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Normally I write about breast ca and checking our girls out, but not so today.  Today it’s about the guy’s guys.

I am losing a friend to testicular cancer.  He’s taking his last breaths, not expected to last much longer.  In February, 2o11 he was just a normal guy or so he thought.  Except he wasn’t a normal guy because it isn’t normal to have a Stage 3C testicular cancer and it hasn’t turned out well in his case.  Many of us are very sad this is happening to him.  It’s devastating to us.

It’s Christmas guys and when you are hanging those balls on your tree, check your own…..don’t know how here is a good site:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-physically-check-for-testicular-cancer.html

Give yourself and your loved ones the gift of checking – just like we chicks have to do,  or check each other – what the heck, it could be fun and it could save a life.

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What has happened to quality medical care (in Florida) these days?

When we moved here 6 years ago because I do have several underlying medical conditions, I made my appointments at USF Family Practice Clinic.  I had no problem with the quality of care I received there.  It was the driving distance and the fact if I had an emergent situation that bothered me.  If I ended up in the ER in Hernando Cty I would have strange doctors who did not know my history.

I looked for someone up here.  It started with a sinus issue due to the heavy pollen here in February and March that took me to a walk-in clinic that also saw patients on a regular basis.

All was well for a while until there was a billing error.  When a doctor goes into practice he or she has hung their shingle and this is a business.  Ergo such doctor should surround themselves with quality people.  This was not the case.

I had injured my finger and I needed an order for an x-ray.  I was told to come pick up the order, and while I was on the phone I was asked to please pay my $20 balance.  I replied that I had paid it, and I printed out the check from my bank statement to take to the office with me.

When I got there I was told the order had not been written and would I mind stepping into the exam area.  I was puzzled, but I followed the assistant to what turned out to be the employee kitchen.

The next thing I knew two rather large sized women were blocking my exit from the room and they were demanding I pay my $20 balance to get my x-ray order.  I was mortified, and very upset.  I opened my purse and probably threw the copy of the front side and back side of the check at them.  Would you believe they still did not want to let me out?  I called 911 on my phone.  I reported this office to our Florida licensing agency and never went back.

I believe they were acting on the doctor’s orders to “hold me hostage” for the x-ray order. I went to an immediate care instead.

I started over.

My fasting blood glucose (sugar) was rising with every blood test.  I saw my doctor at USF who told me to try losing 5-10% of my body weight to see if that would help lower the lab results.  I am all for conservative methods so I lost the weight and everything was fine for a while.

I trained rigorously for the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk and I needed some female surgery when the walk was over.  My surgery was a success, my surgeon was excellent.  I have recommended her many times.

During my recovery I started gaining weight, a lot of weight.  I could not work out but this was not a normal weight gain.  Lab results showed elevations in my Fasting Blood Glucose.  I went through my insurance physician directory and found an Endocrinologist in Clearwater.  I googled her name and found no complaints.  I made an appointment.

She ordered many lab tests that fall and in December had me come to her office after fasting.  She actually diagnosed me as diabetic without a Glucose Tolerance Test in a lab. I drank the sweet stuff and every hour her assistant poked me with a blood sugar monitoring device that I later learned belonged to her husband.  Shock and awe and throw in a little outrage.

Blood sugar monitoring devices are NOT to be used to diagnose.  A simple blood test known as an A1c can be used to diagnose diabetes but not a monitoring device.

That was the second physician I scratched off my list.

As an RN I may be a tad more sophisticated in my knowledge of medical exams. However haven’t you ever wondered who the hell is reading all that crap we fill out at the doctor’s office when being seen for the first time?  Do not tell me the doctor has time to read it before knocking on the exam room door.

We trust these people with our lives – and I have to say I am getting very wary of where I put my trust in looking for basic routine medical care.

