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Tag: healthy drinking

Low Sodium Foods to promote heart health

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Most people eat much more sodium (salt) than they need. This can lead to health problems like high blood pressure. To lower the amount of sodium in your diet, follow these tips when you go food shopping:

  • Choose fresh instead of processed foods when you can.
  • Use the Nutrition Facts label to check the amount of sodium. Look for foods with 5% Daily Value (DV) or less. A sodium content of 20% DV or more is high.
  • Look for foods labeled “low sodium,” “reduced sodium,” or “no salt added.”
To preserve your heart and keep pressure in check, get plenty of fruit and vegetables.
  • Any fresh fruits, like apples, oranges, or bananas
  • Any fresh vegetables, like spinach, carrots, or broccoli
  • Frozen vegetables without added sauce
  • Canned vegetables that are low in sodium or have no salt added
  • Low sodium vegetable juice
  • Frozen or dried fruit (unsweetened)
  • Canned fruit (packed in water or 100% juice, not syrup)
Breads, Cereals, and Grains

Compare labels to find products with less sodium. When you cook rice or pasta, don’t add salt.

  • Rice or pasta
  • Unsweetened oatmeal
  • Unsalted popcorn

Tip: If your food comes with a seasoning packet, use only part of the packet. This will lower the amount of sodium in the food.

Meats, Nuts, and Beans

Choose fresh meats when possible. Some fresh meat has added sodium, so always check the label.

  • Fish or shellfish
  • Chicken or turkey breast without skin
  • Lean cuts of beef or pork
  • Unsalted nuts and seeds
  • Dried peas and beans
  • Canned beans labeled “no salt added” or “low sodium”
  • Eggs
Dairy Products

Choose fat-free or low-fat milk and yogurt. Be sure to check the label on cheese, which can be high in sodium. Milk and yogurt are also good sources of potassium, which can help lower blood pressure.

  • Fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk
  • Fat-free or low-fat yogurt
  • Low- or reduced-sodium cheese (like natural Swiss cheese)
  • Soymilk with added calcium
Dressings, Oils, and Condiments

When you cook, use ingredients that are low in sodium or have no sodium at all.

  • Unsalted margarine and spreads (soft, tub, or liquid) with no trans fats
  • Vegetable oils (canola, olive, peanut, or sesame)
  • Sodium-free, light mayonnaise and salad dressing
  • Low-sodium or “no salt added” ketchup
  • Vinegar
Seasonings

Try these seasonings instead of salt to flavor your food.

  • Herbs, spices, or salt-free seasoning blends
  • Chopped vegetables, like garlic, onions, and peppers
  • Lemons and limes
  • Ginger
Supplements

Sometimes food alone doesn’t work and we want to avoid a regimen of prescribed medications. So we had supplements to keep high blood pressure away.

  • Grape Seed/Skin Extract
  • We use a super-concentrated, natural extract associated with maintaining healthy blood pressure already in the normal range and also supports healthy endothelial function. The power of nearly 10,000 grapes in every bottle—ProvexCV® Blood Pressure Support.

 

Heart-Healthy Foods to Prolong Your Life

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When it comes to your heart, what you eat matters. Follow these tips for heart-healthy eating:

  1. Eat less saturated and trans fat. Stay away from fatty meats, fried foods, cakes, and cookies.
  2. Cut down on sodium (salt). Look for the low-sodium or “no salt added” types of canned soups, vegetables, snack foods, and lunch meats.
  3. Get more fiber. Eat vegetables, fruits, and whole grains to add fiber to your diet.

Take this list with you the next time you go food shopping.

Vegetables and Fruits

Eat a variety of vegetables and fruits. Buy vegetables and fruits that are in season, frozen, or canned.

  • Fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, and broccoli
  • Leafy greens for salads, like spinach and kale
  • Canned vegetables low in sodium (salt)
  • Frozen vegetables without added butter or sauces
  • Fresh fruits such as apples, oranges, bananas, pears, and peaches
  • Canned fruit in 100% juice, not syrup
  • Frozen or dried fruit (unsweetened)
Dairy Products

Look for fat-free or low-fat milk products. Or choose soymilk with added calcium.

  • Fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk
  • Fat-free or low-fat yogurt (choose options with less added sugar)
  • Cheese (3 grams of fat or less per serving)
  • Fat-free or low-fat soymilk with calcium
Breads, Cereals, and Grains

For products with more than one ingredient, make sure whole wheat or another whole grain is listed first.

  • 100% whole-wheat bread
  • Whole-grain breakfast cereals like oatmeal
  • Whole grains such as brown or wild rice, barley, and bulgur
  • Whole-wheat or whole-grain pasta
Meat, Beans, Eggs, and Nuts

Choose lean cuts of meat and other foods with protein.

  • Seafood, including fish and shellfish
  • Chicken and turkey breast without skin
  • Pork: leg, shoulder, tenderloin
  • Beef: round, sirloin, tenderloin, extra lean ground beef (at least 93% lean)
  • Beans, lentils, and peas
  • Eggs and egg substitutes
  • Unsalted nuts and seeds
Fats and Oils

Cut back on saturated fat and look for products with no trans fats.

  • Margarine and spreads (soft, tub, or liquid) with no trans fats
  • Vegetable oil (canola, olive, peanut, or sesame)
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • Light mayonnaise
  • Salad dressings that are oil based instead of creamy
Daily Supplements

For most people, diet and exercise aren’t enough to deliver optimal heart health. That’s why we use proven, natural solutions yo address six controllable factors for optimal heart health.

  • Omega-3s are good fats—polyunsaturated fats—that are derived from fish, nuts, and seeds. Our favorite is Crème Delight®— Peach Mango Tango with 1,080mg of research-proven EPA/DHA essential fatty acids, this supplement provides daily support for eye, heart, and brain health–in a flavor the whole family loves.
  • Mom used to give us cod-liver oil every morning especially in winter to help us avoid flu and keep us healthy. The taste was not a favorite and we weren’t enamored of it. Today we use Vitality Coldwater Omega-3® a pure, concentrated DHA and EPA Omega-3’s for superior cardiovascular and brain health benefits. Two soft gels include the research-recommended dose with no fishy aftertaste.  
  • CardiOmega EPA®— with 1,000 mg of EPA plus 100 mg DHA this supplement is designed to support high levels of activity, since we’ve become serious about fitness and getting to a healthy weight, we find this helps promote rapid recovery and reduce activity-induced inflammation all while protecting our heart. 

Take care of your heart, it’s the only one you have!

Keep Your Heart Healthy

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Take steps today to lower your risk of heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.

To help prevent heart disease, you can:

  • Eat healthy.
  • Get active.
  • Stay at a healthy weight.
  • Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke.
  • Control your cholesterol (“koh-LEHS-tuh-rahl”) and blood pressure.
  • If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation.
  • Manage stress.

Everyone is at risk for heart disease. But you are at higher risk for heart disease if you:

  • Have high cholesterol or high blood pressure
  • Smoke
  • Are overweight or obese
  • Don’t get enough physical activity
  • Don’t eat a healthy diet

Your age and family history also affect your risk for heart disease. Your risk is higher if:

  • You are a woman over age 55
  • You are a man over age 45
  • Your father or brother had heart disease before age 55
  • Your mother or sister had heart disease before age 65

But the good news is there’s a lot you can do to prevent heart disease. Throughout National Heart month we will be sharing healthy heart tips and stories.

 

Central Body Fat

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Fat, no matter where it is in your body, is not something that any of us desire. We diet. We exercise. It doesn’t seem to go anywhere. There are essentially two types of fat: Subcutaneous fat, the fat that can collect anywhere on the body. It is the “soft”, “pinchable” fat and visceral fat that is hard and usually appears as central body fat (right at the belly-line).

While there are indeed dangers to subcutaneous fat, it does not present the same level or volume of risk that visceral fat does. This article from Dr. Axe’ Food Is Medicine, focuses on the dangers of visceral fat, why it is so risky and the things you can do to get rid of it.

In general, what makes visceral fat so dangerous is that it collects around the organs. Certain types of body fat are really inflammatory diseases of their own. Visceral fat is excess intra-abdominal adipose tissue accumulation. It is deep fat that is stored deep under the skin, deeper than subcutaneous fat.

