|
April 2007 - Posts
-
In Chapter 7, we learn about body muscle and why it's important to have a certain amount of muscle in order to keep our metabolisms running at a higher level. The authors recommend thirty minutes of walking every day, and thirty minutes of strength training per week. Did that seem like a lot of excercise or not very much to you?
Chapters 8 and 9 really got into emotional eating, asking us to examine why we eat the way we do. They talk about all-or-nothing thinking which is a trap many dieters fall into, along with the cycle of being overweight, feeling guilty about it, and then eating to make ourselves feel better. I don't know about the rest of you, but I could surely relate to that cycle! How did you score on the quiz at the end of Chapter 9? My challenge is clearly around the exercise aspects.
I wanted to remind everyone about the Live Chat next Tuesday, April 17 at 5:00pm. We will be giving away ten copies of our next book, The Sneaky Chef - Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals. Please find the contest rules below this blog.
Have a healthy week!
Dell- a Lumen
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules. The free book giveaway sweepstakes in conjunction with the live moderated chat session (“Sweepstakes”) begins on April 17, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. ET and ends on April 17, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. ET (“Sweepstakes Period”). The Sweepstakes is sponsored by Lumenos, Inc., 1801 North Beauregard Street, Suite 10, Alexandria, Virginia 22311 (“Sponsor”).
Eligibility: The Sweepstakes is open to U.S. residents eighteen years of age or older who are Lumenos plan enrollees of Sponsor with internet access as of April 16, 2007, who have participated in the Health Blogs section – Book Club Review Live Moderated Chat on Ignite on 4/17/07 at 5:00 p.m. ET (as defined below) at least one time in the live moderated chat session. Employees, officers, directors, and consultants of Sponsor, its affiliates and subsidiaries, (“Lumenos Personnel”) and immediate family members of Lumenos Personnel, are not eligible to participate in the Sweepstakes. Void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.
To Enter: You may enter by visiting the Web site at http://ignite.lumenos.com (“Web Site”), logging in with your user ID and password, and entering at least one comment on the Health Blog live moderated chat session on 4/17 between 5 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET. Those who meet these criteria will receive an automatic entry into the Sweepstakes.
Prizes: Total (10): Winners will receive a free copy of The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals.. All prizes will be awarded. No alternative prize or substitution is permitted except by Sponsor in its sole discretion in the event of prize unavailability. Prize is nontransferable. All federal, state and/or local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner.
Selection of Winners: Potential winners will be determined by a random drawing from all eligible entries held at the end of the live moderated chat session on 4/17/07. The drawing will be held at Sponsor’s offices. Odds of winning will be determined by the number of eligible entries received. Potential winners will receive notification within 5 days of the drawing, and may be required to execute and return an affidavit of eligibility and waiver of liability to Sponsor within 14 days of the date notice is sent or such other date as set by Sponsor, unless prohibited by state law. Sponsor is not responsible for and shall not be liable for late, lost, misdirected, or unsuccessful efforts to deliver the notification information to winners. If a selected winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim a prize, or fails to timely respond within the applicable time period, the prize may be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.
Conditions: By accepting a prize and becoming a qualified winner, each participant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final. Sponsor, consultants, agents and representatives of Sponsor, its parent company, affiliates, subsidiaries, and legal advisors are not responsible for and shall not be liable for: (i) telephone, electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures, or difficulties of any kind; (ii) failed, incomplete, garbled, or delayed computer transmissions; (iii) any condition caused by events beyond the control of the Sponsor that may cause the Sweepstakes to be disrupted or corrupted;(iv) any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of any prize, or acceptance, possession, or use of any prize, or from participation in the Sweepstakes; or (v) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or cancel the Sweepstakes at any time if a computer virus, bug, tampering, unauthorized intervention, or other technical problem of any sort corrupts the administration, security, or proper play of the Sweepstakes. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Sweepstakes or change any element thereof, with or without notice, at any time, due to printing errors, Web Site errors, transmission errors or other mistakes in the production of the Sweepstakes. Sponsor also reserves the right to disqualify, in its sole discretion, any person tampering with the entry process, the operation of the Web Site, or who is otherwise in violation of the rules. By participating, entrants agree that all disputes will be resolved in the appropriate courts in the commonwealth of Virginia exclusively, and subject to the laws of the commonwealth of Virginia.
