My Health Tips Series! ALL ABOUT NUTRITION: Food

Guide to eating a balanced meal.

I find lately that I have been having cravings for sweet, savory and crunchy foods. Some of them are junk food like chocolate and potato chips and others are healthy like granola, nuts, and fresh berries. When I have my cravings I either rummage through the fridge and cupboards to see what we have that will satisfy me or I run to the store to see what I can find there. The problem I have with my cravings is that they aren't always easy to satisfy and sometimes I know that I should just ignore them when it is junk food I want. I have a hard time ignoring my cravings. When it comes to food of any kind I have to really work to keep things in moderation and within the bounds of good nutrition. I have a hard time stopping when the food is so good. I know when I am full but I will keep going until I am stuffed or even bloated. Even then I find myself still picking at the food if there is any left. It is one of the bad habits I learned as a child. I have been working on that bad habit for years.

In this blog entry I would like to pass on some  advice regarding Good Nutrition. In the picture above you see Canada's Food Guide to balanced nutrition. Various Canadian sites on the internet promote proper nutrition and endorse the food guide that was put out by the government. The guide is helpful as it can give you great ideas on how to have a balanced diet which can improve your health through eating right. No drugs, no fad diets, no weird infomercial exercise equipment. Just good healthy eating balanced with good exercise.

These links have some great information and are worth checking out.
Guide to healthy eating
Food Guide download
Heart & Stroke Foundation

sample label

I have learned that not every one knows how to read the Nutrition Facts labels on the food packaging. Even I have had troubles.

Here is a simple way to look at it:

The nutrients are labelled in a certain order. If you look at the picture (to the right) you can see ones that are colored yellow, these are the ones you should limit in your daily diet intake. Too much of these ingredients (like sodium and fats) can have negative consequences in large amounts over time. Too much of these can also make you feel gross in the short term too.

The ones colored in blue are the nutrients you want to get in your daily diet as these are the vitamins and minerals your body needs for proper functioning. The purple column just shows how much that particular product has of each of those listed. Of course the label on the product is not color coded like the picture but if you study it you can get a better understanding of what it is showing you. This is just a sample label.

We are all aware, I believe, that no one can live without sustenance of some kind. Whether you are a vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, fruitarian, pescetarian, raw foods eater or an over all lover of food like myself, you understand that food is important to your well being. I heard when I was growing up a common quote about food: you are what you eat. I was taught that if you ate crap then you were crap but if you ate healthy then you were healthy. It is a quote with a lot of truth to it. If you eat nothing but junk food and heavily processed crap then you are not healthy. Your body is full of salts, carbohydrates, cholesterol and other fatty substances that your body easily stores into more fat. In my opinion this is one of the main reasons for the declining health of North America. We eat too much crap!

If you want to be healthy then you eat fresh foods that are full of the proper nutrition. You become an active participant in life when you watch what you eat. When you have the best nutrients then your body feels the best. A healthy body leads to a healthier mind and a healthier spirit. There is a lot of information out there about nutrition and eating a balanced diet. My suggestion is to do your research, experiment a bit with new foods, and find what works for you. The Canada Food Guide is a great basic resource and the website can definitely get you started.

I would suggest you be a bit cautious regarding food sensitivities and allergies. Allergies are serious reactions to foods your body cannot handle. If you have food based allergies then you most likely are already aware of what you cannot eat and how to find out if your food purchase contains the allergy trigger. In today's world you do have to be aware of what you are buying and eating as many have hidden ingredient in them which can include: wheat products, milk products and nuts/seeds.

These links can provide information on what causes allergies if you are interested.
Allergy theory
Sudden Allergy development

The best advice or tip about food anyone can give you is to eat well and in moderation. Have appropriate portions of all the healthy foods you can find. Enjoy your nutritional intake and enjoy life. 

My Health Tips Series! ALL ABOUT SLEEP

Lately it seems there are many people getting sick. I see it at work all the time. We are short staffed every week and most every day, even short staffed from shift to shift. I have been offered overtime regularly. This past weekend I was offered extra hours twice for the same day. On Friday as I am walking home after doing  some overtime I received a call from our staffing office asking me if I wanted to work a double shift the next day. Yet again someone has called in sick and their original replacement had also called in sick. Just yesterday I was called soon after I arrived home from work and asked if I wanted to return to my work site for more hours that same afternoon.

