Diet and Health

It is time to clean out your cupboards and throw away everything that has High Fructose Corn Syrup or HFCS. The corn industry has been running a huge campaign to convince Americans that HFCS is not harmful. That is a lie. They say that it is almost the same as sugar. I think they are talking about the taste only. High Fructose Corn Syrup is not just like sugar. HFCS is processed differently in your body. It bypasses the normal body functions of going through the liver and the pancreas and goes directly to the bloodstream. This fact makes it highly dangerous. It is one of the key contributors to childhood obesity, childhood type 2 diabetes, adult obesity and adult type 2 diabetes. Throw out everything in your refrigerator, freezer and pantry that has HFCS in it.

During the dry winter months, lip balm becomes a necessity.  Dry cracked lips are uncomfortable and unnecessary.  They can be cured almost instantly with lip balm.  My favorite is banana boat.  Most lip balms also come with an spf to protect from the sun as well. 

I also use my lip balm on extremely dry areas of my hands.  It really helps to prevent skin cracking around the tips of my fingers and finger nails.

You can also use products such as Aquaphor and Lansinoh on your lips.  They are not directly marketed for use on lips, but just try them.  They work great.

Prevent breast pain before it happens and soothe it when it does, but do not stop breastfeeding, it is worth the challenges. 

Breastfeeding can be very challenging and painful in the beginning but well worth it. If you can make it through the painful part, it eventually goes away (for me 8 weeks in) and you will not have pain again after that. Breastfeeding is so convenient and bonding you will be happy that you stuck it out.

I believe prevention works best for sore breasts.

NIPPLE SHIELD - This could possibly be the best way to prevent and relieve sore breasts because you are actually putting a physical barrier in place between the babies mouth and your breast. If you don’t know where to get one, ask your doctor or breastfeeding advisor for help. The nipple shield is also helpful if the baby is not suckling properly.

LANOLIN - Lanolin based products such as Lansinoh are a miracle for breastfeeding moms. Use as directed on the package. You can also use it for dry skin and chapped lips.

ICE CUBES - I have had moments where I literally had to freeze my nipples with ice cubes before attaching my baby, I know it sounds freaky, but it works. It does give a lot of relief.

SEATING - Make sure you are sitting up with your back straight and bring the baby up to your breasts. This may require multiple pillows. I like to use the u shaped pillow and then put additional pillows underneath it to bring the baby to breast level.

ATTACHMENT - If you are having difficulty attaching, try gently squeezing the babies lips together so they look like “fish lips”. Then push your nipple against the bottom lip as you are attaching them.

DETACHING -This can be very painful if not done right. Stick your finger in the corner of the babies mouth to release the suction grip.

Take control of your life and your health by proactively making easy changes now.  If you are like me, your love handles are there for a reason, you have created them. What you really need is a lifestyle change to lose them and make sure they do not come back.

CLEAN OUT THAT KITCHEN - Please see my article on tips for a Healthy Kitchen. Rid your kitchen of all of it’s evils even the things you didn’t think were evil. Throw out all products with high fructose corn syrup, and products with partially hydrogenated oils. Throw them all out.

RESTOCK - Stock your kitchen with healthy food that you can eat in large quantities, such as blueberries, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, sweet potatoes, steel cut oats, sprouted wheat bread, brown rice and corn tortillas.

GET MOVING - Clean, garden, reorganize your house, play with your kids, go up the stairs an extra time, park at the far end of the lot and start walking each day. You can start out slow, walking 5-10 minutes per day. Work yourself up to 60 minutes per day within 1 month. Add in other exercises such as crunches and weight training.

CONCENTRATED EXERCISE - There are many different kinds of abdominal exercises that can help with your center. Double crunches, crunches, reverse crunches, you’ll feel it if you do them correctly!

KEEP UP THE POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE - You can do it, I know that and you know that, you just need to do it everyday. Create and use a personal mantra to keep you going. Say it to yourself daily. For example: I know I can!

written by Mitestarossa 

BOIL RICE - After you have it boiling, skim some of the water off the top of the pot and let it cool. Once it has reached room temperature, give it to the baby in a bottle or in a cup for a larger child. This works well if they have an upset stomach or gas.

