Butter vs. Margarine

How to know what to choose?  Read the label.  Avoid or minimize saturated fat, trans fat, and partially hydrogenated oil (which contains trans fat) – all of which raise blood cholesterol and risk for cardiovascular disease.  “Hydrogenated” or “fully hydrogenated” oils are okay as they have no trans fat.

Smart Snacks

We need a consistent source of energy (calories) to function well during the day, so even if you’re too busy to feel hunger, you need to eat!  This is true even if you’re trying to lose weight.  Have convenient, healthy snacks on hand, such as nuts, fruit, yogurt, low fat granola bars or popcorn, whole […]

Ten Minutes Are Enough

The most common reason people give for not exercising is lack of time.  Don’t worry that you don’t have an hour.  Studies show that ten minutes of exercise make a difference. Grab the lease and take your canine friend for a walk.

Journal Your Way to a Healthy Weight

If losing weight is one of your New Year’s resolutions, keep a food journal.  People often underestimate how much food they eat and do a poor job estimating many calories they’ve consumed.   Check out www.myfooddiary.com, www.myfitnesspal.com, or www.my-calorie-counter.com to get started.

Does Your Food Suit Your Mood? Part 2

By Anita Rangaswami (Guest Blogger) Are we paying close attention to the “negative effects” of certain foods that are consumed on a daily basis?  Here is an example that may sound a little too familiar and clearly illustrates these “negative effects”. An ice cream treat can be an earned reward after a particularly stressful day and […]

Does Your Food Suit Your Mood?

By Anita Rangaswami (Guest Blogger) Know how to feed your mind and body properly! Individuals who lead a “wellness-oriented” lifestyle are generally concerned with nutrition, fitness, stress, and typically care about their environment as well. Health conscious individuals are into eating raw foods, drinking Kombucha tea, being on the cutting edge and going to yoga/pilates fusion […]

A New and Improved Life

To live long and well, we must exercise.  We’ve been told this for years, and we still don’t get it.  There’s just no substitute.  Dieting and maintaining a healthy weight are great, but they’re not enough.  Exercise does things for the mind and body that nothing else, including diet, can do.  Check out three ways […]

To Replace or Not to Replace

I was surprised to learn how many knee and hip replacements are being done on people under the age of 65.  According to Prevention magazine, almost 40% of all hip replacements done in 2010 were done on people under age 65, and 42% of that year’s knee replacements were on folks aged 45 – 64.  […]

A Day Older and Years Wiser

If you’re reading this, you’re a day older today than you were yesterday. Congratulations!  When you consider the alternative, this is a good thing.  Rather than dwell on getting older each day, why not think about how you’ve gotten wiser with each passing year?  Perhaps when we celebrate our birthdays with loved ones, we could […]

Preventing Cancer

As I mentioned last week, the folks at the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter have reported that there are many factors under your control when it comes to preventing cancer.  Begin by affirming daily, “I enjoy perfect health in body, mind and spirit.”  Then add fuel to this intention with these nine practices: Don’t smoke or […]