Posted by: By Erin Shaw Street, November 28, 2008 in Southern Blogging Mamas
How are you spending the day after Thanksgiving? Making turkey sandwiches? Recovering from early morning bargain shopping? Looking at your holiday to-do list?
It's so easy to get frazzled during the holidays, which is one of the reason the non-profit StoryCorps has launched the first ever National Day of Listening. The project was designed to inspire people to take the time to listen to the stories of their families and friends and record those stories for posterity.
They provides step by step instructions on how to create your own "Day of Listening," whether it's today or any day of the year ...
Study: Signs Make Shoppers Take Stairs: More shoppers took the stairs instead of escalators when a nearby sign reminded them it helped strengthen their hearts.
There won't be any wine at my Thanksgiving table because I don’t drink. I mean, that’s just a fact about me—same as my brown eyes, love of fashion, affection for the disabled and the truly disadvantaged, and addiction to Diet Coke. These are things that have always been and will always be.
The closest I ever got to anything close to taking a nip was when I was putting a little pure vanilla extract in my coffee in the mornings. I stopped when I realized that the extract contained alcohol. Oops! (Forgive me Father. I knew not what I did.)
That said, I hear all the news about how drinking a glass of red wine each day can be healthy for your heart and can even help fight cancer.
Since I’m as dry as Suwanee County, Florida, what to do? Well, I read something today that makes me smile. Apparently, grape juice has many of the same benefits as red wine.
A NYT articles cites:
Grape juice may not provide much buzz, but you can still toast to good health when it comes to its ability to avert heart disease. Alcohol in moderation can relax blood vessels and increase levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol. But the substances believed to provide much of red wine’s heart benefits — resveratrol and flavonoids — are also found in grape juice, especially the variety made from red and dark purple Concord grapes.
Independent studies have found that like alcohol, grape juice can reduce the risk of blood clots and prevent LDL (“bad” cholesterol) from sticking to coronary arteries, among other cardiac benefits. One, conducted by scientists at the University of Wisconsin and published in the journal Circulation, looked at the effects of two servings of Concord grape juice a day in 15 people with coronary artery disease. After two weeks, the subjects had improved blood flow and reduced oxidation of LDL. Oxidized LDL can damage arteries.
Other studies in humans and animals, including one last year in the journal Atherosclerosis, have shown that daily consumption may lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. But beware: some varieties of juice have sugar and artificial ingredients.
As a Southerner and health writer, I'm used to seeing the statistics about the health challenges of our region. You know the ones -- obesity, diabetes, heart disease. That's one of the reasons writing for Southern Living's "Healthy Living" section is so exciting: I'm able to learn about how many ways we can be healthy as Southerners. It's especially enjoyable to visit with individuals, groups, and business owners across the South who are putting their own spin on wellness.
Recently I had the chance to learn about healthy options in Jackson, Mississippi. While visiting my sister, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about these gems the capitol city has to offer:
As you head out for your last-minute Thanksgiving shopping, see if your grocery store stands out. Our sister mag Health took on a curious challenge: What are the healthiest supermarkets in America?
To come up with our winning chains, our expert panel (meet them
below) reviewed the 35 largest food retailers across the country and
selected the absolute healthiest, based on everything from the
freshness of produce and taste of prepared foods to the healthiness of
packaged goods and availability of supplemental nutritional
information.
Which Southern chains made the Top 10 (including two in North Carolina)? Find out ...
Posted by: By Allison Barnes, November 24, 2008 in Activity
I went out during lunch to find new workout sneakers. Boy, should I have done some research! After working out last week, my feet hurt all weekend, and I realized it was probably because I workout in the same tennis shoes I wore when I was in high school. I know, sad, but at the same time a testament to Saucony running shoes on their lasting power.
Anyway, my problem with the first set of shoes I found were that they were just for style and not for actual exercising. I found this out when I asked the salesperson why the shoes had such shallow (if any) arches.
The next set of shoes that I came to were more like cross-trainers, but they looked very complicated. Some had special doodads in the heels for shock absorption (I assume), while others had special strings, etc. I tried on several pair by New Balance, which is one of my favorite brands for the diversity of the sizes and widths they carry (I actually need an A, but they didn’t have them at this particular store….I only saw Bs and Ds).