By participating in the Sweepstakes, each participant agrees to release and hold Sponsor and the employees, officers, directors, consultants, shareholders, agents, representatives of Sponsor, its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, and sweepstakes agencies, and legal advisors, harmless from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with the Sweepstakes or resulting from acceptance, possession, or use of any prize, including without limitation, personal injury, death, and property damage, and claims based on publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy.
Winner’s List And Official Rules: To obtain a copy of the winners list or a copy of these Official Rules, send your request along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Sweepstakes Winner’s List/Official Rules, Lumenos, Inc., 1801 North Beauregard Street, Suite 10, Alexandria, Virginia 22311. Requests must be received no later than June 1, 2007.
|
-
The weather reminds me to remind YOU that if you have seasonal allergies (seasonal allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, worse asthma etc) you may want to prepare NOW for the next several months.
Specifically, the use of steroid nasal sprays used daily in advance of the "high pollen" season can significantly decrease or prevent your allergies. And, there are generics available as well to make sure your consumer-driven plan goes further!
Remember, steroid nasal sprays are not used to TREAT your symptoms, but to desensitize your nasal passages and sinus linings to the many beautiful (but for some of us, annoying) blooming trees, bushes and flowers. Making sure your home is humidified, washing frequently (to get rid of pollen), changing clothes on returning home and loratadine over-the-counter (old Claritin) - can also help.
So, talk to your doctor about using a steroid nasal spray to prevent or reduce your allergies! And get your 10,000 steps today – it’s starting to feel like Spring outside!
Dr Mike
|
-
It’s April, and this month, Ignite is all about the kids. After all, children are the future and if we promote healthy habits now, then those healthy habits will carry over into adulthood. And with this Friday being both Fun Friday and Good Friday, I thought we’d focus on Easter activities that are stress-free for you – and fun for the kids.
Decorating Easter eggs with dye or markers or making decorations out of construction paper are two great activities you can do with your kids for Easter. These activities allow your children to use their imagination, develop their motor skills, and they give your home a more festive look. And if you’re hard boiling the Easter eggs before decorating, you can always unpeel one and eat it if you’re get hungry. Eggs are an excellent source of protein.
Another great activity for the holiday is to coordinate an Easter egg hunt. Hide plastic eggs with prizes in them (coins, crackers, or candy) all over the house/yard and let the kids search for them. An egg hunt gives your kids some exercise, allows them to interact with other children, and sharpens their problem-solving skills. But be sure to keep track of how many eggs you have hid or you may find eggs for months to come.
With all these activities, there are so many creative ways to make your Easter healthier. You could cut down on the amount of candy you give your kids and substitute it with a healthy snack, stuffed animal or Easter coloring book. Or you could make sure to serve veggies and fruits for appetizers rather than unhealthy snacks. These are just some of the ways to promote health for the holiday.
What healthy tips do you have? We would love to hear what you are doing for the Easter holiday to make it healthier. Simply reply to this blog with your suggestions.
And for ways to incorporate healthy foods into kids’ diets, check out The Sneaky Chef, our Celebrity Chef and Guest Blogger, every Thursday throughout April.
Justin – A Lumen
|
-
Hi, I’m Missy Chase Lapine, The Sneaky Chef. I’m excited to join your fantastic community here at Ignite, and I look forward to getting to know all of you and sharing stories and solutions for keeping our families healthy and happy. As you can see on the below clip from the Today Show (just click on the picture below to launch the video), in my new book, The Sneaky Chef, I give parents lots of easy, successful ways to hide healthy foods in kids’ favorite meals. As passionate as I am about getting our kids to eat healthier, I’m equally passionate about enjoying peaceful mealtimes with our families. I learned the hard way that fighting with children to eat their veggies is counterproductive – the more I insisted, they resisted! So I had to come up with a smarter, more creative way to get them eating better foods. My signature “methods of disguise,” will work for the pickiest little eaters, and get your kids eating their veggies tonight….without a fight. Of course, The Sneaky Chef method is not a substitute for teaching good nutrition, only now you’ll be doing it in a less pressured environment since your family will be eating better than ever before.
