Wellness Tuesday: What is High Blood Pressure?

While discussing sodium, I mentioned that it can lead to high blood pressure. However, what is high blood pressure? The American Heart Association defines blood pressure as “the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls.  High blood pressure means the pressure in your arteries is higher than it should be.”   High blood pressure is also referred to as hypertension. […]

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Wellness Tuesday: Sodium vs. Salt

We’ve been taking a look at sodium the last few weeks, so as we wrap up let’s discuss the difference in sodium and salt. According the FDA, the words salt and sodium are interchangeable and mean the same thing. The Heart.org says Common table salt is sodium chloride, which is approximately 40 percent sodium by weight. About 90 percent of […]

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Wellness Tuesday: Where is the Sodium?

According to Heart.org, approximately 75% of the sodium we eat comes from processed foods and restaurant foods. Food labels cannot claim a product is “Healthy” if it has 480mg per labeled serving or more than 600mg per labeled serving dish. According to the FDA as a general rule: 5% DV or less of sodium per serving is low 20% DV […]

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Wellness Tuesday: How do I figure out sodium?

Last week, we began to look at what sodium is. However, there is so much we still don’t know about the substance used to increase the taste of food. So, let’s continue learning more about this substance. How much sodium do I need? According to GBHealthWatch.com the normal blood sodium range is 3.10mg-3.34mg.  We should not ingest more than 2,300 […]

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Wellness Tuesday: What is sodium?

I often have issues with my feet swelling.  This is especially true when I’ve had too much sodium. Often, when I look at the nutrition facts on food packaging I am surprised by the amount of sodium in the dish. We have tried explaining to my grandmother why she has to limit some foods.  Her response when we mention sodium […]

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Wellness Tuesday: Treatment for PCOS

I’ve been sharing a little bit about PCOS {polycystic ovarian syndrome}.  We’ve discussed the symptoms, causes and complications over the last few weeks. So how do you deal with PCOS? Well, first see a medical professional.  The doctor will take your medical history, draw blood work and conduct a physical.  You can then discuss any issues or concerns you may […]

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Wellness Tuesday: PCOS—A Deeper Look

Last week, I shared some of the symptoms of PCOS.  Let’s take a deeper look this week at the causes and complications of PCOS. Medical personnel are unsure of the exact causes of PCOS.  Genetics and hormonal imbalance are the two largest known causes of this syndrome.             Some of the following factors may play a role in PCOS: Excess […]

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Wellness Tuesday: Symptoms of PCOS

Last week, I shared a little bit about my struggle with PCOS.  So what are some of the symptoms found in PCOS? Often signs may be found after the first menstrual cycle in a teen.   However, the symptoms become more noticeable after weight gain. Some of the symptoms that are more common include: Acne Weight gain Trouble losing weight Irregular […]

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Wellness Tuesday: The Weight Loss Catch 22

As a teenager, I dealt with issues that resulted from PCOS {polycystic ovary syndrome}.  After gaining the extra poundage, these issues have only been magnetized. Having PCOS feels like a catch 22.   Why?  Well, losing weight is even hard because of PCOS, yet I know I have to get healthy. So what is PCOS?  PCOS is a problem that occurs […]

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Wellness Tuesday: Is the Spirit Willing?

The other day I was reading a book and stopped when I came across a passage.  I had to go back and re-read that passage a second, third…and even fifth time. The passage said “sometimes the spirit is willing but the body isn’t.”   WOW!!! That really got my attention.  There are so many times when my spirit is willing to […]

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Wellness Tuesday: A Wakeup Call

In my day job I work in a rehab center.  We have short term stays with people that have knee replacements, hip replacements and other health issues.  On top of these wonderful individuals I work with, I’ve had friends and family members that have struggled and dealt with health issues due to being overweight.   Watching the struggle these loved ones […]

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Wellness Tuesday: When You Lose Momentum

  With the start of 2016, I made the goal to exercise at least fifteen minutes every day.  I was so proud of the progress I was making.  Until, at the end of January I had a bout of pneumonia.  For two weeks I struggled to just survive. Since, then I have struggled to return to my routine of working […]

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Wellness Tuesday: A Reality Check

The last six months have provided a number of changes in my life.  These have included a job change, move, changes in my caregiving schedule and working a variety of different hours and shifts. All of this has led to anxiety over how to control my weight and eating. While I try to cook my meals ahead of time, when […]

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Wellness Tuesday: 7 Types of Fruits

We’ve been talking about the importance and types of fruits and vegetables the last two months. We discussed starchy vs. non-starchy vegetables. So what are some types of fruits? Tree Fruit—this includes apples, plums, peaches, apricots, figs, plums, cherries, etc. Citrus Fruit—oranges, tangerines, lemon, lime, clementine, kumquat, grapefruit, etc. Berries—strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry Tropical/Exotic Fruit—bananas, kiwi, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc. Compound […]

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Wellness Tuesday: What are non-Starchy Vegetables?

Last week we discussed starchy vegetables. So what are non-starchy vegetables?   These are the vegetables we should be eating the most These are mainly found on the flowering part of the plant. Non-Starchy vegetables include? Lettuce Broccoli and Cauliflower Cucumber Spinach Mushrooms Peppers Onions Tomatoes Asparagus   Many of these are great in an omelet!  Yum! So what is your […]

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Wellness Tuesday: What are Starchy Vegetables?

I mentioned last week starchy vegetables, but what are they? I’ll admit this is one area that I really struggle with and one of the reasons I’m writing about it. Sadly, many of my favorite vegetables are the starchy vegetables. So what vegetables are starches? Corn Peas Potatoes Pumpkins Squash and Zucchini Yams Parsnips Did you know all of these […]

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