I would like to say though that other than this one bizarre Endo I have never had one other thing that seemed out of the norm happen to me with a specialist.  I think I may have figured that out.  Specialists are still challenged.  Everyday they see people who need them for a problem outside the capability of a basic doctor.

Basic doctors many times (and I speak from my experience) are pill-pushing, robotic people who act bored with their profession and seem to be wishing they were somewhere else than listening to me, to you, to anyone.

The more people they see in an hour, the more they bill the insurance companies or Medicare/Medicaid. It is a business, I get that.

Once before we moved here, I needed to get all my refills and all my “issues” taken care of before the move.  When I pulled out my list of 5-6 items my doctor actually said “If you had known you were going to ‘need’ this much time you should have told the appointment desk so they could have made an ‘intermediate’ appointment.”

I got that – an intermediate gets billed more.  Hear that sound?  People reading this are saying “Mmm-mmm-mmm!”

About a 18 months ago I met a group of women who swore by this doctor who performed miracles with their lives.  Everyone loved him, and one of these women is a nurse.  I thought I might have finally hit the mother lode of good quality medical care.

My first visit went okay, I was given a diet and exercise program, and some advice to get my TSH level down to lose weight.  He did not interfere with my new Endocrinologists orders.  He asked me to have her fix it, and I did.

My second visit went to hell in a hand basket.  I was sitting in the exam room and I could hear him screaming at his staff.  He threatened to fire all of them and more.  When he walked in to see me, I was already on edge because I don’t deal with yelling and screaming at other people very well.  I had not lost the amount of weight he wanted me to lose and he accused me of not following the diet.  He told me I was a liar, and when I spoke up he actually said “I am fucking done talking” and he walked out.

Scratch #3 off my list.

My husband had been going to a local doctor that actually grew up in my old Ohio neighborhood so I decided to give him a go.

I don’t need a doctor very often.  My health is in good condition and my diabetes and thyroid issues are well-controlled.

Again because it is the pollen time of the year in Florida I was having really bad issues so I made an appointment.

I was a pharmaceutical rep for years selling antibiotics.  I was pretty sure I had a sinus infection.  He agreed and ordered an antibiotic I sold.  He wrote it for double-strength and I commented about that, but he assured me I could handle it.  WRONG-within two days I had such GI distress I had to stop taking it.  It was Saturday and I was in extreme distress – I will leave out the details.  I also happen to know that this distress can sometimes become worse due to the fact that the normal flora (bacteria) in your gut is killed and the bad guys take over. This is called C diff and it can become a hospitalization issue.

I stopped the drug immediately and I have suffered for two days.  I read the Mayo Clinic recommendations and I followed them to the letter.  I am drinking clear liquids.  I have gradually added yogurt with live cultures to put the good guys back in my gut.  I take a probiotic.

The Mayo Clinic recommendations are to not use an agent that stops everything because you have to get it all out so to speak.

When I called his office this morning – what do you think I was told?  Take Immodium, when I pointed out that every medical article I read said to NOT take Immodium, I was told “then don’t take it”.

Scratch #4 off my list and my husband scratched him off the list too.  I am also sorry to say he is a pill-pushing robotic doctor who only wants to be on the golf course.  He has actually said that to me, in fact his staff said that to me when I called feeling ill on a Wed.  I needed an appointment, I was told “You know Dr I golfs on Wed afternoons.”  I was appalled because he uses the ER to cover him.  Who can afford the ER has a back up doctor?

I am not alone in my story.  Other friends and neighbors have told me the same thing. Good, quality medical care is hard to find.  If you have a great doctor, hang on to that doctor because that appears to be rare.

I leave you with this advice.  Be your own patient advocate.  Do your research on line, challenge your doctor.  They are human, they do make mistakes.  I seem to have hit on a run of pill-pushing robotic bored doctors.  I keep looking.  I keep hoping.

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In the 70′s and 80′s we, as parents, were just beginning to be told about what changes to look for in our children if we suspected drug use.  Mood swings was always at the top of that list.  The thing is what teenager doesn’t have mood swings.

