Sixth Annual Every Kid Healthy™ Week: April 23-27, 2018

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Every Kid Healthy™ Week is an annual observance created to celebrate school health and wellness achievements and recognized on the calendar of National Health Observances.

Observed the last week of April each year, this special week shines a spotlight on the great efforts schools are making to improve the health and wellness of their students and the link between nutrition, physical activity, and learning – because healthy kids are better prepared to learn!

Anyone can get involved and be a part of the celebration to help support sound nutrition, regular physical activity and health-promoting programs in schools with a school health event.

Schools are invited to host an event during Every Kid Healthy Week or anytime in April. Consider making your field day or other school-wide event health-focused. Keep reading to learn how to host an event!

Host an Every Kid Healthy Event at Your School

Every Kid Healthy Week events should promote and reinforce healthy eating, nutrition education, physical activity and physical education. We have lots of resources to help you promote your event and get students and the whole community excited and involved.

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Quick Tips to Tackle Emotional Eating

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College of DuPage Nursing Student Elena Basch suggests you ask yourself, “Am I hungry or am I bored? Stressed? Depressed? Am I rewarding myself? Why am I hungry?”  because it’s essential to know the cause of hunger in order to address it appropriately. Eating is something we all do to provide nutrition and nourishment to our bodies. Our bodies need this for it to perform adequately, but our bodies need GOOD food. Ever notice that when we eat poorly, we often feel the same way?

The food choices we make in relation to our emotions often aren’t the healthiest ones. It’s easy when feeling emotionally distressed, to pick unhealthy comfort foods. For me, that’s probably any baked good in reach or anything with sugar. Sugar makes me feel great. According to Laura Schwechrel from the goodist.com, sugar releases endorphins which cause a temporary “high”. To tackle my emotions, I have started doing two things in lieu of eating:

  1. I feel wonderful after a good workout. It also helps with weight loss. It’s a win-win. Need exercise ideas? I use Pinterest to look for exercises, they also have visuals to aid in the exercise I wish to perform. Also, it lets me try exercises I never thought I would try before. Some of these can be done in 15 minutes or less at home. Do what best fits your needs
  2. This one might not be as popular but writing on getting my thoughts down on paper has proved revolutionary. The poems don’t even have to be good but I sure do feel relief.

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Health on the Shelf: 14 Superfood Staples

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Claire McIntosh wrote for AARP that sometimes you just can’t get to the farmers market. Eat healthfully with what’s on hand. These nutrient-dense superfoods that are shelf-stable put the power of prevention right in your pantry.

1. Oatmeal

It’s a cholesterol buster, thanks to lots of soluble fiber. But keep in mind that all oats aren’t equal. Quick-cooking oats have lost some fiber during processing. Instant flavored versions have added sugar. Old-fashioned rolled oats are a fantastic fiber fix. But steel-cut oats, which take longer to digest — making them low glycemic, or less likely to cause spikes in blood sugar — are the true breakfast of champions.

2. Canned salmon, tuna and sardines

Fatty fish such as these are the best way to get your omega-3 fatty acids, which protect against hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure and irregular heartbeats. All these delish fish options are anti-inflammatory. Plus, they’re packed with protein. White tuna is a better choice for omega-3s.

3. Dried blueberries

Ready to make your pancake dreams come true, these sweet balls of goodness contain compounds that may delay the effects of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Besides being an indulgent source of fiber and vitamin C, they’ve got the immune-boosting, inflammation-busting power of antioxidants.

4. Quinoa 

A great grain to star in your favorite veggie-bowl recipes, the South American superfood is high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

5. Canned beets

These are an ideal topping for that quinoa-veggie bowl. The red root vegetable packs vitamins, minerals and antioxidants galore. Beets may help ward off cancer and lower blood pressure, too. Read more →

Can Gene Editing Solve the Food Allergy Puzzle?

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FARE (Food Allergies Research an Education) posted that as molecular biology research has become more sophisticated and personalized genetic testing has become more popular, some members of the food allergy community have asked us when genetic tests and treatments for food allergy will become available. In particular, food allergy patients and families have expressed hope that advances in gene editing and manipulation can soon lead to a cure.

We anticipate that the latest generation of molecular tools will drive advances in animal studies of food allergy. Researchers across the country, including many that receive support from FARE, are conducting experiments in mice to unlock the molecular details that underlie food allergy reactions. Allergist and food allergy investigator Dr. Hugh Sampson has noted that “over the years, we’ve cured a lot of mice of food allergy,” highlighting the difficulties encountered in translating a successful therapy in mice to a successful therapy in people. While research studies in mice yield some valuable insights, these studies alone have not revealed why food allergy has become increasingly common in recent years or provided timely treatments for patients managing food allergies today. This is because food allergy is not caused simply by genetic factors.

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Can what you eat prevent Alzheimer’s?

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Nina Lundberg, MD wrote for the Edwards-Elmhurst blog that as we age, our brains get a little slower on the draw.

You might forget where you put your keys, or what time your appointment is. You may even forget what day it is or the name of a famous actor you like, but you recover and remember fairly quickly.When your memory loss disrupts your daily life – you can’t retrace your steps and find your missing keys, or you can’t tell what season it is – it could be a sign of Alzheimer’s disease.

Your next question may be: how do I prevent this from happening to me?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear-cut prevention method. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia evolve because of a combination of factors such as your age, genetics, medical conditions and environment.

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Can Apple Cider Vinegar Fix All Your Problems?