Over the next few weeks, I look forward to sharing my tips for adding veggies to kids’ favorite foods, stocking up your kitchen with sneaky staples, recipes for no deprivation desserts packed with nutrition, and even sneaky ways to slip more of the healthiest foods into your own diet.
I’d love to hear how my recipes work out for you and your family, so please send me your “test results” and your own ideas for sneaking healthy foods in your family’s favorite meals. Oh, and here’s another little secret…these tricks work just as well for stubborn hubbies who aren’t eating enough good stuff! Have fun, and I look forward to getting to know all of you.
The Sneaky Chef
(Missy Chase Lapine)
Missy Chase Lapine is the author of The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals (Running Press, March 2007). She is the former publisher of Eating Well magazine and the founder of a natural baby product line Baby Spa®. Missy is currently on the Culinary Arts faculty of The New School, in New York City, and operates The Sneaky Chef workshops, which is a program of cooking classes and demonstrations that teach families how to eat healthier. She is a contributor to Parenting Magazine, ediets.com, and education.com, and available to individuals, groups and businesses for private cooking instruction, workshops and personal coaching in The Sneaky Chef methods and recipes. Missy lives with her family in Westchester, New York. For more information visit www.TheSneakyChef.com.
|
-
As a Lumenos plan consumer you see the ways we encourage consumers to do the right things for their health. But what you may not know is that many of these programs start right here, in our own workplace.
Last week I told you about our first annual initiative, which was to encourage as many Lumens as possible to complete or update their online My e-Checkup – and it was a success. The next step is to provide all Lumens with an easy and convenient way to know their numbers – specifically cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose. That’s why we invited a local health services company to our office to perform these tests.
Why are these tests so critical?
Cholesterol is a leading risk factor for heart disease. It is a waxy substance found in your blood. If too much builds up in the walls of your arteries, your arteries harden and become narrow causing blood flow to the heart muscle to slow down or become blocked. High blood pressure is another risk factor for heart disease. It makes the heart work harder to pump blood to the body and, like high cholesterol, contributes to hardening of the arteries. And glucose levels can be an indicator of diabetes.
As a Lumenos plan consumer you can take advantage of your preventive care benefit and have these screenings performed regularly (note: please check the preventive care guidelines in your plan summary to see what screenings apply, based on your age and gender), particularly if you have any common health risk factors (overweight, lack of exercise, smoking).
Jason - a Lumen
|
-
Does quick and easy eating mean sacrificing healthy eating? Families are more on the go these days than ever. The minivan has become the family living room/kitchen where families spend time socializing and eating quick meals on the go.
For children who are still growing and developing their nutritional needs are detrimental to their growth. Let’s take a look at some popular quick meals kids eat and see if they are worthy of quality nutrition. The popular kid’s packaged meals typically have a yogurt with lunch meat, crackers, and some juice. Most of the meals come with 1050 mg sodium which is almost half of the daily limit for salt in one meal. The meals don’t include any vegetables and have a substantial amount of sugar and fat. Other quick canned pasta favorites come with very little nutritional value and lots of sodium and very little protein.
 
So what should you do to get a nutritionally acceptable option for your kids? Start by sitting down with your kids and brainstorming a list of lunches that you both agree on. Include a few fun items that your kids can help prepare such as “ants on a log” – spread celery sticks with peanut or almond butter and top with raisins and sliced almonds for extra crunchiness. Fruit kebabs are another healthy treat that are easy to prepare but more fun than apple slices. To encourage consumption of those all-important veggies, include a small container of hummus or ranch dressing for dipping baby carrots or cucumber slices.
Other foods to consider for snacks and lunches are whole grain bread instead of white bread for sandwiches. Choose breads that list “whole wheat” as the first ingredient. If the main flour listed on the label is “wheat” or “unbleached wheat flour,” the product is not whole grain. Try some alternatives to the standard PB&J sandwich. A whole-wheat tortilla can be used as a wrap for a variety of fillings, or spread it with cream cheese and top with shredded carrots, lettuce and finely diced sweet red pepper. Roll up and slice for pinwheel sandwiches. Use whole wheat pita bread as a pocket for chicken salad or other fillings. Or wrap thinly sliced turkey around string cheese sticks, dill pickles or carrot sticks. Create your own snack pack with cut lean meat slices with cheese cut into pieces that will fit on crackers or add a string cheese.
