Kids & Healthy Eating

What parent doesn't want their kids to eat healthier? We've all had to bribe, cajole, threaten and manipulate our children at least once, but wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to stoop to such heavy handed tactics? Here are some tips to help you out.

Start early! Don't wait until it's too late and your child's already ruined by sweets and treats. Once they've tasted ice cream, it's harder to get them to eat broccoli. And if you've waited too long then you'll just have to be strong and realize your kids might not like you for a few days.

Make sure you have a good variety of healthy foods available to your children. This prevents them from latching on to one food or one food group. Sure they'll still have their favorites, but a variety of vegetables and fruits will help them to get used to all of their varied tastes.

Try combing foods they like with foods they don't. For example, stir-frying onions with zucchini, broccoli, carrots, and snow peas isn't as bad as sitting down to a whole plate of broccoli. It also helps to make sure the pieces are small enough so your child gets some carrots with her zucchini.

Be strong! This is very important for teaching a child to eat what's good for them. Tell them that this is what we're having for dinner and there's nothing else for them to eat. They'll get hungry enough to eat what's served them if there are no other options available.

Which reminds me. Don't bring any food in the house that isn't part of a healthy food plan. That's right! No snacks, cookies, sweetened cereals, pastries, treats - whatever - are permitted. This might seem harsh, but you have to decide who you're raising; healthy, smart kids who don't get sick or fat or sick kids with learning disabilities who grow up to suffer degenerative diseases.

Stay away from people hell-bent on corrupting your children with candy and treats. It's amazing to me how so many well-meaning people like a bank teller or a relative offer my children lollipops or cookies. Teach your children to smile and politely say,
"No thank you." And if it's a relative that's always offering your child a treat, then ask them to stop or stop visiting them (a third option is to make them take care of your kid during his sugar buzz and subsequent crash - they'll never do it again).

Here's another free tip for kids and healthy eating that might fall into the harsh category, but if you think about it seriously you'll see how important it is. Don't let your kids watch commercial TV. Yes! You read this correctly. The majority of the ads on TV are about food and getting your children to eat these unhealthy foods. TV commercials are the nutritional education for 95% of the population and virtually nothing advertised on TV has any nutrition in it. You'll see a huge decrease in your child's food cravings when you turn off the tube.

And finally, the most important tip of all is for you to set a great example. How can you expect your children to eat fish, vegetables and whole wheat bread when you don't? How can you get them to give up ice cream when you won't? They look to you as a role model so you might as well live like one because if you don't, then you have no right to complain about their poor eating habits, obesity, ADHD and the time you have to take off work to care for a sick child.

Teaching Hatha Yoga: Difficult Students and Fitness Centers

What would you do if you had to substitute your Yoga class for an Aerobic Step class? What if one of the Step Aerobics students gave you a case of misplaced aggression because he or she was disappointed the Step Aerobics class was canceled?

If you are considering teaching Yoga in a fitness center, or health club; imagine the following situation. A Power Yoga teacher is called, by the fitness center she works for - to substitute her Power Yoga class for the regular Step Aerobics Class; this is her story.

"This morning I substituted for another fitness class and had a woman literally scowl, once she found out that Yoga was filling in the time slot for the Step Aerobics class. She looked at me, and said, that it wasn't against me, but she just didn't see the point in stretching. "I can't loose weight by stretching. I need cardio."

I told her that she might be surprised and she might see Yoga in a different light. She replied "Not likely," and walked away from me. Though she said it wasn't personal, I took it so.

I really thought hard about all the things I wanted to say, but found that everything I wanted to say had a negative tone. I told this person, as she walked away that I was not going to argue with her because I saw no point in it.

I felt hurt by her attitude, what can be said to people like this? What can I do to let it "roll off of me?" Can you respond in love and still get the point across?"

Let's find some realistic solutions for this Yoga teacher.

In a nutshell: This particular health club member is full of negative energy. You are doing your job by substituting for the Step Aerobics class. She decides to take it out on you, but it is all misplaced aggression. She would have acted the same way toward anyone teaching anything, except a cardio based fitness class.

Fitness centers are doing the best they can to serve their clients, on tight budgets. This particular fitness center wants to make sure there is a class for its members, because the Step Aerobics instructor is out. This is obvious, but, this person decides to attack what you do - just to lash out at somebody.

What you did is the best thing by avoiding an argument. Showing loving kindness was wise for many reasons. Management will usually back the members, no matter how obnoxious they are.

Many Yoga instructors currently teach Yoga in, or have taught Yoga at, fitness centers, in the past. When a racquetball court is in full swing, a fitness center is not always an ideal place to teach meditation.

My advice: Design a prepared handout, which highlights the researched benefits of Power Yoga. Some fitness center clientele don't understand what Yoga is or what it can do for them.

Pass them out with a smile. If the class wants to work hard, give them their money's worth (a serious challenge). They will believe Power Yoga can get them fit, when they can see and feel it.

