Tuesday, 28 July 2020, 10:39 amPress Release: AIA NZ

AIA, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asianlife insurance group, today announced plans to host itsfirst ever regional online health and wellness event,spanning 13 markets and headlined by AIAs GlobalAmbassador David Beckham.

AIA Live will bebroadcast on Sunday 2nd August and will include more than 30unique sessions, delivering health and wellness content toinspire, motivate and educate people across the region aspart of AIAs commitment to helping them live Healthier,Longer, Better Lives. Key themes will include mentalwellbeing, exercise, activity and rest, nutrition, personalgrowth, as well as light-hearted moments of music andcomedy.

AIA Live has been designed to appealacross all age groups and multiple markets, celebrating thecultural diversity of the region while at the same timebringing people closer together to deepen their knowledge ofhealth and wellness in a fun and engaging way.

DavidBeckham will open and close the event, and also sharepersonal stories on how he and his family have dealt withthe extraordinary events of 2020, together with some of thelessons he has learnt. Celebrity chef Jeremy Pang will cooka series of recipes with different ingredients from acrossAsia, and coaches from AIAs partner Tottenham HotspurFootball Club (Spurs) will challenge participants totry some easy and fun football skills. They will besupported by more than 20 other regional influencers andkeynote guests, bringing together AIAs family ofambassadors for the first time ever.

AIA Livewill be hosted on AIAs Healthy Living YouTube channeland AIA Vitality members will be able to earn AIA VitalityPoints for taking part. By registering for the event,participants will also earn the chance to win significantprizes including trips to London to watch Spurs play andmeet their first team players, as well as signed footballsfrom David Beckham, virtual cooking lessons with JeremyPang, and merchandise from our other ambassadors. AIA alsoplans to host similar days in China and India in earlySeptember, with tailored content for thosemarkets.

Stuart A. Spencer, AIA Group ChiefMarketing Officer, said: In this COVID world welive in, we see mindsets and behaviours changing and we arecommitted to keeping connected with our customers andsupporting them with knowledge and practical tips for healthand wellness. We know our audiences are online now more thanever before and are looking for new ways to stay motivated,active and live a healthy lifestyle - often within theconfines of their own home. We are therefore very excited tobe presenting AIA Live, a first of its kind event,which will be a day of powerful and inspiring content and ameaningful way for us to deliver on our commitment tohelping people live Healthier, Longer, BetterLives.

AIAs Global Ambassador DavidBeckham said: Im very proud to be involved inAIA Live alongside my fellow AIA ambassadors, sharingour thoughts and experiences with people across Asia abouthow we can live healthier, longer, better lives. Weve allfaced unexpected challenges this year and looking afterourselves, mentally and physically, has never been moreimportant.

Ive been lucky enough to seefirst-hand the transformational work that AIA are doing inmarkets all over the region to help their customers andcommunities. I hope people will feel inspired to make thelittle changes in their lives that can make a big differenceand that this unique event will really motivatethem.

AIA Live will be broadcast in NewZealand on Sunday 2nd August from 2PM-10PM. As part of theevent, AIA New Zealand ambassadors Jess Quinn and Ian Joneswill be taking part with Jess running a body image workshopand Ian demonstrating an at-home High Intensity IntervalTraining (HIIT) workout.

To register for AIALive and learn more, please visit AIA New Zealandswebsite.

About JessQuinn

Jess is a health and wellnessadvocate with a passion for helping people overcomeadversity and insecurity. Since losing her right leg tocancer at the age of 9, Jess has refused to let that standin her way of living life to its fullest with a core passionfor helping others overcome their physical and mentalsetbacks along the way. Jess aims to expose the truth andreality of our own unique journeys, to reduce judgement onothers and celebrate our ownpaths.

About IanJones

Ian Jones is one of NewZealands finest rugby players, having played 79 Tests forthe All Blacks (a record at the time of his retirement) andcompeting in three Rugby World Cups. Now a regularcompetitor in Ironman and endurance competitions, managingto balance the demanding requirements of his sport,commitments to family and his role in the media as a SkySports commentator. He is known to be down to earth,personable and entertaining. Ian is of Maori descent (NgaiTahu) and was raised in Northland. Ian is actively involvedin a number of not-for-profit organisations including EddiesMeals, which he founded, a non-profit that brings thecommunity together for a meal.

AboutAIA New Zealand

AIA New Zealand is aleading life insurance specialist with almost 40 yearsexperience in the New Zealand market and is part of the AIAGroup, the worlds largest life insurance company bymarket capitalisation. With a unique customer valueproposition focused on life, health and wellbeing, AIA NewZealands purpose is to make a difference in peopleslives.

In July 2018, the AIA Group completedthe acquisition of Sovereign, transforming AIA NewZealands scale and reach to become the market leader inNew Zealands life insurance sector.

AIA NewZealand offers a range of products that protect and enhancethe lives of more 500,000 New Zealanders. AIA NewZealands vision is to embrace shared value in championingNew Zealand to be the healthiest and best protected nationin the world. With AIA Vitality the worlds leadingscience-based health and wellbeing programme we helpmembers to live healthier, longer, betterlives.

Scoop Media

Become a member Find out more

Read more from the original source:
AIA To Host Its First Regional Online Health And Wellness Event To Promote Healthier, Better Lives - Scoop.co.nz

Omega-3s, a type of healthy fat, are an essential part of a runners diet. Theyre known to help fight inflammation in your body and boost your heart, lung, and joint health. Now, new research points to another win for the nutrient: reducing the effects of air pollution on your brain.

In the study, published in the journal Neurology, researchers analyzed the data of more than 1,300 women (ages 65 to 80 years old) who were enrolled in the Womens Health Initiative Memory Study from 1996 to 99, and who underwent brain MRIs in 2005 to 06. The researchers also looked at omega-3 and fish consumption of the participants and how much air pollution they were exposed to.

Their findings? Omega-3s from fish consumption may help preserve the brains volume of white matter, which is responsible for sending signals throughout your brain, and the size of the hippocampus, which is vital for memory formation, as women age. Omega-3s may also protect against the toxic effects that air pollution can have on your brain.

Heres why thats important: While brain volume loss occurs naturally with aging, a fast loss may cause cognitive impairment and disability, according to study author Cheng Chen, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia Universitys Irving Medical Center.

A slower rate of brain volume loss may prevent against the development or progression of Alzheimers disease and other neurodegenerative diseases., Chen told Runners World.

When it comes to the effect of air pollution on your brain go, Chen said particlessuch as dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and drops of liquidenter through your respiratory tract and go directly into your blood circulation system.

With the blood flow to the body, they can cause damage to other systems, including the brain, Chen said. In our previous studies in the Womens Health Initiative Memory Study, we found older women living in locations with higher levels of fine particles in the outdoor air had smaller brain volumes.

While its still not 100 percent clear on how these particles cause damage to the brain, there are several possible theories, Chen said. One is that the particles contain neurotoxic metals, which can damage neurons once they reach the brain, resulting in inflammationwhich can lead to brain atrophy.

Another theory, according to Chen, is that your immune system could react to particles in your lungs or bloodstream, which triggers inflammation that affects the brain.

Lastly, there could be a connection between your gut and your brain. Researchers have recognized strong connections between the gut microbiome and the brain, and studies show that delivering fine particles to the gut can cause systemic inflammation that may result in brain damage, Chen said.

[Run faster, stronger, and longer with this 360-degree training program.]

Eating fish high in omega-3ssuch as salmon, mackerel, herring, oysters, sardines, and anchoviescan help fight inflammation in your brain and repair damage to its white matter, according to Chen.

While this study was done in older women, Chen believes the results would most likely be similar in other populations of different ages and sexes.

Environmental pollution is inevitable in some areas, Chen said. These findings provide helpful insight regarding how a healthy lifestyle, like healthy diet, could reduce the adverse effects of air pollution on cognitive decline and neurodegeneration.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.

