The Truth About Sugar

Throughout history, sugary treats have been the staple food of happiness in America. Could it be that it is now the root of our misery? Since 1950, America’s sugar consumption has increased by 39%. American’s on average consumed 52 teaspoons of added sugars a day in 2000. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption is 40 grams or 10 teaspoons per day. That means a person would consume 52 teaspoons of added sugars a day! Some added sugars are: sucrose, corn sweeteners, honey, maple syrup, and high-fructose corn syrup.

How is Sugar Harmful?

Studies have identified various ways in which sugar negatively effects our bodies.

Negative effects are:

• Increased risk of heart disease
• Aging of the body or wrinkles in the skin
• Increased risk of cancer
• Increased risk of diabetes
• Increased risk of obesity and weight gain
• Increased risk of pancreatic cancer

What you can do about your health:

It is important to know your baseline of ‘free’ sugar intake. To do this, keep a sugar log for seven days to find your daily average sugar intake. If you are over the recommended sugar consumption, make it a goal to reduce your intake to 40 grams or 10 teaspoons.

Here are some helpful tips to help you overcome your sugar cravings:

•     Clean out your cupboards of tempting snacks and treats.

      ·          Do not buy "sugar filled" products.

·         Eat 4-6 cups of colorful vegetables daily.

·         Drink 8 cups (64oz) of water throughout the day.

·         Exercise at least 2-3 hours per week.

·         Practice stress relieving exercises such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing 4-5 times per week.

·         Develop a healthy sleep schedule (7-8 hours per night).

·         Surround yourself with people that support your sugar reduced lifestyle.

 

       Don’t put yourself down if you struggle. This is a change in lifestyle that will take time. After a few weeks you will surely feel healthier and happier. With perseverance, you won’t even miss having sugar!

Sources:

http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf

 

http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.e7492

 

 

Love Yourself and Your Body

               February is the month of love, but you don’t have to be in a relationship to enjoy it. Take this time to learn to love yourself,  regardless of your relationship status. With the media bombarding women about their imperfections and what perfect really is, many of us struggle with loving ourselves as we are. Learning to love yourself involves setting goals. Some of these goals could be eating more vegetables, enjoying more fruits, or walking to campus instead of driving. These are all things we have the ability to control that make an impact on your health. Below is a list of ways in which we can love our bodies by Margo Main, a Ph.D. from the University of Santa Clara.

“20 Ways to Love Your Body” by Margo Maine, Ph.D.

Think of your body as the vehicle to your dreams. Honor it. Respect it. Fuel it.

1.         Your body is extraordinary--begin to respect and appreciate it.

2.         Create a list of all the things your body lets you do. Read it and add to it often.
3.         Become aware of what your body can do each day. Remember it is the instrument of your life, not just an ornament.
4.         Create a list of people you admire: people who have contributed to your life, your community, or the world. Consider whether their appearance was important to their success and accomplishments.
5.         Walk with your head held high, supported by pride and confidence in yourself as a person.
6.         Don't let your weight or shape keep you from activities that you enjoy.
7.         Wear comfortable clothes that you like and that feel good to your body.
8.         Count your blessings, not your blemishes.
9.         Think about all the things you could accomplish with the time and energy you currently spend worrying about your body and appearance. Try one!
10.     Be your body's friend and supporter, not its enemy.
11.     Consider this: your skin replaces itself once a month, your stomach lining every five days, your liver every six weeks, and your skeleton every three months.
12.     Every morning when you wake up, thank your body for resting and rejuvenating itself so you can enjoy the day.
13.     Every evening when you go to bed, tell your body how much you appreciate what it has allowed you to do throughout the day.
14.     Find a method of exercise that you enjoy and do it regularly. Don't exercise to lose weight or to fight your body. Do it to make your body healthy and strong and because it makes you feel good.
15.     Think back to a time in your life when you felt good about your body. Tell yourself you can feel like that again, even in this body at this age.
16.     Keep a list of 10 positive things about yourself--without mentioning your appearance. Add to it!
17.     Put a sign on each of your mirrors saying, "I'm beautiful inside and out."
18.     Choose to find the beauty in the world and in yourself.
19.     Start saying to yourself, "Life is too short to waste my time hating my body this way."
20. Eat when you are hungry. Rest when you are tired. Surround yourself with people that remind you of your inner strength and beauty.

