Health & Fitness

Even though it’s beautiful and the people are friendly, just like living anywhere, there are some stressful times for everyone living in Louisiana. If you’re having problems with weight loss, consider stress management. Stress is a killer. It can affect the entire body and cause you to gain weight. That’s right! It’s all about the hormones created when you feel stressed and many of the chemical reactions in the body. Maybe the same things that put you on tilt also put pounds on your belly.

Hormones are messengers that trigger chemical reactions.

The body is an amazing machine. It’s programmed for survival. In prehistoric times, people survived dangers by fighting or running. The body had to make changes to improve its performance. It releases hormones, like cortisol, to signal the body. More blood had to be sent to the extremities, so some functions that weren’t vital for the moment were slowed, like digestion. The heart rate increases and you breathe more rapidly to provide more oxygen to the brain and muscles. Pupils dilate to improve vision by letting more light in the eyes. Muscles tense and other changes prepare the body for the impending danger.

Today’s stressors are more insidious.

Everyone can understand how being attacked by a wild animal could create stress, but you may not be aware of how everyday things can create the same problem. Sounds and images can create stress, even though they’re only a video. A crying baby, an angry boss, or even traffic jams are stressful. That causes the body to release cortisol. Due to many things, including slowed digestion, it causes fat to accumulate in the abdomen.

Cortisol causes sugar cravings.

Cortisol provides the second wind to continue fighting or running when your initial reserves deplete. It’s why it causes sugar cravings and makes your body demand more energy. It can also slow your metabolism to preserve the energy for escape or victory. You’ll burn fewer calories making it even harder to lose weight. It can cause difficulty sleeping. Lack of sleep causes increased ghrelin—the hunger hormone. Stress can also wear you out, diminishing your energy for exercise.

• One of the best ways to control stress is through exercise. Exercise mimics fighting or running, which burns off stress-related hormones and gets you back to normal.
• You may feel too tired to work out, but if you push through it and take the first step, you’ll be amazed at how it can boost your energy level and make you feel less stressed. Exercise also helps you sleep better, to reduce the production of ghrelin.
• Other ways to deal with stress include deep breathing techniques, meditation, and an attitude of gratitude. Changing your focus to a more positive one can change your life and the shape of your body.
• Take charge of your feelings. You can’t control what anyone else does, but you can control how you react to their behavior. Carry a bottle of water with you at all times. When you feel stressed, drink some water and wash away that feeling.

For more information, contact us today at Wellness On A Dime Coaching

If you want a safer workout that will keep you fit, low-impact exercises are a good option. They’re excellent for people with injuries, joint issues, back problems, or those who are older, out of shape, or pregnant. Low impact means you aren’t jumping or pounding your feet on the ground. They’re exercises where at least one foot is always on the ground. You won’t be jumping so you reduce the risk of joint injury, disc compression, or other musculoskeletal problems.

Low impact cardio will still get your heart beating fast.

When you run, the less time your feet touch the ground, the better. That causes you to become airborne, so you land hard. It’s hard on joints and takes a toll on the rest of the body. You don’t have to run to get a cardio workout, swim, row, or ride a bike. Use a stationary bike if you’re pregnant to avoid the potential of falling.

You need to include a cardio workout as part of a complete fitness program.

Running is just one way to get your cardio, but your feet slapping against the ground every mile can take a toll on your joints. Try jumping jacks without the jump, just stepping side to side, or something as simple as walking. Ride a stationary bike. If you have knee problems, put the setting on a lower resistance level. You can help lubricate the joints without increasing stress. Improving circulation provides maximum benefits without additional joint stress.

Low-impact exercises can improve strength.

Not only does the movement help lubricate the joints, but it also improves muscle and ligament strength to protect the joints. Strength-building workouts do that and most are low-impact. You can use bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, or weights to build muscle. For instance, lunges are beneficial if you do them correctly and have hip strength so your knees don’t push out too far. Do a clamshell to help with that problem. Until you build more hip strength, do a modified lunge. Start with one foot forward and just lower and raise your body, without moving your feet.

Get relief from the heat while you build your muscles with aquatic exercises.

Exercising in a pool provides extra resistance while preventing stress on the joints. Even ordinary walking is more taxing on the body. There’s 12 times more strength-building resistance doing an exercise in water than doing the same exercises on dry land. Almost any high-impact exercise becomes a low-impact one when you do them in a pool. For instance, traditional jumping jacks switch from high-impact to low-impact when you do them with your body in water.

