Fruits and Veggies

The Bottom Line

Choose more vegetables and fruits. Go for color and variety—

dark green, yellow, orange, and red.

It's hard to argue with the health benefits of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits: Lower blood pressure; reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and probably some cancers; lower risk of eye and digestive problems; and a mellowing effect on blood sugar that can help keep appetite in check.  

Most people should aim for at least nine servings (at least 4½ cups) of vegetables and fruits a day, and potatoes don't count. Go for a variety of kinds and colors of produce, to give your body the mix of nutrients it needs. Best bets? Dark leafy greens, cooked tomatoes, and anything that's a rich yellow, orange, or red color.

5 Quick Tips to help you get there!!!

1. Keep fruit out where you can see it. That way you'll be more likely to eat it. Keep it out on the counter or in the front of the fridge.

2. Get some every meal, every day. Try filling half your plate with vegetables at each meal. Serving up salads, stir fry, or other vegetable-rich fare makes it easier to reach this goal. Bonus points if you can get some fruits and vegetables at snack time, too.

3. Explore the produce aisle and choose something new. Variety is the key to a healthy diet. Get out of a rut and try some new fruits and vegetables.

4. Bag the potatoes. Choose other vegetables that are packed with more nutrients and more slowly digested carbs.

5. Make it a meal. Try some new healthy recipes where vegetables take center stage.

Come to Healthbeat to learn more in this week's flyer

Understanding Muscle Pain

Want to understand muscle pain and trigger points?  Below is a great resource:

http://www.pressurepointer.com/PressurePointerManual.pdf

Sleep Hygiene

How to Sleep Better

From having occasional difficulty sleeping to insomnia, there is a lot you can do to get a better night's sleep, feel refreshed when you awake, and remain alert throughout the day. It's called "sleep hygiene" and refers to those practices, habits, and environmental factors that are critically important for sound sleep. And most of it is under your control.  The below sleep hygiene tips can help you relax, fall asleep, stay asleep, and get better sleep so that you wake up refreshed and alert: 

· Avoid watching TV, eating, and discussing emotional issues in bed. The bed should be used for sleep only. If not, we can associate the bed with other activities and it often becomes difficult to fall asleep.

· Minimize noise, light, and temperature extremes during sleep with ear plugs, window blinds, or an electric blanket or air conditioner. Even the slightest nighttime noises or luminescent lights can disrupt the quality of your sleep.

· Try not to drink fluids after 8 p.m. This may reduce awakenings due to urination.

· A light snack may be sleep-inducing, but a heavy meal too close to bedtime interferes with sleep.

· Avoid naps, but if you do nap, make it no more than about 25 minutes about eight hours after you awake. But if you have problems falling asleep, then no naps for you.

· Nicotine is a stimulant and should be avoided particularly near bedtime and upon night awakenings. Having a smoke before bed, although it may feel relaxing, is actually putting a stimulant into your bloodstream.

· Caffeine is also a stimulant and is present in coffee (100-200 mg), soda (50-75 mg), tea (50-75 mg), and various over-the-counter medications. Caffeine should be discontinued at least four to six hours before bedtime. If you consume large amounts of caffeine and you cut your self off too quickly, beware; you may get headaches that could keep you awake.

Good sleep hygiene can have a tremendous impact upon getting better sleep. You should wake-up feeling refreshed and alert, and you should generally not feel sleepy during the day. If this is not the case, poor sleep hygiene may be the culprit, but it is very important to consider that you may have an unrecognized sleep disorder. Many, many sleep disorders go unrecognized for years, leading to unnecessary suffering, poor quality of life, accidents, and great expense. Since it is clear how critical sound sleep is to your health and well-being, if you are not sleeping well, see your doctor or a sleep specialist.—WebMD

Read more in this week's flyer 

Cholesterol...help

What Factors Affect Cholesterol Levels?

A variety of factors can affect your cholesterol levels. They include:

· Diet. Saturated fat and cholesterol in the food you eat increase cholesterol levels. Try to reduce the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet.

· Weight. In addition to being a risk factor for heart disease, being overweight can also increase your cholesterol. Losing weight can help lower your LDL and total cholesterol levels, as well as increase HDL cholesterol.

· Exercise. Regular exercise can lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most days.

· Age and Gender. As we get older, cholesterol levels rise. Before menopause, women tend to have lower total cholesterol levels than men of the same age. After menopause, however, women's LDL levels tend to rise.

· Diabetes. Poorly controlled diabetes increases cholesterol levels. 

· Heredity. Your genes partly determine how much cholesterol your body makes. High blood cholesterol can run in families.  -WebMD

What can you do about it?

Can a bowl of oatmeal help lower your cholesterol? How about a handful of walnuts ? A few simple

tweaks to your diet  may be enough to lower your cholesterol to a healthy level and help you stay off

medications.  Learn more in this week's flyer.