The Importance of a Life of Health and Wellness

Our world has changed in the 21^st century from a society that lived by the bread of the land to a urban “easier is better” mindset. With the changes that developed have come a sedentary lifestyle and junk food diet that have wrecked havoc on our bodies. Wellness involves making decisions to better your health and control the risk factors that contribute to illness. We have physical wellness that includes conscience decisions about nutrition, exercising, avoiding excess weight, avoiding bad habits and getting regular checkups.  We also have emotional wellness that includes stress management, self-esteem, spirituality, and relaxation techniques. With deliberate actions to implement wellness goals can lengthen life expectancy with prevention of many diseases. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, substance abuse and sexually transmitted diseases are conditions we want to proactively prevent by healthy lifestyle choices

The greatest benefit of a lifetime of wellness for me would be to spend as much time on this earth laughing and enjoying your family that you possibly can. Coronary heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States  and  I have been affected by this .My father passed away at a much too young age from Congestive Heart Failure brought upon by obesity. So, living a healthy lifestyle filled with proper nutrition and fun activities to keep my body healthy are paramount for me.

A person that desires a healthy wellness would need to commit to the goal that is being visualized and devise a plan of action.  Different goal settings tools can be used like “SMART”, that will guide a person into making realistic goals that are achievable and can be measured. I believe any loved ones in a person’s life should also make commitments to help the person making the change. Support from friends and family is a huge benefit to reach a challenge.

Hoeger, W. & Hoeger, S. (2012). Principles of Health and Labs for Health and Wellness. (11th ed.)

Between My Plate and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a person has a sort of “cheat sheet” for everything they need to maintain their health through proper nutrition. As a matter of fact I’m heading to the nearest copy center to laminate them and pass them out to friends and family I care about. Also, having a reminder in my vehicle would be a great idea as a reminder for trips to the grocery store, or those times when hunger strikes and those golden arches start CALLING my name!

My Pyramid gives a specific break down of the types and amounts of foods we should be consuming on a daily basis, and touches on the importance of exercise with the figure climbing the stairs. The 2010 Dietary Guideline gives us the info on proper nutrition; exercise needed, plus reminds us of alcohol consumption and limiting salt intake,

My weaknesses in regards to nutrition are the love for bread, fried foods, everything salty and portion control. One of my strengths is that water is my favorite drink and sweets are not a weakness for me.

My combined strategy that has been implemented and currently works for me:

1. Plan healthy meals for the week on Saturday.
2. While shopping stay on "outside" of grocery store to insure staying within the MyPlate guidelines.
3. Take those food choices home and prepare portion controlled healthy meals and snacks in Tupperware and zip-lock easy to grab bags.
4. Keep my water-bottle with filter for my water intake.
5. Replace those salty snacks with portioned vegetables and fruits for snack time.
6. Have fun with healthy yet taste recipes from EatingWell.com

References

EatingWell.com. (2014). Healthy Cooking. Retrieved from http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking

Hoeger, W. & Hoeger, S. (2012). Principles of Health and Labs for Health and Wellness. (11th ed.)

What Nutrition do we need at Different Stages of our Lives?

Maintaining appropriate calorie balance during 

each stage of life—childhood, adolescence, 

adulthood, pregnancy and breastfeeding, and 

older age is of vital importance in maintaining health.

All Americans—children, adolescents, adults, and
older adults—are encouraged to strive to achieve
and maintain a healthy body weight. Adults who
are obese should make changes in their eating and
physical activity behaviors to prevent additional
weight gain and promote weight loss

Women are encouraged to achieve and maintain 
a healthy weight before becoming pregnant. This 
may reduce a woman’s risk of complications during 
pregnancy, increase the chances of a healthy infant 
birth weight, and improve the long-term health of 
both mother and infant. 

Children
and adolescents are encouraged to maintain calorie

balance to support normal growth and development
without promoting excess weight gain. Children and
adolescents who are overweight or obese should
change their eating and physical activity.













References

Health.gov. (2010). Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Retrieved from https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3761251254361713353#editor/target=post;postID=7441660898353764160

Nutrition, Health and Balance

A balanced Diet is one that provides an adequate amount of essential nutrients that promotes health and prevents disease.

Essential Macronutrients

·         Carbohydrate

·         Fat

·         Protein

·       

Macronutrients- are the main components that make up food and provide calories the body needs to keep working. Carbohydrates are broken down in the body and broken down and stored in muscles and liver then released when needed. Carbohydrates fuel the brain to help focus and helps with mental attitude.

The healthier dietary fats are the monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and Omega-3 fatty acids  Both the Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat have been studied to improve blood cholesterol levels, which reduces the risk of heart disease and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes 

We need our protein and amino acids because our metabolism, hormones, cells, organs, muscles, connective tissue and bones could not hold together without the help of protein. The most abundant protein in our body is called collagen which is a component of the bones, tendons and ligaments that form our joints. Muscles contain actin and myosin proteins that allow the muscles to work properly. Proteins in the blood maintain the balance of fluid in the body. Antibodies are a protein that the immune system creates to fight and prevent a bacteria or virus from causing infection or disease. 

Micronutrients: 

        Vitamins

·                Minerals

     Micronutrients are vital to the proper functioning of all of your body's systems.  if your body doesn't get the small quantities of micronutrients that it needs, serious health problems can result. Micronutrients promote bone formation, energy production, metabolism, help heart maintain normal rhythm, red blood cell production, thyroid gland development and helps regulate water and electrolytes withing the cells.