I said no.

With all the overtime and double shifts here and there I am tired. So tired that I am not sleeping well. Lack of sleep just compounds the situation and puts my health at risk. It even puts my relationship at risk as it stresses us both. Two stressed out people does not make for a happy relationship.

So with this I start a short Health Tips Series. I will talk about what can compromise your health and ways that can be beneficial in improving your health. I base a lot of this on personal experience, work related experience as a LPN and information that I have found on the internet. Here are some good health tips that I hope help make life better for everyone. Just simple little tips to improve your chances of staying healthy and living a comfortable life from day to day.

This isn't the most important one. None of them are the most important or more important than the rest. Each are equally important to your health. You should decide for yourself what is the most important. (Wow! I used the word "important" a lot! I usually try not to use the same word so much in that same paragraph. I just couldn't help it here.)

First in the series: GET SOME SLEEP.

Sleep is necessary to life. If you don't sleep you cannot properly recharge yourself. Lack of sleep can lead to many health problems in the short and long term. Here are 6 good examples of the issues that can arise from lack of sleep. I state here only six, there are many more to be found if you research it for yourself.

Ineffective learning and memory retention: When you are tired you cannot focus on the task at hand. You have greater difficulty concentrating and this makes your ability to learn what you are doing less than what it could or should be. Due to lack of sleep you also have a decreased chance of even remembering what you learned. Next time you need to do this task you will most likely feel like an idiot because the knowledge and skills you were supposed to have learned are not there for you. Your memory will be a blank. You will not be able to do that task let alone recall each step.

Altered metabolism and weight gain: Sleep studies have shown that sleep deprivation alters the hormones in your body. Many of these hormones affect your metabolism, how you process the nutrients you ingest and even how your body stores the nutrients. This can lead to a weight problem. Sometimes when I am tired I am not hungry but I will force myself to eat, but because I am tired I find myself feeling more sleepy afterwards and this leads to decreased activity. This will put me me into the weight gain scenario. The lack of sleep will attribute to a weight gain problem as your metabolism slows. If your metabolism is slowing down then you are not burning the calories and what the body doesn't burn it stores as fat.

Safety related to Level of Consciousness: When you are tired you become more prone to little naps and moments where you nod off here and there. This seems to happen at the worst of times making your life hellish. When at work you can increase your chances of errors that will have consequences. These momentary lapses will directly relate to falls, road accidents, medical errors, interpersonal problems, putting others at risk, etc. When you are tired you are just not alert enough to be safe.

Mood and mental well being: I find that when I am tired I am not a nice person to be around, sometimes I am just not nice when tired. Our lack of a good nights sleep will make us less able to deal with day to day situations. At the best of times many of us don't suffer fools willingly but with no sleep you suffer them not at all. No sleep = bad mood. This is true for most anyone. We end up with increased irritability, impatience, decreased concentration, decreased stress tolerability, etc. Lack of sleep makes us moody and no one likes a moody person.

Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep problems can contribute to serious health issues. You are putting yourself at risk for hypertension (high blood pressure), increased stress hormone levels and irregular heartbeat. High blood pressure can put you are risk for strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, aneurysms, and other heath issues. The stress hormones can directly affect your metabolism and weight (see previous). Problems arising from an irregular heartbeat are much the same as hypertension. We have all seen in the media and been taught one way or another about the importance of a healthy heart. Your heart is an important organ in the body. Without our heart the cardiovascular system in our bodies would not function, blood would not be pumped through the body bringing oxygen and nutrients to our cells. Our cells would die and so could we. We need our hearts or a functioning facsimile

Disease and decreased immune function: When you do not sleep properly you decrease the body's ability to fight off disease and illness. You may have noticed in your life that when you feel overworked, stressed and tired, you become more susceptible to colds, coughs, the flu and general malaise. Our ability to to heal from scrapes, cuts and so forth is compromised. You will have seen at times of illness just how important it is to get the rest you need. Doctors and other health professionals, TV personalities, our mothers/fathers and people in general have many times stated that "Rest is important in the healing factor." Generations of experience has proven this to be a fact. Lack of sleep puts our bodies at greater risk for many serious health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, cancer, and can lead to an overall shortened life expectancy.