As we have progressed through the years street drugs have become legal prescription drugs with Vicodin being the number one abused drug.  It is a vicious circle – many doctors prescribe too quickly.  They give you a small space of time to talk to them and many times push the patient out of the office because time is money.  Patients lie too.  Or they doctor bounce and get prescriptions from different doctors which can add up to disaster.

Pharmaceutical companies don’t help.  They have TV ads, magazine ads, radio ads, newspaper ads, on-line ads, and those ads are created to drive people to ask for a particular drug.  Over the past several years sleep aids have become very popular and they can be very dangerous.

Today I have to write about Ambien.  First and foremost, Ambien is only supposed to be prescribed for short-term use.  It is classified as a CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.  I truly believe most people who take it do NOT know this.  They crave sleep, they will do and/or take anything.  It is supposed to be prescibed for 7-10 days.  If your doctor is continuously prescribing it at your insistence he or she could lose their medical license because you could die.  You could be the next Michael Jackson.

Your doctor is supposed to be monitoring you while you are on this drug-that same person who lives in the world of time is money is supposed to be checking on you through appointments or maybe follow-up phone calls?

As I did research on this drug I threw drinking alcohol while taking Ambien into the mix because most of us still drink while on medication thinking that warning is meant for someone else.  No that warning is meant for YOU!

I took the following information from a site that really writes it in good old plain English.

Dangers of Ambien

Dangers of Ambien

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A year ago I came across some advice that I am going to share with you here.  Believe me,   I am all for keeping things simple and beginning any changes in life with baby steps.  If you lay out an entire grand plan you are probably setting yourself up to fail.

I already shared the 90 second changes you can make in your lives that can make a difference so here are some more suggestions that could add some years to your lives.

1.     Drink at least five-8 ounces of water a day.

2.     Laugh!  Do you know children laugh 300 times a day or more and adults only laugh 15 times per day on average?  Start watching more comedy TV-laughing improves blood flow to the heart.

3.     Stay home from work if you are sick.  You should not be spreading the germs and staying in bed and resting is what your doctor would advise.

4.     Got heartburn?  Treat it, do not ignore it.  When acid levels rise in your throat the incidence of blocked blood flow to the heart also rises.  Furthermore acid reflux can lead to cancer of the esophagus-treat it!

5.     Eat that chocolate!  Make it dark and you get the benefits of anti-oxidants – remember though everything in moderation.  I eat 10 dark chocolate M&M’s after dinner.

6.     Open your pantry doors and feed the kid cereal you love to the trash can.  This is a new year and it is time to eat whole grain and more fiber.  I personally like AllBran-I took John McEnroe’s challenge and it works.

7.     Burn more calories each week.  It is not hard to do.  Take the steps instead of the elevator at work.  Park your car at the end of the parking lot at the grocery store, grab your cart and then walk the perimeter of the store first.  ALL the food that is good for you is on the perimeter.  Ignore the end caps and the candy in the check out line and push that cart back out to the last parking space – unload your own groceries.  Get the picture?  You have burned calories.

8.     Bad eating habits?  Add a multivitamin and help prevent DNA damage that can cause cancer.

9.     Small workouts work.  I am not asking you to hit the gym for an hour a day.  You can break up your workout time and still receive the benefits of lowering your blood pressure which in turn can lower your chance of strokes and heart attacks.  Short spurts can also stabilize your blood sugar if that is a concern in your life.

10.    Set a limit on alcohol.  The recommendations are 1 drink for women and 2 for men per day.  I hate that one too especially since I live in Tampa Bay and we have the Super Bowl this year.

