Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Obsessing Over Weight Loss
8:19 PM | 
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
The world is filled with constant reminders of methods for
weight loss; exercise programs, diet plans, pills, etc. Losing weight seems to be something that is
on the forefront of many consumers’ minds.
Are all these messages and thoughts somehow creating a negative impact
on personal weight goals?
For example, I know some people who never discuss ‘feeling
fat’ or ‘needing to lose weight’ and they are in great shape. It’s just not something they stress out about
on a regular basis. They don’t seek out
special methods to achieve weight loss or worry about the foods they
consume. They say active without overly
obsessing as well.
Having regular thoughts of good health can be important to
ensuring a healthy future. However, when these thoughts consume the mind, too
much control and obsession can cause a negative reaction. It’s understandable
that consumers’ desire control but I feel that if the consumer focuses on a few
small lifestyle changes, the impact lasts longer.
Obsessing over many dietary and physical activity changes at
once can backfire, causing the consumer to feel like a failure. It can create a pattern in which the goals
seems father away. Small changes that slowly become lasting habits are
meaningful to the consumer and help to ensure better success rates while meeting
personal goals. Could weight loss be
achieved if consumers actually stop thinking about it so much?
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Eating Local and In-Season all Year
8:48 PM |
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
So I admit that this time of year, I start to panic. As fall begins and winter approaches I feel
as though this is my last attempt to save the flavors of summer and fall
gardens. There is so much preparation to
be done if a seasonal vegetarian wants to ensure the freezer is stocked with
local produce. Once the snow begins to
fly, there are many vegetables that no longer will be offered. For example, in season fruits and vegetables
right now consist of tomatoes, peppers, peaches, apples, broccoli, cauliflower,
zucchini, yellow squash, watermelon, grapes, etc.
Other vegetables are easily stored and offered despite the
colder temperatures. Squash, cabbage,
potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic, for example are heartier and last longer
without preserving. Unfortunately, the human diet requires balance and
variety. What can be done to ensure that
unique benefits from most fruits and vegetables are obtainable despite lacking
fresh availability?
The good news is that they can be canned or frozen during their
peak and preserved until a later date.
Tomatoes can be juiced and cooked down for canning. Other vegetables can be washed and steamed,
trimmed and cut for canning or freezer storage.
Although this type of preparation can be time consuming, the benefits
are amazing and well worth the effort when inches of snow blanket the ground
where a lush green garden once provided colorful produce.
It’s wonderful to walk into a grocery store and have the
option of purchasing delicate fruits such as strawberries in the middle of
winter. However, one has to ask themselves if the flavor and nutrient content are
the same as those grown locally, picked during peak season and enjoyed within
hours of harvest. Could there be some
back home in the freezer ready for a smoothie? How much better will a fresh
berry taste when the season arrives again next year?
Eating local is slowly gaining awareness. There are many farmers markets that are
offered year-round as well. Combining what the farmer can harvest and store, with
what was canned or frozen at home during peak season, can make sustainable meals/snacks
from nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables for long winter months.
Joyce Rode, MA
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Benefits of Volunteering
9:33 AM |
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
You
know that good feeling you get when you help someone? The act can be anything from something small
and short term or assisting on a regular basis. Have you thought about the
long-term benefits and how this feeling enhances mental and physical health as
well?
Volunteering
and helping others has been shown by research to create a sense of personal
happiness. This positive feeling impacts
many other aspects of the volunteer’s life as well.
Just
knowing that you can help someone in need boosts self-confidence. Increased positive image carries though in
social situations, job performance, and family life. A happier individual is
more energetic and productive.
Mental stimulation,
by keeping the mind focused on task, helps with thought awareness. Less thoughts are directed to negative
situations or circumstances when more involved in a current situation while helping
others. When someone is working to help
another individual, their mind is often occupied with the task at hand and less
on negative or wandering, unhealthy thoughts.
As a
result from positive mindset, symptoms of depression can also decrease. While volunteering, there are opportunities
to socialize and this interaction generates positive energy. Additional opportunities from socialization include
making contacts and building relationships that benefit current or future
careers, making friends with similar interests, and create sense of belonging.
Finally,
as the volunteer stays active, this benefits physical health. Depending on the
type of activity, there is still some level of movement. In turn, assisting others can cause the
volunteer to take a closer look at personal health and the choices they make in
an effort to make positive changes for themselves.
Volunteering
is a win-win situation for everyone. It
can be done in as little as a few hours a week or on a regular basis. There are many places that look for
volunteers and they are always willing to accept any amount of time someone can
provide; just think of the positive impact!
Volunteering and it's Surprising Benefits, retrieved September 15, 2015 from HelpGuide.org: http://www.helpguide.org/articles/work-career/volunteering-and-its-surprising-benefits.htm#wellbeing
Written by: Joyce Rode, MA
Monday, September 14, 2015
Physician Assisted Suicide
10:51 AM |
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
As a society, we tend to avoid talking about the
end of our lives. We prefer to think
about future plans with our current, healthy bodies. Not everyone has this luxury, however. According to the National Cancer Institute,
between 13 and 14 million people have cancer at any given time in the United
States. While not all cancer leads to
death, there are certain types of cancer with a very specific prognosis. In most states, patients given a prognosis of
six months of life to live are offered a simple plan: get your affairs in order and prepare for the
end.