HOLD THEM - While dancing gently or rocking and signing soft nursery rhymes in their ear. My son loved this when he was a baby and calmed down quickly, the only problem was that he never wanted me to put him down or sit down!

LAY them on your chest if they are babies. Babies, especially the tiny ones, love to lay on your chest and listen to your heart beat.

FANS - Babies love the soothing sound of a fan and the light breeze for some reason, I do not know why. Put them near a fan so that it is not blowing directly on them, or even in another room with the door open. Supervise, you don’t want them to touch it or have it blow directly on them!

If they will not calm down, strip them down and check over their entire body, there just might be something bothering them. Once a piece of lint string had wrapped around my sons toe inside his pajamas and was irritating him. Have they pooped yet today, if not may be they need help, that is always something to consider?  And of course, have they eaten recently, remember don’t let them get too hungry or tired or you will have a fussy baby or child.

written by Mitestarossa 

The hardest part of losing weight is getting started. Preparing yourself ahead of time will make it easier.

CONTROL YOUR MIND - You can control your weight by controlling your thoughts. Tell yourself that you can have whatever you want to eat, but you are choosing not to eat it at this time. Tell yourself that you will exercise right now to get it done with for the day and then do it.

PREPARE YOUR HOME - Have lots of healthy and nutritious, easy to eat snacks available. Such as blackberries, grapes, carrots, apples, blueberries,etc. Buy yourself a cute and comfortable workout outfit, even if you are bulging out of it like I am, you will feel more empowered to workout with it on.

PREPARE YOUR BODY - Drink 5 to 10 cups of green tea a day to help you feel full and burn more calories.

BABY STEPS - It is fine to start out with small steps. Even a 5 minute walk is a workout and you can gradually increase it and add more exercises such as weight training.

MUSIC - Have music that you love to move to easily available so that you can turn it on instantly when you are ready to workout, it will really keep you motivated.

IF YOU HAVE A SETBACK - Don’t let it keep you back. Keep moving forward even in small ways. That should be your mantra, say it to yourself: Keep moving forward!  

written by Mitestarossa 

Cauliflower has such a mild taste that your kids will not even notice it and it is a white translucent color that they will not be able to see.

PREPARE THE CAULIFLOWER AHEAD - Steam the cauliflower and then mash it up with a hand potato masher. You can freeze or refrigerate them if you have extras. You will only be able to camouflage a small amount, possibly up to a 1/4 cup in your child’s food.

BAKED POTATO - Prepare your potato by baking it in the oven for about 50 minutes until soft or in the microwave for about 6 minutes. Mash the potato while still in the skin and hot. Add in butter and salt for flavor. Then add in as much mashed cauliflower as possible without it becoming too noticeable.

RICE - Prepare your rice as per the package instructions or steamer instructions. I prefer wholegrain brown rice, it’s healthier. Mix about 1/4 cup mashed cauliflower. My kids like ketchup or soy sauce on their rice, which further camouflages the cauliflower, add a sauce if needed.

OATMEAL - Prepare the oatmeal per manufacturers instructions. Preferably steel cut oats. You can make a big pot at the beginning of the week and refrigerate it until you need it. Heat up only the amount you need each day. Mix in some of the mashed cauliflower, try for approximately 25% of the total meal.  Garnish with honey or sugar if needed.

If your child will eat cauliflower without the above camouflages it is the healthiest. Try cooking it in a lot of butter or cheese to make it pleasing and add salt if needed.

written by Mitestarossa 

Longevity studies keep coming up with the same results, you can affect your longevity. There are many things you can do to increase your longevity including exercise and eating healthy. Most centenarians have many things in common including a good attitude.

STRONG SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS - People that live more than 100 years have a strong set of good social relationships. They are not sent to old age homes but still live in their own homes or with their relatives and see people every day. Some of them still work each day or play a vital role volunteering for their community on a regular basis.

LET IT GO, DON’T HOLD ON TO THINGS - Centenarians do not hold on to bad feelings for very long. They let things roll of their back easily so to speak. They do not hold grudges against people. And most importantly they forgive everyone.