Original post:
The Benefits of Omega-3s Include Protecting Your Brain From Air Pollution - runnersworld.com

Updated 9:24am EDT, Sunday, July 26, 2020

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) Six organizations in the Grand Rapids area are teaming up to provide free medical services for homeless people.

They will operate a clinic at the downtown location of Mel Trotter Ministries, one of the participants.

The others are Grand Valley State Universitys Kirkhof College of Nursing; Mercy Health Saint Marys; Metro HealthUniversity of Michigan; Michigan State UniversityCollege of Human Medicine; and Spectrum Health.

The coalition says the goal is to promote healthy living, treat acute and chronic conditions, reduce gaps in care and prevent unnecessary use of emergency services.

Homeless people are among the most medically fragile in our community, and they deserve access to regular medical care, said Dr. Peter Hahn, CEO of Metro Health University of Michigan Health. An important benchmark of any community is how it treats its most vulnerable residents."

Community Partners Medical Clinic at Mel Trotter will be open Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Walk-ins are accepted.

Patients are also encouraged to make an appointment by calling (616) 588-8791 Monday through Thursday, between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Original post:
Medical clinic to serve homeless people in Grand Rapids area - Manistee News Advocate

After a chaotic few months Dave Cormack says Scottish football needs to come up with a clear vision and identity if it is to progress.

The Aberdeen chairman was also critical of the SPFL, saying its not run like a real company.

Since the game was shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, Scottish football has been in turmoil.

A controversial vote into ending the season was followed by an investigation into the SPFLs handling of that ballot, multiple botched attempts at league reconstruction and calls for another inquiry into the league body.

Most recently Hearts and Partick Thistle have taken legal action in a bid to overturn their relegations, which is being decided by an SFA arbitration panel.

As Scottish football tries to get back on its feet with the new Premiership season kicking off this weekend, Dons chief Cormack says the game in this country needs a vision and strategy to help increase commercial revenues.

Cormack believes having an identity and vision would help Scottish football attract more benefactors like James Anderson, who donated 3 million to Scottish clubs to assist with Covid-19 testing costs.

Cormack said: We have to focus on Scottish football. What do we want to be? What is our vision?

We dont have a branding strategy. We should be looking at how can we generate 40 million a year at the centre, as opposed to 25m?

If weve got the right strategy and philosophy in place it might be community orientated well find more James Andersons.

And I may even be prepared with my foundation (the Cormack Family Foundation) to do something centrally if weve got a real plan and a strategy.

To do that, we will need to put in a review, a proper, constructive review of Scottish football.

We should be thinking about how we generate more income.

The clubs are run by business people, they have commercial people looking at things.

The cup is half full, how can we drive things?

But at the centre (the SPFL), its not run like a real company that would have a vision, a branding strategy or goals to drive income.

We have to come together as a league and decide goals, what do we want to be when we grow up?

Football can be a magnet for people, healthy living and mental health, so we need to be at the centre of the community.

For too long we have taken the fans for granted.

I feel its my responsibility at Aberdeen to put a smile on peoples faces because I have been fortunate.

Too many people in high office think the fans exist to keep them there. We have to change that.

Cormack says clubs need to drive forward positive change when it comes to increasing revenues and improving Scottish football.

The Pittodrie supremo believes club chairmen are willing to push things forward and added: As a group of clubs, when we get together on our own, its really healthy and the conversation is good about how we go forward.

All the chairmen think we need to be a much more commercially-orientated organisation to drive revenues.

Rather than fighting over 25m as it is now, the scraps that are there if we put another half a million in to drive commercial, will we cover it? Will we bring in 2m? Or 5m?

There is a desire among the Premiership clubs to drive it forward from a commercial perspective and I find that healthy.

What we need to do now is take that through Peter Lawwell, Steve Brown and Les Gray as our (Premiership) representatives (on the SPFL board).

We have to hold them accountable to drive this agenda as we go forward.

Cormack believes football needs to be seen as a force for good and thinks moving away from sponsorship deals with alcohol and betting companies could show the game in a different light.

Cormack said: Other chairmen I know, know there are people out there who would be empathetic if not highly supportive of our game.

If we had a vision and a branding strategy around healthy living, our communities and doing the right thing then, absolutely, I think we can bring more benefactors in.

The days of booze and betting sponsorships doesnt really tie in with healthy living and being at the heart of our communities.

Read the original post:
Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack says Scottish football chiefs need better 'vision and branding strategy' to increase revenues - Aberdeen Evening...

In these past few months, we have all had to adjust to a new normal, most of which now happens in the home. Staying in shape, even pre-quarantine, was challenging for most people. The Sharp Coronado Hospital Healthy Living Center (HLC) recognizes that and is doing everything it can to keep its community members physically and mentally well.

For those who are able to leave the house, the HLC is providing outdoor personal trainer appointments. Employees are masked and socially distancing under a covered area. Located on the Soledad side of the hospital, outside, clients arent required to wear masks outdoors as long as social distancing is maintained.

Another option is to attend fitness classes from your very own home, powered by Zoom. There is a fully packed schedule with a variety of class types that cater to all ability levels. You can attend Yoga (in the chair or more advanced), Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Pilates, Cardio Circuit, Strength and Balance and a variety of meditation sessions. Most of the classes are 50 minutes and have music. All of the classes are taught by highly qualified instructors, Jenny Driessen, Cynthia Mendolia, George Montes and Noel Tarver whose passion is to motivate, educate and grow. Participants can pay per class or register for a monthly membership of unlimited virtual classes.

The at-home classes are not only a great way to stay in shape, but are also a way to connect to the outside world. The instructors offer real time feedback about form and ongoing encouragement to commit to your health. In the past few months, the HLC has accumulated a large number of dedicated followers and now friends. Register now to join the fun!

For more information, call the HLC front desk at 619-522-3798 or write to HLC@sharp.com

Go here to read the rest:
Sharp Coronado Hospital Healthy Living Center Provides Onsite And At-Home Fitness - Coronado Eagle and Journal

This article was originally published here

BMJ Open. 2020 Jul 21;10(7):e033613. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033613.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: We have previously developed the Child Healthy Living Practices in Family (CHLPF) Index and found that the CHLPF Index was concurrently associated with the health of children at age 3. In this follow-up study, we aimed to examine whether healthy living practices in family at age 3 predicted health of children at school age.

DESIGN AND SETTING: Data came from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study designed to assess the development and health of 24 200 children born in 2005.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 18 553 cohort members whose mothers or primary caregivers had completed 6-month, 3-year, 5-year and 8-year surveys were included for analysis, representing a response rate of 87.3%.

OUTCOME MEASURES: A multiple logistic regression model was used to test the relationship between mother-rated childrens health at age 8 and the CHLPF Index level, after controlling for sex, birth outcomes, family structure, parental education, residential area, family income and mother-rated childs health at age 3.

RESULTS: The percentage of mother-rated good health at age 8 was 79.7%. Compared with the low CHLPF level, the adjusted OR of mother-rated good health was 1.38 (95% CI 1.19 to 1.60), 1.21 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.35) and 1.17 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.29), respectively, for high, high-low and mid-low CHLPF levels. Moreover, the prevalence of mother-rated good health at age 8 with high-level CHLPF Index in the low-income group was similar to that of the high-income group (83.72% vs 84.18%); the prevalence with low-level CHLPF Index in the low-income group was much lower than that of the high-income group (70.21% vs 78.98%).

CONCLUSIONS: Our study underscores that high level of healthy living practices in early childhood is positively associated with good health at school age, particularly for children from disadvantaged families.

PMID:32699124 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033613

Continue reading here:
Healthy living practices in families and child health: 5-year follow-up of Taiwan Birth Cohort Study - DocWire News

Research on the novel coronavirus has already determined that men, people of color, and those with underlying medical conditions are at greater risk of having severe COVID-19 cases.

But can your blood type also be a factor? Some scientists are looking into it.

In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists performed a genetic analysis on people who currently had COVID-19 and those who did not. They found that people with type A blood had a 50% greater risk of needing oxygen support or a ventilator if they were to contract COVID-19. While people with type O blood had a 50% reduced risk of having severe COVID-19.