11.    Got chest pain?  This is serious.  Any pain in your chest, shoulder, neck and/or arm should be treated NOW.  Do not ignore it but do take an Alka-Seltzer rather than popping an aspirin because it will work 3 minutes faster than a pill.  Women have different symptoms then men,  WebMD has done a study and these are the heart attack symptoms a woman has:

“Women commonly have symptoms of shortness of breath, unexplained fatigue, or pressure in the lower chest, so they easily mistake it as a stomach ailment.”

I personally had a bout of chest pain and was taken to Northwestern University in Chicago.  Thankfully it was not a heart attack BUT what if it had been?  When I arrived at the ER (by cab when I should have used an ambulance) and told the woman at the front desk I was having chest pain she told me to take a seat.  I am an RN, I worked triage in a big ER.  I raised my voice several decibels and said “I AM HAVING CHEST PAIN AND NEED TO BE SEEN NOW!”

Do not EVER take a seat – if you think you or a loved one is having a heart attack say exactly what I said and loudly.

I was seen immediately.  I had an IV, blood work, an EKG and chest film in the next 10 minutes.

12.    Eat your veggies.  Don’t like them, well Campbell’s has made it easy to get more in your diet by hiding them in a fruit juice drink.  Counting calories or watching your sugar, get a juicer.  Yesterday I concocted an 8 ounce glass of veggie juice by running 1/2 cucumber, 2 carrots, 3 kale leaves and 1/2 green pepper through my juicer.  I was impressed.  I had to add Mrs. Dash for a little pizazz but this drink filled me up for 2 hours.

Here is a wonderful site that will give you the calories, carbs and water content in your veggies.  Remember veggies are carbs and good carbs are needed by your body for fuel.

http://www.weightlossforall.com/calories-vegetable.htm

13.    Monitor your blood sugar.  I have insulin resistance.  I count carbs.  I eat good carbs.  Whole grains, veggies, some fruits, lean meats, whole wheat pastas (and I measure).  I could become a Type 2 diabetic.  I do not want to-but I could it runs in my family.  I test my blood sugar at home and I am doing all the right things because it is very close to normal.

14.    Kick the stress and the anger out of your life.  That is all I will say here because you know that both of these things can kill!

15.    Love fruit?  Eat more berries.  Make a breakfast smoothie with non-fat yogurt and add cranberries, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.  Studies show that berries are so good because they are chock full of antioxidants.

16.    Get off your back!  I mean when  you sleep.  If you snore, if your partner snores these are signs of sleep apnea.  Sleep deprivation can lead to falling asleep when you don’t want to fall asleep – like in traffic while driving.  Weight loss helps but when all else fails talk to your doctor about this because it is treatable.

17.    You stopped smoking or never smoked but your partner does, what now?  Well time to make some rules.  Exposing yourself to second hand smoke not only increases your chances of lung cancer but also raises the risk of diabetes the same as a smoker.  Living in a cold climate is no excuse either, my daughter-in-law who smokes lives in the snow belt of Ohio and only smokes in her garage.  It is your life too, you have the right to live in a smoke free environment.

18.    I am about to make you laugh with this visual.  Remember #2 was laugh so here goes.  The National Weather Service confirmed that a lightning strike within 60 feet of your home can not only get in to your house and destroy your appliances, it can also get into your plumbing lines.  Keeping this in mind, get off the pot during a thunderstorm.

19.    Get yourself one of those rubbery mats that you place on the dashboard of your car to hold your cell phone in place while driving.  Too many accidents happen when you take your eyes off the road to retrieve your precious cell phone.  For you parents with driving teenagers it was announced last week that a device will soon become available that when they remove their car key, jams their cell phone with blue tooth technology until they stop the car and remove the key.  It is going to cost about $50 and should be available in about 6 months.  You can program their phone to 911 or your phone in case of need.  It also jams text messaging.  We just lost two lovely 18 year old girls who hit head on while texting.  One was pregnant, 3 lives snuffed out unnecessarily.

20.    Every year our home owner insurance carrier sends us new smoke detector batteries.  How nice of them right?  We replace them-not everyone can or does.  If you cannot please hire someone to do so.  Smoke inhalation is what kills most fire victims.

