Category Archives: Health

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Lifestyle

Common Health Hindrances And How You Can Cope

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It’s a sad fact that illness, disease and even something rather fatal can affect us at any point in our lives, even without forewarning. Of course, there are things we are made aware of. But some health issues we can all struggle with can affect us quite severely, and often without us even realizing. As we approach the summer, it is already apparent how fast time is going, it’s vital that we take care of ourselves, both in mind and body and ensure we do all our can to remain healthy and happy. With that in mind, here are some of the health issues we could all face.

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Image source – pixabay – cco license

A heart attack

Having a heart attack is a serious medical emergency that must be taken seriously at the slightest moment you think you might be suffering from one. Symptoms include seriously painful chest pain which can often feel like you have a heavy object placed on your chest that doesn’t make breathing easy. It is important to make heart health a priority. You may also struggle with anxiety, shortness of breath and suddenly feel very weak. If you are worried, then seek medical advice straightaway by dialing your emergency numbers. 

A stroke

Similarly to a heart attack, a stroke is something that can attack you without warning, and it happens to be in your brain. It happens when the blood supply is cut off to your brain. Without blood, your brain can’t function as it needs the oxygen for the brain cells to survive. There are different types of strokes and the damage caused will depend on where your brain is attacked. You may start to feel a tingly sensation down one side of your body, or perhaps your face may start to droop. If you spot any signs, you must seek medical attention immediately. 

Depression

Depression is a black cloud that can often ascend on us when we least expect it, or where from the outside life appears absolutely fine. But depression and our mental health can affect us more than we realize and is not something to be ignored. Depression can cause you to lose hope in your life and to not take any enjoyment from anything. It can isolate you and make you feel alone, even when you aren’t. If you are starting to feel low and upset more often than usual, then please talk to someone to see what is going on with your mental mindset. Sometimes things like therapy can help, but you could also try alternative therapies. Things like counselling or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy could also help you combat these feelings of depression. 

Anxiety and panic attacks

Finally, anxiety and panic attacks are a different sort of mental health issue. They can go hand in hand with depression or it can be something that manifests all on its own. It can be the feeling of a loss of control of a situation. The fear something terrible might happen or the panic about something that you have to face. Mentally, you build it up in your head to cause you to feel anxious and upset. Again therapies and also things like lifestyle changes can help you to manage this. 

Let’s hope this has made you more aware of health hindrances that you may face in the future.

Going Healthy, Health, Life

A Few Healthy Home Changes Your Family Will Benefit From

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If you think now is the time to start collectively improving the health of your family, there are many ways you can make it happen. And the great thing about it is that you don’t have to make big and sweeping changes that’ll drastically alter your family’s lifestyle. The relatively small changes you can make also have a huge impact.

We’re going to talk about some of the things you can do to enhance your family’s health. Each of these changes will deliver benefits that each member of your family will be able to enjoy. So read on now to find out more about those changes.

Start the Discussion

First of all, you need to start the discussion with your family. After all, if these changes are ones that you want to make together, it’s important that you talk things through. You can then find out what you all want to achieve and which things each of you thinks is most important. Starting those discussions and doing this collaboratively will yield better results for you all later on and that’s what’s most important for you all.

Use the Car Less

One of the things you can do for your family is exercise more when you might have otherwise taken the car. There are lots of short journeys you have to make with your family each week, but why not walk a few more of them rather than hopping in the car? You could even take a bike ride, which is an efficient way of getting around, as well as being active and fun for all the family. Simply not taking the car all the time will help get you all moving, as well as saving you money.

Structured Meal Times

Having structured and regular meal times will have a big impact on your ability to ensure your whole family has a more balanced diet. If your meal times are irregular and inconsistent, it can encourage bad habits such as snacking between meals. And those are the kinds of habits you certainly don’t want your young children to pick up when they’re still growing. It’s much better for them to eat home-cooked meals made with fresh ingredients.