• Do jumping jacks but omit the jump. Just step to the side as you raise your arms and clap your hands above your head and as you lower your hands, step back into starting position. Alternate the leg that steps outward.
• Squats are another low-impact exercise you can modify to work different muscle groups. Widen your stance when you squat or narrow it to work muscles on several planes and other muscle groups.
• Stretching is low-impact, plus a good way for everyone to warm up and loosen muscles. Some forms of exercise, like tai chi, are a low-impact way to build strength, cardio, and flexibility.
• Always check with your health care professional before doing any type of exercise, especially if you’re pregnant or have a health condition. You may have to modify some exercises or avoid them entirely.

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Science now finds many folk remedies have real health benefits. Hawthorn berries are in that category. They are healthy options to add to any diet. These tiny fruits grow on trees and shrubs and come in several colors. They grow in Europe, Asia, and North America. The berries are mildly sweet, but mostly tart and tangy. Some have thick thorns and others don’t. Some berries are yellow and others are shades of red. Not all hawthorn berries offer the same benefit or nutrients. When people generalize and refer to hawthorn trees and berries, they usually mean Crataegus monogyna.

Hawthorn berries, leaves, and flowers for centuries as medicine.

The berries from hawthorns are called haws. The “haws” are used for medicine, jam and jelly, powders, and even hawthorn honey. As early as 659 A.D., the Chinese used hawthorns to treat digestive issues. Recent studies have found it beneficial for many health issues, including heart health. The high polyphenols content may help people with heart failure, angina, cardiac rhythm changes, heart disease, and atherosclerosis.

It’s not just the heart that benefits.

The studies on lowering blood pressure vary. Some research found that taking hawthorn extract lowered the diastolic blood pressure but not the systolic blood pressure. The diastolic pressure is the bottom number. Other research shows it may lower both the top—systolic—and bottom—diastolic blood pressure, with the most impact on the systolic blood pressure. This may occur because hawthorn berries contain a vasodilator that opens the arteries by relaxing them. A six-month study found that not only did hawthorn extract reduce harmful cholesterol, but it also reduced the thickness of plaque build-up in the arteries.

You could slow aging by drinking hawthorn tea.

All the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients can help ward off aging in several ways. It can help reduce inflammation and the vitamin C it contains can improve collagen production. Collagen helps keep the skin firm and youthful appearance. It contains antioxidants that fight free radicals that can damage the cells and cause aging. Some research has shown that hawthorn may help inhibit wrinkle formation and increase skin moisture.

• Ancient Chinese medicine may be accurate. Recent studies show that hawthorn berries can aid digestion. It’s been used that way for centuries. It can increase digestive enzymes and relieve constipation.
• The flavonoids in the leaves of the hawthorn plant make a tea that’s good for relaxing muscle spasms. It can reduce inflammation, relieve pain, and help reduce spasms. Drinking the tea may also help prevent cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease.
• If anxiety, depression, or stress is a problem, a cup of hawthorn tea may help. It’s the flavonoids that help anxiety and also act as sleep aids. All the nutrients in hawthorn can help boost immunity and protect from infection.
• If you have menopausal symptoms like night sweats, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, or mood swings, drink a hawthorn tea to help. Always check with your healthcare professional first to ensure it’s safe for you and there’s no interaction with medications.

For more information, contact us today at Wellness On A Dime Coaching

Diabetes is a problem in Louisiana. While government statistics lump both type 1 diabetes and type 2 together, many dietary restrictions and aids help both types. Is veganism one of those solutions? Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t make insulin or makes too little. Insulin opens the cells so the body can use the blood sugar for energy. It commonly starts in childhood. Type 2 diabetes can also come from low insulin levels, but it also occurs because the body doesn’t effectively use the insulin that it makes.

A healthy diet plays a key role in managing diabetes.

A vegan diet is just one option for type 1 diabetes. However, becoming a vegan when you have diabetes requires extra caution. A vegan diet eliminates all animal-based products from the diet. Even food with Jell-O, beer, marshmallows, vanilla-flavored food, potato chips, and many other products you might not suspect have some form of animal product. Diabetes makes using a vegan diet difficult and requires far more planning.

