Journal your gratitudes. Those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis:

1. ·         exercised more regularly
2. ·         reported fewer physical symptoms
3. ·         felt better about their lives as a whole
4. ·         were more optimistic about the upcoming week
5. ·        were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based)

Other Gratitude Notes

1. Most people report being grateful (an average rating of nearly 6 on a 7 point scale).

2. Well-Being:  Grateful people report higher levels of:
   •  positive emotions
   • life satisfaction
   • vitality,
   • optimism
   • lower levels of depression and stress. 

 The disposition toward gratitude appears to enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions.  Grateful people do not deny or ignore the negative aspects of life.  

3. Prosociality: People with a strong disposition toward gratitude have the capacity to be empathic and to take the perspective of others, as well as be more generous.

4. Spirituality:  Those who regularly attend religious services and engage in religious activities such as prayer reading religious material score are more likely to be grateful.

 5.  Materialism:  Grateful individuals:

• ·          place less importance on material goods
• ·         are less likely to judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated
• ·         are less envious of  others
• ·         are more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.   

• Using ultrasound imaging, doctors have found that the carotid arteries in the necks of obese teens and children as young as 10 had fatty buildup like that of a typical 45-year-old and other signs they’re at risk to develop heart disease.
• That’s especially troubling since “the state of your arteries is more important than your actual age in the evolution of heart disease and stroke,”
• The researchers found that obese children who had abnormal fat buildup in their arteries also had too much LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” in their blood.
• Children with high levels of triglycerides, another type of fat, in their blood were especially prone to having arteries that looked much older than they were.
• “The combination of obesity and high triglycerides should be a red flag to the doctor that a child is at high risk of heart disease,” Raghuveer said.

View the entire article

“More children are harmed by poor nutrition than drugs, alchols, and tobacco combined”  Dr. Katz, Yale Univesity.

This research reflects that. 

Caring for our children involves attention to their nourishment, which is difficult given our society, but not impossible.

An easy solution for your family can be the addition of Juice Plus to your and your children’s diet.

http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialJuicePlus

In fact, some social workers will not take on cases of children with ADHD/ADD/Anxiety/Autism if parents are unwilling to remove food additives from the child’s diet.  That is just one example of how diet can greatly affect a child’s life. 

For what are food additives used? To:

• ·         change food’s color
• ·         preserve food
• ·         prevent rancidity
• ·         keep fats emulsified and foods stable  

Most of the chemicals are synthetic compounds, some with known negative health effects.  Mostly, the long term affect of consuming large amounts of additives are unknown.  

Check out this list of the top 12 to avoid.

Although eliminating these may be impossible for some people, begin to notice how you feel (or how your children act) after consuming these.  You may find more sensitivity to one more than another.

Antioxidants protect cells from damage by toxins in the environment. Dark-colored produce (berries, kale, broccoli) tends to be higher in flavonoids, polyphenols and other antioxidants.  

Recommendations are to eat 5-9 servings (and up to 13 servings for athletes) of fruits and veggies to maintain health.  Unfortunately, the majority of people can not eat (or can not get their families to eat) enough fruits and veggies to receive the protective benefits. 

Recognizing this, researchers at the University of Florida set out to determine if gammadelta T-cells, which play a role in guarding against viruses and infection and in wound healing, increase in stressed-out law students taking Juice Plus (dehydrated fruits and veggies in capsules, chewables, or gummies).

It does.

By day 77 there was a 30% increase in circulating gammadelta-T cells and a 40% reduction in DNA damage in lymphocytes (which play an important and integral role in the body’s defenses) compared to the placebo group.

Note that unrepaired damaged DNA impedes a cell’s ability to carry out its function, so having less DNA damage to lymphocytes, which protect the body’s immunity is very important.

To summarize, even though the law students were in high-stress environments, their immunity improved due to more protective cells (gammadelta T-cells) and improved function (less damage) to their lymphocytes. 

If that happens after 77 days, imagine the benefits of 17 fruits and vegetables day after day for a year.  What other benefits might you see? 

Find out how your family can get the benefits of 17 fruits and vegetables, too!

In part (and I would guess in most cases, a large part), this is due to how they emulate you!

I recently had a conversation with a friend who realized that she wasn’t speaking “nicely” to her husband when her 2-year-old started imitating that sort of communication.

Kids can be the most beautiful and not-so-beautiful mirrors for us.

This is true also with how they care for their health. 

What you value for yourself is what they will most likely value (if not now, then when they are adults). 