As this article clarifies, visceral fat is linked to many diseases, like cancer and coronary disease. It is by itself toxic and provokes the inflammatory pathways. It develops when communication between the brain and other major organs (the brain/body connection) begin to break down at its’ core are your blood sugar levels.

Increased inflammation, higher diabetes risk, difficulty in losing weight in general, higher risks of heart disease and stroke, dementia, depression and mood swings are just some of the consequences of excess visceral fat. The causes are overwhelmingly increased glucose in our bloodstreams. Controlling glucose is, therefore, the key to avoiding those consequences.

I take a supplement each day that controls the spikes in insulin and therefore the glucose that produces these and other problems. My company has developed and manufactures many high quality and affordable products that have helped me make the kind of adjustments in my lifestyle to keep it healthy and high energy.

Let’s Connect..

Barbara Hay
732.233.6541
hayseeds@me.com
My Website

Is it a cold or the flu?

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‘Tis the season for runny noses, itchy eyes, fever, and headaches. You have the flu…or is it a cold? It can be confusing. The bulletin linked below from Prevention Magazine can help you differentiate.

The flu hits you quickly and dramatically. You will often run a fever above 101F; it is accompanied by body aches and fatigue. You may have some other symptoms that “mock” the common cold, but you should seek treatment from your doctor within 48 hours of the onset.

Your cold symptoms are most commonly above the neck, but the common cold is not only caused by the rhinovirus but by any of two hundred other viruses. It is most effectively treated with over the counter “symptom-relievers”. You must be careful, however, not to mix multiple products, which can cause toxification.

Your flu, if that is your diagnosis, is most effectively treated by a physician prescribed anti-viral medication, but as I said earlier, it should come within 48 hours of your symptoms presenting themselves.

The best defense is an offense in the form of a healthy diet, adequate hydration and exercise. Naturally, avoid environments that may expose you to unreasonable risks of infection. You may also want to consider a regime of preventive supplements. My company develops and manufactures a full line of the purest, highest quality preventatives available. Take special care during the holidays and the winter and stay healthy.

https://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/difference-between-cold-and-flu

Maturing Skin

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Usually, around the age of 50, we experience some significant changes in the character of our skin. Bruising occurs, usually on our hands and forearms, but many times on our feet, ankles and our calves. Our face and neck begin to lose volume as well. It is called aging.

There are some things you can do to slow down, arrest and even reverse this process. As the body ages, the ability of the body to produce collagen is reduced. There are some creams and serums that can help, sometimes significantly. The most effective way to reverse collagen loss is, not surprisingly, from within.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies, especially type 1 Collagen is found in our skin obviously, but it is also in the make up of our bones muscles, tendons, gut, blood vessels and even our teeth, But for this discussion, as collagen production is reduced, it leaves us with sagging skin, wrinkles, and joint pain.

As the available collagen in our skin is diminished, the skin thins. It tears more easily on the outside, causing wounds and on the inside causing sometimes unexplainable bruising that is ugly and many times enduring. Since collagen is so vital to the many inner-workings of our bodies, why not encourage your body to produce more collagen with some natural collagen boosters.

Your diet is one way. Foods like blueberries, dark leafy greens, garlic, eggs, mangoes, carrots, sweet potatoes and white tea, all stimulate the production of Collagen. In addition, take hydration seriously and drink plenty of water.

Vitamin supplementation with vitamin C and A, as well as B-12 and even amino acids, will aid your body in manufacturing more collagen. The attached bulletin from MEDILINE will tell you more. As you choose your supplementation regime, remember that the quality of your vitamins and other elements like the aminos, does make a difference. I’m associated with a company that has developed and manufactures some of the highest quality products on the market.

Great Coffee

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The most popular hot beverage in this country is coffee. Millions of us enjoy a hot cup of coffee or two to start our day (or throughout). In searching for the best way to make a great cup of coffee we turned to (where else) the National Coffee Association.

Attached are some guidelines that the association recommends. Their advice in this article ranges from cleaning your equipment properly, to the beans, to the freshness, to the grind, to the water, including the ratio of water to coffee, the temperature of the water, brewing time. Some great basics that can make us all better at brewing that perfect cup.

