Blog - Carolyn Akens, Wellness & Healthy Lifestyle - Brokenness Is Not Your Heritage!

Glorious Greens

6/29/2014

Toss your salad with a variety of greens to elevate your fiber intake and antioxidant levels. Arugula, chicory, dandelion greens, escarole, radicchio, and watercress offer numerous nutrients and health benefits.

Beta-carotene - watercress, escarole, and especially chicory and dandelion greens, are excellent sources of this healing pigment, which may help to prevent acne, cancer, and vision loss.

Folate - one cup of raw chicory provides half of the daily requirement for folate, which helps to protect against cardiovascular disease and birth defects. Arugula also supplies ample folate.

Potassium - salad greens, particularly chicory, provide appreciable amounts of this cardioprotective mineral. One cup of chopped chicory provides 756mg of potassium.

Vitamin C - chicory, dandelion greens, and watercress are very good sources of this antioxidant, which may benefit immunity and cardiovascular health.

Vitamin E - chicory and dandelion greens contain appreciable amounts of vitamin E compounds, which may protect against cancer and vision loss.

Oregano...herbal medicine!

6/28/2014

Oregano as a herbal medicine can be used to treat parasitic and bacterial infections, upset stomach, urinary tract problems, and arthritis. Other names for Oregano include: Mountain Mint, Origanum, Wild Marjoram, Winter Marjoram, Wintersweet. Hippocrates used Oregano for curing various diseases such as stomach pain and respiratory diseases.

As an essential oil, oregano is good for athlete's foot, calluses, candida. canker sores, carpal tunnel syndrome, inflammation, intestinal parasites, immune support and more.

King "Basil"

6/27/2014

Basil is derived from the Greek word king. Today when the word basil is used you automatically associate it with something that you sprinkle over your favorite tomato sauce or blend into pesto! Yes, fresh basil is delicious to eat, but this amazing herb is also an effective remedy for many digestive disorders which include stomach cramps, vomiting, and constipation.

Want to know some more amazing benefits of basil? Keep reading...

Reduces stomach cramps and nausea
Relieves gas
Promotes normal bowel function
Aids digestion

How many ways have you used basil?

Metabolism & Sleep...What's the Big Deal!

6/25/2014

What is the Enigma surrounding Metabolism?

Regrettably, many people simply don’t understand the concept of metabolism and metabolic change.

Do you find yourself catching second hand information during an elevator ride? Or getting third hand information from a friend-of-a-personal trainer?

And are you one of the many who believe their own weight gain and loss episodes are a matter of metabolic change?

You do have the power to change your metabolism and have it work for you instead of against you.

There are scientific ways to increase the rate of metabolism thus allowing the body to burn calories.
Remember, your metabolism is the process of transforming nutrients from food into energy.

Sleep - Most of us don’t have as much control over the amount that we sleep as we should. Work, family, and so many other tasks can literally prevent us from getting the amount of sleep that we need. However getting enough sleep actually improves metabolism. On the other hand, people who are constantly sleep deprived typically find that they have less energy to do regular, daily activities; including digestion. As a result, sleep-starved people often lower their own metabolism. They simply don’t have the strength to break down food efficiently, particularly carbohydrates. This can be a very difficult issue, because many people can only find time to exercise by borrowing from their rest time.

If you steal time away from your sleep and rest in order to exercise, over time, you can actually do more harm than good; because the following day, you won’t have enough energy to digest what you eat.

If you find that you have trouble sleeping, then this can also negatively affect the speed of your metabolism (because you won’t have enough energy the following day). Insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common problems, and there exists a variety of support systems in place to help people get the rest that they require.

Tips to help you get a good night sleep:

Don’t eat late at night
Don’t turn on the TV at night
Try yoga or other stress-relieving practices
Try having a warm bath before bedtime
Don’t exercise close to bedtime; your body can become so energized that it doesn’t want to sleep!

Have a restful sleep and keep your metabolism revitalized!

Aloe Vera- Herb Moisturizer and Alkalizer

6/23/2014

Aloe vera has been deemed a super food after research studies identifying its seventy-five healing compounds including natural steroids, antibiotic agents, amino acids, minerals and enzymes. Aloe vera has been used since Egyptian times as a skin moisturizer, and healer for burns, cuts, bruises, acne and eczema. This is mostly due to the high concentration of natural sulphur *(MSM) that it contains. Aloe juices alkalize the digestive tract preventing over-acidity, a common cause of indigestion, acid reflux, heartburn and ulcers.

*MSM provides a source of organic sulfur for the amino acids that are essential for internal cleansing and improved flexibilit

Parsnips, Great Source of Vitamins

6/13/2014

Parsnips provide an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, pantothenic acid, copper, and manganese. They also offer a very good source of niacin, thiamine, magnesium, and potassium. They are a good source of riboflavin, folic acid, and vitamins B6 and E.