All I need is a basic pair of basic everyday workout shoes with a great arch. Any help out there?
I think I'll narrow it down to three pair based on fit, arch, and so on and then ask you all to help me pick one in another post...Be on the lookout.
Update: I placed a pair of arch supports in my sneakers before working out with them again, and there was a huge difference! My feet didn't hurt and I could tell the difference in the balance. This is no substitute for a new pair of sneakers, but until I find that golden pair, it will do.
Posted by: By Erin Shaw Street, November 21, 2008 in Southern Blogging Mamas
I will never forget my first holiday away from home. Recently engaged, I'd taken the step of spending the Christmas with my soon-to-be husband's family in Gulf Breeze, Florida, instead of with my family in Birmingham. It was a big deal. And although they were wonderful, my health wasn't -- I got sick the second day there and spent the holiday on the couch sniffling instead of caroling.
Nothing is worse than getting sick while being away from home. The good news is that if you are getting ready to take a trip for the holidays, there are things that you can do to help protect yourself and your family:
Posted by: By Meghan Blalock, November 21, 2008 in Balance
I have always been a firm believer that reducing stress and increasing happiness is the key to a healthy life. As a result, I have another Happy Friday video for you this week. At the end of a long week, what's better than cute Internet videos or photos to get you ready for the weekend? This week, a baby hampster eating broccoli. Also a healthy choice!
The Food Network's resident know-it-all Alton Brown offers a quick two-minute drill on getting your kitchen organized for the Thanksgiving (and other holiday meal) onslaught. (Alton, by the way, lives in Marietta and graduated from the University of Georgia.) Learn simple ways on how to create more refrigerator space and prevent cross-contamination while cooking in this fun video ...
I had the strangest thing happen yesterday. When I got home, I had some dinner like normal, then I laid down for a little while….or so, I thought.I went to bed at like 6 p.m., and didn’t get up until 6 a.m. this morning. It was fiercely odd.I woke up a couple of times during that 12 hour spans, but only stayed awake for a few minutes and then went right back to sleep.
I know that sleep is important. First of all, it hellps your cognitive skills. Second, it helps your body repair after stress and illness. Third, it can even influence your eating patterns and how much sugar, starch, and so on that you crave.
Posted by: By Erin Shaw Street, November 20, 2008 in Activity
, Southern Blogging Mamas
While most of us are still cozy in our beds on Thanksgiving morning, many Southerners are already moving their muscles and breathing in cool fall air in Thanksgiving day fun runs and races. A number of Southern cities host Thanksgiving runs and walks. In fact, according to this story on active.com, Thanksgiving is one of the busiest race days of the year.
Most of these races offer a variety of courses and "fun runs" to appeal to people of varying physical abilities. Plus many benefit local charities, so you can get in some exercise while doing good.
As I’ve said before, I love The New York Timeshealth page. They’re always informative without being scary, and they often have neat interactive features. My most recent favorite is from a blog post earlier this month.
It’s a weird body questions quiz. Everyone has these questions about their bodies. Why do they do the weird things they sometimes do? This quiz tests your knowledge about your weird bodily functions. I got five out of ten. Oops. Let me know how you do!
Each morning, when I'm finishing up getting ready for work, I take a look at a bottle sitting on a shelf in my kitchen. Some days I open up this vitamin bottle, other days I don't. The only time I was absolutely consistent about taking daily vitamins was when I was pregnant.
Other than that, trying to figure out what (if any) vitamins I need has been an off and on question mark for many years, and I know I'm not alone.
Some of my friends take tons of vitamins, swearing by the energy they get from the various capsules and pills they take at different times of the day. Others are consistent in taking one multivitamin a day no matter what. Still others skip them entirely.
Now recently released research shows that some vitamins may not have certain preventative powers. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that Vitamins C and E do nothing to prevent heart disease in men, and one in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reports that Vitamin D doesn't prevent against invasive breast cancer in women.
But some experts warn not to toss out all your vitamins just yet, and share their take on how they use vitamins to potentially improve their health:
File that under things I hate to admit, like I'm getting older, I can't stay out all night, etc.
The sad thing is my body knows these things my mind doesn't readily accept. While that stray cough and all-day fatigue seems like nothing, eventually it all catches up with me.
And still, I pay it little attention, as I continue to work instead of rest. It's what I do.
