Monthly Archives: January 2021

STAYING HEALTHY IN AN UNHEALTHY WORLD #2 KNOW YOUR NUMBERS

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Our human bodies are marvelously and intricately designed. Like any machine, they need to be treated well. A healthy lifestyle takes work, but you first have to know what IS a healthy lifestyle.

A start is to know two very important numbers about your own body. If you keep these two numbers in a healthy range, you will save yourself much grief and sickness in the years ahead. So the first goat is just to find out where you stand. This blog is simply to help you find this information.

The first important value or number is your own BMI (body mass index). This gives a good estimate of total body fat.

There is an easy calculator to determine your BMI in the link below, from the CDC. Then look on the chart below to see where your current weight status puts you.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

BMIWeight Status
Below 18.5Underweight
18.5 – 24.9Normal or Healthy Weight
25.0 – 29.9Overweight
30.0 and AboveObese

The second number is your waist circumference. This is a measure of abdominal obesity, which is an independent risk factor for heart disease. You can measure your waist circumference with a simple tape measure, using the directions below. A man should have a waist circumference < 40 inches and a woman < 35 inches.

  1. Remove clothing
  2. Measure, placing the tape measure between the top of your hipbone and the bottom of your ribs. 
  3. Breathe out
  4. Make sure the tape measure is straight around your back

So there you have it! Quick and easy. Check out where you are and then you can decide if you should eat your next meal or abstain! Or at least change your mind about that double cheeseburger you were so looking forward to!

STAYING HEALTHY IN A SICK WORLD – #1 BE KIND

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COVID  has every one focused on how NOT to get sick.  Don’t let that virus in! We know the basics.  Wash your hands!  Don’t pick your nose!

BUT……..What happens when Covid (or any virus) sneaks in anyway? How is your defense system?  

It is felt that when we are first born, we are protected by an “innate immune system.”  Then, as we continue to live, we also have an “adaptive immune system.”  This system can change and adapt as the enemy changes.  It LEARNS!  How can we have a healthy, adaptive immune system?  Are there things we can do to make it function more (or less) effectively?

ABSOLUTELY, THE ANSWER IS YES!  Our immune systems are affected by our environment, our lifestyles and our choices.

There is a LOT we can do to protect ourselves.  And there is a lot we can do to harm. ourselves.  Let’s look at just one way today.    (And others in future blogs)

There is general agreement that mental health and physical health are connected.  There is a “mind-body” connection.  This truth has been validated by research.  A healthy emotional lifestyle can lead to improved health.  I am not just talking about fewer tension headaches.  A healthy lifestyle can help you fight off infections!    ( Look at these studies which show that a healthy, less stressful lifestyle can  lead to increased resistance to colds and respiratory infections after purposeful inoculation of nasal passages with rhinovirus or influenza virus [411,412].)

So if we can help extinguish the Covid pandemic by fostering a healthy, less stressful environment, how do we do that?  Could we fight back against Covid simply by being nice to each other?  Think about it.   No one feels better after they have been yelled at, ignored, or belittled.  In our current environment, there is an awful lot of noise.  Everyone has an opinion and it seems that there is a lot of shouting and very little listening going on.  We may not be able to extinguish the Covid virus, but we can strive to treat others well.  Let’s quit yelling.  Let’s let others speak and really listen.  Let’s start to care about the people around us – whether they are like us or different from us.  

 So………..This is a suggestion of one way to boost your immune system, and help in the fight against this pandemic. It is simply this…..

SPEAK KINDLY TO ONE ANOTHER!!

Gracious words are like a honey-comb, sweetness to the soul and HEALTH to the body!   –  Proverbs 16:24

Alternatives to Sugar – the Good and the Bad

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Since excessive sugar consumption leads to obesity and other health problems, what are the alternatives, other than never enjoying the “sweet life?”

Fortunately, there are some.  I have listed 4 common ones to choose from below………….BUT I WOULD ARGUE FOR A DIFFERENT CHOICE.  (SEE # 5)

#1. Stevia – made from the leaves of the Stevia plant

  1. 200 – 400 x sweeter than table sugar
  2. can have a bitter aftertaste
  3. can be used for baking but can alter the texture of food

#2.  Sugar alcohols – erythritol, xylitol, and sorbitol

  1. sweet carbohydrates with fewer calories and resistant to digestion
  2. xylitol is common in sugar free chewing gum and mints
  3. erythritol is the main ingredient in Truvia and has fewer GI side effects and can be used in baking
  4. Sorbitol has a smooth feel in your mouth but can act as a laxative in large amounts

#3.  Sucralose (Splenda)

  1. this one is ARTIFICIAL
  2. made from sugar by replacing three hydrogen-oxygen groups with chlorine atoms
  3. 400-700 x sweeter than table sugar
  4. can be used in baking, BUT at high temperatures may break down and possibly form some carcinogens

#4.  Aspartame (Nutrasweet or Equal)

  1. Artificial
  2. 180- 200 x sweeter than table sugar
  3. can give an aftertaste
  4. breaks down at high temperatures

AND FINALLY, AN EVEN BETTER ALTERNATIVE!!