Some explanation as to why type O blood has a reduced risk of severe COVID-19 might be people with type O are better able to recognize certain proteins as foreign, and then fight them off better, including proteins on virus surfaces.

Go here to see the original:
Healthy Living: Researchers Study Link Between Blood Type, COVID-19 - 9&10 News

Did you know that Garland County 4-H members are involved in a vast variety of project work outside traditional agriculture and are gaining life skills in other areas? Its true, Garland County 4-H has something for you! We follow the three program areas put in place by Arkansas 4-H which are, Civic Engagement and Leadership, Healthy Living and Science.

The Arkansas 4-H website explains that "4-H has placed emphasis on the importance of young people being engaged, well-informed citizens. By connecting to their communities and leaders, youth understand their role in civic affairs and are able to expand their role in decision-making processes. It's clear that civic engagement provides the foundation that helps youth understand the big picture of life and learn the skill sets that will allow them to become wise leaders for the future."

In Garland County 4-H, members are given the opportunity to take on leadership roles such as serving on the officer team for their club, acting as a committee member for an event their 4-H Club is hosting, or even giving a speech on a topic they are most passionate about at County, District and State O'Rama. 4-H youths are also involved in many community service projects whether that be individually pursued or club-wide.

"A core belief of 4-H is Health, as evidenced by the four H's in the 4-H clover: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. 4-H is committed to the physical, mental and emotional health of our nation's youth so they may lead healthy and productive lives into adulthood. 4-H has become a national leader in health-related educational issues including chemical health, mental and emotional health, foods and nutrition, physical health and safety," according to Arkansas 4-H.

Garland County 4-H youths are involved in Healthy Living project work. In fact, this past year one of our outstanding 4-H members received recognition from Arkansas 4-H as a district intermediate record book winner for their work in Enhancing Health and Well-being.

The last area that Arkansas 4-H focuses on is Science. They explain that "For over 100 years, 4-H has engaged young people in cutting-edge science learning, including areas such as animal science, food science, welding, electricity, and plant/crop science. More recent project areas include aerospace, robotics, geospatial technologies, computer science, and multimedia. Recognizing that the United States is falling dangerously behind other nations in developing its future workforce of scientists, engineers, and technology experts, National 4-H has committed to address our nation's critical challenge by preparing 1 million new young people to excel in science, engineering, and technology."

Garland County 4-H youths participate in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM, projects and day camps throughout the year. The 4-H'ers also raise livestock to show at the Garland County Fair and not only learn the basic care of their animal, but learn the science behind it, too, such as studying breeding genetics to pick out their next sire, or learning how to give proper vaccinations. Garland County 4-H youths also participate in the yearly 4-H Poultry Chain where they purchase and receive up to 20 chickens to raise and show at the county fair.

As you can see, there are opportunities available for everyone in 4-H. To join Garland County 4-H, please call the Garland County Extension office, 501-623-6841 or email me, Carol Ann McAfee, at [emailprotected] for more information.

Master Gardener

information

Master Gardener meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month by Zoom. They're open to the public and guests are welcome. For more information call the Extension Office at 623-6841 or email Alex Dykes at [emailprotected]

EHC information

Are you interested in joining an existing Extension Homemakers Club? EHC is the largest volunteer organization in the state. For information on EHC contact Alison Crane at 623-6841 or email at [emailprotected]

Read this article:
Oh, the places you'll go in Garland County 4-H - Hot Springs Sentinel

HANCOCK COUNTY Face coverings have joined phones, keys, purses and wallets among the things people now must grab before heading out the door.

Health and government officials for weeks have encouraged their use to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Starting this week, the biggest stores in Hancock County began requiring shoppers to don them before coming inside. Next week, a statewide order goes into effect mandating their use in many situations.

For those who havent obtained any masks yet, theyre available to purchase unlike early in the pandemic and are easily made. A search on Amazon Thursday afternoon for COVID-19 face mask turned up 1,000 suggestions.

Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday, July 23, signed an executive order calling on Hoosiers to wear masks in all indoor spaces starting on Monday, July 27. The order also applies to any outdoor space where distancing is impossible. Also on Thursday, Indianas attorney general, Curtis Hill, issued an advisory opinion suggesting Holcomb had overstepped his authority to issue the order, but that opinion doesnt block it from taking effect, The Associated Press reported.

The requirement, coming amid a rising number of infections statewide, is designed to blunt transmission of the novel coronavirus as Hoosiers interact more freely, Holcomb said. According to state figures, up to 40% of people who harbor the virus may have no symptoms and so may be unwittingly spreading it to others, prolonging the outbreak and putting more people vulnerable to serious illness at risk.

But what type of mask should people be wearing starting on Monday?

According to guidance posted by the Indiana State Department of Health, cloth, non-medical face coverings are appropriate for people interacting in public. Medical-quality face coverings, such as N95 respirators, are considered critical supplies that should be used only by health-care workers. Surgical masks, the guidance says, should be reserved for health-care workers and first-responders who are in close contact with patients.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a cloth face covering may not protect the wearer, but it may keep them from spreading COVID-19 to others.

Masks should fit snugly; cover the bridge of the nose; and should tuck under the chin.

A face covering can take many forms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a YouTube video called How to Make Your Own Face Covering. In it, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams walks through simple steps on how to make a covering by folding a scarf, bandanna, hand towel or T-shirt and using a couple rubber bands.

Hancock Health, meanwhile, recently donated more than 250,000 ear-loop face masks to the community.

Amanda Everidge, director of community health improvement for healthy365, an arm of Hancock Health that promotes healthy living, said the masks were donated to schools, cities and towns, local businesses, law enforcement, nonprofit organizations, churches, mental health providers and long-term care facilities.

Those in need of being connected to resources within the community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to reach out to the healthy365 Connection Center by calling 317-468-4231.

Meanwhile, This week, Walmart and Kohls, which have locations in Greenfield; and Meijer, which has stores in McCordsville and Cumberland, started requiring shoppers to wear masks. Kroger and Home Depot, which also have locations in Greenfield, started their shopper mask mandate on Wednesday.

Walmart has stationed heath ambassadors to remind those without masks of the new requirements and to work with those who dont have one.

Not far into the Greenfield store beyond its entrance stands a display of five-packs of washable masks selling for $7.50 each.

This week, signs outside the Walmart and Kroger stores reminded shoppers about the new requirements. Many shoppers were complying, judging from visits by a reporter.

Excerpt from:
With new rules, use of masks reaches a tipping point - Greenfield Daily Reporter

By: Lifestyle Desk | New Delhi | Published: August 17, 2020 2:10:54 pmMake sure you are eating healthy. (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)

Highlighting the need for inclusion of vitamins and minerals in our diet, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), an apex trade association of India, in its second edition of the Illness to Wellness series stated that boosting ones immunity using local, traditional food is the first course of action to beat coronavirus, if contracted.

There are several foods which are rich in natural minerals and nutrients but we destroy their nutritional value in the course of our cooking and consumption practices. An example is wheat which in its original form is dalia. It has important minerals like phosphorus but in our strange wisdom we powder it into a refined maida which is nothing but starch and increases weight and risk of diabetes, said Dr Shikha Sharma, founder and managing director of Dr Shikhas NutriHealth, and one of the speakers at the event.

Listing food items like barley, chana, sattu, seeds pumpkin, sunflower, chia and flax along with others, she said that these can be included in diet for a nutrition boost across all age groups.

Anil Rajput, chairman, ASSOCHAM CSR Council, weighing in on the economic and personal effect of coronavirus, said, COVID-19 has had de-stabilising effect on almost all walks of life for almost five months now. Right now, from nations to societies to economies to health of individuals, it has been an extremely stressful period for all. It has forced on us an unprecedented situation. One has taken quite a bit of time for us to understand the magnitude and painful reality of how slow the recovery is likely to be. It is the individual who has been at the centre of all-round anxiety and insecurity be at economic or personal health front level.