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KATE CHYNOWETH shared in the MYFITENESSPAL Blog that Spring cleaning isn’t just for closets. After months of cold weather and cravings for rich meals, our bodies deserve a reset. Thanks in part to an ever-expanding selection of health drinks, this question burns as intensely for some as a teaspoon of ACV on a sore throat. Rumors are its health benefits include everything from increased energy and weight loss to improved digestion. Yet many of the claims associated with it remain unproven, so let’s to take a closer look at the trend.

 

IT IS GOOD FOR GUT FLORA

Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is rich in enzymes and probiotics, much like other raw fermented liquids such as kombucha. Probiotics aid digestion, keep us “regular” and prevent bloating (as yogurt commercials have informed us for years). Yet those benefits only are gained if you ingest the raw stuff sold by all-natural producers such as Bragg, because pasteurization kills probiotic strains. You’ll know you’ve hit the jackpot when you see cobwebby strands of the “mother” floating in your bottle of amber liquid. If you’re looking for a way to wake up and energize your digestion, a morning shot of apple cider vinegar might make sense.

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5 Surprising Reasons to Eat More Garlic

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Christa Sgobba wrote in Silver Sneakers for Tivity Healthy that leaning in for a close conversation after a garlic-filled meal? Not a great idea. Skipping the pungent vegetable just to avoid that pesky garlic breath? Also not smart.

“There are many health benefits relating to garlic,” says Maxine Smith, R.D., a dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic. In fact, it may affect nearly every part of your body.

Whether or not you get all the health benefits of garlic, however, depends on how you prepare and cook it. For best results, chop, mince, slice, or mash the garlic—and then let it rest for 10 minutes before exposing it to heat. Crushing garlic triggers a chemical reaction that boosts the concentrations of certain healthy compounds, according to the American Chemical Society. Heat shuts down this reaction.

After letting it sit, you can then sauté, bake, or fry the garlic as you normally would. If you eat garlic raw, like in pesto, hummus, or homemade salad dressings, you can skip this 10-minute rule and still reap the benefits. Read more →

10 Ways to Start Losing Weight

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Christa Sgobba wrote for Silver Sneaker by Tivity Health that you know you want to lose weight, and you have a pretty good idea of what you should do to make it happen. You just need to get started. And unfortunately, that’s often the hardest part.

When motivation is lacking, remember this: Shedding pounds does not require a complete diet-and-exercise overhaul. In fact, starting small is often the best way to meet—and maintain—your weight loss goals, says Tony Gentilcore, C.S.C.S., founder of CORE in Boston. The good habits you adopt can snowball, leading to bigger changes down the line too, he says.

Here are ten ways to start losing weight with minimal effort.

1. Eat Foods That Hydrate You

It may sound counterintuitive, but eating more food can be a key to weight loss—as long as we’re talking about foods with a high water content, says Christine Rosenbloom, Ph.D., R.D., author of Food and Fitness After 50.

Eating water-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, or broth-based soups can fill you up, leaving you less likely to overeat on more calorie-dense foods, she says.

In fact, a study published in the journal Appetite found that when people ate a broth-based vegetable soup 15 minutes before a pasta lunch, they consumed 20 percent fewer calories overall, compared to when they just ate their main meal. The researchers believe the soup slows the rate at which food moves through your digestive tract, which can increase feelings of satiety.

There’s a mental benefit too: Seeing more food in front of you can make you feel less deprived, Rosenbloom says. And that can cut your urge to end your meal with a calorie-rich dessert.

Try starting your meal with a broth-based soup, even if you’re eating at home. Not a soup fan? Look for other ways to include more water-rich foods to your plate. “Add two or three leaves of lettuce or more tomato on your sandwich,” Rosenbloom says. Read more →

Believe It Or Not, Coffee Helps You Live Longer!

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 www.coffemakerguide.com shared with Healthy Lombard that finally, this is the news that all coffee lovers have been waiting for. After all the negative Nellies clamoring about the ill-effects of coffee, a hearty news comes our way: Coffee can help you live longer! No, this is not a claim by coffee addicts in fact these are conclusions by two separate studies! Thus, the magic of Science has proven that a greater consumption of coffee could result in the drinker living a longer life.

One of the two is a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. The study explores the relation between coffee consumption and mortality. The study was conducted in 521,330 people scattered around 10 European countries. The scientists observed the liver function and metabolic health in relation to coffee consumption. After a period of time, it was noticed that subjects that had been consuming coffee had a lower mortality rate. Finally, the study mentions that drinking coffee is directly related to reduced risk of dying from various causes and the relationship of coffee and mortality did not vary by the country.

The second study, again published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, tried a more inclusive approach and studied non-white sections of the population. This study included 185,855 people with diverse background and ethnicities like Native Hawaiians, African Americans, Latinos, and Japanese Americans. This study declared that the result is the same as the first study irrespective of the race of the person participating in the study. Thus, coffee increases longevity in general despite varied race, lifestyle, and dietary preferences. Interestingly, the study claimed that those who drank 2-4 cups of coffee in a day had 18% lower risk of dying than those who did not consume the beverage.

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Cancer Fighting Foods

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Evelyn Sherman, a member of  the content team at Steroidsmag, is an ardent health lover, and writer who shares information about health supplements, does product reviews ,and also shares awesome tips on living a healthy life.

In today’s article, Evelyn talks about how Cancer and food habits have a close link and that this has been proved over and over again. Hence it is important to choose the foods we eat carefully. We are pleased to share below top 12 cancer fighting foods and we are sure it will go a long way in helping you and your family members to stay healthy. These foods are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and when they are consumed regularly they could help a lot in preventing various forms of cancers. The foods mentioned below have been chosen after quite a bit of research and therefore they will be useful in more ways than one.

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