Sources:

http://www.scu.edu/wellness/topics/bodyimage/bodyimagelovebody.cfm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3agBWqGfRo

5 Helpful Resources for Expecting Women, Pregnant Women, and New Mothers

          Pregnancy is an exciting time in every women’s life, but it can also be frightening. Finding the right tools and information to help you do the job correctly can be a daunting task. The CDC offers helpful information in order to assist women in staying healthy and protecting their baby from the time of conception to birth. The CDC suggests these easy to use cyber tools for pregnant women, those considering pregnancy, and even new moms. They offer tips on how to keep yourself and your baby safe and healthy.

Text4baby- A free text messaging service for pregnant women and new moms. You will receive automated texts three times a week with tips on how to have a healthy pregnancy, healthy baby, and how to care for your baby up to age one. The tips are synchronized around your expected due date or your baby’s date of birth. Text4baby Automated Messaging

Test Your Knowledge- How much do you know about your folic acid needs? About one in every 33 babies is born with a birth defect. Test yourself with this quiz to know how much folic acid you should ingest before and during your pregnancy to prevent birth defects. This quiz also helps you find different ways to get the right amount daily. Folic Acid Quiz

Take this quiz to learn about Birth Defect Prevention:

·         Preventing birth Defects

·         Getting vaccinations during pregnancy

·         Using Medication during pregnancy

·         Diabetes and pregnancy, and much more.

Before, During, and After Pregnancy

Go to the CDC’s homepage for information on healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. Be the healthiest version of you so you can give your baby a healthy start in life.

CDC Pregnancy Homepage

 

Health-E-Cards

Help your friends and family by sending CDC health-e-cards to let them know about health issues affecting pregnant women, new moms, and their children. Help them to take care of their health and the babies in their lives.

 Health-E-Cards

Podcasts

Listen in on the CDC’s podcast page, and in just a few minutes, learn reliable health and safety information to help you and your baby. Browse through the pregnancy and women’s health topics.

CDC Pregnancy Podcasts
CDC Women's Health Podcasts

Sources:  http://www.cdc.gov/features/pregnancytools/
  

 



Finding Strength in Family History

 

As members of the church we are often encouraged to find our ancestors and help do work for those that have passed on. We often overlook that in doing their works, we are also lifting ourselves. By learning more about our ancestors, we can gain insights through their life experiences. We can find strength and courage through their struggles to overcome our own trials.

To some the task of finding family can be quite large. You might be the only one listed in your family tree. There’s a simple way to start, add your immediate family and then branch out from there. Soon you will have your grandparents and their children (your uncles and aunts). You can even add your cousins in from there. If you run out of relatives you’ve met in person start asking your family about other family they knew growing up. They might have stories that you will be surprised you never heard!

It’s also important to record stories that are happening today. You might get to an age where you wish you could tell the stories of your youth, but your memory may fail you. Prepare for that possibility by keeping a journal and taking photos (include a short description of what’s happening.) Photos create wonderful recollections and memories. Finding out more about your ancestors also helps you become more acquainted with your living family.  Spending quality time with your family brings peace to our homes.

 See how a grandfather influenced his granddaughters by talking about his experiences during Pearl Harbor.

 

 

To learn more about  Family History visit this site for more steps :

https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/family-history-is-for-everyone?lang=eng

 

For more videos on Family History: http://www.lds.org/topics/family-history?lang=eng&cid=HPTU011414347&im=true#media=

Bloating- Associated with PMS

The week or couple days before your menstrual period can be just as uncomfortable and annoying as during your period. However, this can be managed with some lifestyle changes, dietary supplements and perhaps medications.

The reason we are likely to retain water during the premenstrual time is not completely clear but many sources point the blame to hormonal changes, heredity, and diet, specifically a lack of vitamins or too much salt.

Some tips to help fend off bloating:

·         Participate in physical activity daily: Women who regularly participate in physical fitness activities have reported to have fewer PMS symptoms.

·         Reduce your SALT: Check the labels on prepackaged foods, a lot of the food industry uses salts to preserve meats and prolong shelf life in other products. Don’t add extra salt to foods at the table until you have tasted if first.

·         Eat Healthy: Include many fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and seeds while avoiding things like caffeine and alcohol.

 

What about supplements?

Not much research has gone into finding supplement cures for PMS symptoms but the ones that do show some positive effects from calcium, magnesium, thiamine & riboflavin, and vitamin E. Always consult your provider or pharmacist before you take any dietary supplements as some can be harmful to those with diabetes or heart disease.