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Image Source – CC0 License

Filter Your Drinking Water

The best and healthiest drink for your family always has been and always will be water. And the great thing about drinking water is that it comes straight out of the tap and you don’t have to pay for it at the store. However, if you want the full benefits of water as well as the best taste, you should use a water filter. This will filter out the bad stuff while also improving the taste in a way that encourages your kids to drink more of it too.

Set Some Rules for Screen Time

Like many parents out there, you might be worried about your kids spending a little too much time in front of the TV. Screen time should be limited so that you can make time for other things, such as spending time outdoors and other valuable and healthy activities. You can limit it by setting rules for screen time and not letting those time limits be exceeded each day. Your kids might not like it at first, but if you fill that time with fun activities, they’ll soon enjoy the change.

Make a Family Commitment to Exercise

Exercise is important for everyone, your family included. If you and your family often don’t exercise together, that’s something you should look to put right. Making a family commitment to exercising together and being active. It’s something you can all do once or twice a week, and shake things up so you can try different activities each week. After all, exercise should be fun and enjoyable.

Mix Vegetables Into Old Favorites

If you want to make your family meals a little more healthy, simply fill them with vegetables. You can make this more palatable for your kids by taking a meal that you know the family loves and swapping out certain aspects of it for healthy alternatives such as vegetables. There’s so much that can be achieved when you get creative with your meal prep.

These changes might all seem like relatively small ones, and they are. But that doesn’t mean they won’t make a difference to the health of your family because they certainly will. If you want to start moving your family’s health in a more positive direction, the ideas above offer some good places to start.

Food, Guest Post, Health, Life

What’s The Difference? Organic Versus Non-GMO Labels

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We are in a golden age of healthy food availability, so why is it so hard to determine the “right” products to consume? Part of the reason is the glut of options. From low-cal and gluten-free to kosher and low-carb, the information overload in the grocery aisles can feel overwhelming.

Two of the most commonly recognized labels — organic and non-GMO — can confuse even the most health-conscious consumer. The two labels often get lumped together even though their meanings are quite different.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of using these terms interchangeably, but that approach is inaccurate. This article will break down the two types of labels to help you understand the differences.

What Qualifies as Organic?

Experts have struggled for years to come up with a definition for this category of food. Fortunately, the USDA has since narrowed down the qualifications.

The primary distinction for organic food is how it’s handled during production. For example, the raw ingredients must never come into contact with synthetic chemicals, such as certain herbicides and fertilizers. For meat products, the animals themselves must not be exposed to antibiotics or growth hormones.

Organic food must not contain any genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In other words, non-GMO is one of the criteria for organic classification, but the term itself has its own definition.

So how do you know what’s organic? Look for the “USDA Organic” seal on a product to know that it’s been certified.

What Is Non-GMO, and How Can You Identify It?

As noted above, non-GMO is not interchangeable with organic. While non-GMO is part of the criteria for organic classification, something that is non-GMO is not necessarily organic.

GMO generally refers to plants and animals that have been genetically modified in non-traditional ways and are not naturally occurring. While crossbreeding technically results in modifications, it doesn’t fall into the GMO category. So how can you tell the difference?

The Non-GMO Project verifies qualifying food products by way of third-party inspections. Rigorous on-site review, annual audits, organic system plan reviews and residue testing help this organization say with certainty whether food is non-GMO. In fact, certification goes so far as to require that the food not even come in contact with other GMO products (animal feed, for example).

Qualifying food products can display a “Non-GMO Project Verified” label to help consumers quickly identify them.

By understanding organic and non-GMO labels, we hope this helps you make informed food decisions for your family. When you grasp the food industry’s complex language, you skip all the guesswork. While organic and non-GMO definitions are fairly straightforward, the food industry is always evolving. Refer to USDA and Non-GMO Project guidance to stay up to date, and consult the accompanying infographic for more details on the differences between the two labels.

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https://www.slideshare.net/PacMoore/organic-versus-nongmo-labels

Author bio: Chris Bekermeier is Vice President of Marketing at PacMoore, a food contract manufacturer that offers food processing and packaging services. Bekermeier received his B.S. in Business Management from Eastern Illinois University and his MBA from University of Chicago.