Tag Archives: quality

Food Introductions

My son has recently started eating food. Well, This isn’t exactly true. For some reason this Dad kind of thought that one day they just started putting cereal into their mouths through some sort of magical “growing up” process that occurred on one specific day. One day my son is just nursing; the next day he is eating steaks. I’m joking (a little) but I really thought my son would be eating all sorts of baby foods and other items one we put the first taste of avocado into his mouth. I was quite wrong. The introduction of solid foods … Continue reading →

The Daycare in the Future

Today a future reality became present one, momentarily, as my wife and I briefly toured the daycare that will house our son at the beginning of next semester. We entered through the doors, took off our coats and hats, abandoned our stroller, and walked into the room for the babies who cannot yet crawl. While my wife and I knew the day would come when our son would need to be in daycare our visit today made that future reality much clearer. My wife and I are not excited about the prospect of daycare. We’d much rather have our son … Continue reading →

Weight Loss: My Own Personal Philosophy

In my last weight loss blog, I found myself 46, a good 30 pounds overweight, with high cholesterol and teetering on the borderline of being diabetic. My problem is I know what to do, it is just implementing it, but then I am sure some of you have the same problem. I know everyone has different opinions about weigh loss, but I thought I would share with you my own personal philosophy. Mind you, some of you may disagree with my opinion, so just remember, this is just the way I feel about weight loss. Number one, fad diets and … Continue reading →

My Forced Weight Loss Journey – How It Started

I used the word “forced” in the title when I guess no one can be truly “forced” to lose weight. But, let me tell you a bit about my history and why I felt this was forced. When I was younger, I was very active, but like many of us, I became more and more sedentary as the years went on. I married for the first (and only!) time at 36 and right before I turned 40, I realized if we were going to have any children, we had better get started! I was very lucky in that we got … Continue reading →

More Tips About Protecting Your Husband’s Health

Here are some more tips to help maintain your husband’s health. Watch the cholesterol. Encourage a regular check and if it is high look at changes that will need to be made. Visit the sites below or a dietician if you’re not sure what dietary changes you will need to implement. Another problem that has occurred these days is the number of people with allergies. Some times they can be linked to certain foods, even to migraines. Some triggers to migraines are, cheese, red wine, chocolate (sorry all you chocoholics) oranges. Other health problems can be caused by preservatives. Preservative … Continue reading →

Tips for Reducing Your Stroke Risk

A stroke can strike at any age — it isn’t just a problem for senior citizens. Women between the ages of forty-five and fifty-four are at especially high risk of a stroke. What can you do to protect yourself? Here are some tips from the American Stroke Association. Manage blood pressure. High blood pressure encourages plaque build-up… plaque can form clots that cause stroke. Get your blood pressure levels checked at least every other year. Manage cholesterol. High cholesterol also encourages plaque build-up… plaque can form clots. Get your cholesterol levels checked at least every five years. Quit smoking! Lighting … Continue reading →

Lower Stress, Lower Cholesterol

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Stress has a lot of different effects on the body. It can affect sleep patterns, eating habits, and your immune system — so there are a lot of good reasons to lower your stress levels. Here’s one more: the better you cope with stress, the better your levels of good (HDL) cholesterol will be. Recent research from Oregon State University took another look at how stress and hostility affect cholesterol. More than seven hundred men participated in a Normative Aging Study from OSU. The average age of the participants was sixty-five; they were evenly split between white-collar and blue-collar professions. … Continue reading →

Cut Cholesterol With Your Mind

More proof that mind really is stronger than matter: a recent study from Oregon State University found that keeping your cool can keep your cholesterol at a healthy level. More than seven hundred men took part in a study from Oregon State University focusing on staying calm in stressful situations. Those men who managed to stay calm when provoked kept their HDL (good) cholesterol levels steady. Some even experienced an elevation in HDL cholesterol levels! You definitely want to keep good cholesterol around. Men in the study who didn’t stay calm had lower HDL levels and higher triglycerides. Neither group … Continue reading →

Good Health News: U.S. Cholesterol is Normal

Finally — some good health news for America. For the first time in nearly fifty years, the average cholesterol level for adults is in the “ideal” range. Health experts say that a cholesterol level of 200 or lower is ideal, and the average American adult has a cholesterol level of 199. The percentage of adults with high cholesterol (240 and above) dropped from a high of twenty percent in the 1990s to sixteen percent. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control have been monitoring the national cholesterol level since 1960. In the very first year of the survey, the national average … Continue reading →

Five More Ways To Protect Your Heart

Don’t stop at just five changes to protect yourself from heart disease. Here are some more things you can do to help lower your risk of heart disease. Watch your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides. Keep a copy of your blood work from annual check ups. LDL cholesterol should be under 100 mg/dL; HDL cholesterol should be 50 or above. Blood pressure should be 120/80 or lower. Fasting blood sugar should be 100 mg/dL or lower. Triglycerides should be under 150 mg/dL. Stay active! Physical activity can reduce every controllable risk factor for heart disease. Just ten minutes … Continue reading →