When we sleep our bodies recharge themselves, they heal and renew us for the next day. When we do not get the sleep that is needed we feel less like our normal selves. We have no energy, no incentive or drive, no interests, nothing. To be healthy we need to be active, we need to eat well, and we need sleep regularly.

Studies have shown that 6-8 hours of sleep a night is best with the 8 hour mark being the optimum. I myself find that I do well if I get my 6hrs every night. My partner is one of those people that 8-10 hours is more what he needs. Everyone is a little different in what works best for them.

My message to you is GET YOUR SLEEP! It is important. Everyone needs to have a regular sleep routine/pattern. Something that allows you to get the amount you need each night so you can function properly each day. I said earlier in this blog entry that sleep wasn't the most important health tip but I could be wrong. In the end getting the necessary sleep may just be the single most important thing you do for your health.

Tips for getting good sleep

• Go to bed at a time that will allow you to get the amount of sleep you need each night. Make is a part of your regular routine to go to bed and wake at the same time every night/day.
• Do not eat within 2-3 hours before bedtime to decrease the chances of heartburn, indigestion and/or acid reflux. These will interfere with your ability to get to sleep and stay asleep.
• Make the room dark. Dark curtains, turning off all light, turn your alarm clock away from you so it's light doesn't shine in your face. By making the room dark you trick your body/brain into thinking that it is time to sleep.
• Meditation to calm the mind. Many people find that when they go to bed their mind doesn't want to shut down. Finding ways to calm the mind can be very beneficial and allow your brain to into the sleep cycle faster.
• Exercise regularly. Not only will it help you deal with daily stress more effectively but it helps improve sleep patterns and quality of sleep.
• Noise reduction. This can be a hard one. You rarely have control over the noise outside your environment. The best thing is usually ear plugs. If you don't have a noisy house, building or neighbourhood at night then you are more fortunate.
• Reduce or eliminate alcohol and caffeine consumption. Both can contribute to reduced amounts of sleep and the quality of it.
• Reduce the amount of fluids you drink before bed. Getting up in the middle of the night to urinate can seriously shorten the amount of sleep you get and make it more difficult for some to even get back to sleep.
•  Use your bed as it is meant to be used. Your bed is not meant to be a couch, a reading area, a gathering place, a meal platform, a video game station, etc. When you use your bed for other than sleep you psychologically train your brain to not think of it as a place to sleep. When you try to sleep on your bed the brain says 'no' as that is not what it considers your bed to be used for.

For more tips and information check out the links below.

Tips

www.helpguide.org
www.spine-health.com
www.mayoclinic.com

Information
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu
www.webmd.com
www.washingtonpost.com
www.prevention.com

A Movie Review

The other night Dan brought home a movie called "A Single Man". He heard from a friend that it was a movie worth checking out. The friend didn't say much about it but he did say that Colin Firth was in it. I like Colin Firth. I think he is pretty hot for a middle aged English man. In the movie you get to see bit of his nicely toned bod! Yum!

The movie is a bit somber as it is about a man who is trying to live his life after the death of his long time love. The setting is 1962 Los Angeles, California. The Cuban Missile crisis is on the minds of all Americans. Colin plays a British college professor who is doing his best to find his way through life from day to day.

At the beginning of the movie you start to realized that the main character is having a bit of a nightmare that sort of sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Early on you realize that since the death of his love the main character is barely living at all . You see him preparing things in the advent of his own death. He is typical of many suicidal types. He lives his life without anyone truly knowing what is going on. He hides it well.

You get to know the professor pretty well during the movie and through the development of the story you empathize with him and his heartache. If you went through what he has you would most likely feel the same. It is a romantic tale of love and loss. It is heartrending yet heartwarming tale as well. The movie has an ironic twist at the end the makes you realize life's little moments are worth cherishing.