The event themed Building immunity through nutritious food during COVID-19 saw experts speak on healthy living with focus on wellness and preventive health through healthy habits, diet, exercise, and holistic health.

Dr Sharma also enlisted several Ayurvedic herbs that can be used to boost immunity and create an all-rounded diet. Ashwagandha is a very powerful herb that can be given to both seniors and children. It builds the bodys immunity and reduces stress. Giloy purifies the blood and keeps the pH intact, she said. She further added tulsi and turmeric to the list.

Dismissing the need for a protein or carbohydrate rich diet, Dr Sharma stressed on the importance of a balanced diet with ample supply of essential fatty acids, protein and carbs found through local traditional grains, millets, pulses, dairy products and greens. She said, The beauty of Indian traditions during COVID times is that we need the support of this amazing knowledge of Indian Ayurveda and traditions to beat it.

ALSO READ | Explained: What is the impact of Covid-19 on the eating habits of older adults?

Nutrition educator and wellness consultant Sangeeta Narayan commented on mental health and importance of a proper diet. She said, Stress plays a very important part in mental health considering the current times. With everything changing, we have to be adaptive. The first and foremost thing is to have a proper six-eight hour sleep, plan your day in advance, doing all the chores can be overwhelming so allocate tasks for each day whether living with a family or alone. Add fruits or food items rich in vitamin C, they act as a stress buster and immunity booster. Having proper meals is important especially a nutritious and nourishing breakfast. Exercising plays a very important role in managing stress and keeping the mind clear.

For more lifestyle news, follow us: Twitter:lifestyle_ie|Facebook:IE Lifestyle| Instagram:ie_lifestyle

The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Lifestyle News, download Indian Express App.

IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd

Continue reading here:
Adequate nutrition is crucial to fight Covid-19: Assocham - The Indian Express

Regardless if you're a fan of working from home, it's the norm for many for the foreseeable future, and we've all started to adjust to new routines. That means sleeping in a few extra minutes because your commute is gone, only planning Zoom outfits from the waist up, and creating makeshift desks in whatever room has the fewest number of distractions. But unlike the ergonomically designed workspaces in an office, home workstations can be less-than-optimal for your posture.

"Poor posture creates excessive pressure and stress on your spinal joints and muscles, which leads to tension, fatigue, and pain," Wilson Wang, DC, a chiropractor in Seattle, told POPSUGAR. And because working from home blurs the line between work and living spaces, it's easier to work longer hours. "That is diminishing our opportunities for movement, which is healthy for our joints and muscles and relieves stress," Wang explained.

Added Nora St. John, MS, NCPT, education program director for Balanced Body: "For many of us, working from home may mean using a laptop on the dining room table or the couch, which often puts our body out of alignment for extended periods of time. This can lead to pain in the neck, shoulders, hips, or lower back."

If your back is feeling especially achy these days, there are ways to relieve some of that pressure and save yourself long-term discomfort. Ahead are eight ways to combat bad posture while working from home, all from the comfort of where else? your home.

Go here to read the rest:
8 Simple Ways to Improve Your Posture While You're Working From Home - POPSUGAR

Boosting our immune system to help us fight disease and illness more effectively is crucial, pandemic or no. Eating healthy, along with exercising regularly and engaging in stress-relieving activities, are critical.

Through a balanced, varied diet, you can improve your immune system by consuming antioxidant-rich foods and phytochemicals, or chemical compounds of plant origin, explains Samantha M. Coogan, director of the Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics at UNLV.

Coogan says that antioxidants fight off free radicals, which, according to MedicalNewsToday.com, are unstable atoms that can damage cells, which can lead to potential infection. When these cellular linings are broken or disrupted, foreign matter or waste products can potentially enter the cell and attack the organelles and cell as a whole, Coogan says, adding that such antioxidants as vitamins A, C and E, along with copper, selenium and zinc, are beneficial in helping to prevent these kinds of attacks on cells.

While people often turn to supplements to get antioxidants and vitamins, Coogan doesnt recommend them. Food first, she says, followed by supplements only if necessary.

Move for Health

Exercise is another important factor in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Working out directly affects your immune system because of the purposeful stress response you put onto the body, Coogan says, adding that when we work out, free radicals are produced.

But isnt that counterproductive?

So you want to boost your immune system, but youre not sure what to eat. Samantha M. Coogan, director of the Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics at UNLV, has some recommendations. Next time youre at the grocery store, load up on the following:

red, orange and yellow produce

citrus fruits

berries

green, leafy vegetables

squashes

gourds

eggplant

garlic

onion

leeks

seafood

meat

eggs

milk

nuts

green tea

Coogan says the production of free radicals is a normal occurrence, and explains why nutrition before and after a workout is critical to help fight off those free radicals after your exercise session, and to help recover and repair the stressed and damaged muscle tissue.

Again, Coogan assures this is all completely normal, and even beneficial. The more we expose our bodies to that type of external stimulus, it requires the body to react every time, she says. Each time, it will adapt more quickly and readily.

Finding a safe way to exercise during the pandemic can present its difficulties, especially in the summer when living in the desert. Lifting weights at home, following a yoga instruction video on YouTube and hiking are just a few ways to incorporate activity into your daily routine.

Another advantage of exercise: its role in alleviating stress, which can wreak havoc on the immune system.

Neurotransmitters and stress hormones are released in direct response to external stimuli, whether it be physical stresslike exercise or physical traumaor mental and emotional stress, Coogan says. Cortisol tends to be one of the biggest culprits when it comes to stress, which also hinders weight management or loss, because cortisol increases fat around the organs, known as visceral fat. While other stress hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine are responsible for the fight or flight response, cortisol is the main obstacle when it comes to weight maintenance and our stress response, Coogan says.

Exercise for the mind

People are more stressed now than ever before, but even during a pandemic, we can incorporate stress-relieving activities into our daily lives.

One way to reduce stressful responses: Give yourself something on which to focus. Stimulating your brain can help stave off stress, especially if you try something new, Coogan says, although she clarifies that doing something familiar can be just as effective.

Find something unrelated to work, school, the pandemic or whats going on around the world right now, and find something that brings you happiness and puts a smile on your face, Coogan says. The health expert recommends video games, a comforting TV show or movie, reading, meditation, puzzles, yoga, brain teasers, painting, adult coloring books, an instrument, knitting or learning a new skill.

Coogan says that during the pandemic, she picked up embroidery as a new hobby. Im so in love with it, she says. I am a very detail-oriented person, and getting lost in the intricacies of the patterns and the way the threads come together to form this beautiful work of art produces very happy hormones and brings me a lot of joy and satisfaction in the work Ive done. I can get lost in it for hours as I give all my attention to the detail of the pattern, with my favorite music playing or a comedy special on in the background.

Coogan says the activity doesnt have to be intricate or complicatedor produce anything. If it has a positive benefit to you, keep doing it, she says. If youve mastered that boss level 100 times, but each time you do it, it makes you feel good, then keep doing it. If sitting on the couch for nine hours straight binge-watching See with Jason Momoa brings you joy and fulfillment for that day, despite no productivity in the traditional sense, thats also OK, Coogan says, adding that she may or may not have done that herself.

Vegging out, she says, is still a way of taking control of stress. Just dont let yourself get lost in your own silence or your own head, Coogan says, warning that can trigger even more stress. Its all about moderation and finding healthy habits.

Make sure to switch up what youre doing, she saysand maybe dont binge-watch Netflix every single day.

For more information on micronutrients, Coogan suggests visiting the National Institutes of Healths nutrient recommendation page.

This story appeared in Las VegasWeekly.

Back to top

More:
Give yourself a boost: 3 ways to keep the immune system in top shape - Las Vegas Sun

CLEVELAND, Ohio We dont need fancy research studies to deliver the same message that comes across loud and clear when we try to wriggle into pre-COVID-19 jeans. As a country, weve put on weight. Call it the Pandemic 15.