For example, if you are a family that attends church weekly, it is likely that your child, when an adult, will also value this family tradition.

Likewise, as your child sees you value your health (through regular exercise, eating well, and practicing healthy habits), he or she is most likely going to value their own health.

 Note the distinction.  What you value in yourself is what they will value.  Not, what you value for them. Valuing their health, does not lead them to value it. 

I have thought this for a long time, but just recently decided to share this thought given a recent post: an hour a day, which highlights the recommendation of children’s daily activity.

So, pat yourself on the back for the wonderful example you are setting for your children.

And, if there are things that you would hate for your kids to do (or not do) as an adult, stop (or start) doing them.    

 Remember, your kids are watching and you are shaping their future.

“An hour a day, get out and play.”

I think it caught my eye because it provided some direction and guidelines for parents on what is an appropriate amount of activity for our kids.

Also, I am very consistent in my efforts in getting my son outside to play everyday.  However, depending on our schedules or the weather, the time in active play varies.

Now I know the goal: an hour a day.

The website that accompanies this message is smallstep.gov.

This site provides resources and tips on how to add activity into your life.  Here is their list of over 100 ways to improve your health.

Pick one thing you can do today!

 “This is the first generation that probably will not outlive their parents.”  This is the first time in human history for this to occur. He did not make a distinction between “normal” and “overweight” children.   Keep in mind that obesity in general is not the problem, it is these behaviors:

• eating high fat, low nutrient foods
• eating too large of portions
• being too sedentary

 For some people, including children, those behaviors will lead to obesity.  For some, it will not.   Regardless of the visual effect, the results inside the body are the same:

• fatty build up in the arteries
• low energy
• compromised cardiovascular health
• risk for diabetes
• and on and on.

 It is the behaviors that must change in order to improve health, not the result of weight loss. 

This is worth repeating: To improve health, health behaviors (nutrition and activity habits) must change.  Weight loss alone will not improve health. Given this, it is important to measure your health successes and those of your child by the decisions made daily to eat well and engage in activiy, rather than measure success by stepping on a scale. You can control your behaviors. You can not directly control the scale. If you are encountering a particular obstacle for living healthfully or have a suggestion for turning your health around, please post a comment.  

 By the age of 12, an estimated 70% of American children have developed the beginning stages of hardening of the arteries.  

• Conducted over 25 years, starting in 1973, this study is one of the largest conducted on children with 14,000 black and white children participating. Researchers found children as young as two years olds consuming the typical American diet (high sodium, high fat, low nutrients).    
•  Earlier, unrelated studies, showed the beginning of heart disease in 18 year olds, however, the Bolgalusa researchers found “grossly visible fatty streaks…in the aortas of children after age three and…in the coronary arteries beginning in the second decade of life.”    

To reiterate: Coronary arteries are the arteries of the heart and with the typical American diet, we are seeing children in the second decade of life (starting at 10 years old) having plaque build-up in their arteries just as what traditionally was seen in middle aged people. (more…)

]]> http://myreallifefitness.com/effect-of-diet-in-kids/feed/ http://myreallifefitness.com/trans-fats-and-hydrogenated-oils/ http://myreallifefitness.com/trans-fats-and-hydrogenated-oils/#comments Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:55:31 +0000 Denise http://myreallifefitness.com/trans-fats-and-hydrogenated-oils/ Hydrogenated oils are regular oils that have been infused with hydrogen to extend the shelf-life of products.

 

Its health consequences have reached public policy, just like smoking. 

 

It is banned in New York City restaurants and other cities are considering such bans.

 

 What’s the big deal? Hydrogenated oils:

• deplete essential nutrients in your food
• feeds certain cancers and tumors
• raises LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol
• impair brain function and damages brain cells
• clog blood, makes blood cells stick together
• cause the creation of free radicals that promote inflammation
• directly damages blood vessels
• cause high blood pressure
• weaken cell walls and compromises cellular structure  

 Read the labelHydrogenated oils are found in many processed foods, including crackers, pastries, many snack and convenient foods.If the label has any ingredient that starts with: “partially hydrogenated”, “hydrogenated”, or “fractionated”, it contains hydrogenated oils (which are a form of trans fat).CautionThe front of the package may say “No Trans Fat”.  This simply means that there is .5 grams or less of Trans fat for a typical serving.  You may have 3-4 servings of that item, which would equal 1.5-2g of trans fats.  So, read the ingredients.  The front of the package is not reliable.Unlike other in our diet, which are essential to health, there is no safe amount of trans fats recommended to be included in your diet.    

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