Did you know?: “Fresh goat cheeses, especially those made from the milk of grass-fed animals, contain high levels of linoleic acid which helps you feel full and may help reduce body fat.” -Healthy Living

Quote: I can’t recall who said this but like it: Tomorrow’s body is in your workout today.’

Have a healthy day!

Vina

Hope this newsletter blast  finds you enjoying all the lovely signs of spring. Winter appears to have vanished here. Now to overcome spring allergies: I recently heard that the secret to overcoming allergies is to consume honey made by local bees. It’s on my to do list; hope it works!

Did you know?: “A rainbow of fruits and veggies can lead to a health treasure: colorectal cancer prevention.’ -Blue Cross, Blue Shield of TN

Healthy Hints: Also from BC BS of TN: Folate is a cancer fighter. Colorful choices are spinach, peas, tomato juice and orange juice. Tip to try: Use peas and beans to make flavorful soups. Flavonoids is another cancer fighter: in red grapes, berries, broccoli and pink grapefruit. Tip to try: Make a fruit salad for dessert. Calcium is yet another cancer fighter contained in dark green veggies and brown almonds. Tip to try: Saute kale in extra virgin olive oil with almonds for a calcium-rich side dish.

THIS WEEK’S QUOTE: “Fear and resistance are the dragons that stand at the gate of the kingdom that contains the jewel you seek.” –Alan Cohen

No need to search for a precious jewel, for that is what you are!

Have a healthy day!

How about letting it be okay to love yourself just as you are – instead of 20 pounds later?

Because what we resist, persists, in order to be free or move on from any perceived less than situation, it’s essential to accept it is what it is. 

Studies show that millions suffer daily from self-hatred and an unhealthy relationship with their bodies, food and weight. The average woman worries about the size/shape of her body every 15 minutes. That’s more than men think about sex, which is reportedly every 20 minutes.

Decide to love yourself for the wondrous being you are right now and enjoy the transformation!

Healthy Hints: Anti-inflammatory foods include walnuts, flaxseed, cherries, berries, leafy greens and cruciferous veggies, papaya, sweet potatoes, avocado and extra virgin olive oil, and water! Pro-inflammatory foods to avoid: sugar, maple and corn syrup, all flour and baked goods, popcorn, alcohol, ice creams and Italian ices, polyunsaturated vegetable oils and artificial additives, especially MSG.

Did you know? February is Black History month. Legendary historian and educator Carter G. Woodson founded Negro History Week in 1926. He reportedly chose February because it coincided with the birthdays of two men who fought for freedom of American slaves: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976, it was expanded to Black History Month and marked an essential time to study and reflect history.

Quote of the week:  “If we don’t have peace, it’s because we’ve forgotten that we belong to each other.”

–Mother Theresa

Have a peaceful, healthy day!

Drop unwanted pounds and inches, improve stamina, increase energy, jump start metabolism, sculpt and tone muscles? If so, consistent attendance at Zumba Fitness classes can assist in achieving/maintaining these goals.

Did you know? Your body’s immune system can be your greatest ally in resisting and fighting off infections. However, your immune system becomes weaker with age. Learn to use natural means as opposed to pharmaceutical drugs to save the day. Here are 7 natural means to build your immunity for a long, healthy life from Gale Maleskey, MS, RD.

1) Humidify: Keeping your house and especially your bedroom from getting bone-dry during wintertime does 2 things: it helps keep mucus membranes (your 1st line of defense) intact and moist and provides a hostile environment for viruses (which like it cold and dry).

2) Vitamin D: Supplement with vitamin D3, cholecalciferol 1000 IU.

3) Vitamin C: Japanese research shows that older people with reduced stomach acid had fewer colds with 500 mg of Vitamin C supplements a day.

4) Limit sweets: Eating > 200 calories worth of refined sugar a day can depress your immune system (3 cookies will do it). Satisfy a sweet tooth instead with citrus, mangoes, berries and other nutrient-dense foods.

5) Eat garlic and onions: Both increase germ-fighting power in your respiratory tract. Garlic is known as ‘Russian penicillin,’ while onions are China’s top choice for healthy lungs.

6) Get enough sleep: Being deprived of 4 hours of sleep in a single night can lead to 30% reduction in activity of natural killer cells, one of your body’s 1st lines of defense. Get at least 7 hours of full sleep each night.

7) Exercise: regular, moderate exercise works best; immune cells circulate through the body more quickly, so they’re better able to kill bacteria/viruses.

 Quote of the week: “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Years Day.” –Edith Lovejoy Pierce

May all your dreams come true this year.

 To healthy new beginnings!

Healthy Hint (Cold Season): Eating high quantities of garlic, getting enough immune supportive vitamins like C and D and getting enough sleep and exercise can help boost and improve the immune system.”

–Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D.

Quote of the week: ”Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.”

