Sugar, a Shift, & Merry Christmas

SUGAR
My husband showed me an article from the Baltimore Sun newspaper today that brought a big smile to my face.  A full page dedicated to why added SUGAR is bad for us. Those of us in the natural health field have been saying that for decades now, so it's about time research and the national media caught up.

Here are a few of my favorite highlights.

• Most people believe sugar just makes you fat, they don't realize it is making us sick.
• Review of over 8,000 scientific papers showed a strong link between sugar consumption and chronic diseases.
• There are some 61 different names for sugar used on product labels!  And we wonder why it is confusing!! The FDA should revise labels to make it easy to know what you are getting.
• Liquid sugar in sodas, energy drinks, sports drinks and juices is the leading source of added sugar in the American diet. HINT.... possible New Year's Resolutions !!
• Shocking comparison - "During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 1,500 American soldiers lost a limb in combat.  In the same period, 1.5 million people in the US lost limbs to amputations from Type 2 diabetes - a TOTALLY preventable disease!"
• The average American gets 19.5 teaspoons (78 grams) of sugar a day. We should, at MOST, be getting  6 tsp for women, 9 tsp for men and 3-6 tsp for kids.  Yet one 12 oz soda has 8-9 tsps of sugar! 

Natural sugars in fruit that include the fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are healthy for us and we won't get fat or sick from those. It is the man-made sugar that is like poison to our bodies, lowering our immunity and sabotaging our health.  This time of year we all tend to splurge, so balance it out by getting plenty of green vegetables and salad and just drinking water or tea instead of sodas or alcohol.

SHIFT

I have been blessed to have this business for the past 10 years. I want to thank each of you for helping make this happen by your referrals and your business.  I love helping people revitalize their health and will continue to do so.  However, I have recently had the opportunity to also help college students revitalize their SPIRITUAL health. 

I have been accepted as affiliate staff with the international Christian campus ministry called CRU. When I went to college, I was involved with a similar group called Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship and they had a huge impact on who I am today.  Now I have the chance to give back and encourage, educate and inspire students in their faith.  For now, I am doing this part time and continuing my business as I am requested. 

I would love to tell you more about what I do and how you can be a part of reaching the students at Howard Community College. Please email me or call me at HLS@nancyparlette.com, or 443 253-9761.

Healthy Living Strategies wishes you a Merry Christmas and a healthy and most blessed New Year.

How To Suppress Your Immune System

     Recently my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.  We went away for the weekend; we relaxed; we splurged; we had a marvelous time.  There was only one problem,  we both ended up getting sick when we came home.

     What happened?  I know exactly what happened.  We both had way too much sugar.  Refined sugar suppresses the immune system.  We were eating poorly and then milling around with hundreds of people exposing ourselves to Lord knows how many germs.
     Thankfully, once we realized what happened, we took good care of ourselves by resting, eating lightly, drinking water and herbal teas, and for me, going to the doctor.  Yes, Nancy actually went to the doctor! So would you if you had conjunctivitis! I must give kudos to Patient First Urgent Care in Columbia! I was in and out in 45 minutes!
     What other things can cause our body to be more susceptible to illness?  Let's look at it from a different perspective.  I am going to give you a list of

Five Things to Do if You Want to Get Sick:

1. Don't Sleep - If you want to wear down your body, make sure you stay up late and rise early so that you are tired all the time.  This is a great way to get yourself sick.
2. Don't Drink Water - When we get dehydrated our body cannot detox or refresh our cells very well.  Do this for a while and your body will not function at its peak.
3. Get Really Stressed -  Make sure you don't take a break from your work, keep your feelings bottled up and allow people to get on your nerves.  This will do a great job messing with your body!
4. Eat lots of processed junk food - Let most of your diet be packaged refined foods that are full of sugar, artificial ingredients and trans-fats.  Don't eat fruit, salad or vegetables.  We had desserts with our meals and ice cream and sugary lemonade for a snacks; it worked perfectly for us.
5.Sit most of the time -  Moving our muscles helps our lymphatic system remove toxins and waste from our cells and organs. Don't go walking or dancing or anything that could make you sweat if you want to keep down you immune function.

I hope this made you smile, but also inspired you to make some changes in your habits. Now that my husband and I have recovered, I have renewed motivation to stand strong against my sugar cravings!  Being sick kept me from doing many things I wanted and needed to do.  It was not fun and was far too big a price to pay for a few treats on a vacation!  See  for yourself how much better you will feel when you DON'T apply my getting sick guidelines.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPREAD THE WORD!
I have a new Twitter account!  Recognizing that whether we like it or not, our physical health impacts our emotional and spiritual health,  I want to share spiritual and nutritional inspiration with the faith community to help folks stay on track with their health goals. It will be the same nutritional information but with an added faith dimension. Join and share my www.twitter.com/faithfoodHLS link.

How Does a Busy Person Make Time for Healthy Living?

        Many people believe they don't have time to be concerned about health.  They think they can somehow get more accomplished and have greater success by ignoring the "natural laws" of health, as though they can elude the consequences of a fast paced, fast food, little sleep and little exercise lifestyle.  I want to point out several of the lies these folks are believing that will, in the end, sabotage their health AND their productivity. 

LIE 1. I get more work done by staying up late and not sleeping.
            Cortisol is a hormone that is released during stress. While it plays an important role in a crisis, if we have chronic stress and don't slow down to rest, it begins to have a negative effect.  This is what happens when we don't get enough sleep.  Our body needs sleep to rejuvenate and heal.  There are numerous processes that only occur during sleep.  Over time this can lead to lower immunity, poor mental performance, higher blood sugar, increased abdominal fat, and higher blood pressure.  All of these will make it harder to get work done and over time can lead to chronic health problems.  Take time now to care for yourself; you will find you are so much more productive when you are refreshed.  Begin adding on 15 minutes to the beginning and the end of your sleep and work your way up to 7-8 hours a night.           

LIE 2. I get more done if I skip meals and focus on my work.
            Skipping meals is like suffocating your brain cells.  You must get the proper nutrients and water to your brain for it to work properly so you will think clearly, remember well and concentrate fully.  When we live off of energy drinks, soda, and coffee we are stressing our adrenal glands and messing with the cortisol I mentioned above.  We need 64-80 ounces of water a day.  Caffeine and sugar dehydrate us, causing us to get tired and foggy in our thinking.  Not eating lowers our blood sugar and puts is out of balance so we get confused and irritable.  To stay alert, centered and productive we want to eat 3 meals a day containing a variety of fresh fruits, salads, vegetables, and plant or animal protein.  Snack on REAL food made in nature, not from a wrapper, box, or bag.  You will be amazed at how much more energetic and focused you feel when you get the water and nutrients your body needs to be its best.
        
LIE 3. I get more work done by staying at my desk than taking time to exercise.
            There are so many benefits to exercise that I can barely scratch the surface here.  When you start getting a good 30 minutes a day of exercise. you will find you actually think more clearly.  There is increased blood flow and oxygen going to your brain. You also begin to have more energy as your body gets stronger and more efficient. You will feel happier and less stressed because of the serotonin boost.  However, for exercise to be most effective you need to be getting enough sleep so your body can recover and you must get enough food and water to keep the cells fueled.
        
     So in the end, you have to decide to take the time for your health, realizing that not taking care of yourself in order to get more done will actually slow you down and decrease your efficiency and productivity in the long run. 

     If you would like more help adjusting your lifestyle and diet so you can be energized like never before,  I will be teaching a 5 class course with Howard Community College starting April 30^th. Registration begins 2/27/2014.  Please email me for more information.  HLS@nancyparlette.com