Julianne Moore plays a great gay man's BFF. Through it all she is there for him. She loves and supports him in all things as a life long best friend does. Her love for him is a little twisted but it is all explained in the movie so you understand it.

The movie has a few hotties in it so the eye candy is worthwhile. I found that the story is what kept me going. It even had me wishing I was the one to 'help' the professor find his way into life once again.

The movie tugged at my heart strings and made me sad but it also brought to the forefront of my thoughts just how lucky I am. It also made me hope that the love I have in my life is like the kind of long term love the main character had. Every relationship I have been in has had me hoping for that. I just wish and pray mine lasts longer and that my life ends on a much better note.

If you like a good sit at home cuddle with your sweetheart type movie then you might just enjoy checking this one out. We did.

To Facebook or not to Facebook...a good question.

Lately I have noticed that my time on the Facebook has been increasing. I appear to have fallen into a rut-like routine. First thing in the morning after showering and dressing, I come to the computer and check what has been happening on the site since I was online the previous night. As well I tend to go to the computer as soon as I arrive home from work to open up my Facebook account to check and see what my FB friends ahve been up to all day while I was at work. Between arriving at home from work and going to bed for the night, I know that I am checking FB repeatedly.

I feel almost like an addict. Whenever I am near the computer I automatically check Facebook. Even when I have just had a look at my news feed I will check it again less than 5 minutes later fervently hoping that something new has popped up. I check to see who has 'poked' me, updated their status. commented on someone else's status, invited me to a game or event and anything else that attracts my attention. The only breaks from it all seem to be bathroom breaks and dinner breaks with the occasional movie/TV watching when my sweetheart whines at me to spend some time with him.

Am trying to decide if I want to keep my Facebook or not. When I look back on my evening at home trying to figure where all my time went all I recall is sitting in front of the computer doing nothing but checking my news feed and reading everyone's status updates. Because I find myself spending most of my free time sitting at home on my ass in front of the computer screen I am starting to feel like I am becoming an antisocial hermit. I only seem to leave the house for work. The boyfriend complains that I give to FB more of my time and energy than I give to me.

With Summer almost here and so much that can be done with my time in the great outdoors why am I spending it all 'zoned out' on FB? Other than the sunshine the tends to filter through my window I totally lack any drive to go outside and immerse my self in the outdoors. I need to shift things around, get my backside in motion to go out and enjoy this life! FB can/will exist without me. I just need to figure how to feel like I can exist with out FB!

Homophobia is wrong in so many ways!

I recently came across two YouTube clips about Homophobia. It inspired me to write a blog entry about the same topic. I have included links below for the ones I found. Both are quite different but make good points and are worth checking out. I also found a third site based in Ontario that preaches tolerance among religions to have a well written article regarding the English language and the many meanings of homophobia and related words in society.

Homophobia is a sad thing. 

ho-mo-pho-bi-a: noun

unreasoning fear of or aversion towards homosexuals and homosexuality.

It is sad when some one has an "unreasoning fear or aversion" towards another just because they happen to be homosexual. I just don't get it, well I sorta do but I don't really. 

As a person I am no different than the next. I eat, sleep, work, breathe, defecate, complain, love and live my life just as most any other person would. Just because the other person is sexually, mentally, and emotionally attracted to the opposite gender doesn't make me any more or less a person due to my attraction to the same gender. In comparison we are just as much a like as we are different.

The fact that people judge one another on their differences is part of human nature. It is the idea that the same person who has judge me different from them also uses that difference to justify a fear or hatred towards me. And when the fear or hatred is because the difference between us I was judged on was my sexuality then we have "Homophobia".

I have been fortunate that I have rarely ever been on the receiving end of homophobic actions specifically directed at me. I see it often out in society in general ways. Comments between people who are having a discussion about something and they use a phrase which is often seem as derogatory such as "That's so gay!" or "That was a faggy thing to do!" Their comment usually means they thought something was stupid, uncool, negative or girly in some manner. It is often the case that they are not talking about someone but something and they are only expressing their opinion or feelings about it. I am not against expressing one's feelings or opinions, I just have an issue with how it is done. I often have discussions with my partner about how he expresses himself. I always want him to be aware that certain words said in particular ways can have a tone to them that is received negatively even if the comment was not meant as such. 