–Oren Arnold

Hope your Thanksgiving holiday was full of cornucopia wonders and you’re prepared to gear up for fitness before the next holidays!

Healthy Hints: It takes more than exercise to boost your metabolism and is especially key during the holidays. Resistance training, reducing sugar intake, reducing stress, lots of water, more rest and eating breakfast are a few ways to increase metabolism and promote healthy weight loss, according to Linda DuToit at Suite 101.com. Muscle burns more fat even while resting which is another reason Zumba Fitness includes toning exercises.

Did you know? Smoking not only increases a risk of developing cancer but also is a risk factor for developing heart disease and strokes. Millions of Americans still choose to light up even though cigarette smoking is the most preventable cause of premature death in the U.S per the American Heart Association. If someone you love struggles with smoking, encourage them the end of the year is a good time to kick a bad habit. For more info on Freedom from Smoking, a program of the American Lung Association, call 615-791-CARE.

Quote: “It’s a toxic desire to try and be perfect. I realized later in life that the challenge is not to be perfect. It’s to be whole.” –Jane Fonda

¾ cup fat free low sodium chicken broth

1 ½ tsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp tomato paste

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

¼ tsp black pepper

1 (14oz) can light coconut milk

2 cups (3/4 inch) cubed peeled butternut squash

1 cup (1/4 inch) julienne-cut red bell pepper

1 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined and halved lengthwise

2 cups hot basmati cooked rice

¼ cup lime juice

3 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large saucepan, stirring with a whisk.

Stir in squash and bell pepper, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until squash is just tender.

Stir in shrimp and bring to a boil.

Cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done, stirring occasionally.

Stir in rice, lime juice and cilantro.

Healthy Hints: The holidays are near, which often brings plenty of opportunities to eat rich foods in large portions and unfortunately, the inclination to move less as we eat more, so the average person gains 8-10 pounds between Halloween and New Year’s Day. Lynn Henderson, R. D. at St. Thomas Health Services, offers 4 tips to help keep the stuffing off during this holiday season:

1) Practice portion control by limiting portions to half when consuming rich meals and ‘bites’ when it comes to desserts. Follow the 3 bite rule: first and last bites are the ones you really taste. Limiting bites limits your calories.

 2) To avoid eating too many calorie-rich meals, limit eating out during the holidays to just parties and other special occasions. The rest of the time buckle down and enjoy some home cooking.

 3) Have a healthy snack just prior to going out and while at the buffet try filling your plate first with healthy options before adding bites of those must-have goodies.

 4) Minimize the impact of any extra portions by sticking to a regular exercise program. In addition to helping you keep off unwanted pounds, exercise also helps burn off holiday-related stress.

Did you know? Detox is really popular these days, but unfortunately few people know what it really means, which can lead to ineffective and often dangerous fad detoxification diets.  See article posted on Detox Basics.

Quote of the week:  “Completion is an attitude, not an event.” –Alan Cohen

Embrace an attitude of gratitude!

Our bodies are wise and know what we need and don’t need to function optimally. We evolved in the wild, eating what’s known now as the Paleolithic diet; veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds and lean animal protein like wild game. No human cultures were originally vegetarian, that came later to accommodate for a population that grew so fast that they ran out of game!

Detox is just what the body does all the time on it’s own. So a healthy ‘detox diet’ simply supports the body’s natural processes, providing the nutrients it needs to do its work more effectively, and eliminating exposure to the toxins that just make its work harder.

Your body constantly neutralizes, eliminates or transforms the chemicals that we breathe, ingest or put on our skin, as well as the chemicals that our own body manufactures as it does its daily digestion and metabolic work. The more chemicals we are exposed to, and the further our diet is from our true, natural diet, the harder our detoxification systems have to work.

Most of the work is done by the liver and the intestinal tract, but the kidneys, lungs, lymphatic system and skin are also important organs of detoxification. So the simplest form of detox is to eliminate all processed food, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and eat the way nature intended: fresh, organic veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds, minimal gluten-free grains, lean organic or wild animal protein. Avoid chemicals as best you can, such as synthetic cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides, hormones etc. Provide your body with the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants it needs to step up its house cleaning. And drink lots and lots of water to help flush everything out. After all, how can you get clean without rinsing?

–Dr. Carol Robin

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

If I hear myself or anyone wishing for luck, I like to reinforce the spiritual truth of cause and effect.

The law of cause and effect was well illustrated in the Bible when Jesus told the man to pick up his bed and walk. Notice how he qualified the man’s belief in his ability to be healed before the ‘miracle’ occurred.

Since it is done unto us as we believe, it makes sense to embrace a positive, can-do attitude.

Who was it that said, ‘what good do low hopes do us anyway?’ Expect the best possibilities and walk the talk.

Affirm: I am confident that miracles are the rule and so follow my divine guided action accordingly.