When normal life was upended, we indulged in Netflix and chill, with the chill augmented by ice cream. Nightly glasses of wine were an antidote to a day of Zoom work meetings. We baked the sourdough bread, and we ate it with relish. With gyms closed, exercise seemed like even more of a chore than usual.

About 22% of adults said they had gained five to 10 pounds since stay-at-home orders went into place, according to a survey conducted by Grand Canyon University in Arizona. Risk factors for weight gain while sheltering in place were inadequate sleep, snacking after dinner, lack of dietary restraint, eating in response to stress, and reduced physical activity.

In times of major stress, people feel as if they have so much disruption in their lives no routine, kids home from school, working from home that they dont have the bandwidth to think about diet and exercise, said Gary Foster, chief science officer at WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers.

People werent thinking (the pandemic) would last this long, Foster said.

An Italian study found that obese people in northern Italy had significantly gained weight 1 month after the beginning of a lockdown. Lack of exercise, boredom, anxiety and depression, and consumption of unhealthy foods were correlated with significantly higher weight gains.

People prone to emotional eating did just that, even if they had established healthy habits before the pandemic, said Meghann Featherstun, clinical dietician and wellness coach at University Hospitals.

The lack of work or school schedules was a big factor in changing our eating patterns, said Emily Iammarino, a pediatric dietitian at MetroHealth Systems.

When youre home, that routine and schedule can really go out the window and its easy to find yourself eating meals at odd hours and snacking a lot in between, Iammarino said in an email. Youll be snacking on some pretzels while listening in on a Zoom conference and before you know it, the bag is empty.

Another big factor is the lack of physical activity, Iammarino said. At work, walking to your car, the bathroom, printer or water cooler, adds up over time, Iammarino said. Many people arent going shopping, out to eat, or to the gym as much as they used to, increasing the time spent just sitting at home.

Some people gained weight during the disruption. Others used their new daily routine to renew a commitment to a healthy goal, make more time for exercise and take control of their food intake, Featherstun said.

I have seen both ends of the spectrum, Featherstun said.

At UH, enrollment in a seven-week workplace health and wellness class for employees swelled recently, Featherstun said. More employees felt they had time to participate because they are working from home, she said.

The UH wellness program, which focuses on balanced meals, food behaviors and exercise, always had an online component, but was exclusively online starting in April, she said.

Other weight-loss support groups also offered online help to people struggling to maintain healthy habits despite the disruption in their lives.

When state-wide shutdowns occurred across the country, WW quickly changed its weekly meetings into virtual workshops, giving members a sense of community at a time when they couldnt be with family or friends, Foster said.

The pandemic can be an obstacle to health and wellness, or good time reimagine how your family eats and set new routines, Foster said.

Its an opportunity for a reboot, he said.

Here are idea about how to work towards a healthy lifestyle, from Foster, Iammarino and Featherstun:

Eat proper meals; dont graze all day. Hide the chips and place fruits and veggies in a prominent place in the refrigerator.

Think of one small change you can do today, such as eating breakfast, choosing healthy snacks or moving your home office further away from the kitchen.

Look for small wins. Whats important is progress, not perfection.

Set specific and reasonable goals. It might be walking for 15 minutes, or drinking a glass of water with meals.

Experiment with new healthy recipes. Make extra batches so that you have homecooked meals waiting and dont have to rely on fast food.

Switch up your exercise routine. If youve mostly been doing workouts in your living room, start going for walks, and vice versa.

Expect setbacks and dont let them derail you from your health and wellness goals. Just get back to your routine as soon as possible.

Practice self-compassion. Berating yourself for a slip-up calling yourself a lazy idiot with no willpower is not productive. Talk to yourself as you would a friend, by being honest by not harsh.

Expect to lose about 1-2 pounds a week. Slow and steady wins the race, Featherstun said.

Here is the original post:
Healthy snacks, setting small goals best ways to lose the pandemic 15 weight gain - cleveland.com

Promotes healthy living, fitness, the importance of balanced diet and supplementation through these virtual sessions

Hisar: Keeping fitness at the forefront to encourage healthy living and embracing a healthy lifestyle, Amway India, one of the countrys leading direct selling FMCG companies, launched its first-ever virtual fitness series ,Fit Hai to Hit Hai. Supporting the Government of Indias initiative Fit India Movement, the leading wellness brand continues to promote and spread awareness around healthy living, fitness, the importance of balanced diet and supplementation through various engagement activities. The hour-long session received participation from over 2000 direct sellers and consumers.

Commenting on the initiative, Gursharan Cheema, Senior Vice President, North & South, Amway India, said, The ongoing pandemic has led to a shift in consumer behavior, with a rise in awareness and appreciation for healthy living and strong immunity, consumers are exploring newer ways to remain fit. As a leading health and wellness brand, we have been at the forefront of promoting healthy living through various activities. We believe fitness is a lifestyle choice and goes beyond just physical. It has led to people becoming more conscious and aware to ensure their overall wellbeing, which is a great shift. In collaboration with our direct sellers, specifically health enthusiasts, we are building communities, bringing people together to engage and exchange knowledge on healthy living, benefits of a balanced diet along with the bodys nutritional requirement for its proper functioning. In line with this, we have customized the Fit Hai to Hit Hai to build deeper engagement with our direct sellers and consumers. We are ecstatic to see an overwhelming response for both the sessions from our direct sellers and consumers, especially the youth direct sellers.

After the success of the first session with Apoorva Chikara, an Ultrathon Runner, we organized the second session of the series with an engaging dialogue with Capt. Dharamveer Singh, TEDx speaker, runner, mountaineer and fitness enthusiasts. During the session, Capt. Dharamveer Singh shared his fitness mantras and health tips with the participants. He emphasized on the importance of a balanced nutrition-rich diet and the role of supplementation in helping achieve a healthy living. He highlighted Amways Nutrilite range of dietary supplements make for a perfect choice to help optimally meet ones nutritional requirements for the proper functioning of the body.

The Fit Hai To Hit Hai series is aimed at fostering the spirit of community building among its direct sellers and bringing together likeminded individuals who share common passions. These communities act as an important tool to encourage Amway direct sellers to move beyond traditional ways of interaction and bond over shared interests using social media as one of the platforms. Embracing the wave of digitization, Amway has scaled up these initiatives by making them virtual and reaching a larger set of consumers.

Amways Nutrilite is the worlds No. 1 selling vitamins and dietary supplements brand with a strong legacy of more than 80 years in the plant-based approach to supplementation. The Nutrilite range of dietary supplements are specially created to help urban Indians, who want to stay healthy, but often, unknowingly miss out on their daily requirements of vital nutrients. The products being focused in these sessions are Nutrilite All Plant Protein, Nutrilite Traditional Herbs Range, Nutrilite Omega, Nutrilite Daily, Nutrilite Cal Mag D, amongst others.

View post:
Amway strengthens the health and fitness community; launches 'Fit Hai to Hit Hai' digital sessions - NewsPatrolling

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Elizabeth Lee, Dickinson College

(THE CONVERSATION) Like everyone else, artists have been challenged by new conditions and routines since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have had to adjust what they make as well as how and where they work, coming up with innovative ways to be productive in makeshift studios with limited supplies and in relative isolation.

One thing is certain, though: In response to daily headlines of devastating illness, suffering and death, the need for creative expression and meaningful reflection on loss remains essential.

For the past several years, Ive been researching the impact of disease on late 19th-century American artists. At the time, medical science was ill-equipped to manage rising rates of communicable disease, leaving art to help fill a need to comprehend and process illness.

One of the artists featured in my forthcoming book on art and disease is the painter Abbott Thayer, whose life and work underwent dramatic change following the death of his wife from tuberculosis. For the grieving painter, art functioned as a kind of medicine.

A romantic disease

In the late 18th century, tuberculosis started to be tinged with romanticism; it was thought of as an illness that could lead to elevated consciousness, creative insight and intellectual acuity. The poet John Keats and the pianist Frdric Chopin both died young from tuberculosis, cementing its reputation as an affliction of artists.