Blatant homophobia can be dealt with much easier and in a more direct way. It is the subtle comments and slurs said here and there that are more difficult to combat. It is especially difficult when something is said and the person is unaware they said anything wrong. Even harder when they refuse to acknowledge any wrongdoing on their part when it is brought to their attention. These are usually the types of people that refuse to change in any way at all. Changing people's thought processes and ways of expressing themselves can only work when they are willing to change. Change doesn't work for the unwilling.

I feel that any homophobic act shows a lack of respect towards another person. This lack of respect is prevalent in our modern society. I see it every day when I walk down the streets. The way people talk to and treat one another. I see it with my boyfriend when he talks about stuff in his life. It is a sad state of affairs when the underlining reason for much of the fear and hatred in our world can be attributed to a great lack of respect. If you respect someone you learn to accept them. If you respect something you are willing to learn and understand it. If you respect anything you start to love and appreciate more. It is extremely difficult to fear or hate something that you accept, understand, love or appreciate.

With my boyfriend I try to explain to him how his words can affect others usually by telling him how it affects me and our relationship. He doesn't always agree but he does listen and thinks about it. That is my goal with him. It is a bonus for me after we have those discussions when he comes back later and apologizes for his comment and he shows a greater understanding of the effects of what he said/did. It is the bonus on top of the bonus when he promises to be more aware of it in the future. 

If I could have productive discussions with the masses like I do with my sweetheart then I feel much could be done. Unfortunately I am a not a Public Speaker, too much stage fright! I do feel good when the people I do talk to take this discussion home and share it with others. It reminds me of the old commercial about telling two friend who in turn told two friends that also told two friends and so on and so on. If you can discuss things with people and make enough of an impression that they seriously think about it, then that person will pass  it on to more people. Often that is how attitudes change. It is slow but steady and it works. 

Homophobia is wrong is so many ways. Can you state just how wrong it is? What are your thoughts...

LINKS

Homophobia Rant

I am not Homophobic...

www.religioustolerance.org

AM vs PM

I am by nature a night owl, not an early bird. Up all night and sleep all day. I have always preferred the afternoons and late night. Even as a child I can remember preferring to sleep late because I was up late.

I remember back when I was around 8yrs old my mother worked as a cocktail waitress at a local bar working the late shift. She would often not get home until 3am or later from work. Half the time I would be still awake when she walked in the door. She didn't always like it that I was still awake but I think part of me wanted to make sure she was home safe before I could fall asleep. Of course I had to wake up the next morning for school but kids at that age can often survive on short sleep once in awhile, at least I did.

As an adult I have spent most of my time working shifts that allowed me to sleep in every morning. I often worked graveyard shifts but whenever possible I would work the afternoon shifts. For years that was my routine and it worked well for me. I didn't see a lot of sun except when at work and I didn't socialize a whole lot except on my occasional weekends off. When I worked the afternoons my typical day consisted of sleeping till noon, getting up to run a few errands then off to work at 3pm. Sometimes I would sleep till 2pm and I would only wake up because I had to work that afternoon. I would be done work by 11pm and home by 11:30pm. I often would stay up until 4am watching all the TV shows I had recorded that day. My cat and I loved it.

Cats are by nature a bit more nocturnal than most people realize. My cat and I were two peas in a pod back then. She loved hanging out with me till the wee hours of the morning. We usually would sit on the couch while I watched TV or read a book as she stretched out across my lap getting attention. When we were tired enough I would crawl into bed and she would curl up either on my chest or beside me. It was nice.

Now a days things are different and I do not get to sleep in like I once did. Times change and life moves on.  If I can get away with it though I will sleep in to at least 10am every chance I have. On my days off I often do. I find that due to my relationship and the fact that my partner works the day shift, my personal life works better if I work the day shifts as well. The day shift does have many perks. The main perk is the sunshine on a wonderful day. I am HUGE fan of sunshine!