In some states, however, cancer patients with a
prognosis of six months or less to live are given another option: physician
assisted suicide. Those states (Oregon,
Vermont, and Washington) have enacted Death with Dignity Acts. If the patient with that specific prognosis
meets other specific criteria (competency, second opinions, residency, etc.),
they can request a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. Once given the prescription, they can have it
filled at a pharmacy and then must administer the medication themselves – no
one else can give it to them.
Some
states, such as Montana, have legalized physician-assisted suicide via case law
(see Baxter v Montana). Other states are
working on legislation similar to Oregon (they were the first to pass such legislation)
and other states have legislation making physician assisted suicide illegal.
Where does
your state stand? You can look it up at
this website: http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000132
Other
sources:
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Apples!
9:53 AM |
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
Tomorrow, I will take my children on our annual
visit to a local apple orchard. It is
one of our favorite traditions. Even
though my children are now in their teens, they still enjoy this yearly trip to
pick apples. It helps that the orchard
also makes the best apple cider in town, so we tend to stock up for yummy
drinks on those chilly, fall nights.
Apples offer many nutritional benefits. Here are my top five reasons for eating
apples (besides their yummy flavor):
1. The
fiber in apples can help lower cholesterol.
2. Apples
are low in calories, but provide a satisfying snack.
3. Apples
are a good source of vitamin C.
4. It is
possible that apples help prevent colon cancer.
5. Apples
can help reduce the risk of developing Diabetes Type 2.
Even if you don’t have a local apple orchard,
most grocery stores sell a wide variety of apples and apple cider. Here is a spiced apple cider recipe for you
to try!
Ingredients
8 cups fresh apple cider or apple juice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or 2 cinnamon sticks
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
4 whole cloves
1 orange, cut into slices
8 cinnamon sticks
1 cup sweetened whipped cream
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or 2 cinnamon sticks
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
4 whole cloves
1 orange, cut into slices
8 cinnamon sticks
1 cup sweetened whipped cream
Directions
1.
Heat
the cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and orange slices in a 3-quart
saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the mixture is hot,
stirring occasionally.
2.
Strain the
cider into a heatproof pitcher or individual mugs. Garnish with cinnamon
sticks and whipped cream, if desired.
Valerie J Connor, MA CCC-SLP
For more information: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/04/health-benefits-apples_n_1855590.html
Friday, September 11, 2015
Fourteen years ago...
7:56 AM |
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
Today marks the 14th
anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I mark
these years by the age of my son – he was born a few short months before
September 11th, 2001.
Sometimes it occurs to me that my children will never know a world that
did not experience this terrible tragedy that changed the landscape of our country. Very few other events have shaped our sense
of security and well-being.
Today is the perfect day to
reflect on your blessings. Studies have
shown that taking time each day to “count your blessing” actually improves your
emotional and physical well-being.
Sometimes it is easier to reflect on negative thoughts – they certainly
push positive ones out of our minds quite quickly. Today, however, in honor of those who gave
their lives to protect our country, and in honor of those who tragically lost
theirs due to strife in our world, we can take a few minutes to be
thankful. Here are some easy
suggestions:
1. Keep a gratitude journal – jot down a couple
of things each day that you appreciate.
It can even be as simple as a beautiful sunset or your favorite cup of
coffee.
2. Use visual reminders – sometimes we need cues
to remind us. Try putting a note on your
mirror or car dashboard.
3. Use social media – try a week or month long
campaign where you share your gratitude publically on your favorite social
media site.
4. Change your self-talk – this is something I
work on with my daughter. She can bog
herself down with negative thoughts. I
remind her to develop a mantra of positive comments that override the negative
thoughts. Sometime as simple as “Today I
will appreciate… “.
Today is a day to remember and
reflect. It is also a day to count our
numerous blessings. My thoughts are with
those who lost a family member or loved one on this day 14 years ago.
Valerie Connor, MA CCC-SLP
For more information: http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/library/counting-your-blessings-how-gratitude-improves-your-health
Monday, September 7, 2015
Chocolate Everywhere!
12:23 AM |
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
Written By: Renee Gosselin, MS MBA RD
Nutrition Instructor
Nutrition Instructor
This weekend I spent the weekend in Hersey, PA which is the
home of you guessed it Hersey Chocolates. While I was there, I got to make a
stop and make my own chocolate bar. I found this fun and interesting along with
the great information they provided. The instructor provided information on how
chocolate is made and also the origins of the seed used to make this. Yes, you
heard right it is actually a seed used not a bean as we may think!
Here are just some fun points I learned while
on this trip:
·
Cacao Tree – where cocao “bean” is grown
·
The only insect really interested in pollination
of this pod is midges – gnat-like insects
· Cocoa bean – oval pod that contains the “bean”
·
Cocoa beans differ in taste dependent on where
the tree is found
·
Cocoa beans have to be opened with a machete
·
One pod normally contains about 20-50 beans “seeds”
·
Cocoa nib- are the directly roasted nib – these are
bitter and nutty
·
The fat taken away from cacao beans is known as
cocoa butter
·
White chocolate is the cocoa butter with absence
of cocoa liquor
·
The FDA regulated that to be called white
chocolate there must be a minimum of 20% cocoa butter
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