Explaining Health

Give the Gift of Health

admin — Sat, 04 May 2013 19:11:04 +0000

Give the people in your life a meaningful gift this year. Give them the gift of empowering themselves to take care of their health. Give them “Explaining Health: what you need to know to stay healthy.”

It’s so easy to make your own almond milk!

admin — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 20:53:27 +0000

Just soak 1/2 cup of almonds overnight in a cup of water. Rinse and add 3 cups of fresh water and 2 pitted dates, and a pinch of salt to the blender and blend for at least a minute. You can add more dates if you want it sweeter. Almonds are good for heart health, they are high in monounsaturated fat and have no cholesterol. They are high in calcium and magnesium and Vitamin E. They don’t raise blood sugar and people who eat almonds 5 times a week live longer and healthier than people who don’t eat nuts. And the homemade almond milk tastes way better than the stuff in the box!

homemade almond milk

Bliss. It’s priceless

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 02:31:29 +0000

It costs nothing to pay attention to your breath. No charge at all to quiet your mind. Being fully present in the present moment does not cost a dime. Anyone can do it, anytime. You don’t need to be a yogi or backpack the Himalayas to find peace of mind. All you need to do is soften your belly and let your breath expand. Let your exhalation be longer than you inhalation. Slow down. Open your heart to lovingkindness. Feel a sense of gratitude. Your mind and what’s in it can affect your physiology. And as you feel a greater sense of inner peace, you don’t have to look outside of yourself for a feeling of satisfaction from material things. Appreciating just being alive in this moment- priceless.

It’s a crapshoot. How to improve your odds

admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:00:13 +0000

There are no guarantees. You could be the most health conscious person on the planet, do almost everything right, and still come down with a hideous disease at the end of your life. My mother- in-law should have lived to be 100. She ate her vegetables, she did yoga, she was vivacious and sociable up into her 80′s. Then, mysteriously she started having trouble swallowing. Turnes out she had ALS, Lou Gerig’s disease. One of those awful diseases. How did she get it ? Could it have been from pesticide spraying in her neighborhood? She lived near agricultural fields. We’ll never know. She passed away at 87, but she was hale and healthy before contacting that disease.

So even if there are no guarantees, we can see from research into longevity from other countries, that people tend to age better when they stay active, eat a more natural plant based diet, have social ties, and a positive outlook. We can see from looking at Americans, those who eat a mostly processed fast food diet, and who are sedentary tend to have heart disease and diabetes and other complications as they grow older. There are a lot of things that we have no control over, but we do have some control over how much and what we eat, and how much we move. We can improve the odds in our favor by adapting a healthier lifestyle, even if there are no guarantees.

Good stress vs bad stress. What’s the difference?

admin — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:19:02 +0000

Good stress is when you are getting ready to give a talk. You feel revved up, your palms might be sweaty and your heart is beating a little faster, but then you give your speech, it’s over and your physiology calms down. Our nervous system was designed for short term stress. Mobilize the blood flow to the legs for a quick getaway, put off digestion and cellular healing to a more relaxed time. This kind of stress is stimulating, you have some control over it, keeps life from getting too boring. The bad stress is sitting in a traffic jam, stressed out by time pressure, unable to move, unable to physically express your energy, trapped by forces beyond your control. And if everyday life is lived as though there was some sort of emergency around every corner, if every little thing makes you angry, you are living with chronic stress. And that takes a toll, on your brain, your nervous system, your immune system, your heart and your arteries, and ultimately your health. You may not be able to change your environment, but you can change your response to it. Starting with how you perceive your situation, how your body is reacting, and how you can change what you focus on. The glass is just sitting there. You decide if it’s half full.

Home Remedies for Colds & Flu

admin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:55:14 +0000

Ellen DeGeneres tweeted that she was feeling under the weather. I wonder if my “Home Remedies for Colds & Flu,” e-

Home remedies for Colds & Flu

booklet, https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/277371 might help. Strong intention sometimes helps healing.

“Escape Fire” riveting documentary on health care crisis

admin — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:34:14 +0000

We have a health care crisis in this country. Not only is the cost of health insurance rising, and the cost of heathcare rising, but so many of our chronic diseases could be simply prevented by lifestyle choices. As the documentary, “Escape Fire,” points out, our medical system is overwhelmed, doctors have fifteen minute appointments to see patients with complex medical problems, taking a multitude of pharmaceuticals, and dealing with a variety of socioeconomic stressors. Advertisements bombard us to take a pill whenever we have pain or discomfort, instead of listening to the message our bodies are trying to send us. Fast food ads entice us to indulge in unhealthy food. Empty sugar calories in soda, lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Sedentary lifestyles contribute to weight gain and aches and pains. We need to make a change in this country! The medical system can’t take care of us. We need to take responsibility for our own health.

Start by watching “Escape Fire,” on CNN, Sunday March 10th, 2013 at 8pm

http://www.escapefiremovie.com/

Here’s to life!

admin — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 22:57:21 +0000

We all want to live well. We don’t want to grow old. We want to stay young, as long as possible. We want to enjoy life, and be able to move freely, without pain. We want our minds to be clear and our hearts full of joy. We want to greet each day with energy and enthusiasm. We want work that is meaningful, and feel like we are contributing to the greater good, and are being fairly compensated for our efforts. We want to be surrounded by loving friends and family. We want to live in a safe place and know our neighbors, and play a part in our community. We want to be valued for who we are, and we want to feel like we belong. We want to be able to embrace change, to be open to new ways of doing things, but also respect and learn from the past.