Medication is another option that should be considered after diet and lifestyle changes have had no effect.  Diuretics can help to reduce the fluid buildup but do have an associated risk causing of kidney damage if taken with anti-inflammatory drugs or ibuprofen. Birth Control Pills have been shown to reduce many physical PMS symptoms and may aid you in your fight against bloating. But remember everyone is different and thus everyone’s body responds differently to medications.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/water-retention/ART-20044983?pg=2

http://blog.idera.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/bloated.png

Gestational Diabetes

Did you know that gestational diabetes occurs during 2-10% of all pregnancies?  As new ways of classifying and diagnosing gestational diabetes emerge that number could rise to as high as 18%. 

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes where women who have no history of diabetes have above normal blood sugar levels during pregnancy due to increased hormones.  Most of the time, it disappears after the pregnancy is complete.  The following is how the American Diabetes Association describes gestational diabetes.

“The placenta supports the baby as it grows. Hormones from the placenta help the baby develop. But these hormones also block the action of the mother's insulin in her body. This problem is called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance makes it hard for the mother's body to use insulin. She may need up to three times as much insulin.

“Gestational diabetes starts when your body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. Without enough insulin, glucose cannot leave the blood and be changed to energy. Glucose builds up in the blood to high levels. This is called hyperglycemia.”

There are quite a few risks with gestational diabetes.  One of the main ones is having a “fat” baby.  This can happen because the baby will develop high blood sugar, which causes the pancreas to make high amounts of insulin and that extra energy is stored as fat.  These children are at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.  Other complications while giving birth can arise for mom and baby when the baby is too large.

Of women who have gestational diabetes, 35-60 percent will develop type 2 diabetes later in life.  This could happen immediately after pregnancy or 20 years down the road.

One way to diagnose gestational diabetes is to do an oral glucose tolerance test.  This is when the mother drinks a solution containing a certain amount of glucose (usually 75g) and then has their blood sugar tested at certain intervals after it’s finished.  This test can be done at your doctor’s office and is usually done between weeks 24-28.

Sources:

American Diabetes Association. (2013, July 2). What is gestational diabetes. Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/gestational/what-is-gestational-diabetes.html

American Diabetes Association. (2013, December 11).Diabetes statistics. Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/

US Department of Health and Human Serices. (2013, September 09). National diabetes statistics: 2011. Retrieved from http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/statistics/

WebMD. (2011, July 5). Oral glucose tolerance test. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/baby/oral-glucose-tolerance-test

Wikipedia. (2013, November 6). Gestational diabetes. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestational_diabetes

Pictures: http://www.whallc.com/wellness-and-education/wellness-journal/12-06-28/Bittersweet_Diagnosis_Gestational_Diabetes.aspx

Hair Care: What You're Doing Wrong!

As girls we love to take care of our hair, but we aren’t always the best at it.  There are all sorts of advertisements trying to tell us which products to buy and what will fix our damaged hair but what works and what doesn’t?  What can you do to have healthier hair naturally?  How can you make your thin hair look fuller?  Here are some tips and tricks to help you have fuller, healthier, better looking hair.

Brush your hair BEFORE washing- hair is much more likely to break when wet and wet hair tangles more easily.  Save yourself some trouble and wash your tresses when they are tangle free.

Don’t wash every day- MOST hair does not need daily washing.  Unless your hair has excessive oil, stick with washing every other day.  Unnecessary washing can strip the healthy oils on your scalp and leave your hair with less shine.

Lightly towel dry- There is no need to be rough with the towel when drying your hair.  Rubbing too much can lead to breakage so try blotting your hair with a towel and then if you decide to use a blow dryer, use the low setting.  Hair that is shoulder length is approximately 2 years old, so be careful with it!

Use a heat protectant- If you like to blow dry, straighten, curl, or otherwise apply heat to your hair, use a heat protectant first.  Make sure to get a non-greasy, light product.

Blow dry upside down- If you’re looking to add volume to your hair, blow dry upside down to give your roots a little lift from the start.  Also use a volumizing powder to help your roots hold all day.

Curl the ends under- By straightening your ends, it makes the rest of your hair look thinner.  So if you already have thin hair, try curling the ends under to give it more body.

You can’t mend split ends!- Hair is a non-living thing so once you split a hair it isn’t growing back together, despite what product advertisements claim.  The only thing the FDA regulates on hair product packaging is the ingredient list so other claims made are based solely on the person manufacturing it. 

Sources:

Beauty High. (2013, November 21). 8 ways your're making your hair look thinner. Retrieved from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/thin-hair

Loux, R. (2013, September 24). The 10 biggest hair care mistakes. Retrieved from http://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/hair-care

LoveYourHair. (2013). 20 hair health tips. Retrieved from http://www.loveyourhair.com/hair-help/20-hair-health-tips/1284.html

Picture: http://blog.babymilano.com/2011/08/baby-hair-care/