Time for a Heart to Heart

What helps keep our heart's healthy?

A study mentioned in The Washington Post yesterday reveals that, although we know that vegetables and nuts are good and "starchy carbs" are bad, there are still a lot of questions regarding many other foods.

Overall, the study aimed to pull out strengths and highlight weaknesses of previous heart-health studies.

The thing to take away is to consider a more Mediterranean diet.

What's in a Mediterranean diet?

• Fruits/Veggies
• Healthy Fats - Olive and Canola Oil
• Tree Nuts (no more than a handful a day)
  
• Red Wine (check with physician)
• Very little Red Meat
• Fish

How does this diet work?

This diet focuses on keeping out the "bad" fats and cholesterol - not keeping fat all together out - so that a persons chances of blocked arteries is significantly decreased. Keeping bad fats out will also help with weight loss. Whole grains and foods with a high percentage of antioxidants contain less trans-fat, providing more health benefits.

Considering that Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women over 40, switching to a more heart-healthy diet seems like a good plan.

Other factors that contribute to heart disease are:

• Diabetes.
• Smoking.
• High blood pressure.
• High blood cholesterol
• Obesity.
• Lack of exercise.
• Family history of heart disease.

Read more about how to keep your heart in the best shape possible!

Cookies for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

I've heard it on the radio about a thousand times and finally decided to do some research to find out what exactly the "cookie diet" was all about.

Apparently, the original cookie diet was designed by Dr. Sanford Seigal for his private medical practice in Florida, 1975. These cookies are designed to help people stick to diets while diminishing cravings and unecessary "snacking."

Now, with a variety of supplements, shakes and even teas, Seigal is confident that his product works to help lose weight and keep it off. He even encourages people who are at their desired to try his products so that late night kitchen raids become a thing of the past.

To get started, Seigal says to follow 3 steps:

1. At home self-test; what is your current daily calorie intake?

2. Set a goal using Dr. Seigal's Diet Calculator

3. Begin to follow the "example daily diet"

A recent article was published on the CBS website saying celebrities, including Jennifer Hudson, are interested in and using the cookie diet. Dr. Seigal's cookie diet was also featured in People Magazine back January.

Although it is never a good idea to soley rely on supplements, these cookies may be able to help those who have a hard time sticking to a routine. Fresh foods from all food groups should always be included in your diet whether you are using supplements or not.

To read more about the cookie diet and how it can help you, visit Dr. Seigal's website.

What Women Want

Besides a shopping spree...

Women want a man who can make them laugh, according to a CNN article that referenced a study conducted by Kristofor McCarty, of Northumbria University in Newcastle, England.

Laughing was an indicator of intellengence, in the study, and women were more likely to consider a long-term relationship with the men who exhibited these characteristics.

Partners who are more likely to be humorous are also more likely to lighten tense situations that all relationships go through, especially when a couple has children.

Humor is a good characteristic to look for in a friend, as well. The same benefits someone can recieve from humor in an intimate relationship can be found in a good friendship.

Laughter is linked to good health in more ways than one:

• It reduces the number of stress hormones,


• Provides physical and emotional release and


• Exercises your diaphram

The take home is simple; to be happy is to be healthy. Find the joy in your life and look for the joy in other people's lives as well.

Read more about the health benefits of laughter...

Snuggies Out, Acai Berries In

Cancer cure, longevity, antioxidants, oh my!

Acai berries have been widely deemed the new super-fruit, complete with super powers - or so we thought.

I'm sure you've seen the flood of advertisements about how Acai berries can solve all of your unhealthy issues but the truth is that there is no research to support any of these claims. A CNN article explains that although these berries contain many antioxidants, most fruits and vegetables do, making this fruit not so super-duper.
These berries are also very expensive - save your money and buy produce from the grocery store! You will be getting the same nutritional value you would be getting if you included Acai into your diet.

For those of you who were scammed with "free trial" offers, Richard Blumenthal, Conn. Attorney General announced an investigation of businesses who are involved in the selling and scientific claims of Acai berries and for also conducting improper credit card charges.

The take home: Steer clear of too-good-to-be-true offers; keep it simple.

Let the Drummer Kick

Although de-cluttering, balanced meals and exercise all benefit your health, music is something that is more powerful than all of those things combined.

I challenge you to find a song that moves you. Moves you to think... Moves you to get up... Moves you to lay down...

No matter what the situation, I truly believe that the right melody can and will heal you in more ways than modern medicine will ever be able to.

I'm not talking about the same songs you hear on the radio 16 times a day, I'm talking about something you make your own.

Your answer: www.Pandora.com

It's free, easy, interactive and I only wish I had known about it sooner. All you do is create an account (simple), type in one of your favorite bands/artists/songs and it will stream music to you that compliments your original selection. Genius.

Elizabeth Scott, M.S., in an article on stress management states,
Those who practice music therapy are finding a benefit in using music to help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others, and even hospitals are beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management, to help ward off depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music and music therapy can bring.

What a great way to increase your health, right!? Not to mention an even better excuse to love Prince...

Take a few minutes to watch this.

The Perfect Storm

I once hit the snooze button so hard, I broke my alarm clock.

I'm not a morning person, AT ALL, but I do enjoy staying up late! This is my perfect storm.

I remember my bedtime was around 8:30pm or so when I was young. My mom always said that I had to get a good nights sleep to be prepared for school in the morning but it didn't make sense to me why my parents didn't have bedtimes if they had to be up even earlier than me to be "prepared for work."

According to an ABC news article, all kinds of health problems can result from lack of sleep AND it turns out that kids aren't the only ones who should be following a bedtime routine...

Our natural sleep pattern should be waking up at sunrise, triggering a hormone release intended for dealing with all kinds of stress, and then settling down again at sunset, triggering a release of melatonin which helps us to sleep. The light is what triggers these releases and with the ever present laptop, cell phone, TV, fill in the blank, the regulation of these hormones become abnormal because they are tricked into believing its either day or night, when it's not.

A cycle of messed up hormones, eating sugary foods in the morning to "boost energy," and staying up late - allowing your brain to think its daytime - ends up repeating itself time and time again.

Make yourself a priority and evacuate this cycle before the storm hits again.

Too Much Junk in My Trunk!

I am a pack rat.

I save cards - especially the musical ones -, empty DVD cases in the hopes of one day finding its contents, single earrings (and shoes), you get the idea.

A lot of people share my same instinct to "save everything" but this process of hoarding can become a very serious problem for some people and may be related to psychological reasons.

An article in the NY Times referenced a study by Dr. David F. Tolin, of the Institute of Living in Hartford, which stated that, "When a hoarder was making decisions about throwing away items, the researchers saw increased activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, a part of the brain involved in decision-making and planning."

The study says that the average person doesn't implore as much decision-making as a hoarder might when it comes to getting rid of things.

Without as much clutter, a person would be able to use the judgment part of their brain in healthy and beneficial ways.

In a similar article on Bio-Medicine.org, researchers used a method called single detection theory (SDT) to see how well someone could detect a target in a cluttered environment. Participants, as expected, weren't able to detect targets successfully.

THIS IS BECAUSE WE, AS OBSERVERS IN EVERYDAY LIFE, TAKE EVERYTHING AROUND US INTO CONSIDERATION IN ORDER TO "DETECT" OUR DESIRED TARGET.

Hence, this is why we can't ever find our keys, cell phones or wallets.

Now it's time to start de-cluttering your life! ZenHabits has great tips to get started.

Think it's something more than clutter? See for yourself