Family

This week my friend and I cooked a healthy dinner which was quite delicious and I highly recommend it to you all! Plus, it only took 30 minutes to prep and its vegetarian!

The meal includes chilled tofu with scallions and soy sauce, kale chips, and rice. Below is a recipe for 2 servings, so you will need to adjust ratios for the amount of people you are cooking for. Rice is a recommended staple but you can eat this with just about anything!

TOFU:
Ingredients: 14 oz tofu (soft), 2 sliced scallions, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp sesame seeds, 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1/2 tbsp sriracha
Procedure:
1. Mix all the ingredients in a small, with the exception of the tofu.

2. Cut the tofu into squares and bathe in the sauce you just made. Put it in the fridge to chill and you are good to go :)

KALE CHIPS:

Ingredients: 1 head of washed and dried kale, 2 tbsp olive oil, sprinkle of sea salt
Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F
2. Cut up the kale leaves into pieces 1.5 inches across. Lay them on a baking sheet and sprinkle them with olive oil and salt.
3. Cook them for 10 minutes, and then turn them over and cook for another 10 minutes.

Now all thats left is the rice, and bam! You have got a healthy, easy, quick and delicious meal for you and your family. Enjoy!

Avoiding Cancer

Although it is not conclusive that exercise can reduce the risks of getting cancer, it is certainly true that maintaining a normal weight and leading a healthy lifestyle can lower your chances of having cancer.

It is definitive that physically active men and women have around a forty to fifty percent less likely chance to develop colon cancer. The thought behind this is that physical activity allows your colon to process food and waste products more quickly, therefore allowing your colon less exposure to cancer-causing substances.

Breast cancer risks can be reduced as well with physical activity. However, the evidence is not as conclusive as it is for colon cancer. Active women have a thirty to forty percent less likely chance to develop breast cancer, because physical activity decreases a woman's exposure to estrogen. (In men, exercise can reduce testosterone exposure which allows for a lower chance of gaining prostate cancer.)

Some other benefits to exercise are as follows:

• boosting your immune system
• decreasing the amount of insulin circulating in your blood
• reducing levels of other hormones (excluding estrogen and testosterone)
• losing weight

Depressed?

Clinical depression is normally treated with therapy and anti-depressants. However, exercise seems to also show as a positive coping mechanism.

Aerobic exercise and strength training can actually be as effective as taking an anti-depressant or seeing a psychotherapist. The research isn't definitive, but there have been several studies that show regular exercise routines can help those with major depressive disorder.

So, if thats the case, aerobic exercise or weightlifting? Oddly enough, either form of exercise is equally effective. It seems that relaxation and stretching, like yoga, don't show effective results. It may also be helpful to join a gym that holds group exercise classes as social interaction can be of some assistance to cheering up the soul. (:

What makes exercise a useful treatment in fighting depression? Regular workouts usually provoke chemical changes in the brain, which correct imbalances of neurotransmitters like serotonin. Exercise also boosts self-esteem and body image. With the combination of these two results, exercise is a great way to fight depression.