Do meal planning to ensure each meal contains the right portions of healthy fat, protein, and carbs.

Not only do people with diabetes need to balance meals, but they also need to balance snacks. Planning carefully can reduce the effect on blood sugar. When choosing carbs, opt for whole grains for pasta and bread, fruit, and vegetables. Proteins can include beans, peas, peanuts, nut butter, and other plant-based meat alternatives. Healthy fat comes from olive oil, avocados, nuts, and plant-based spreads. Fiber plays an important role, since it slows the absorption of glucose, reducing blood sugar spikes.

The potential benefits and drawbacks of a vegan diet for people with diabetes.

Studies show that a healthy vegan diet can help control blood sugar levels. It reduced A1C levels by being easier to follow. For type 2 diabetes, a vegan diet increases insulin sensitivity. It also helped with weight management for type 2 diabetics. There are three downsides for people with either type of diabetes. A vegan diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies, such as B6, B12, iron, niacin, calcium, zinc, iodine, and omega-3 fatty acids. It can lead to an inadequate intake of complete proteins. Animal products provide complete proteins and offer all essential amino acids. Not all plant sources of protein do that. As mentioned earlier, a plant-based diet tends to be higher in carbs because plant-based products are higher in carbs than animal products.

• Meal planning plays a vital role for those with diabetes. Make sure you include snacks in your meal planning. We can help you with meal planning and make the transition easier.
• Just because a food is vegan, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Many plant-based foods have high amounts of sugar and other unhealthy ingredients.
• Fill your plate with non-starchy vegetables. They are low in carbohydrates but high in fiber and nutrition. Make every snack a balance of protein, carbs, and fat. Use a variety of plant proteins.
• Supplement if necessary. Always discuss going vegan with your healthcare professional first. If you choose a vegan diet, ask about supplementing with added nutrients, such as B12. Monitor blood sugar closely when changing your diet to something new.

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Some people can’t eat grains. For those people, most grains aren’t healthy options. For the rest of us, whole grains are the best option. They’re different from refined grains because they contain all three parts of the seed. They have the germ, fiber, and endosperm. Refined grains might sound classier—since they contain the word refined in their name—but they’re definitely not healthier than whole grains. Refined grains only contain the starchy endosperm. It’s what’s left after the bran and germ were removed during milling.

All the nutrition is in the bran and germ.

Grains are seeds. The most nutritious part of the grain is the germ. It’s where the plant’s embryo is located. The germ feeds the embryo until it becomes a plant. It contains folate, vitamin E, thiamin, phosphorus, magnesium, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and zinc. It has both essential fatty acids and fatty alcohols. The high fat content of the germ shortens the shelf life of grain, so it’s removed. The bran is a source of fiber and other nutrients. Removing it gives a better texture and lightens the color of the flour.

What’s left behind is the endosperm.

The endosperm contains few nutrients and is mostly calories. It’s easy to digest and has a high glycemic level, so it can spike blood sugar levels. One of the reasons is the lack of fiber. It’s taken out when the bran is removed. Fiber slows the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream and helps prevent blood sugar spikes. Vitamins and minerals can be added to refined grains to boost nutritional value, but fiber can’t, or the final product loses the smooth consistency.

Whole grain bread has many nutritional benefits.

Besides slowing the absorption of glucose, the fiber in whole grains improves cholesterol levels, prevents certain types of cancer, especially colorectal cancer, improves the gut microbiome, aids in the absorption of minerals, helps prevent hemorrhoids, acid reflux, and diverticulitis, and lowers the risk of stroke and heart disease. The fiber in whole grain bread also helps you lose weight by making you feel fuller longer.

• Grains can be hard to digest, but proper processing helps. Soak the grain, ferment it, or sprout it to make it and products made with it easier to digest.
• There’s a link between obesity and the consumption of refined grains. While part of it occurs because of lack of fiber, many more calories are consumed in food with added sugar, which traditionally uses refined flour.
• Certain health conditions can be exacerbated by eating whole grains. One of those is Crohn’s disease. When a flare-up occurs, eliminating whole grain bread for sourdough bread helps.
• If you’re increasing fiber in your diet by switching to whole grain products, take it slowly. Like exercise, you don’t go from running a half block to running ten miles overnight. Your body has to adjust to the change.

For more information, contact us today at Wellness On A Dime Coaching