Those scenarios are the reasons why some Yoga teachers do not teach in fitness centers anymore. When I teach Yoga to anyone, I want to make sure the students want to be there for Yoga.

In a health club, Yoga is just part of a big fitness menu - Like ice cream on an apple pie in a restaurant. So, very few of the members see it as something special.

Lastly, you are a Yoga teacher, but you are human too. Negative people do not think much before talking, but they do upset everyone all day and every day.

You did the right thing by displaying self-restraint. Remember the saying: "You cannot please everyone all the time."

How More Women Can Survive The Hot Flash

A hot flash is not something that can easily be seen by an onlooker; you almost have to be the one under attack. A hot flash can be described as having an intense fever or the feeling you get after standing too long near a blazing fire. It's an intense uncontrollable heat within a woman's body that may last a few seconds or up to an hour. Some women have reported having a hot flash as often as every 90 minutes!

Hot flashes are described as sudden waves of heat that primarily affects the head and neck region when blood vessels near the surface of the skin dilate. Some women can predict when they are going to have a hot flash or even the duration and frequency.

During a hot flash, the heart rate increases. The woman begins to react to the heat by perspiring usually on the upper lip or forehead, and some women fan themselves with their hand, a fan, magazine or whatever is available to generate cool air.

Following a hot flash, flushing or redness occurs underneath the skin and for many the body temperature drops as women experience a chill as the body struggles to regain its normal temperature. Some women also experience nighttime hot flashes or night sweats.

Some of the most unpleasant symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes and night sweats, have long been believed to originate in the ovaries. This theory is popular because women experience relief from hot flashes once they replace their lost estrogen.

The most recent theory indicates hot flashes start in the brain because the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland stop reacting normally to estrogen. This occurs because estrogen production affects the part of the brain that controls the body's temperature. The theory deduces that the drop in estrogen confuses the hypothalamus which is referred to as the body's thermostat and results in making the body too hot.

Hot flashes can be triggered by spicy food, dairy products, meat products, hot drinks, alcohol, sugar, smoking, caffeine, diet pills, stress, hot weather, hot showers, hot beds, hot rooms, hot tubs, saunas, tobacco, marijuana, anxiety, stress and anger. Women should avoid fried, rich, spicy and sugary foods because they can develop heartburn, acid reflux, and gallstones. Hot flashes are more common in the evening and during hot weather with the most common times identified for hot flashes between six and eight in the morning and six to ten at night.

If you can identify what triggers your hot flashes, that is a good indication of survival during an attack. It is also advisable to keep a record of when your hot flashes happen and what you were eating or doing, or how you were feeling at the time in order to be able to predict when and how the may occur.

The best way to beat a hot flash is naturally. The medical profession has generally ignored natural, less risky remedies for hot flashes to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Recent studies have shown that medication is not always helpful. However, you should always begin with the least aggressive approach to treating menopausal symptoms which would be natural remedies.

There are some natural remedies that provide relief for menopausal symptoms, such as isoflavones found in soybeans. Isoflavones is similar to the hormone estrogen and when ingested, stimulates estrogen production. Although study results are not entirely consistent, isoflavones from soy and red clover have been found to be helpful for symptoms of menopause.

Bioflavonoids are chemicals found in citrus fruits that have been shown to protect capillaries and other small blood vessels. Bioflavonoids, when taken with Vitamin C, have been found to strengthen and stabilize the capillaries and other small blood vessels which can prevent hot flashes from occurring. The effect on hot flashes may be due to the similarity between certain bioflavonoids and our bodies own estrogens.

Vitamin E supplementation has also been shown to significantly reduce hot flashes. Clinical trials reported that vitamin E controlled flushing in more than 50% of the cases. It is thought that vitamin E may act as an estrogen substitute, thereby reducing the intensity of hot flashes.

Some other herbal supplements that have shown to reduce hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause are: bioflavonoid supplements, evening primrose oil (also used for PMS symptoms), ginseng, black cohosh, chickweed tincture, vitex agnus castii, blue cohosh, dong quai, wild yam root, natural progesterone, licorice root, false unicorn, lachesis, pulsatilla and sarsaparilla. Additionally, other alternative remedies that women can benefit from for relief of hot flashes are sage tea, acupuncture, meditation and biofeedback.

Functional health beverages containing certain fruit or vegetables with the nutrients polyphenols, flavenols and phytosterols also contain estrogen like chemicals that can reduce menopause symptoms.

Testimonials received from functional health beverage users state positive results from menopausal and PMS symptoms when consuming functional health beverages.

Medical Disclaimer
It is important when using herbs and vitamins to pay attention to our bodies' responses and to remember that natural doesn't mean we can take large amounts of a substance without thinking of side effects. It is recommended to obtain advice from someone who is familiar with herbs and vitamins for the correct dosages.

Information in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to act as a substitute for medical advice provided by a qualified health care provider, nor is any information on this topic intended to diagnose, treat, care or prevent any diseases. Statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration.