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Happy National New Jersey Day!

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New Jersey was the third state to join the Union on July 27.

When Giovanni Da Verrazzano first explored the shores of the Atlantic coast and what includes New Jersey, he discovered diverse communities of people who were later called the Delaware Indians.

New Jersey’s first European settlement was founded in 1660 by the Dutch, but in 1664 the British took control. At this time the land was divided into half and named the New Jersey after the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel.

Leading up the American Revolution, the colony as a whole was equally divided in its loyalties to the crown. There were just as many colonists riding the fence as there were supporting the rebels or supporting the king.

Due to New Jersey’s central location among the thirteen colonies, more battles during the Revolutionary War took place here than any other state.

While the state was the third to enter the union, it was the first to sign the Bill of Rights.

During and after the war, New Jersey industry grew. Innovation and technology take place in New Jersey. Menlo Park fostered the ingenuity of Thomas Edison.

While industry and innovation grew, so did its population. Today it has the highest population density of any state in the United States.

While it may be an industrial powerhouse, its nickname the Garden State is precise. New Jersey supplies the world with cranberries, blueberries, and tomatoes.

Let’s celebrate!

Yay! Créme Brûlée

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Do you like créme brûlée? The earliest known reference of créme brûlée, as we know it today, appears in Francois Massialot’s 1691 cookbook.

Créme brûlée is also known as burnt cream, crema Catalana, and Trinity creme.  It is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel and served at room temperature.
I love this delicious creamy dessert, but hate the calories and sugar it adds to my diet.
I discovered I can have the decadent flavors of créme brûlée whenever I want with GC Control.

GC Control Créme Brûlée is a one-of-a-kind, low-sugar, delicious shake that’s specially formulated to put me in control of my junk food cravings, energy levels, and weight management efforts.
It’s so good, that not only do I drink it as a shake during the day for a quick snack, but I have been known to use it with a bit of water and egg to make delicious, pancakes, waffles and tasty muffins in a mug for breakfast. In the evenings, after dinner, I will add a bit of the shake to my coffee for a decadent coffee treat. It is amazingly delicious and good for me too!
Another great find for keeping me healthy!

Do you have Metabolic Syndrome?

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Metabolic syndrome is a group of five risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Lifestyle changes like losing weight, exercise, and dietary changes can help prevent or reverse metabolic syndrome.

The five risk factors are: increased blood pressure (greater than 130/85 mmHg); high blood sugar levels (insulin resistance); excess fat around the waist; high triglyceride levels and/or low levels of good cholesterol (HDL).

Having one of these risk factors does not mean that you have metabolic syndrome. However, having one will increase your chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Having three or more of these factors will result in a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome and it will increase your risk of health complications.

The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that 23 percent of adults currently have metabolic syndrome.

Did you know that there really are NO discernible symptoms for metabolic syndrome? Aside from a large waist circumference of greater than 40 inches in men, and greater than 35 inches in women, most of the disorders associated with metabolic syndrome have no symptoms.

To find out if you have (or are prone to) metabolic syndrome, your doctor will perform several different tests in addition to checking your waist circumference.

Your fasting blood triglycerides will be tested— is your level 150 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL) or greater?

You will be asked about your cholesterol levels. Is your HDL cholesterol less than 40 mg/dL (men) or less than 50 mg/dL (women)?

You will have your fasting glucose level checked. Is it 100 mg/dL or greater?

How is your blood pressure? Is your Systolic blood pressure (top number) 130 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or greater, or diastolic blood pressure (bottom number) of 85 mm Hg or greater?

If your answers are yes to any of three or more of tests, you may have metabolic syndrome.

So, if you’re having trouble losing weight, metabolic syndrome could be the reason why! When your body doesn’t produce enough insulin to convert glucose to energy for your cells, it gets stored as excess fat. Even though you may be eating LESS than your skinny friends!

If you think you may be one of the 25% of adults affected by this disorder, there are a few things you can do to reverse the symptoms if you have it and if you don’t have it you can prevent it from happening to you.

The first is increase your exercise. Find something you like doing and start slowly. It can be something as simple as taking your dog for a walk more often and gradually increasing distance, or parking further away from you destination’s entrance to increase the number of steps you take each day.

This next tip is always harder than it sounds: lose weight if you’re overweight. It will be easier to lose weight if you do increase your exercise.

Make certain to eat a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and low fat dairy. Go easy on the saturated fats, trans fat, cholesterol, and salt—it will make a difference.

You can also add supplements to your diet. I personally added Peak Performance Metabolic Health Bundle to help provide metabolic support. This supplement pack works to slow my body’s absorption of sugar, inhibits the release of sugar in the bloodstream, and supports thermogenesis as well efficient calorie burning for healthy weight management. It seems to work for me—the weight loss and toning is quite noticeable!

Quit smoking if you smoke. Seriously, does any smoke anymore? It is just so bad for you!

Lastly, Schedule regular checkups with your healthcare provider to monitor and manage blood glucose, blood cholesterol, and blood pressure.

Download The American Heart Association’s printable Answers by Heart sheet: What is Metabolic Syndrome? (PDF)

#themoreyouknow
#knowbetterdobetter
#sciencebasedweightloss

Blueberry Cobbler, anyone?

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FiberWise® Blueberry Cobbler Bar, that is

For me, a great-tasting bar is an easy, quick and favorite way to get my fiber. Made with full FiberWise goodness, FiberWise Bars are simply scrumptious. Each bar gives me 10 grams of fiber and is bursting with tasty whole grains, real fruit, and only natural flavors, colors and sweeteners.

Blueberry Cobbler FiberWise contains a unique blend of natural fiber sources along with vitamins, antioxidants, soothing herbs, and probiotics that give me a broad spectrum of full-body benefits, and it makes me feel fuller. I never realized that fiber has no calories, so filling up on high-fiber foods crowds out less-healthy foods. When I feel full it’s easier to say no to extra snacks, bigger portions and second helpings.

I find FiberWise Bars are enjoyable at breakfast or any time I want a healthy tasty snack. They are portable so they can go anywhere I go, and leave me feeling satisfied. There are four  varieties from which to choose, but since it’s blueberry month, I’m sticking with blueberry cobbler. blueberry cobbler.

Summer and sunscreen

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Before you head out to the beach today, don’t forget your sunscreen. You want to keep yourself healthy and free of melanomas in the future.

Did you know a healthy sunscreen does more for just keeping you free of sun damage? By using the right kind of sunscreen you can help keeping our coral reefs healthy. Using reef safe sunscreen can help! Here is a cheat sheet on what to look for to determine if your sun screen is safe.

Blueberry power to attain my goals

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This is a healthy snacking secret. When I want something delicious, filling and refreshing for my 3:00 p.m. snack, I reach for Blueberry Attain with revolutionary, natural CraveBlocker®. This simple shake helps stop cravings at both critical sources, putting me back in control. I have been able to manage and lose weight without feeling irritable or hungry all the time—and I don’t deprive myself of the nutrition I need. Controlling my cravings is an essential part of losingand keeping  weight off for good. Since it is blueberry month, I blended in a few fresh blueberrys for an added jolt of antioxidants.

Blueberry breakfast special

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My Blueberry breakfast special is Blueberry Simply Fit Granola.

We like it because it is simply wholesome granola. There is no artificial flavoring, color or ingredients. It’s baked and every bite is filled with crisp, old-fashioned goodness. It has whole oats, fiber, protein, and ALA omega-3s from flax to create lasting satisfaction. We love it we even added a few fresh berries today to celebrate blueberry month!

up to 380mg ALA Omega-3 from flax, up to 34g whole grains, 5g fiber, 5g protein

My Daily Detox

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I never give this tub of berry goodness enough credit. It’s basically my daily detox.
It’s fiber, you know, the body’s natural trash collector. Did you know that 85% of your immune system lives in your gut? Yep. That means both good bacteria and bad bacteria live within your digestive system. If that bacteria balance gets out of whack—like Goldilocks finding the “just right” porridge — an out of balance system can cause a whole slew of health issues. So much so, that researchers call the gut “our second brain.” 

Irregularity, constipation, bloating, autoimmune disorders, food allergies/intolerance, leaky gut syndrome, acid reflux, joint pain, skin sensitivities, fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, inflammation, depression, anxiety, etc.—all of these— can be linked back to your gut health. 

For me, Fiberwise helps with my weight loss journey and to keep my mental health in check too! When you physically feel better, your mental health follows!

WHAT’S YOUR FIBERWISE FLAVOR?!

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Does Medicine Really Expire?

Since 1979, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required that pharmaceutical companies put expiration dates on prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

The date printed on a pill bottle is the date until which the medicine’s manufacturer will guarantee the drug’s safety and full potency. How long a drug actually remains safe and effective can vary.

Some medicines like insulin, nitroglycerin and liquid antibiotics, contain active ingredients that are known to become unstable after a prolonged time period. Yet other drugs and medications may have a longer shelf life than their packaging states. The effectiveness of these medicines may degrade over time, but may still offer some benefits.

That said, several years ago, Lee Cantrell, director of the San Diego Division of the California Poison Control System, had a rare opportunity to examine an old stash of drugs — including antihistamines, pain relievers and diet pills — found in the back of a pharmacy.

He found that those found medications, some of them at least 40 years past their manufacture date, still retained full potency.  That study was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in 2012. Cantrell published another study in 2017 showing that EpiPens — the expensive auto-injectors used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions — retained 84 percent of their potency more than four years past their expiration dates, suggesting that in an emergency, an expired EpiPen would be better than nothing.

Although the federal government, the FDA and the U.S. Department of Defense started the Shelf-Life Extension Program (SLEP) in 1986, a SLEP study in 2006 tested 122 different drugs stored under ideal conditions, and the results showed, the expiration date of a majority of the drugs in the SLEP storage were extended by an average of four years. 

 Even so, the FDA still strongly warns consumers against taking expired medicine.

Because certain expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth and sub-potent antibiotics can fail to treat infections, leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance, the FDA strongly warns consumers against taking expired medicine.

The FDA also encourages people to bring their unused and expired meds to the National Prescription Drug Take-Back days, hosted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Soothing sore muscles

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I love Pain-a-Trate for my sore muscles after my hard work out this morning! I got in an hour of rowing and swimming, a three-mile run/walk with my feisty dog and a half hour of weights. I know I will feel it a bit later. but I am so glad I found this great alternative to Icy Hot and BenGay!
Not only does it soothe the pain it works quickly to relieve it!

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