Digestion of macronutrients

When you  eat, the saliva breaks down the chemicals in the food , which helps make the food easier to swallow. Your tongue helps out, pushing the food around while you chew with your teeth. When you're ready to swallow, the tongue pushes a tiny bit of chewed up food called a bolus  toward the back of your throat and into the opening of your esophagus, the second part of the digestive tract. 

Once food has entered the esophagus, it doesn't just drop right into your stomach. Instead, muscles in the walls of the esophagus move in a wavy way to slowly squeeze the food through the esophagus.

The stomach churns food from the esophagus with help from muscles int the walls of the stomack and gastric fluid.

The small intestine breaks down the food mixture even more so your body can absorb all the vitamins, minerals, proteins.

leftover waste — parts of the food that your body can't use — goes on to the large intestine.

 it passes through the part of the large intestine called the colon (say: CO-lun), which is where the body gets its last chance to absorb the water and some minerals into the blood. As the water leaves the waste product, what's left gets harder and harder as it keeps moving along, until it becomes a solid

References

Mayo Clinic. (2014). See how your Digestive System Works. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/digestive-system/sls-20076373

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.).  Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

What Healthy Eating Looks Like and Why We Struggle.

Let's Eat Healthy!

Many individuals do not know what a healthy meal looks like with the correct portion size and types of foods we should be eating.

ChooseMyPlate.gov Makes it easy to guide individuals, health professionals, educators and most importantly the food industry in assisting consumers in building a healthier diet with tools for nutrition education and information. To visually see and have a reference for what types of foods we should be eating with the correct portion sizes is helpful in our quest for a healthier nation. 

• Increase vegetable and fruit intake. 
• Eat a variety of vegetables, especially dark-green 
and red and orange vegetables and beans and peas. 
• Consume at least half of all grains as whole 
grains. Increase whole-grain intake by replacing 
refined grains with whole grains. 
• Increase intake of fat-free or low-fat milk and 
milk products, such as milk, yogurt, cheese, or 
fortified soy beverages.6 
• Choose a variety of protein foods, which include 
seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans and 
peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds. 
• Increase the amount and variety of seafood 
consumed by choosing seafood in place of some 
meat and poultry. 
• Replace protein foods that are higher in solid 
fats with choices that are lower in solid fats and 

calories and/or are source

Why Is Eating Healthy Such a Challenge for Us!

Addiction to food is a reality that even without the research- makes sense. Why do so many over-eat yet are well aware of the negative health consequences? Experiments in animals and humans show the same reward and pleasure centers of the brain that that are stimulated by addictive drugs are also triggered by food.

The feel-good chemicals like dopamine compel many to quickly feel the need to eat again or continue eating once they are full.

The results and risk factors created from over-eating and weight gain may be recognized by the individual, but still have trouble refraining from the behaviors. 

Researchers at Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Science & Policy have developed a questionnaire to identify people with food addictions.

References

ChooseMyPlate.gov. (2014). Weight Management and Calories. Retrieved from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/weight-management-calories/calories.html

Health.gov. (2014). Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf

Yale Rudd Center. (2014). Food & Addiction. Retrieved from http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/what_we_do.aspx?id=262

Chronic Disease from the Kitchen

Many individuals understand that it isn't quite healthy to be underweight, overweight or obese. Are they really in tune to the dangers excessive weight gain or loss can cause?


Obesity which in itself is a disease is a risk factor for many diseases that include:

Type 2 Diabetes: Excessive weight is considered one of the most significant factors in developing insulin resistance which can lead to diabetes. 
Atherosclerosis: hardening and narrowing of the arteries, This condition silently and slowly blocks arteries that allow blood to flow.
Hypertension: blood pressure tends to increase with weight gain and age. Obese patients have increased blood volume and arterial resistance.
Stroke/Heart Attack: the result of having continued high blood pressure, high cholesterol when the blood-flow to the brain or heart is stopped by a clog in the arteries or other vessels.

On the flip side of things: Malnutrition

Malnutrition affects multiple organ systems including the liver, kidneys, intestine, pancreas, heart, brain, and endocrine system. Protein-calorie malnutrition is what is most often associated with eating disorders and results from poor intake of protein as well as an overall deficiency in the number of calories in the diet.

Without proper protein and calorie input, humans lack the basic building blocks to maintain cells and the energy to power that maintenance. The results can be devastating.

Who is to blame for the sickening trend of unhealthy weights within the modeling industry? I’m not sure, however I feel a certain amount of responsibility must lie with the models themselves. Their agencies, on the other hand, have a great deal to answer for in my view! It really is shocking that our society promotes the use of such unhealthy models.

In the endocrine system, a lack of the adequate amount of nutrition leads to delayed puberty,loss of normal periods in women, the inability to ovulate (produce eggs for reproduction), high cortisol levels (increases blood pressure and heart rate), increased growth hormones (this is what body builders take to bulk up and it can have devastating side effects in high amounts), decreased thyroid function (important for heart function as well as growth and maintenance of most cells in the body), and hypothermia (inability to maintain body heat).

References

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2013).  Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.).  Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Cushing TA, Waldrop R. (2009) Anorexia Nervosa. On eMedicine. Retrieved from  http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/805152-overview

ProCon.org. (2014). Image: Obesity Risk Factors. Retrieved from http://obesity.procon.org/

ToWomensHealth.com. (2014). Image: Definition of Anorexia Nervosa. Retrieved from http://www.2womenshealth.com/Anorexia-Nervosa-Symptoms-Signs-Causes.htm