Because of the high nutritional value of parsnips, it is an ideal food if you are trying to lose weight and boost up your immune system.

Eating Disorder...Not Just For The Young!

6/10/2014

If someone is anorexic or bulimic the assumption is that the person is young with an eating problem that they don't know how to resolve. What's even more alarming is that more mature women also have eating disorders and it has been hidden because of the shame in admitting to it.

How eating disorders differ in mid-life:

Full-fledged eating disorders are rare at any age, affecting fewer than 3% of teenagers and 1% of adults at any given time, according to government estimates. (An overwhelming majority of cases occur in women.)
However, a smattering of data from around the world suggests the behaviors associated with bulimia and anorexia may be more common in mid-life than previously believed.
The most recent evidence comes from a survey of 1,849 women age 50 and up, the results of which were published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Eight percent of the respondents reported purging in the previous five years, and 7% said their efforts to control their weight led them to exercise so much that it had begun to interfere with their daily functioning.
The survey, which was conducted online, isn't a reliable gauge of how common these behaviors are among adult women in the general population. But the results do provide a glimpse into disordered eating in middle age that rings true with the growing anecdotal evidence, the researchers say.

"My gut says this is pretty on-target," says Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., the lead researcher of the survey and the director of the eating disorders program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What's driving these women to purge or work out excessively? Although the survey didn't examine this question in detail, a majority of the survey respondents said they felt dissatisfied with their bodies -- a hallmark of eating disorders across all age groups.

Indeed, previous research suggests that many of the factors that underlie eating disorders in young people may contribute to similar problems in older populations.

According to a 2008 study in the Journal of General Psychology, the most common drivers include stress, depression, perfectionism, and social pressure to be thin, in addition to body dissatisfaction.

Diane Butrym doesn't fit the stereotype of an eating disorder patient. She's a 51-year-old microbiologist and mother of two, not a troubled teen or 20-something, yet for the past decade she has struggled with bulimia.
Butrym's problem began in 2002, which was an eventful year for her.
That March she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in October, after a successful course of treatment, she was struck by a car in a crosswalk on her way home from work, sustaining multiple ankle and knee injuries that required surgery.
She had always been slim and athletic, and exercise was her outlet for stress.
Sidelined with her injuries, Butrym began sharply restricting her calorie intake so she wouldn't gain weight, and before long she was binging and purging. The cycle started to feel addictive; it gave her much-needed pleasure and also eased her stress.
"I was really angry about what was happening, and I didn't know any other way of getting rid of my anger," says Butrym, who lives in Schenectady, New York.

Butrym's case is hardly textbook. Bulimia and anorexia tend to emerge during adolescence, not middle age, and the disorders are more prevalent among young people. Butrym may not be as exceptional as she seems, however.

In recent years, doctors and researchers have begun to look more closely at disordered eating in mid-life.

Despite the growing attention, experts say the problem is likely underreported, partly because adult women disguise behaviors such as purging, and partly because eating disorders typically aren't on the radar screen of doctors who care for this age group.

"Eating disorders are still in the closet to a large extent, especially for adult women," says Margo Maine, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in private practice in West Hartford, Connecticut, who specializes in treating the disorders. "Adult women have such shame about admitting it."

Info from CNN.com

The Consequences of Obesity in Children

6/2/2014

Today the facts show that an overweight toddler may be on the way to childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is a dangerous medical condition. Unchecked, it can contribute to or result in a whole host of life-threatening conditions.

Brain
Depression and sleep disturbance are associated with obesity. Both these conditions pose tremendous risks for other health related illnesses and quality of life.

Lungs
Obesity presents an increased risk for asthma and breathing difficulties. With excess abdominal fat it can be difficult to fully expand the lungs.

Heart
Fatty plaque build-up in the blood vessels can result in increased blood pressure and overload the heart. Obese children are at higher risk for heart attacks.

Digestive System
Obese children with increased abdominal fat experience more problems with abdominal pain, reflux disease and constipation.

Orthopedic /Joint Disease
Obese children put too much pressure on the growth plates of their bones. This can result in misalignment, pain and early arthritis.

Pancreas
The pancreas produces insulin to control the body's blood sugar. Consuming too much sugary food and drink can result in high insulin levels and the body becoming resistant to insulin with diabetes developing.

Gallbladder
Dysfunctional gallbladders and gallstones are seen more commonly in obese children.

Liver
Excess body fat can be deposited inside the liver cells, trigger inflammation and damage the liver cells. This is a slow process over time, but if started in childhood can lead to liver failure.

http://www.majoreasy3.org

© 2001-2020 by Carolyn Akens. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer: I do not provide the services of a medical doctor, licensed dietician or nutritionist. Information received should not be seen as medical or nursing advice and is not meant to take the place of seeking licensed health professionals.

Carolyn Akens International
Atlanta, Georgia USA
www.carolynakens.net
Tel +1 (770) 605-7439
Email me