Welcome back to Active Life Health Clinic's January 2007 newsletter.
The beginning of the year is a great time to
reflect on the past ("Top Health Stories of 2006"), plan for your
future ("Resolve to Make your Resolutions Come True"), make some
changes for the better ("Quick Fix Food"), and get back on track with
your health goals.
If you've been over-indulging over
the holiday season (or perhaps longer than that?), don't forget that
detoxification is important to your body and that the price of the far-infrared sauna sessions will change starting in February of this year.
I'm sure that you've probably heard or read somewhere that one of the
ways to succeed in making a goal come true is to share it with
someone. Once you have told someone, you are held accountable for
making that come true, and you will be more likely to push yourself
when/if you want to give up. Share with me your health goals for this year.
Patient News Announcement: Looking for spiritual inspiration and healing? Check out the new tv series "5 Seekers" starting January 9th. You can also see a clip at www.myspace.com/5seekers
If you no longer wish to receive these monthly e-newsletters, please email us to have your name removed from the list.
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Happy New Year! Now let's
get down to business. Time to re-balance your life again by
taking care of the most important thing you possess: your health. Resolve to Make your Resolutions Come True
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Thank you to Tami for your request for ways to eat healthy when on the run: Quick Fix Food |
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Top Health Stories of 2006
What health topics stand out for you from 2006? |
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Helping you help yourself!
My goal:
To work in partnership with you to bring you to
your optimal health.
My focus:
Ongoing health, not just temporary relief.
This is active health.
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Resolve to Make Your Resolutions Come True!
Now is a great time to think about your goals for the new year. While tv ads may give the illusion
that people's biggest aspirations are to buy more, take more
medication, and eat more junk food, it seems that the most popular New
Year's Resolutions are health-related: to quit smoking, eat
healthier/lose weight, and exercise more.
What would you like for the year 2007? Why not make it happen
this year? Surprise yourself and/or friends and family with your
successes in keeping those resolutions. Or bring a friend or 2 or
3 or more along for the ride with you while you support each other in
your goals.
1. Quit Smoking
Acupuncture is commonly used for relieving pain, but did you know that
it can also help you to quit smoking? Of course you have to
actually want to quit, but acupuncture and ear seeds (non-needle
stimulus that you press yourself), can greatly reduce cravings and
increase your chances of succeeding. It is recommended that you
do 6 sessions, twice weekly for best results. Herbal teas can
also be helpful, e.g. Stop Smoking Tea.
www.cancer.org
2. Eat Healthier/Lose Weight
Well, this is a topic that I cover quite often, so all I'll say now is,
isn't it time that you cut back on your coffee intake, drank more water
and less pop, watched out for those hidden and not so hidden sugars and
bad fats, and made veggies a bigger part of your plate coverage?
If you have digestive or other health issues, food allergies or
sensitivities, need help obtaining your healthy weight goal, or would
simply like to make sure that you are getting what you need, come in
for specific nutritional advice. For those who are too busy, too
tired, or too lazy to make an effort, read "Quick Fix Food" below for
ideas.
3. Exercise More
We all have our excuses for why we don't exercise enough (or at
all). I may not be able to make the days longer to give you more
time to work out, but I can help you feel more energetic, be healthier,
and reduce your pain--all things that can make you more likely to be
successful with your exercise goals.
And remember...
"Whether you think you can or can't, you are right"--Henry Ford
Quick Fix Food
Do:
1. Keep healthy "fast food" available
- Pre-wash and cut fruit and vegetables
- Boil a few eggs (free-range) for a quick protein snack
- Don't throw out your leftovers (don't eat that
mystery stuff at the back of the fridge either though!)
- Mandarin oranges are portable, easy to peel, and yummy
- Almonds, pumpkin seeds, and other nuts and seeds
contain protein and essential fats; just don't buy pre-cut or sliced ones as they will go
rancid faster
2. Pre-prepare meals
- Make a big batch of soup or stew and freeze it in portion sizes for defrosting later
- Chop and prep your recipe ingredients at night and
put it in a slow cooker to start up the next morning before you head off to
work
- Some foods taste better as leftovers!
3. Make healthy alternatives to your favourites
- Substitute in stevia for sugar and unsweetened
apple sauce for half the oil in your baked goods
- Try a healthy protein shake (see recipe below)
4. Choose healthier pre-made food options
- There are many options for healthier snack bars, e.g. Lara Bars, Elev8Me, and Think Bars. The thing in common for all these bars is that all ingredients on the list are actually foods that you can recognize!
Don't:
1. Have junk foods readily available
- If they are harder to access, it takes more effort to get them, and you might just avoid them altogether
2. Overdo the treats
- Buy or make small portions and share
3. Skip meals
- Or you'll be hungrier and make poor food choices
4. Think that "fat-free", "cholesterol-free", "sugar-free", "diet", and "healthy" on food labels always means healthy
- Read labels and avoid "hydrogenated", "aspartame",
and limit the number of ingredients that you do not know as real food
Top Health Stories of 2006
What health topics stand out for you from 2006?
1. Drug Resistant Bacteria
known as MRSA--methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus--is now the
most common skin infection seen in urban hospitals and traditional
antibiotics do not destroy it.
Alternatives? Keep your immune system strong by using preventative medicine, manuka honey, and probiotics
2. "Globesity" is the epidemic of obesity around the world
as the world takes on the American diet. Obviously the Chinese
are no longer following the Traditional Chinese Medicine food cures and
dietary measures of their ancestors as 60 million Chinese in China are
obese.
3. New York city is aiming to ban trans fats
from New York City restaurant fryers by July 2007 and from all
restaurant food by July 2008. At that time, New York will join Tiburon,
California, as the second trans-fat-free city in the United States. Some
experts believe that trans fats are a much greater health risk than
saturated fats. I agree! Remember that trans fats may not
be labelled (smaller companies have until the end of 2007 to have to
label trans fats and quantities less than 0.2% can be lablled as
trans-free), but the ingredients will be, so avoid hydrogenated fats
and oils and limit your store- and restaurant/cafe-bought baked goods.
4. Food safety measures failed when bagged spinach was found to be contaminated with e.coli,
a dangerous bacteria. It's tough to eat healthy when the veggies
are dangerous! Make sure to wash even "pre-washed" bagged
veggies. Add grapefruit seed extract to the water you wash your
food in and you will be more sure to kill any unwanted tag-alongs.
5. Once again we are warned of a devastating flu epidemic to come.
Yes, this was also big news last year, but experts state that it is
inevitable. While there have been human deaths in Indonesia from
the bird flu, there were no additional cases of human-to-human
transmission or evidence that the virus had mutated. In addition, the
infection rate of poultry seems to have slowed. Protect yourself
by strengthening your immune system. Even if you don't get the
bird flu, SARS, or some other such exotic and potentially dangerous
flu, no one likes to be sick. Natural alternatives include
acupuncture, a healthy diet, Flu-X, vitamin C, Chinese herbs, far-infrared sauna, and more.
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