An early biographer of Robert Louis Stevenson argued that tuberculosis enhanced the writers talent, and in a sculptural relief depicting Stevenson during a stay in New York City, Augustus Saint-Gaudens portrays the bohemian writer with long hair and a cigarette in hand, looking alert and productive, despite being propped up by a stack of pillows in bed. As one critic observed, the relief captured Stevensons picturesque unfitness, as though illness heightened his allure.

If the effects of the disease were poorly understood, so too was the way in which it spread.

For hundreds of years, the cause of disease was believed to be miasmas, or foul-smelling air. Eventually, in the 1880s, medical science realized invisible microorganisms were the source of contagion, and that germs could be quietly passed from person to person. Unlike miasmas, which could be identified through smell, germs moved undetected through crowded cities. They were everywhere.

Pure air and healthy living

By the time the wife of painter Abbott Thayer succumbed to the disease in 1891, germ theory was widely accepted and would have been familiar to the artist, who was the son of a physician and public health expert. Fearing his three young children would be next, he sought out a healthy environment a place with plenty of fresh air and surrounded by nature, where the family could eat nutritious meals, roam freely outdoors and get plenty of rest.

The Thayers werent the only family looking for therapeutic settings. The 1870s marked the start of the sanatorium movement, in which individuals who had tuberculosis, or thought they might, were able to steel themselves against the illness in medically supervised, open-air compounds often near the mountains, desert or the sea. At the time, tuberculosis was the cause of roughly one in seven deaths in the U.S.

The life Thayer created for him and his children in Dublin, New Hampshire, was modeled on this type of facility. Their home, at the base of Mount Monadnock, gave the family ample opportunities to be immersed in fresh mountain air, which was then thought to be the purest type of air.

[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversations newsletter.]

On a typical day, Thayer spent his morning painting and then climbed Monadnock or took long trail walks with his family. These outdoor activities encouraged the kind of deep breathing believed to free toxins from contaminated lungs.

The Thayers also slept outdoors in individualized lean-tos a three-sided shelter that allowed them to breathe fresh air throughout the night. Thayer also invented a breath catcher a device worn around the nose and mouth, not unlike the protective masks of today which prevented the bodys noxious exhalations from freezing onto bedding at night, according to the thinking of the time. He also wore a special kind of wool underwear marketed for its protective qualities against disease in a further attempt to avoid germs.

Angels of vigor

While Thayer was working to protect the health of his family, his art underwent a shift.

Early in his career, Thayer mostly painted landscapes and portraits. But following the illness of his wife Kate, Thayer turned his own children Mary, Gerald and Gladys into the primary subjects of his work.

In the first of these, Angel, he painted his eldest child Mary as a heavenly creature, whose pale, chalky skin underscored by her white robe and wings conveys a fragility evoking the effects of tuberculosis.

The painting brings together the contradiction of a healthy daughter and sickly mother, collapsing the promise of wholesome youth and the fear of bodily disintegration.

In A Virgin of 189293, Thayer depicted all three children standing outside. The clouds, which emerge from Marys shoulders as wings, allude to Thayers earlier depiction of her in Angel and thus to her role as a stand-in for his late wife.

Given the way in which Kates illness focused the familys attention on nature and health, it seems significant, too, that the children, shown barefoot and windswept, walk vigorously and purposefully. Their classical clothing pays tribute to the ancient Greeks, celebrated in Thayers time for their commitment to physical fitness and outdoor living.

Immersed in a therapeutic environment while perhaps on one of their treks up Monadnock, Thayers children embody the life their father embraced. They become models of healthy outdoor living in an era of contagious disease.

The image may look antiquated, but it resonates today.

Both tuberculosis and COVID-19 target the lungs. Symptoms for both diseases include shortness of breath and coughing. There was no effective way to treat tuberculosis until the development of streptomycin in the 1940s, so prevention and perseverance during Thayers time as with COVID-19 often involved good hygiene and healthy living. Like Mary, Gerald and Gladys, we are still taking walks in nature in an effort to escape the psychological and physical limitations of quarantine.

Today, filling our lungs with fresh air remains a reassuring sign of health just as it did more than a century ago.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/one-19th-century-artists-effort-to-grapple-with-tuberculosis-resonates-during-covid-19-142343.

See the article here:
One 19th-century artist's effort to grapple with tuberculosis resonates during COVID-19 - Reading Eagle

People of color need to see others who look like them, eating, being well, and thriving.

My new favorite vegetable is kale. As of late, I like it sauted in garlic and olive oil and topped with chicken, salmon, or shrimp.

If Im being fancy, Ill add some chopped nuts and craisins to make what my 5-year-old calls warm salad.

This is just one way I up the nutrition in my eclectic diet. It also includes green smoothies, baked macaroni and cheese, ice cream, cake, and pralines. I call it balance.

When Im looking for more inspiration, I check in with the experts.

The eight dietitians and nutritionists below know the ins and outs of how to eat for optimum health while embracing the foods we love, the foods we think we hate, the foods we crave, and the foods we refuse to let go of.

Maya Feller is a registered and certified dietitian residing in Brooklyn, New York. She received her Master of Science degree and came to nutrition as a second career to help people of color care for themselves.

Feller believes theres no one-size-fits-all recommendation for entire groups of people regarding nutrition and that representation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) matters in the health and wellness world.

We cannot talk about nutrition [and] our health without having diverse voices in many positions, the same way we cannot have conversations about womens health from a public health perspective without having women in decision-making positions, says Feller.

Feller believes representation in nutrition should extend beyond racial and ethnic groups.

We need to have discussions about Black trans lives in wellness. We need to make space for Black LGBTQIA+ leaderswe need to see representations of different types of Black familieswe need to talk about weight bias and stigmaand the fear of the Black body, she says.

In her work, Feller is breaking down the stigmas people of color face around nutrition and disease. To do that, she recommends that any nutrition plan be individualized, personal, and supportive of a persons overall health.

An Oklahoma native who now lives in Washington, D.C., Tambra Raye Stevenson said she became interested in nutrition after watching many family members die from diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

The founder of NATIVSOL Kitchen, Stevenson, who has a bachelors in nutritional science and a masters of public health, is a self-proclaimed food freedom fighter. She believes racism is baked into the public health system from the farm to healthcare and needs to be disrupted.

The system is intentionally designed to create nutricide in our communities, meaning death by fork, she says.

This includes food deserts and lack of nutrition access in Black communities.

Stevenson advocates for people of color, especially Black people, to return to their food roots by eating more beans and greens.

Stevenson also created Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics, and Agriculture (WANDA) to inspire women and girls to become the food heroes in our communities on the frontline of [the] food fight.

Jessica Jones has been working as a nutritionist for more than 10 years. She pens an official health column for SELF magazine and was recently named a member of the Bay Area Dietetic Association.

She has a passion for helping people from diverse backgrounds transform the way they eat and make peace with the food they love.

Jones doesnt focus on weight. Instead, she wants people to know that they can pursue health at any size. With an all foods fit approach, Jones makes sure her clients dont have to worry about being judged for their choices or their habits.

Wendy Lopez is a registered dietitian who focuses on providing nutritional counseling and diabetes management to clients in a clinical setting.

Lopez co-founded the healthy living website and podcast Food Heaven and co-authored 28-Day Plant-Powered Health Reboot, a guide to plant-based eating, with Jessica Jones.

Alicia C. Simpson is a registered dietitian based in Atlanta. She came to the nutrition field after working in pharmaceutical sales and noticing how many people of color depend on prescription medication to live.

She realized there was a better way.

I made the decision that my life and the community would be better served learning how to preventchronic health conditions rather than continuing the cycle of normalizing medication over lifestyle changes, Simpson says.

In her work with PeaPod Nutrition, she brings much-needed inclusivity and representation to the nutrition and wellness space.

Simpson wants to break down the myth that healthy food is not delicious food and that people have to accept having diabetes and other chronic diseases as inevitable.

Growing older does not mean growing sicker. You have the power to change your quality of life [with] every single meal you eat and every single step you take, says Simpson.

Aja Gyimah is a registered dietitian in Toronto, Canada. As the founder of Compete Nutrition, Gyimah specializes in using nutrition to improve athletic performance.

She says she wants to broaden the all foods fit message to include healthy and traditional foods from cultures of color.

Right now the image of healthy eating doesnt include many traditional foods of BIPOC cultures, leaving us feeling that we need to ditch our foods in order to be healthy when this is not the case, says Gyimah.

According to Gyimah, eating more fruits and veggies even the canned or frozen kind along with drinking water and eating less processed foods can make a big difference in a persons overall health and wellness.

Gyimah believes you dont have to throw away all the foods you love.

Its not what you eat thats important, its more about figuring out how all of the foods you eat can fit into a healthy diet, she says.

Marisa Moore is an Atlanta-based registered dietitian. As an integrative and culinary dietitian, she believes in meeting clients where theyre at.

Moores emphasis is on focusing on what can be added to a plate to make it healthy and nutritious instead of what should be taken away.

Giving up your cultural foods is not a prerequisite for health, she says.

Moore also advocates for Black people to embrace their traditional foods, such as greens, okra, sweet potatoes, and black-eyed peas. She believes representation is essential in the health and wellness space.

Its important for people of color to see people in the wellness space who look like them, eating, being well, and thriving, Moore says. Theres comfort in knowing that the person in front of you gets it!

For Moore, getting it has led her to want to help people pursue wellness and prevent chronic disease with delicious food in a realistic way.

Vanessa Rissetto is a registered dietitian. She currently serves as the dietetic internship director at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. She was formerly the senior dietitian at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Rissetto doesnt believe in quick-fix reset diets. On her Instagram, she advocates for full-fat foods, no processed meat, balance, drinking lots of water, and getting sleep.

She is the co-founder of Culina Health with Tamar Samuels, also a registered dietitian.

All of Culina Healths practitioners are trained in cultural competence as well as cultural humility. For Samuels, this means helping people enjoy the foods they love while directing them to achieve their goals around food and nutrition.

All people need and deserve to see themselves and their cultural food represented. These experts are taking big steps toward making that a reality for people of color.

The movement toward health can be specific, like a plant-based approach, or more of an all foods fit formula.

These dietitians and nutritionists know that what you eat fuels your body, and they can help you figure out the ideal fuel for you.

Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy awardwinning news producer and author. Nikeshas debut novel, Four Women, was awarded the 2018 Florida Authors and Publishers Association Presidents Award in the category of Adult Contemporary/Literary Fiction. Four Women was also recognized by the National Association of Black Journalists as an Outstanding Literary Work. Her latest novel, Beyond Bourbon Street, will be released August 29, 2020.

More here:
8 Nutritionists of Color Bringing Healthy Food to All - Healthline

Most experts agree that pets are living longer than they ever have before. This happy news is likely a result of improved veterinary care and dietary habits. In fact, 50 percent of the approximately 80 million dogs in this country are older than the age of 7 that is roughly 40 million dogs that are considered senior or geriatric dogs in the United States.

With this pet population living longer, geriatric dogs, along with their owners and veterinarians, are faced with a whole new set of age-related conditions. As dogs age they are faced with similar issues that humans face, such as muscle loss, arthritis and orthopedic issues or injuries. If your dog is starting to avoid active playing or running or if he has trouble with daily activities such as jumping up on a favorite chair or into the family car, he may have age-related illnesses such as arthritis.

With more than 25 years of experience, renowned veterinarian Dr. Albert Ahn, Veterinary Consultant with MYOS Pets, has tips on how to keep our aging dogs healthy.

The sooner you notice potentially negative changes, the sooner you can take action to provide proper care, Ahn said. Being proactive in this way could make a huge difference when it comes to combating arthritis and reducing any associated suffering.

A.About 60 percent of all dogs over the age of seven end up suffering from arthritis (although it can appear at any age), so it is a very common issue. Larger dog breeds and obese dogs are especially at risk of developing it.

A.Common signs to look out for include the following: difficulty getting up, moving around, and climbing stairs, disinterest in walking or playing, increased lethargy, decreased pep, dwindling muscle mass, weight gain (often a result of becoming more sedentary due to pain), limping, mood issues and yelping when held or touched.

A.Dog owners can help prevent arthritis in their dogs by feeding them a nutritionally complete diet, ensuring they are getting enough exercise (particularly low-impact exercise that doesnt put strain on the joints), using supplements that promote joint and muscle health and keeping up to date with vet checkups.

A.Diet certainly does play a role. Obese dogs are at higher risk for arthritis since the joints are constantly stressed by the excess weight. Therefore, starting a dog on a nutritionally-smart diet from an early age can be a solid tool for prevention. For the same reason, a diet focused on weight loss is also helpful for treatment less strain from weight will lead to less pain and inflammation of the joints, which can help halt arthritic progression.

A.Depending on the severity of the arthritis, surgery might be recommended by a veterinarian. However, its more common to be given a treatment plan that will help minimize the pain, reduce inflammation and rebuild the muscle. Supplements will be extremely beneficial here. Anti-inflammatory ones such as CBD oil, fish oil, glucosamine and even curcumin can help alleviate pain. A natural supplement such as Fortetropin can be used to build the muscle back up and reduce any further atrophy from occurring, thus supporting the joints and ligaments. Muscle health should always be prioritized throughout the treatment protocol as it is needed for mobility and vitality. Diet, hydrotherapy and acupuncture can also be great additions.

Follow this link:
Combating Age-Related Arthritis In Pets - longislandweekly.com

Regardless of how it might seem at times, life is not a static existence. Change is the one constant we all experience throughout the stages of life.

Our bodies grow and age, and as we progress, we learn new skills and gain new abilities such as speech and mobility. We learn to do things either through necessity or intent, and our bodies and minds respond based on the demands we place upon them. Some of these things have short- or long-term benefits both mentally and physically, whereas others result in negative effects.

Apart from what we consciously or even subconsciously do, our bodies themselves have a certain degree of programming, so to speak. The human heart is programmed to beat, to pump and return blood throughout our circulatory system, without any deliberate effort on our part. Lungs will expand and draw in oxygen, food is digested, and there is a steady undercurrent of communication between our brains and the rest of our body to which we are blissfully unaware.

Something so simple as sweating, or our bodys reaction to temperature, arent things we need to or can control. Our skin even quietly replaces itself about every seven years and we dont consciously notice the process.

But all of these things are interconnected and interdependent. Simply put, what we are doing directly impacts the effectiveness of our bodys programming, and our bodys programming directly affects what we are able to do, or at least our predisposition toward the ease or difficulty of certain things. When speaking of health our health it is important to understand at least the basics of how both our active and passive bodies operate and interact with each other. A good place to begin is the understanding that rather than needing to build ourselves from scratch, so to speak, our focus should be more on maintenance or improvement.

When we consider health from the perspective of maintenance or improvement, the concept becomes much easier to manage. But maintenance requires a wide variety of tools, some of which are crucial in our earliest years, and some that change over time. Some of us will be fortunate enough to need fewer tools to manage our health and some might need a good deal more. Some might even require certain specialized tools to maintain their level of good health, but all of us will need at least a few of the basic ones.

At birth, the most crucial tools in our toolboxes are our parents. They see to our external needs while our infant bodies begin operating on programming. Parents ideally either have or can learn the basic skills required to care for an infant and help it grow toward maturity. Parents (or primary caregivers) have access to the resources that will not only help their young charges grow, but also prevent early physical and/or emotional damage which impedes or damages that growth. As we age, we develop the ability through learning to add personal tools to our toolbox. Experience, research, or simply trial and error can provide valuable insight to maintaining our personal health.

Beyond their guardianship, parents and their parents, and so on, provide crucial insights to future health issues. Many things (both positive and negative) are hereditary. A family health history can help us avoid certain things that have caused health problems in our families, or at least alert us to the need of be vigilant against the occurrence of those things. Knowledge of a family history of diabetes, even if the occurrence skipped a generation, could possibly allow for lifestyle changes to prevent it or lessen its effects.