More tips for eating on Thanksgiving and beyond. While Thanksgiving is a holiday and gives us an excuse to eat a little more, the day after Thanksgiving is not a holiday. I finally figured out what happens: We tend to overeat each day after Thanksgiving until the food runs out.When we do this, we stretch our stomach out and train it to expect larger amounts of food from Thanksgiving day onward.
Instead, each day after Thanksgiving, work on reeling back your appetite to regular mode.
Even though you’re on vacation/Thanksgiving break, try to keep your eating schedule consistent with what you have during a normal work week.If you normally do three meals a day with snacks in between, keep that schedule.Ask yourself: What time do you normally eat breakfast? At what time do you normally stop eating for the day?
You have oatmeal or a muffin before work?Okay.Stick with that. That’s not to say you can’t spoil yourself with pancakes one morning. Just not every morning.
Eat out of your work dishes/Tupperware.That’s right.If I have leftovers for lunch at work, I usually eat them out of a sandwich or soup size reusable plastic container. Try this method at home. Fill up your container with leftovers from the Thanksgiving meal--turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing/dressing, whatever. Only This is a great way to keep portion size consistent with what you’d normally be eating.
Remember these helpful portion control (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/portion-control/NU00267) during your meals.
Sitting on a plane, the floor littered by emptied peanut bags, used napkins, and who knows what else you can’t see embedded into the multi-colored carpet that probably has never been vacuumed, I wonder how many places in the world are dirtier than where I am.
I could think of those playground contraptions that you find at McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A, where children with snotty noses, put their mouths all over brightly colored plastic tubes and slides. Then, there’s the floor of the shower in a public gym, where who knows what kinds of bacteria are breeding in a warm, moist environment.
I had just purchased a magazine from the airport newsstand and shared it with my seatmate, who proceeded to cough all over it (Tuberculosis, emphysema, cigarette tar? I mean, seriously.) Not wanting her to give it back—as I couldn’t fathom the thought of her handing me back the 200-plus pages of sticky, mucous-dampened pages—I told her that she could keep the magazine or put it in the magazine bin in front of us.
I normally fly via one airline (which will remain nameless, other than to say that it’s based out of Texas). It’s gradually gotten dirtier and dirtier over the years. I think the key to this flight being so dirty was that it was the last flight of the day. So, all the dirt from a continual stream of in and out passengers had accumulated into on grand germy mess.
I wonder how often flight attendants get sick. I noticed one attendant wearing plastic gloves as she gathered trash from the snacks handed out earlier. What’s her wellness regimen?
I know, I know. It’s best not to think about these kinds of things, especially when you’re on a plane, with no where else to go for the next couple hours. Here's the good news: the air blowing on you in pretty clean. There are air filters and so on that make sure the air above is free of germs and viruses. Still, I’ll just thank God for a strong immune system and keep popping those vitamin Cs.
Posted by: By Erin Shaw Street, November 13, 2008 in Southern Blogging Mamas
As you put together your Thanksgiving plans, what are your goals? To try out a new recipe or re-create one passed down through your family? For your kids to sit at the dinner table without bringing up that embarrassing story about their uncle, who happens to be sitting right next to them? To eat less or just take time to enjoy your meal?
What about having an eco-friendly Thanksgiving? In all honesty, until this year I never gave much thought to how we could make our celebration more environmentally friendly. But like a lot of people I've been thinking more about being conscious when making choices about what we bring into our house, and how those things impact my family's health, as well as the world around us.
I have always been a fan of the calories in, calories out approach to eating. If you burn the same amount of calories as you consume, your weight will remain constant. And if you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. It’s pretty basic and scientific. Forget fad diets, forget crazy exercise regimens that are supposed to make you thin quick. It’s all about the calories.
However, today someone brought pumpkin-coffee cake to work and I, of course, had a piece. I started thinking, what is healthy eating? What does it mean to eat healthily? Does it mean never indulging in something as delicious as the piece of cake I had today? Or does it mean letting yourself indulge, but in moderation? Surely the 200 or 300 plus calories I consumed when I ate that cake are not going anywhere, unless I decide to exercise 200 or 300 calories’ worth extra tonight.
How are you spending the day after Thanksgiving? Making turkey sandwiches? Recovering from early morning bargain shopping? Looking at your holiday to-do list?
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