21.    Cross the street at intersections only.  I have already said I live in the Tampa Bay area.  Here in Pinellas County on US 19 we have the distinction of being the deadliest highway in the country.  77% of all pedestrians killed crossing the road are not at intersections.  I have a feeling it is higher in Pinellas.

22.    Lowering stress (and anger) as spoken about previously is easy but you have to want to do it.  Think positive thoughts.  FInd time to exercise.  As little as 20 minutes a day can reduce your chances of a coronary event.  Take slow deep breaths in through your nose, out through your mouth.  Exercise outdoors-nature will give you a natural high.  Cut back on your carbs and eat the good ones, veggies, fruits and whole grains.  Your diet should consist of your carb choices being 40% of your daily caloric intake.

23.  The fear of falling is scary.  I learned to ski at Taos when I was in my 40′s and I was terrified of breaking something.  My ski instructor gave me the best advice ever.  As I was reaching the bottom of the slope I was having problems slowing down to stop.  He yelled this; “Poles up, ass down on the ground.”  It worked, and I did not break anything other than my pride was a little wounded.  That advice works if you are on a flight of stairs and sense a fall coming on, get your ass down.  Crouch down and land on it.  While you may hit several steps you will avoid a potential fatal fall.

24.  Feeling tired mid day?  Take a 15 minute power nap.  Research shows that people who nap reduce heart damaging stress.  I know it may be difficult – my husband runs a noisy fabrication shop so he goes to his car and naps on his lunch break.

25.  Pass this article on to people you know might benefit from these suggestions.  Then start implementing them  yourself.

We are all on our way to a better 2009 and none of these suggestions are difficult to do but you have to want to do them.  Good luck!

I would like to thank WebMd, Wikipedia, weightlossforlife.com, MSNBC and of course the National Weather Service (LOL) for providing me with ideas and suggestions.

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Again since I am doling out advice on new beginnings I understand I have to practice what I preach. 

Fact: I am not 20 something, 30 something or even 40 something and it is so much harder to take the pounds off of an older body especially for a woman.

Fact: I could never be a contestant on The Biggest Loser I could not work out the way those people work out. 

Fact: After menopause you get menopot and menopot is very unhealthy.

Fact: Metabolism slows down as we age.

I know all these facts.  I also know for my own good I have to be more aggressive with my health because this is the only life I have.

It is no secret if you have followed any of my categories that I am a 15 year breast cancer thriver.  I do take good care of myself but over the past several years things kinds of went to hell in a hand basket and I now am 2 sizes bigger and 20 pounds heavier.  I HATE IT!

I have no choice, I have to pursue a new beginning.  Being that I love doing research especially in the medical/health field I started to network about my problem about not being able to get some weight off.  I do not eat a lot of food.  I graze.  I have been diagnosed with insulin resistance.  My fasting blood sugars run in the 100-109 range because I do watch what I eat and I do exercise.  My Hemoglobin a1c is 5.4 and that is a really good number.  That is the lab test that measures the highs and lows of your blood sugar over a 90 day period and gives a number that correlates.  5.4 is an average all day blood sugar of 111.  That is very good.

I would really recommend to anyone reading this that you have a fasting blood sugar run at least once a year if you are overweight and diabetes runs in your family and every three years otherwise.  It is an epidemic and gaining every day.

I am doing a lot to stave off becoming a Type 2 diabetic.  Losing 5-10% of my present body weight would help.  That is my new beginning.

In researching my problem I came across a suggestion that I might not be eating enough.  I also may not be eating enough protein.  Not eating enough?  Well if a person doesn’t eat enough metabolism does slow down.  Not eating enough protein?  My research said for my weight I need about 70 grams of protein a day.  More protein, isn’t that an Adkins program?  Well it is, but I don’t intend to go to that extreme.