What about beverages? Many juice boxes are full of added sugar, artificial flavorings and colorings. Read labels and watch out for juice drinks with no more than 10% juice, they’re really sugar water disguised as juice. Additionally, buy only those that contain 100% juice. Or better yet, fill a small thermos with a juice diluted with a bit of sparkling water.
It’s fine to include a dessert, but make good choices such as yogurt, fresh fruit, granola bars, or fat free pudding cup.
Rebecca Mohning
|
-
In Chapter 4, we learn more about digestion and the concept of inflammation. Using what we learned about the body reacting to food like a foreign substance, the authors talk about foods that cause different kinds of inflammation in our bodies, including weight gain. They talk about stress being carried in our waistlines- do you agree with this theory? They tell us we can fight inflammation by eating healthy foods such as Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Green Tea, Beer,Tumeric, Jojo beans, and coffee. Do any of you suffer from any of the intolerances mentioned? How do you quiet the inflammations that go on inside your body?
Chapter 5 has been the most hard-hitting to me so far. It talks about how fat affects your body, and not just disliking what you see in the mirror! The three types of fat, in the blood, under the skin, and around your internal organs (belly) are described in detail and what happens when there is too much of any type. I loved the way they described the different types of cholesterol and how they work together- something I never understood very well. They talk about blood sugar and the negative effects of having too much at a given time, as well as inflammation of the arteries. As someone who avoids fats as much as possible, I now see how "good" fats actually help your body run more smoothly. What did you think about the tips to take aspirin, Chromium, niacin, vitamin B5, one drink of alcohol per day, and never ever "freebasing" sugar ?
The main eye-opener I found in Chapter 6 was that 70-85% of all your calories burned are NOT from exercise! And that when you haven't eaten for a long amount of time, you burn many fewer calories overall. We learned about different types of hormones and how they affect weight loss or gain. Did anyone see themselves as someone who might have a hormone issue that needs to be checked ? Are you fighting against your family genes when it comes to being healthy? Apparently it's not that uncommon and worth looking into if you have tried to lose weight seriously and haven't been able to.
I'm excited to keep reading about how to burn fat while I'm not exercising- we'll cover that in Chapters 7-9 next week.
I'm also excited to announce that we'll be having a live moderated chat about You: On a Diet Tuesday April 17, so it's not too late to read the book and join us then! Ten lucky winners who participate in the live chat will win copies of the next book club selection, The Sneaky Chef - Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals in honor of Kids Nutrition Month. So even if you haven't commented on blogs here or kept up exactly with us each week, please plan to join us on April 17th for the live chat. See you next week!
Dell- a Lumen
|
-
In April, stay tuned on Ignite as we're focusing all month on Kids Nutrition and related topics and issues. We'll have guest speakers and bloggers who will contribute each week and provide invaluable advice and suggestions on healthy eating for kids!
In that vein, one story and one study just released in the past several days reinforce, well, what our mothers always told us when we were kids -
Wash Your Hands!
Massachusetts General Hospital, the flagship institution of Harvard, was cited by the Joint Commission (inspection agency for hospital safety) during a recent unannounced site visit. Their finding? Doctors, nurses and other staff weren't washing their hands frequently enough between patients. Pretty simple - but time and time again, not done.
As true for docs . . as for us consumers and patients. Frequent (not compulsive!) hand-washing reduces infection rates for ourselves and others.
Eat more Fruits and Vegetables!
In a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a review of food diaries for 25,000 Americans revealed that only 11% of us eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. And its getting worse as we grow older. Keep in mind the REAL goal, as reflected in populations which live longer and healthier lives (see DocTalks) is 10 or more per day.
Pretty simple - make sure the majority of your plate is full of vegetables, fruits, whole grains. Better than vitamins and yes, choose to eat fruit when you get the chance next time.
Dr Mike
|
-
|
The Get Fit Through the Holidays Challenge is over, but we’re continuing to look for ways to help consumers like you do more for their health on Ignite . And you can help, by giving us your feedback. Whether or not you completed the Get Fit Through The Holidays Challenge, please click here to take a short online survey. If you complete the survey, you’ll have a chance to win a $25 gift card for Sports Authority – be sure to provide your Ignite username at the end of the survey for a chance to win...
|
More Posts « Previous page
|
|