Research can be a powerful tool in maintaining good health. In the information age, there is a staggering amount of information available about even rare health conditions. All one needs to do is open a web browser and type in whatever concern they might have. Although valuable, the difficulty here is that not all information presented in this format is accurate; some are extremely inaccurate and simply a vehicle to sell cures that are ineffective or even dangerous. Most information that comes from a major hospital or accredited organization is a good starting point, however.

Obviously, the most effective tool we can keep in our health toolbox is our local health provider. Health providers such as doctors, nurses and other health professionals have both the credentials and vested interest in helping us maintain our health. An added bonus is health care providers also have the knowledge to help us better use the other tools at our disposal. Telling a health care provider our family health history, for instance, allows them to better improve our health and possibly prevent future problems.

It is essential to use all the tools at our disposal properly, and to maximum effect. A jackhammer is seldom needed to plant a flower, after all, nor would a screwdriver be ideal to remove a nail. But unfortunately, in an era of misinformation and unqualified advice, maintaining our health has become much more confusing than it ever should be.

This section is dedicated to healthy living, and to that end if you have a question about a medical condition or health concern, email us at cromans@dailyindependent.com and we will provide you with the best possible answers from dependable sources. And if you are a dependable source providing health care and would like to offer information on a problem you believe needs addressed for public benefit, please email us as well.

Our goal is a healthy community, and we can get there together.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

Original post:
Healthy Living: Right tools for the job | News | dailyindependent.com - The Independent

KEIGHLEY people have been set a series of healthy challenges this summer.

Keighley Healthy Living has come up with the challenges to encourage residents to try something new each week that will improve their physical or mental health

The first week is Lets Get Skipping based on the charity's ongoing skipping campaign with people asked to complete either one minute, three minutes or seven minutes of skipping each day.

Week two is entitled "Dragon breath", encouraging people to breathe well, and this will be followed by One more fruit and veg, Write down the good things, Couch to 5K, and Bird spotting.

For further information, visit khl.org.uk, follow Keighley Healthy Living on Facebook or Twitter, or use the hashtag #keighleysummerchallenges.

Keighley Healthy Living is giving away free skipping ropes. Email admin@khl.org.uk or call 01535 677177 to get yours.

Read the original:
Be a dragon and run 5k with summer health challenges - Keighley News

MiraBurst-Freeze-Dried-Miracle-Berries

Explore MiraBurstA healthy way to transform the taste of sour and acidic foods and drinks into something delectably sweet! Experience the sweet sensation with MiraBurst products and sweeten up your life while giving your health a boost with its many health benefits!

New York , July 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Miracle Berry: The Superfruit Every Diabetic Should Know About

MiraBurst Products and its Benefits

Consuming miracle berries is beneficial for ones health because the miracle berry is a superfruit, meaning it holds a robust nutritional value. The miracle berry is an all-natural, non-GMO fruit. It is the only fruit on the planet that has both taste-enhancing properties and several health benefits. As a taste enhancing berry, it allows for easy incorporation of healthy fruits, low sugar or sugar-free desserts as well as healthy smoothies and drinks into ones diet.

As a superfruit, themiracle fruitcontains antioxidants (polyphenols which consist of flavonoids and phenolics, vitamins A, C, E and others), essential amino acids, micronutrients and other phytonutrients. These phytonutrients are essential for healthy living. The phytonutrients work together to help manage blood sugar levels and help support the bodys natural immune system response. As a superfruit and a taste-modifier, miracle berries are a gamechanger for diabetics, pre-diabetics, as well as people looking to manage their weight.

Miracle berries are highly perishable fruits. In order to prolong the shelf life of the berries they have been converted into fast dissolving tablets without any additives or preservatives. This will allow consumers to recreate the same experience as eating the actual non-GMO and organic miracle berries. These tablets dissolve on the tongue and immediately create a unique taste-modifying experience. Consumers should allow the tablet to dissolve on the tongue for about 2-3 minutes to allow the active substance (miraculin) to properly activate the sweet receptors on the tongue before consuming the sour and acidic foods, fruits or drinks. The taste-modifying effect will last for up to 60 minutes after the tablet has fully dissolved on the tongue.

MiraBurst currently sells taste-enhancing miracle berry tablets that are fast-dissolving, have no additives or preservatives, and are made from 100% pure miracle berry powder. All MiraBurst miracle berries are grown under the most natural and organic environment in Ghana and cultivated by Fair Trade farmers. MiraBurst is the industry-leading source for all-natural, non-GMO, organic and pure miracle berry products.

Who Can Benefit from Miracle Berries?

MiraBurst miracle berry tablets are a gamechanger for everyone. MiraBurst tablets are perfect for parents looking to help their children prevent tooth decay due to sugary diets. Health-conscious eaters and people looking to lose weight can use these tablets to enjoy healthy fruits and fruit salads, foods, and smoothies and drinks in their diet while satisfying their sweet tooth. Chemotherapy patients can benefit from the berrys taste-enhancing properties because it can temporarily help mask chemotherapy-associated metallic taste.

MiraBurst is particularly beneficial for diabetics and borderline diabetics. MiraBurst can help diabetics and pre-diabetics improve their bodys sensitivity to their own insulin and manage blood sugar levels. Diabetes is a chronic disease that comes in four forms: Type 1, Type 2, Pre-Diabetes, and Gestational Diabetes. All types of diabetes result in high blood sugar levels. MiraBurst helps in the management of all types of diabetes and prediabetes.

MiraBurst pairs well with several diabetic superfoods recommended by the American Diabetes Association, such as unsweetened Greek yogurt, blueberries and other berries, grapefruit, and citrus fruits. MiraBurst miracle berries can make an unsweetened Greek yogurt parfait taste like ice cream. Fruit smoothies and green smoothies with lemon can taste sweet and even more delicious. Miracle berry can even make lemon water or apple cider vinegar with lemon water taste like a sugar-free lemonade, which is beneficial for diabetics since apple cider vinegar has been shown in clinical to improve the bodys sensitivity to insulin whilst lemon water help prevent blood sugar spikes after meals.

With regular use of MiraBurst tablets and an adoption of a low sugar diet as well as consumption of healthy fruits recommended by the American Diabetes Association, diabetics and borderline diabetics can manage their blood sugar levels and improve their overall health. Miracle berries can serve as diabetics trusted sidekick by helping reduce their sugar intake for all types of diabetics.

MiraBurst connects people affected by diabetes everywhere to an innovative means of reducing the added sugar in their daily diet. To learn more about MiraBurst and to try the miracle berry products yourself, visitwww.miraburst.comtoday!

About MiraBurst

MiraBurst was founded in 2014 by Dr. Emmanuel Asare with a mission to use the miracle berry to help solve the global problem of excessive sugar consumption and sugar addiction. Founded in response to the rise of diabetes and pre-diabetes (borderline diabetes), MiraBurst is dedicated to introducing consumers to the miracle berry to help cut down on consumption of sugar and sweeteners without sacrificing sweet taste.

Themiracle berry, known as the miracle fruit or Synsepalum dulcificum, is native to Ghana, West Africa. This superfruit has the ability to modify the taste of sour and acidic foods, fruits and drinks to sweet tasting without any added sugar or sweetener. This is due to the active substance in the pulp of the berry a glycoprotein called miraculin. Miraculin has a unique effect on the taste buds by supercharging the sweet receptors on the tongue. These taste-altering properties can make sour and acidic drinks, like lemon water with apple cider vinegar taste like a sugar-free lemonade.

Try it. Love it. Share it.#TasteTheSweetSensationFollow us on instagram@MiraBurst

Christina Asare

(516) 597-5259

420 Jericho Turnpike,Suite 328Jericho, NY 11753

Phone: (516)597-5259

Address: MiraBurst

Go here to read the rest:
MiraBurst, the world's largest producer of miracle berry products, is dedicated to helping people reduce their intake of added sugars and sweeteners...