I watched Ian Smith, MD on a talk show about getting rid of belly fat aka menopot.  His number one suggestion, exercise especially walking.  His second suggestion-good carbohydrates.  I thought about the carbohydrates I eat and while I did teach myself to read labels and count carbs I am not eating good carbs like I should be.

Solution – more vegetables for sure.  Freah, organic if possible and thrown into a juicer.  I researched that too, a juice fast is okay for anyone with blood sugar problems as long as you choose your veggies wisely.  Today I started juicing and I loved it.  There are some fabulous ideas for what to mix with what on line.

My plan is simple.  In the morning I eat my high fiber cereal with strawberries (more fiber) and more on that later.  I joined a local gym today and will be going three days a week for the first 30 days to get my groove back.  When I come home I juice.

Lunch will be more juice and protein in the form of lean turkey or chicken.  My snack  in the afternoon – juice.  Dinner is always something healthy, whole grain, veggies, salad and lean protein.

I do eat ice cream – no sugar and I measure it out in a 1/2 cup measure and I only eat it twice a week. You have to measure – your eyeballs are not a reliable source of 1/2 cup when you are craving some ice cream.

I also work out at home.  I have weights, a balance ball, a treadmill and more so I will use the gym for the cycles and elliptical machines.  3 days at the gym for 30 minutes, and 3 days a week at home for 30 minutes.

If that doesn’t get the job done and the weight falling off then there is a solution for that too, increase the work outs.  You knew that.

Fiber- I said I would come back to the dreaded fiber.  It is so good for you, and it comes in so many different natural forms in foods.  I am an AllBran fan – I get 13 grams from my cereal alone of the 25 recommended grams.  Now I add Benecol – it is flavorless, it is not gritty or thick and you can add it into anything.  I do not think I need to mention what else fiber helps you with – and that makes it a win/win situation.

It is not going to be fun-I am not crazy about adding all this gym time to my life but I also do not like the alternative if I do not.

I promise to keep my progress posted and I will leave you with this reminder.  We have to take care of our bodies, we don’t get a new one if we abuse it, sure some parts can be replaced but replacement parts are never as good as the real ones, so it is time for a new beginning.

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It is so hard to believe we are one week into 2009 already.  I am also slapping myself around for already being so busy that I have been remiss in getting an article out on new beginnings.  I obviously have some catch up to do.

New beginnings, starting over, making promises or resolutions all come with a groan.  We want to change.  We may even need to change, but as I wrote about in my last two articles on forgiveness, making changes means groaning over something.

I did some research and found some suggestions I had printed off last year that I would like to share with you.  These are changes that take about 90 seconds each and promise to slow aging, fight disease and improve your immune system.

90 seconds can be done during a commercial break from your favorite television program.  These are little 90 second things you can do but you should still be exercising 30 minutes a day and getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

You can eat an apple in 90 seconds.  Eat the peel, this is the most important part of the apple.  In fact make the apple a Red Delicious because that is the apple that was used in the research that found there are more than a dozen chemicals in the peel that inhibit the growth of breast, liver and colon cancer cells.

Are you taking the right supplements?  Have you seen all the hype on how many of us are deficient in Vitamin D?  Research suggests that low levels of Vitamin D can contribute to heart problems, diabetes, certain cancers and more.  Ask your doctor to order a Vitamin D level blood test to be sure you have enough stored in your body.  Vitamin D needs to be taken as a stand alone vitamin pill – not in a multivitamin form.  Look for cholecalciferol and/or Vitamin D3 on the label as this is the same form our skin makes after sun exposure.  Unfortunately those of us who live where there are 4 seasons are the most depleted, so get your level checked.

On my desk I have a container of dried rosemary combined with lavender.  When I am feeling particularly stressed I open the container and take a sniff.  I leave the container open for 5 minutes.   You might have read that lavender pillows can help bring you a good night’s sleep, well now you can relax in the daylight hours also.  Free radicals are gotten rid of when you sit back and let the rosemary and lavender work their magic on your nasal passages.  Free radicals are believed to speed up the aging process and disease.

