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Let's Do It Healthy

Monday, August 22, 2005

Don't feel guilty for making time for yourself. It's not selfish to make yourself a priority. Neglecting yourself can mean having less than 100 percent to give back to everyone else. The first step toward more balance in life is to believe you are number one and your needs are important. So, congratulate yourself for identifying the fact that you are a priority.

If weight loss is part of your plan, you've got good reasons to watch your portions. Don't deny yourself your favorite foods, but don't go overboard, either. Keep track of what you eat and each day focus on small successes. They can add up to a new you, and a lifetime of feeling better about yourself and your weight.


Juicy, red watermelon is not only delicious, it may help men avoid prostate cancer. As long as you spit out the seeds, watermelon is the biggest supplier among fresh fruits and vegetables in the antioxidant lycopene, which is believed to play a big role in the prevention of the killer
disease. Antioxidants such as lycopene work in your body by disarming free oxygen radicals, which are thought to contribute to the development of many cancers. A 2-cup serving of watermelon contains 15 - 20 milligrams of this vital plant pigment. Other sources include tomatoes, red grapefruits and guavas.


Chocolate is good for you! At least it is if you stick to cocoa, or chocolate with little saturated fat. Cocoa has flavonoids -- the same health-boosting substances found in tea, red wine and soy foods. Studies suggest the flavonoids may help protect against heart disease and stroke.
They slow blood's ability to clot, and reduce potential for arterial plaque. One problem: Most commercial chocolate is made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and cholesterol-raising trans fatty acids -- not to mention all the sugar and calories! For an occasional treat, choose dark chocolate, or cocoa made with low fat milk.

It's easy to fit stretching into your day; try these 3 tips. Practice some stretches while waiting in shopping lines. Simple neck and shoulder rolls are a great way to release stress and relax tight muscles. And make use of the stairs -- a great tool for stretching out your calves. How important is it to stretch? The American College of Sports Medicine has added stretching to its fitness recommendations.

Go mango. Nature packs a lot of vitamins A and C into these low-calorie appetizers. Half a medium-sized mango supplies 40% of the vitamin A and 50% of the vitamin C that most of us need daily. All for a mere 67 calories. And it tastes great!

Tune into TV. Haul that treadmill or exercise bike out of the basement and put it smack dab in front of your television set. Or go for a more portable alternative and jump rope or lift light hand weights while you watch. Besides being too busy to eat, you may find that you're exercising for longer periods when you're distracted by the television.

When yogurt's live active cultures colonize your digestive system, they draw a line in the sand against disease. The cultures -- especially acidophilus and bifida - muscle out potentially threatening bacteria. Low-fat or fat-free yogurt has a lot of other things going for it: It's easy to digest, especially for those who are lactose-intolerant and have difficulty digesting milk and many cheeses; it's an excellent source of calcium, protein, riboflavin (a B vitamin), vitamin B-12 (which may be low in vegetarian diets) and vitamin A; and provides selenium, potassium and magnesium.

Don't drain that water! It can contain a good source of B vitamins! Steaming or microwaving vegetables is one of the best ways to retain the water-soluble B-complex and C vitamins. These preparation methods require very little liquid so fewer vitamins are leached out during the cooking process. If you boil vegetables, save the water for another part of the recipe if you can, that way you save the leached out nutrients.

Inactive adults over age 30 lose about 3 - 5% of muscle tissue every 10 years; here's what you can do. Go to the weight room. Strength training prevents the reduction in muscle tissue that causes the body metabolism to slow and makes the bones more vulnerable to conditions like osteoporosis.

Blogged on 3:46 AM

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