How Can I Be Sure My Family Gets Their Required Servings of Vegetables and Fruit Per Day?

Yikes! What do the 7-13 servings of vegetables and fruit that we're supposed to get per day even look like? What if I'm so busy I don't have time to prepare healthy meals? How do I monitor my kid's diet when she's away from me during the day?

Well, here's how:

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  Spark your child's natural curiosity by letting him or her help out in the kitchen (no knives or dangerous tools, please) or even letting them grow their own little garden--even a small urban apartment has room for a small planter!
• Be Sneaky in a healthful way:  Blend and crush veggies and then sneak them in soups, sauces and other foods--wherever they can hide.
• We're all starving just before dinner, right? Use that to your advanage: A woman once told me that she was concerned about her 13-year-old daughter's weight--and rightly so, since we're now seeing kids with diabetes, high blood pressure, metabolic disease and the like. This woman had her daughter eat a big plate of veggies everynight before dinner so she wouldn't overeat at that meal. You can serve things before dinner like a big plate of raw veggies with a healthy dip, such as home-made hummus or salsa to keep them from reaching for the cookies, pretzels and other not-so-healthy items.
• Serve salad BEFORE the dinner entree, not AFTER (when people will already be satiated and probably won't feel like eating the salad)  Don't serve it DURING the meal, either; after all, if you had a choice between salad and pizza what would you choose?
• Take out an "insurance policy."  I like Juice Plus+ . It isn't a supplement; it's a whole food concentrate made up of 13 fruits and vegetables. No preservatives, no additives, just pure nutrition. Best of all, it comes in a chewable form, much like those "gummy bears" that appeal to very young kids. Actually, I had one of the super-busy days last spring when I went for over 13 hours without eating. I was starving and, while on the train, I realized I had a packet of the gummy bear-like Juice Plus+ chewables. So I wolfed it down; I got nutrition, but I'm sure anyone who saw thought I was eating candy.Want to know more about Juice Plus+? Please visit: www.irsharesjuiceplus.com

Why You Need Your ZZZ's

Everyone should aim for 7.5 or 8.0 hours of sleep at night, but millions of us don't get enough--and chronic sleep deprivation is one of the worse things that can affect us, damaging everything from our immune systems to making us injure ourselves.

 

In fact, sleep deprivation can actually make us GAIN weight, because it affects ghrelin, leptin and cortisol--all hormones that regulate appetite.

March 3-10, 2013 is National Sleep Awareness Week, so it is a good time to look at the things that can keep us tossing and turning.  Once we know exactly what the problem is we can, hopefully, do something about it.

 

·         Stress: Things like mind-chatter, impending deadlines and other events can make us toss and turn. Here’s where it is a cause, though; we awaken tired, anxious, irritable, depressed and lacking mental clarity—which means decreased or non-existent--coping mechanisms, adding to our ever-increasing stress load.

·         Pain: “If we consistently do not get enough rest it opens us up to the daily aches and pains we feel, as well as more serious injury,” said Michael Gazeleh, DC.  Guess what?  That pain keeps us awake.

·         Illness: The constant stress of sleep deprivation can trigger chronic and degenerative illnesses, but you also want to explore reasons for  not being able to stay asleep: “That might be caused by something like pain or even hunger,” said Dr. Peter Bongiorno, ND, Lac. “Hunger might either mean that there’s a problem with the liver or simply that the patient needs to eat a little more before bed.”

·         “The bedroom isn’t dark enough. Melatonin is the body’s natural substance that’s produced at night, and a decreased level results in lower immunity, increased risk of infection. “Even the slightest light can cause a decrease in melatonin  levels,” says Dr. Bongiorno ND, Lac

·         Pets.  I’m not passing judgment; in fact, I freely admit that I love sleeping with pets; to me, they’re like warm furry pillows.  However, the Mayo Clinic conducted a study finding that more than half of its patients seeking consultations at their sleep clinic were pet owners complaining of nightly sleep disturbances, caused by things like cover-hogging, kicking, growling, meowing, or even scratching.

 

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It's March--How Are You Doing With Your Wellness Goals?

We all do it, me included.  We make all these great promises:  To lose those last 5 pounds; learn to control our sugar cravings (By the way, I'll admit that I had a chocolate-dipped cookie today). We promise to exercise more, sleep better, spend time each day for meditation--the list goes on and on.

Then when it's just about this time of year, we forget about those resolutions--but we panic because Memorial Day, the unofficial start to summer, is just around the corner and we need to lose our winter weight--and fast.

You can still make 2013 your healthiest year ever, though. It just takes a little knowledge and a few easy fixes.

Remember that everything feeds us, not just what's on our plates.  We're also fed by things like rest and recreation, career, relationships, and more.  Our lives need to be in balance or we'll always be, well, sick and hungry.
But here are 5 things that can derail your wellness goals that you can do something about right now:

NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP: A study by the Archives of Internal Medicine gave 153 people the rhino virus (common cold) by nose drop. It was found that those studied who got at least seven hours of sleep per night were 300% less likely to catch a cold. So here's the bottom-line: Sleep deprivation leads to exhaustion which can lead to chronic illnesses and injury. It also affects our weight, since sleep has a direct connection to 3 hormones that control appetite.
SKIPPING BREAKFAST: Breakfast breaks the overnight fast and will start your metabolism. If you skip breakfast, or any other meal, your body will think it is starving and will go into protection mode by lowering your metabolism. That means you could actually gain weight by not eating a meal and you’ll probably overeat at the next one, since your body will insist on making up those lost calories.
NOT PAYING ENOUGH ATTENTION TO THE TOXINS HIDDEN IN FOODS: For instance, those processed meats, like bacon, hot dogs, and sausage, have sodium nitrate, which have been linked to heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Diet soda and artificial sweeteners can lead to prolonged exposure to aspartame, a neurotoxic chemical additive in these products that can result in nerve cell damage, dizziness, and headaches. Those mass-produced snacks, like crackers and cookies, usually use hydrogenated oils are used to lengthen the shelf life and are also associated with diabetes and heart disease.
TRYING TO FIGHT, RATHER THAN LEARN, ABOUT YOUR CRAVINGS: Cravings can give us brilliant information about our bodies. For instance, did you know that a sugar craving is often your body’s cry for energy? Deconstruct it—is that your body’s way of telling you to slow down, or engage in some stress reduction, or to relax and sleep a little more?? By the way, once you figure out what it’s telling you, the cravings will be eliminated—and the weight will start releasing.

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Want to learn how to control your cravings?  Sign up for my class, "3 Secrets to Kicking Those Sugar Cravings to the Curb in 30 Days" at: http://www.irenefross.com/3-secrets-to-kicking-those-sugar-cravings-to-the-curb-in-30-day 

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NOT EXERCISING ENOUGH: Anyone remember the episode of the television show "Everybody Loves Raymond" when Raymond becomes thrilled with the sudden, dramatic increase in his sex life--until he finds an exercise class flyer--featuring the photo of a very handsome instructor--on his wife's table. He thinks the instructor is the reason for her sudden interest but, when he confronts her, she says: "Has it ever occurred to you that I'm just feeling much better about myself these days?"

Exercise makes us feel better physically and mentally. It fights fatigue by carrying oxygen and nutrients to the cells and helps detoxify the body, by getting rid of toxins, accumulated wastes and poisons. It also improves our mood by releasing those natural, feel-good substances, endorphins which, in turn, also help us handle stress and sleep better.

ABOUT IRENE:

Irene Ross, CHHC, AADP is an integrative nutrition and holistic health coach, speaker and writer. 

She is author of the e-book, Sugar’s Sour Story, and of the forthcoming book, 25 Ways to Fire Up Your Day:Increase Energy, Get More Done in Less Time, Balance Your Life.

Her website is: www.irenefross.com..

Pets and Pounds: Not All That Different from Humans!

I'm an integrative nutrition and holistic wellness coach. I'm also a speaker, writer/book author and avid animal lover.

As a nutrition/wellness coach, one of my specialties is getting people off that diet roller coaster--you know, the yo-yo dieting that's responsible for everything from spending extra money on wardrobes in different sizes to accommodate those weight fluctuations, to lack of energy, high stress, decreased immune system and more.

The obesity problem is far and wide; both our kids and pets are experiencing that, plus lifestyle-based diseases, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.  In a segment on Letterman a few years back, Dr. Oz said he was performing quadruple bypass on 25-year-olds!. 

 And pets-- 54 percent of all dogs and cats in the U.S. are now classified as overweight or obese!

Many of my writing assignments have been on the topics of nutrition and holistic wellness--for humans but, more and more, for pets. You see, pet nutrition is a big industry--and the pet industry as a whole is over $51 billion.

In my travels as a writer, I've interviewed countless veterinarians, veterinary nutritionists and other pet experts--and you know what I've found? Animals aren't really all that different from humans! Their nutrition can be as complex as ours--commercial foods, premium brands, home-made meals, raw food or BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diets. Just like us, each one responds differently to foods; just because your neighbor's dog is thriving on a food doesn't mean yours will.

I've also discovered that pets suffer from many of the same lifestyle-based diseases that we do, including diabetes and high blood pressure. Their obesity rate is through the roof; right now, 54 percent of all cats and dogs are classified as overweight or obese by the veterinarian. Just three years ago that figure was 40 percent--still too high--but it also shows how fast it's rising. In fact, according to Healthy Pets at Mercola.Com, Veterinary Pet Insurance (VIP), Americans paid $25 million in 2010 in veterinary bills for obesity-related problems, such as asthma, disc diseases and ligament ruptures.

Pets also get arthritis, cancer, the common cold, sometimes even flu, chronic stress and sleep deprivation and more.

Baxter was a member of the family!  I looked after his weight and  overall health as much as I would anyone.

So it only made sense to me to combine them into a program I call "Transforming People and Pets."  I'll transform you both into vibrant, happy, healthy beings--no more unstable weight gain, no more yo-yo dieting! No humorless, rigid and deprivation-based programs.

Of course, if you also have kids (the 2-legged variety!), I'll include them in the program if you wish.

It'll sort of be like one of those reality weight-loss, transformation shows-- only with both humans and non-humans.

Want more information about this?  See: http://www.irenefross.com/transforming-people-and-pets.  And be sure to pass it on to your customers/clients/patients!

ABOUT IRENE

Irene Ross, CHHC, AADP, is an integrative nutrition and holistic health coach, speaker and writer/book author. She helps both humans and their non-human children alter unhealthy habits so they live lives of health, happiness and vibrancy--and, in the case of humans, so they can balance their lives.

Author of the e-book, Sugar's Sour Story, and of the forthcoming book, 25 Ways to Fire Up Your Day: Increase Energy, Get More Done in Less Time, Balance Your Life, her website is:  www.irenefross.com.