Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor
Content
is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every
morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning show on 89.9 FM.
What is an A1C level? It is a measure of long-term blood sugar control over the last few months or so, but it’s biased toward more recent events. Many people live on “hypercaloric diets”, meaning the Standard American Diet of eating too much...and the wrong things. It leads to excess dangerous fat in our bodies - if your waist is more than half your height, it’s important to lose weight to reduce the visceral fat and decrease insulin resistance. Also, if you have excess abdominal fat, it can spill fat into your bloodstream, on top of eating it! The best diet for healthy weight loss is a whole-food, plant-based diet. Go to nutritionfacts.org or stop at our Fresh Healthy Cafe locations to pick up copies of guides that will show you how! And have a marvelous Meatless Monday to kick it off!
Richard Leider and Dave Shapiro have long traveled their paths together as friends, colleagues, and co-authors. They published their first book titled, Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Good Life, when Richard was approaching age 50. Then when Dave turned 50, they published, Claiming Your Place at the Fire: Living the Second Half of Your Life on Purpose. This illustrates that growth can continue to happen at any age. Living on purpose is so important, and it determines how we can continue to grow. Sometimes our "health on the shelf" is the books we read, so check out these two to learn more, and remember to get up a little earlier every day for the next two weeks to ease into the time change! Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
Living on purpose is a big part of our overall health. But how can we find our purpose if it’s not clear to us now? There are three simple steps that can help unlock it. Step 1 is to find out how you want to help and ask yourself, "What are my gifts? What do I love to do?" To unlock our purpose, figure out how you can best use the gifts you love to contribute to others. Step 2 is to find out who you want to help. Ask yourself, "What pain or injustice or unhappiness have I witnessed that I just can’t live with?" Or is there something that touches you so deeply that it keeps you up at night? Step 3 is to find out what energies you, have and what drains you. Think carefully about the way that you want to contribute to the greater good. Ultimately, what gives us “aliveness” is truly living with purpose – acting in ways that boldly express it. Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
After only three weeks on a strictly plant-based diet composed mostly of whole grains, vegetables, and beans, participants in a huge study saw a 10 percent drop in blood pressure, a 35 percent drop in bad LDL cholesterol, and a 38 percent drop in fasting blood sugars! Similarly, studies of people with diabetes on "macrobiotic diets" - a strictly plant-based diet of mostly whole grains and vegetables, legumes, seeds, and decaffeinated green tea, saw a nearly 40 percent drop in fasting blood sugars and almost a 27 percent drop in LDL cholesterol in just 21 days. The study subjects did lose weight and what’s more, that 40 percent drop in blood sugars was after cutting their insulin in half! Better results, on fewer drugs—that’s the power of a plantified plate!
It's Fix-it
Friday and Roasted Beet Hummus is on the menu, giving you
one of those 3 servings of beans per day!
Ingredients:
2 medium beets
1 (16 oz.) can of chickpeas
¼ cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced.
3 tablespoons
tahini
¼ cup olive oil
sea salt and
pepper to taste.
DIRECTIONS
Rub beets with a
small amount of olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast at 375°F until very soft.
When cooled,
slice beet and add to a food processor and blend to desired texture.
Add the remaining
ingredients and blend to desired texture.
Serve with
toasted Ezekiel Bread squares, on stalks of celery or Boston bibb lettuce.
Here's more from last year:
It's Marvelous Meatless Monday and a great day to hear new research about how much longer fruit and vegetable eaters live! There have been many, MANY studies about longevity and there is one common denominator that comes through in all of them - eat more fruits and vegetables. So just how much of a difference does it make? If we consume 5 fruits and veggies a day, we live an extra 3 years AND not just more years, plant food eaters also have a 16% reduced risk of heart disease, 18% reduced risk of stroke, and a 15% overall risk of premature death. Check out meatlessmonday.com to get great ideas for getting more of a plant slant to your day!
Yesterday we shared that those who eat fruit and vegetables live longer and better lives. Here's more: 5 servings are good, but more is better. Many times, we've talked about the number one key to a healthy gut is lots of different foods - that food diversity is critical to the foundation of our health...our gut microbiome. Eating seven or more portions of fruit and veggies a day can lower our risk of premature death by a whopping 42%...and 10 portions a day increase their protective benefits even more. Power up your plantified plate by thinking of easy ways to make it happen - more and different fruits in your fruit salad or smoothies, and load up soups, casseroles, and salads - count to 10 with different veggies. All of this will crowd out more and more of the foods that are harmful to your health. Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
Poor diet is among the greatest health and societal challenges of our time due to costs in soaring healthcare spending, budget challenges, Medicare, and Medicaid programs expense, and more. Many of us don't realize how much nutritional issues lead to growing physical and mental disabilities. In addition to its being so costly, it's really sad! Another startling fact is that 71% of young Americans would not be able to join the military due to health reasons, and the leading cause is obesity. As some are saying, our country is "hungry for good food". The good news is that since 2018, congress has had a "Food is Medicine" working group that is dedicated to improving health and reducing diet-related costs. Have a wonderful Wednesday and stay tuned for more!
We mentioned yesterday that congress has been working for a few years to develop a comprehensive assessment of all federal policies related to food, chronic diseases, and healthcare costs. They are looking across all federal agencies and programs, linking diet to chronic diseases, and seeing the missed opportunities to reduce risks and costs. This is a big milestone in looking at our food policies. There are also some states that are testing the effects of medically tailored meals on health outcomes to show reduced hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and overall healthcare spending. These policy actions could help in shifting spending priorities in a healthful direction. More to come and have a great day everyone!
Congressional
activities are occurring right now that represent an evolution toward
addressing nutrition and diet-related diseases and of course healthcare
costs. Some nonprofit and private
insurance programs are already encouraging doctors to prescribe not just
medications, but subsidized purchases of yes, fruits and vegetables! Progress can be made in our school nutrition,
worksite wellness programs, subsidizing healthy foods, integrating nutrition
into health care, and providing better nutrition for low-income families. Encouraging families to eat healthier and
better labeling on foods and limits on additives can make a difference. Have a fantastic Friday and enjoy your wealth
of health!