The stores during the holiday season seem to have a lot of pistachios sitting around tempting you.  Be tempted, give in and buy some.  Throw a handful into a salad or eat a handful (1 1/2 ounces) every day.  You will receive the benefit of cutting your total cholesterol as well as your LDL (bad) cholesterol.  Your TC can drop by as much as 6.7% and your LDL by 11.6%.  The pay off here is that cutting your total cholesterol by 7% reduces your heart disease risk by 14%-just get the unsalted ones please.   Pistachios are actually one of the best sources of plant sterols, there is scientific proof that sterols reduce absorption of cholesterol.  You need to remember though that like all things we love to eat, 1 oz. of pistachios is equal to 160 calories so make some adjustments in your fats and oils in your salad.

Women do you have hot flashes?  Slow deep breathing has been shown to reduce the frequency of hot flashes.  Researchers believe that stress also triggers hot flashes and we all know that slow deep breathing is recommended for stress relief.  90 seconds of breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth with your eyes closed and your brain visualizing your favorite retreat, guaranteed nirvana!

Sharpen your vision, eat an egg.  Research shows that eggs are an even better source of antioxidants known as carotenoids than carrots.  Sorry Bugs Bunny.  One egg a day will not affect your cholesterol unless of course you are frying it in butter or oil.

We are all hearing about inflammation these days.  There are blood tests now that determine inflammation of the arteries and heart.  Many disease processes are caused by an inflammatory process including diabetes, asthma and heart disease.  Help fight this by eating whole grain cereal.  There was a study done in Iowa which followed over 42,000 postmenopausal women for 15 years.  Those who ate 11 servings or more of whole grain each week were about 1/3 less likely to die of an inflammatory disorder.  I made the switch a year ago, and I know I feel better.  Whole grains have not been stripped of the biologically active parts that keep the plant alive.  Don’t you want those parts working for you?

If you are a desk jockey or a couch potato and you find you have tight leg muscles you can build muscle strength in your legs by stretching for 90 seconds at a time 5 days a week.  You will also increase your flexibility.  Get up from your desk or your couch and stretch. 

You should have fat in your diet.  Noshing on a lot of vegetables which are low in calories and fat free is great BUT you need fat in a diet to absorb cancer-fighting carotenoids.  Add avocado to your salad and you will be upping your bodies ability to adsorb lutein, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene in huge proportions.

Speaking of salads lets move from vegatables to fruit salads because when you eat a mixture of oranges, apples, grapes and blueberries with the emphasis on the word mixture, you get 5 times the antioxidant power you would get by eating the same fruits by themselves.

Take your meat thermometer out and put it on one of your refrigerator shelves for 24 hours and make sure the temperature in your refrigerator is 40 degrees or lower.  I learned a lesson this year from my wonderful Sears Kenmore technician and you can read that story at my posting called “Move Over Maytag, Kenmore’s In the House” from 9/5/08.  All my dairy products are now on the shelf where they sit directly next to a cold air return from the freezer.  Milk and eggs should never be stored in the door of your unit.  Food poisoning is no fun, take it from someone who will never eat a mussel again!

Drink green tea, preferably 2 cups a day.  Green tea also has been shown to keep cholesterol in check and may lower your chances of cancer.  A Japanese study of 1,000 people over the age of 70 found that those who drank 2 cups of green tea per day did better on a variety of tests for mental abilities.  Rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease are lower in Japan.   If you are concerned about your blood sugar, have a cup of chamomile tea daily, it has been shown to normalize blood sugar levels.

Most of what I have written about can be done in about 90 seconds and without a groan coming from your lips.  Little things do mean a lot, so start out with little things.

My purpose to help you build a healthier and happier 2009 while keeping it simple.

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