Great coffee the NCA points out starts with great beans. That means that the beans you choose should match your own personal taste. The roast, the origins and even the preparation are matters of your own taste, so don’t hesitate to experiment while you search for you own “magical cup”.

A couple of years ago, my company introduced coffee to its wellness line of products. It took them years of research and tasting to find just the right beans and places that they were grown. The company is driven by quality so the research was an important part of introducing coffee to their product line.

They wanted to be sure that the coffee we offered was proprietary, so they contracted to purchase the entire production of the beans and the plantations they chose. Even the plantations and their locations are kept a secret to prevent duplication of our superior brand. The company did all that. All I have to do is enjoy a cup of this most delicious brew and it is priced so competitively that I am able to enjoy it every day.

http://makegreengogreen.com/article/great-coffee?barbarahay

Red Wine Has Many Benefits

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That glass of red wine y at the end of your day or with your evening meal can provide more than just good taste. The article link below from Prevention explains the incredible benefits of drinking one (or even two) glasses of red wine every day.

Red wine is an important part of the “proven healthy” Mediterranean diet. Red wine contains resveratrol, which has been proven to produce many health benefits. It not only reduces LDL (bad) cholesterol, it increases HDL (good) cholesterol.

It protects your heart in other ways, too. The antioxidants in red wine can keep blood vessels flexible and reduce the risk of clotting. It is nearly as effective as an aspirin protocol without the risks of harm to your gut. Resveratrol also helps control blood sugar.

Resveratrol also can keep your memory sharp as you age. It inhibits the formation of beta-amyloid protein that causes plaque in the brain and has been connected with the onset of Alzheimer’s. If you hate getting sick, even things as minor as a cold can be guarded against by the antioxidants in red wine. The article also shares other benefits

The company I have partnered with has formulated several products that contain the good and science proven extracts of grapes so I am sure that I get enough resveratrol even if I don’t drink that glass of red wine. But who would pass that “life’s pleasure”? Cheers.

www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/health-benefits-of-red-wine

http://makegreengogreen.com/article/red-wine-has-many-benefits?barbarahay

PROPER HYDRATION IS MORE THAN QUENCHING THIRST

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We all know that when we are thirsty, we reach for a beverage. Eight glasses of water a day, they say. Most of us do not thirst for eight glasses a day but there are good reasons, beyond thirst, to consume that much or even more.

Since your brain is composed of 80% water by weight, being dehydrated will prevent you from thinking clearly. If you find yourself with “fuzzy” thinking or without an accurate short-term memory, dehydration may be the cause. Even a two percent shortfall, can evoke these effects.

Similarly, dehydration can cause mood swings because water is required to transport nutrients and hormones to your system. At the same time, water (or hydration) transports waste. When it doesn’t, the function falls to amino acids (tryptophan and tyrosine) two mood elevators that, when they are used up, can cause depression.

Joint lubrication is also a function of proper hydration. Stiffness and even “faux” hydration can be caused by the lack of proper hydration. This explains why people with vigorous exercise regimes pay careful attention to adequate hydration levels.

Asthma and allergies are also linked to dehydration. The body produces additional histamines that seek water in the body. Histamines also regulate the muscles in your bronchial tubes. Most important, increased water intake correlates with overall better health.

Several drinks like coffee and alcohol actually have diuretic effects, even though they are liquids and can increase dehydration levels. Sports drinks can help with dehydration because they not only contain water but electrolytes. I choose to hydrate with a drink mix that provides 4 electrolytes (calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium) and not just the two provided in traditional sports beverages. So drink up. It’s good for you…in a lot of ways.

 

 

http://saferhousehold.com/article/proper-hydration-is-more-than-quenching-thirst-1?barbarahay

Growth In Tea Sales As Exotic And Premium Teas Become More And More Popular

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Global tea sales have exploded as exotic and premium teas become more ubiquitous. Especially among millennials premium and exotic teas are more and more the beverage of choice.

This growth according to Beverage Daily will expand by 7 billion dollars before the middle of the next decade. There are plenty of reasons. Tea hydrates. It contains antioxidants. It is a stimulant, like coffee. There are more.

My company has just introduced a new line of premium and exotic teas that are all natural and delicious. They are so exclusive that they are grown in hidden gardens all over the world. So relax and enjoy a cup of one of the best teas.