With my current work schedule I have to wake up around 6am about 50% of the time. The other half of the time I can sleep in till 10am or even 12noon if I really feel like sleeping that late. This has me staying up later than I should on the nights when my alarm is set for 6am the next morning. Most every night though I have trouble getting to bed before midnight unless it has been an extremely tiring day. This is all part of how my personal circadian rhythm work I feel.

The boyfriend often complains because he wakes up for 8am every work day and he is regularly in bed by 10pm. He likes his sleep. He wants me to come to bed and cuddle with him till he falls asleep; sometimes I will even fall asleep after him. Normally I will wait till he is asleep then I will go read my book or watch TV until I am tired. On the days that I don't have to wake up at 6am I will often be awake till 1am and that puts me back into the late nights/late days routine. I will wake up when he does to see him off to work, usually because his alarm has gone off and been snoozed 3times, then I am back to bed till 10am.

It is a routine that is working for me and us! So it is all good!

I am still a PM type person but for the right reasons I do adjust my pattern to more of a AM setup and it does work even if it isn't what I prefer. As I said it works for us.

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In case you didn't know what A.M. or P.M. meant:

a.m. - (Latin) ante meridiem/before midday or noon
p.m. - (Latin) post meridiem/after midday or noon

Holding grudges is so childish.

I am a reader. I read for hours on a daily basis. It is often through the process of devouring a book that I come across interesting morsels of information. These little segments that I have found in my book often will resonate with me in some manner. I am someone that prides myself on my "common sense/practical" approach to life and when you come across something amidst the written word that fits within this approach of mine then I tend take note of it every time. So recently while reading a book that I was thoroughly enjoying I noticed a comment that the author made pertaining to grudges. The author stated "... children hold grudges and adults cannot afford to".

It made me think about my habit of holding grudges. It is a bad habit that I find myself falling victim to quite often. It made me realize that even in my 40's I am being childish. That was a blow to my "mature" ego!

In a previous blog back in February 2012 entitled "Arguments & a 4-letter word" I wrote about how I tend to hold grudges;

     "Another reason I truly do not like to argue is that I tend to hold grudges. Something else I am not proud of. I have a hard time letting go of the ill will or resentment I end up feeling from the argument."  

During this blog entry I was talking about my strong 'dislike' for arguing and how bad at it I am and even how it left me feeling. I also admitted to some faults that I need to diligently apply myself to if I want improvement.  In this case it is my usual and unfortunate habit of holding a grudge that warrants a change.

I will admit that in an argument I do not like to be wrong. I especially don't like it when some one points it out to me and tells me I am wrong in any way. If I am given the time and opportunity to do so I will admit my mistake and move on. In those instances I have been able to sidestep the grudge action and prevent it from coming into play. When I am not allowed the option of admitting my own 'faux pas' then the resentment blooms in force and the grudge makes itself comfortably at home. A majority of the time those opportunities are ones that I have to make myself and it is rare that someone else will make it for me.

So even though the authors comment was only part of a sentence in a monologue for a character in the story it made sense to me. It appealed to my 'common sense' nature. This part of my nature is always on the look out for practical and sensible every day wisdom that I can put to use in my process of improving who I am.


I have said before that holding a grudge is my typical response at the end of an argument. At times I can be a champion grudge holder; I have gone for days and longer holding on to the unnecessary resentment. It is moronic, idiotic, immature and childish. I am in my 4th decade and I should be more mature & grown up than that! I was always told in my younger years that I was "wise for my age" and "more mature than expected". With ego boosting comments like that you would think I would be able to live up to them. Comments like those tend to be somewhat self-fulfilling, usually.

The authors words made a great deal of sense to me. Sometimes I am pleasantly shocked by the tidbits of wisdom and knowledge I come across in my day to day life, especially when and where you least expect it.

So my advice for those of you who are like me and have a problem with grudges, Let it go! Be a better person. Admit your wrongs. Learn from your mistakes. Most of the time it was a silly argument or your position was a childish one. Only argue that which you can prove is factual and can be supported by the information out there.