Complex Carbs Are Right for You
All carbs prompt the brain to make more serotonin. For a steady supply of this feel-good chemical, it’s best to eat complex carbs, which take longer to digest. Good choices include whole-grain breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals, including old-fashioned oatmeal. Complex carbs can also help you feel balanced by stabilizing blood sugar levels.
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🍎 Health Tip ~ Want to Live Longer?
Simple Changes Can Help You to Live Longer
A 20-year study of more than 111,000 people found that a healthy lifestyle could increase life expectancy free from three common chronic diseases by up to 10 years for women and seven years for men. The key healthy lifestyle traits explored were: never smoking; a healthy diet; a body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9; at least 30 minutes’ moderate to vigorous exercise each day; and a moderate alcohol intake – no more than a small glass of wine or pint of beer a day. Women aged 50 who met four or five of these criteria were likely to live another 34 years without contracting cancer, cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes. This is 10 years longer than those who followed none of these practices. For men, the average expectancy was another 31 years of disease-free life – seven years more than those who had less healthy lifestyles.
🍎 Heath Tip ~ 5 Healthy Breakfast Choices
5 Healthy Choices for Breakfast
- A cup of cooked oats with flax seeds and berries, and a boiled egg or two egg whites on the side. Or, instead of eggs, add protein to the oatmeal using non-fat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or nuts.
- Add flavor to an egg-white omelet with vegetables. If you’re adding cheese, use low-fat or part-skim varieties. Add a slice of whole-grain toast or berries on the side.
- Combine low-fat cottage cheese with fresh fruit or vegetables. Add flax seeds or chia seeds, chopped nuts or low-fat granola; or put it on rice cakes or whole-grain crackers.
- Top a whole-grain English muffin with egg whites, low-fat cheese and low-fat turkey bacon or sausage.
- Top whole-wheat toast with sliced avocado, olive oil and a poached egg or egg white.
🍎 Health Tip ~ 5 Tips for a Healthy Heart
Help Your Heart Out
- Veg out — Adding vegetables and fruits to your diet boosts your heart health. Aim for five servings each day.
- Volunteer — Sharing your time and talents is good for your heart. Look for opportunities to get involved at your neighborhood school, place of worship or community.
- Give thanks — Gratitude can boost your immunity and help you sleep. Keep a gratitude journal to help the act of regularly giving thanks become second nature.
- Stress less — Exercising and meditation can help you manage stress. So can setting boundaries. You can’t do everything. Learn to say ‘no’ occasionally.
- Sleep more — Make sleep a priority. Aim for eight hours a night. Exercising during the day and avoiding heavy meals and electronics too close to bedtime may help you fall — and stay — asleep.
🍎 Health Tip ~ Let Go of the Salt Shaker
Watch the Salt
This mineral affects people in different ways. For some, it seems to raise the amount of protein in their urine. That can harm your kidneys or make kidney disease worse if you already have it. Lots of salt also raises your chances of high blood pressure, a typical cause of kidney disease, and kidney stones, which can be very painful and possibly cause damage without treatment.
🍎 Health Tip ~ Power Proteins for Good Health
Power Proteins
“Power protein” sources with a variety of complex heart-protective phytonutrients include tuna, salmon, nuts (and nut butters) and seeds. Omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish and seeds can help lower triglycerides, limit blood clots and arrhythmias and reduce the risk of heart attack. When it comes to fish, she says the best choices are wild or fresh salmon and wild, fresh or light-canned tuna as well as herring and mackerel. The recommendation is to eat at least two 3- to 6-ounce servings of fish per week. While nuts and seeds are naturally high in fat and calories, they still provide a good source of heart-healthy unsaturated fat and protein. Choose dry roasted, unsalted nuts or seeds such as almonds, walnuts, peanuts, and sunflower, chia or pumpkin seeds.
🍎 Health Tip ~ Bulk Up on Foods High in Antioxidants
Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties
Many people know that blueberries and dark chocolate are good sources of antioxidants – natural substances that may protect your cells against free radicals, which research suggests play a role in chronic illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. It may be less well-known that broccoli and cauliflower are also good sources of antioxidants and help fight inflammation . . . Both veggies are good sources of an array of nutrients, but “what really makes these vegetables all-stars are their antioxidant content and anti-inflammatory properties,” Margaret Mangan ( a registered dietitian with UNC REX Nutrition Services and Diabetic Education Center in Raleigh, North Carolina).
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🍎 Health Tip ~ This May Sound Fishy, But . . .
The biggest benefit of eating fish may be this: many people that eat it outlive their fish-phobic friends. The consumption of fish lowers the risk of death by heart disease by 36 percent. More astounding, older people who have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, largely due to their consumption of fatty fish, lived an average of 2.2 years longer than those with lower levels. Diets heavy in fatty fishes are also proven to elevate mood and prevent certain types of cancer and inflammation.
🍎 Health Tip – Fall in Love, Stay in Love
The Surprising Health Benefits of Love
- Increases Life Expectancy: Research suggests that married people in particular but those also involved in healthy social relationships typically live longer. The benefits of these relationships can even lower your risk of heart attack, developing certain types of cancer or pneumonia.
- Maintains a Healthy Heart: Studies indicate that those who are involved in good, strong, happy marriages have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those who are in stressful relationships or tend to feel lonely more often.
- Keeps the Doctor Away: Feeling loved, cared for and secure tends to boosts the immune system and reduce the chance of catching a cold or other viral infections. Those who have a loving support system also tend to recover more quickly from an illness.
- Reduces Depression: Falling in love, getting married and maintaining healthy relationships, as well as friendships, have been shown to reduce the feelings of isolation and depression in both males and females while simultaneously increasing the sense of belonging and happiness.
And Several More Benefits: Source