BE A VEGETARIAN - Studies have shown that some people that live the longest, live in vegetarian communities and eat good diets.

DRINK PLENTY OF GREEN TEA - Scientist don’t even know all of the wonderful properties of the chemicals in green tea yet. It seems to help the body burn calories faster, prevents diseases and boosts your immune system.

DO FOR OTHERS - Another common trait among centenarians is their good deeds and volunteering. Volunteering or helping others in a variety of different ways throughout their lifetimes, increases lifespans.

written by Mitestarossa 

It is time to clean out your kitchen and make it healthy. It is very difficult to stay healthy with a kitchen filled with your favorite treats, no fruits and vegetables and unhealthy standards. Throw out the bad and start buying the good if you want to make any progress in your health.

THROW AWAY ANYTHING WITH (Partially or not) HYDROGENATED OILS - I am not a scientist so I can not even begin to tell you how terrible these oils are for your health and well being, but I will say that they contribute significantly to plaque building up in your arteries, obesity and heart disease.

THROW AWAY ANYTHING WITH HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP - Recently I have seen ads on television claiming that HFCS is the same as sugar and has the same effects. Don’t be fooled by these lies. HFCS bypasses your body’s natural process through your pancreas and liver and goes straight to your blood stream. This is very bad for your system and contributes to weight gain, obesity and getting diabetes.  IT IS NOT THE SAME AS SUGAR, learn for yourself. Sugar is much healthier for your body.

DOCTORS WILL TELL YOU - DON’T BUY ON THE INNER ISLES OF THE GROCERY STORE - You know the places where all of the packaged foods are. Avoid these areas. The healthy areas are around the outer isles of the store, such as the meat and poultry department, bakery, produce, and dairy.

CUT OUT CEREALS - This is a tough one because cereal manufacturers want you to think that cereal is healthy.  Well, I guess if you compare them to donuts, they are healthier.  Cereals and instant oatmeals are very high in sugar. I am not sure if there is such as thing as a cereal that is healthy, which is what the manufacturers want you to believe. Any health benefits are lost with the high sugar content in cereals and instant oatmeal.

EAT STEEL CUT OATS or GROATS, NOT ROLLED OATS - Rolled oats (Quaker Oats) are processed over and over again, taking out most of the goodness of the wholegrain. I know that steel cut oats take much longer to cook, but they are worth it and you can prepare a large amount ahead of time to save yourself the trouble and then just heat it up each morning. If you are preparing your oats in less than 30 minutes, most likely they are not the healthy variety.

EAT WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT BREAD - Most of the breads on the shelves at the grocery store are not healthy, just look at the ingredients, I don’t care what they call themselves. Buy your bread in the healthfood section of the grocery store. Sprouted wheatberries are the healthiest. Isn’t it strange that there is only a small section of the grocery store called the healthfood section. The whole store should be healthy food, right?. Ironic isn’t it?

BUY WHOLEGRAIN BROWN RICE - Not white parboiled rice. Sorry, no more minute rice for the new healthy you. If your rice takes less than 50 minutes to cook, then it is not the healthy brown rice variety.

written by Mitestarossa 

Green Tea has natural chemicals that help you feel full sooner and help your body burn more fat.

Green tea is filled with the compound catechin polyphenols, chemicals that act both as an antioxidant and as a metabolism (fat burning) booster. Green tea has about 27 percent catechins per cup, while black tea (orange pekoe) has just 4 percent per cup.  Catechin polyphenols are natural chemicals that make your body burn more fat.

Drink at least 5-10 cups of green tea a day.  I know it is quite a challenge, you will know what I mean when you get to the 5th cup of the day.  Green tea can be counted as part of your total daily water intake.  The tea will help you feel full and help your body burn more fat.

Should I use tea bags or loose tea?  You may want to start using tea bags for ease of use if you are a beginning tea drinker. However, eventually, you may want to switch to loose tea which is higher quality and makes a better tasting cup of tea.  A good green tea, such as sencha can be steeped (soaked in hot water) 2-3 times, so although it costs more, you can use it more and it is better for you.