10 Tips to Improve Your Health

1. Get some exercise every day.

• Buy a Pedometer and make sure you walk 10,000 steps daily
• Take daily walks
• Use the stairs
• Park further away

2. Eat Healthy

• Lean protein and 2 colors at each meal (fruits/vegetables)
• Make sure you eat breakfast (prevents mindless nibbling throughout day and prevents overeating at lunch)

3. Stop Smoking – or don’t start

• We now have several options to help you quit smoking
• Set Quit date

4. Drink Plenty of Water daily (unless you have a fluid restriction)

5. Get 7-8 hours of Sleep Nightly

6. Floss daily

• Lots of data suggesting unhealthy gums increases inflammation markers and can lead to poor health.

7. Keep your Brain Active

• Complete crossword puzzles
• Participate in discussions and forums
• Stay aware of what is going on in the world

8. Get a Hobby

• Arts/crafts
• Blogging
• Gardening
• Restoring Cars
• Decorating
• Healthy cooking
• Record collections/Music

9. Reduce Stress

• Think Positive
• Spend 30 minutes a day doing something YOU like (visit a friend, read a book, play with your dog, listen to soothing music, get a facial, massage, meditate)
• Exercise
• Laugh more

10. Make small goals and reward yourself when meeting them

• Example: make a goal to complete at least 7 of the 10 tips daily for one month. When you meet this goal reward yourself with a new workout outfit, CD, new tennis shoes, massage, personal trainer session, etc
• Example: For every 20 sessions of exercise you complete reward yourself

Too Sweet For Your Own Good

Have you been told you are “pre-diabetic” or “borderline for diabetes”? Or perhaps you have been told you have diabetes and are beginning to make the necessary lifestyle changes to manage it with diet, lifestyle…and maybe an oral medication or two. Most of Type II Diabetes (which used to be called adult onset diabetes…only now it is affecting our kids) can be prevented through healthy eating and exercise. We used to see Type II Diabetes in people ages 50s-60s…the years people began to let themselves go-not eat as healthy, less exercise, etc. Now, our teenagers and young kids are eating bad and letting their health slide at much earlier ages. Many patients I see are surprised to learn that a fasting blood sugar of 100-125 places them in the pre-diabetic category or that 2 fasting sugars of 126 or greater diagnosis one with diabetes. Well, those are the reference points. Do you know what your fasting blood sugar is? Yes, get out your lab results from your last annual physical and check out your fasting blood sugar (glucose) number. It is important for all of us to know our fasting blood sugar levels in order to optimize our health and prevent diabetes in our life.

Fortunately Pre-Diabetes and Type II Diabetes for the most part can be prevented through diet and lifestyle. This would involve decreasing simple carbohydrates and sugars in your diet (see Curbing Your Sweet Tooth) and adding aerobic exercise to your daily regimen. As a Nurse Practitioner I often depend on supplements to assist patients in optimizing their health along with optimal diet and exercise. For patients that have sugar levels greater than 100, I often recommend CardioGT (glucose tolerance) which when used along with the proper diet and exercise regimen, can help maintain a healthy blood sugar level. CardioGT is formulated using natural ingredients which have been identified to have a positive impact on glucose metabolism. These ingredients are chromium, alpha-lipoic acid, magnesium, vanadium and cinnamon. (Click on link for more information regarding these natural ingredients.)

Diabetes, or pre-diabetes, significantly increases your risk for heart disease. If you are one of these individuals with elevated blood sugar levels, CardioGT, when combined with a healthy diet and exercise, may help assist you in improving your long-term health outlook . Click here for further information on CardioGT.

How Many Calories Do You Drink?

Beverage Serving Size Teaspoons Sugar Calories

Chocolate Milk 8 oz 6 190

Gatorade 8 oz 3 ¼ 63

Gatorade 21 oz 8 150

Sweet Tea 8 oz 5 ½ 91

Coke 12 oz 9 ¾ 155

Orange Juice 8 oz 5 ¾ 130

How Many Calories Make Up 1 Pound?

It takes 3500 extra calories to gain a pound.

Therefore…

500 extra calories a day for one week will cause you to gain one pound.

Or…

500 calories less per day for one week will cause you to lose one pound.

If you drink 2 cans of soda daily for one month, you will have consumed 12.2 cups of sugar & 9300 extra calories.

If you drink 2 cans soda daily for a year, you will have consumed 146 cups of sugar & 111,600 extra calories.

Enough extra calories to gain 31.9 pounds in 1 year!

(If you change to water or unsweetened tea you could lose 31.9 pounds in 1 year!)