#5  Monk Fruit (luo han guo)

  1. A small melon, known and grown for 800 years
  2. No known toxicity – recognized by FDA as safe for all, even children and pregnant women
  3. 150 – 250 x sweeter than table sugar, but has 0 calories
  4. has antioxidants and possibly some anti-cancer properties
  5. more expensive and less available in the US than Stevia
  6. can be used for baking

 

If you would like to try out Monk Fruit, here is a brownie recipe from a website called The Smart Cookie (check it out)

Frosted Chocolate Brownies

Brownies:

1/2 cup yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dates (5 large)

1/4 cup Monk Fruit in the Raw

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup Special Dark cocoa powder

Frosting:

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup yogurt

1/4 cup chocolate chips, melted

1/4 special dark cocoa powder

1/4 cup Monk Fruit in the Raw

2 dates

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8×8 pan (or a smaller pan, if you want thicker brownies).  In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients for brownies. Blend until completely incorporated with no oat or date chunks.  Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.  Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes (baking time may change if you use a different pan), until a toothpick comes out clean.  Once brownies are done, remove from oven and let cool.

Quickly rinse out your food processor and dry (it’s not necessary to completely clean it).  Then, to make frosting, combine all ingredients in the bowl of food processor.  Blend until smooth and thick, with all ingredients compeltely mixed.  You should be able to take a spoonful of the frosting and tip it upside down without ot falling off.  Spread frosting on top of baked brownies and chill for at least one hour.  Then, slice into 9-16 squares and serve.

ENJOY THE SWEET LIFE WITHOUT THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH SUGAR!

(Alas, this was the second writing of this post.  Had it all ready and accidentally hit the delete button.   I hope the “redo” did not convey my frustration!)

THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT SWEETS

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This year I am trying to treat my 63 year old frame a little better.  Indulging in a sugar binge in front of a screen (always one of my favorite things) didn’t seem to affect me as much when I was a young thing.  Now, I wish I had not practiced that bad habit so much.  But, of course, I did not know the damage I was doing.

I am wiser now.  I am OLDER now.  The first I like.  The second, not so much.  Anyway, I have learned of the detrimental effects of sugar on the human body.  In small amounts, it can sweeten life.  But we don’t use it is small amounts, do we?

HOW DOES SUGAR DESTROY YOU?  Let me count the ways……….

  1.  First I will state the obvious.  Sugar makes us fat!  Even our children. About 1/3 of adolescents and children in the United States are now considered  overweight.  Obesity tripled from the 1970s to 2000.
  2. With the obesity that follows high sugar consumption, there is an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
  3. Obesity is an underlying cause for joint disease.  It has been said that for every pound gained, there is an added 5 pounds of pressure on your knees.  WHAT A PAIN!
  4. Obesity increases your risk of certain cancers

THEN THERE ARE SOME LESSER KNOWN RISKS……

OBESITY is associated with a 1.5 fold increase in your risk of developing ALZHEIMERS.   It seems that this risk is most closely associated with midlife obesity.  That spare tire in middle age hurts more than just your golf game!

Finally, SUGAR CAN HURT YOU BEFORE YOU ARE BORN!   In one study, sugary beverages consumed by the mother were associated with increased weight in their school-aged children.  For every serving of a sugary drink consumed during the second trimester in this study, there was a 0.15 kg/m2  increase in fat mass.  Even that BUN IN THE OVEN is not safe.

So needless to say, many of us need less sugar in our diet.    Sugar is an ADDICTIVE ENEMY, so it may be best to try to avoid it completely for about 6 weeks to lessen the craving for it.

It is a challenge, but one well worth it.  Take it and let me know how you feel afterward!

 

NEW BEGINNINGS

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I am thankful for New Year’s Day.  I am thankful for new beginnings.  New beginnings always means opportunity.  Sometimes it is a chance to try something different.  Sometimes it is a chance to build on something already in progress.  Like making a new friend or deepening a relationship with an old one.

2020 was a difficult year, but it was a year of learning.  There was some amazing progress made in the science of vaccines.  We all did things we maybe thought we could not do, or at least did not want to do.  But we learned of resilience.  Fortunately, the end of the Covid pandemic looks to be in sight.  But some of the things we have learned to do differently may remain.  Working virtually and shopping online will not likely disappear completely.  On the bright side, for many, the shutdown in society has lead to more time with family which is good.

When I think of new beginnings, I think of one of my favorite plants, the Mexican Lilly.  The reason I love this plant is that every morning it bursts forth with a completely new crop of purple flowers.   Every evening the flowers fall off, but then the next morning another crop appears.  It reminds me that God’s mercies are new every morning.

So as 2021 begins, I am hopeful that I have learned from 2020.  Can’t say as I am not glad to see it go.  I look forward to again experiencing some things I have missed, like eating in restaurants with friends, giving and receiving hugs, and breathing freely without a mask.  But whether that comes sooner or later, I am grateful that 2021 has arrived with all of its possibilities.  I am anxious to see what God has in store.

I don’t know what new beginnings the new year holds  I hope for many exciting adventures!  I pray for calm, not stormy, waters ahead.  But though I do not know what the future holds, I know who holds the future.  If you belong to God, remember He is with you always.  Let’s give our worries to Him and enjoy the year ahead!