The Big FIVE

The brain just like any other organ of the body needs exercise. You can’t just let it ‘lay’ there with your regular routine. In no time, before you can scream your last name (even if it’s pretty long), you find yourself depreciating mentally.

So here are FIVE tips to help stimulate your brain. They are short and pretty easy too!

Turn Your Photos Upside Down
If you find yourself losing focus or easily distracted during your work day, try engaging your brain and attention levels by turning pictures upside down in your house or on your desk at work. The instant your pictures are upside down, you brain will automatically go into "alert mode" and help you pick up other small details during your day.

 Involve Other Senses In Your Routine

Start your day by stimulating your senses when you get dressed. Try dressing with your eyes closed or choose outfits based on texture and not how they look. Engaging unused senses for day-to-day routines can improve your memory and stimulate your mind.

 Use Your Other Hand
Try to use the “opposite hand” for routine stuff. For example, switching hands while brushing your teeth or brushing your hair. This can help stimulate your brain and senses. It has been found that using the opposite hand or less dominant hand can increase your brain's creativity levels.

Meditate

Sit back and relax. Meditation can improve your memory and help your mind focus. A study finds that meditation can improve brain function and could even prevent mental illnesses.

Talk To Yourself
Thinking out loud can do more good than harm. Talking to yourself can help improve your memory temporarily. A study found that people who talked to themselves had better luck finding things that were lost.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/15/brain-exercises_n_1966861.html

http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html

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I love Tomatoes!!! Do you?

This piece was born specifically to address the special circle of humans that pick out the ‘reddies’ from that Ham or Tuna sandwich, or even request outrightly that it be left out of a meal entirely.
Tomatoes! They’re sweet, juicy, and delicious. They have vitamin C. They’re low in calories. They’re fat-free. All these I’m sure you knew, but let’s look at those benefits you probably don’t know and what makes the tomato an excellent healthy choice.
Tomatoes make your skin look great. Beta-carotene, also found in carrots and sweet potatoes, helps protect skin against sun damage.     
• Tomatoes build strong bones. The vitamin K and calcium in tomatoes are both very good for strengthening and repairing bones.
• Tomatoes are a natural cancer fighter. Lycopene again!!! can reduce the risk of several cancers, including prostate, cervical, mouth, pharynx, throat, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectal, prostate and ovarian cancer. Tomatoes’ antioxidants (vitamins A and C) fight the free radicals which can cause cell damage.
• Tomatoes can keep your blood sugar in balance. Tomatoes are a very good source of chromium, which helps to regulate blood sugar.
• Tomatoes can improve your vision. The vitamin A that tomatoes provide can improve vision and help prevent night blindness.
• Tomatoes will even make your hair look better. The vitamin A found in tomatoes works to make hair strong and shiny.
• Tomatoes can help you lose weight. If you are on a sensible diet and exercise plan, build lots of tomatoes into your everyday eating. They make a great snack and can be used to “bulk up” salads, casseroles, sandwiches and other meals. Because tomatoes contain lots of water and fiber, they are what Weight Watchers calls a “filling food,” one of those foods that fill you up fast without adding a lot of calories.

Now it is important to note that stew, soups and sandwiches aren’t the only avenues to consume tomatoes.  Other avenues include:
• Tomatoes in salad (leave them at room temperature, if possible)
• Marinara or tomato sauces (canned, cooked, or homemade) on pasta; this can be big calorie savings when you swap out creamy sauces for tomato-based sauces
• Tomato juice or vegetable juice with tomatoes
• Tomatoes as mid-afternoon snack
• Serve stewed tomatoes over a baked potato (also great on mashed potatoes)
• Make your own salsa with lots of fresh tomato—salsa is a great replacement for high-fat salad dressings as well as being tasty on meats, fish, and eggs

It is important to remember these facts about tomatoes:
• Cooking the tomatoes helps the lycopene become fully released.
• Lycopene is fat soluble, so it helps to cook it in oil, such as olive oil.
• 'Eating tomato ketchup and pizza topping counts towards lycopene intake,' says Sian Porter.
• Ripe, red tomatoes are likely to contain more lycopene than paler, watery ones.

The Down Side
• Some people may be allergic to tomatoes; their body cannot absorb and digest them.
• In some individuals eating tomatoes in salads can lead to itching, hives and breathing problems.
• Lycopene intolerance can cause bloating of the stomach, pain and diarrhea.
• For some, eating tomatoes in any form can result in heart burn and reflux.
• When a person has a history of kidney stones, it would be wise to eat tomatoes in moderation as the high oxalate and calcium bind together and kidney stones are a result.
• Those diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome will need to go slow on consuming tomatoes.
• However, if eaten in moderation will not be harmful in anyway. The nutritional benefits are many so there is no reason to avoid this simple, cost effective and widely available fruit.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/9-Surprising-Health-Benefits-of-Tomatoes.aspx?b=1
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diet-and-nutrition/health-benefits-of-tomatoes.htm
http://www.tomatodirt.com/tomato-facts-health-benefits.html
http://www.medindia.net/patients/lifestyleandwellness/health-benefits-of-tomato.htm

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Breast Feeding: The Sure Way To Go

NO!!! Breast feeding isn’t over rated. We fail to remember is that infants are fragile and susceptible to disease, partly because their bodies are not fully developed. They must be treated with special care and given adequate nourishment.
It is true that  a lot these infant formulas are able to mimic a few of the nutritional components of breast milk, but these formulas cannot hope to duplicate the vast and constantly changing array of essential nutrients in human milk.                                                

There are countless benefits of breastfeeding but here are a few of them

• Breast milk is the only natural food designed for your baby.
• Breastfeeding protects your baby from infections and diseases.
• Breast milk provides health benefits for your baby.
• It’s free.
• It’s the right temperature.
• It can build a strong physical and emotional bond between mother and baby
• Breast-fed children are less likely to contract a number of diseases later in life, including juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and cancer before the age of 15
• Mothers who breastfeed are less likely to develop osteoporosis later in life, are able to lose weight gained during pregnancy more easily and have a lower risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer

Pregnancy and all that it entails can be over whelming to mothers, first timers especially. Even when mothers are able to get off to a good start, all too often in the weeks or months after delivery there is a sharp decline in breastfeeding rates, and practices, particularly exclusive breastfeeding. The period when mothers do not visit a healthcare facility is the time when a community support system for mothers is essential. Continued support to sustain breastfeeding can be provided in a variety of ways.

As we celebrate this year's World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) themed, 'BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT: CLOSE TO MOTHERS'. The driving force is encouraging support by the family. As societies change, however, in particular with urbanization, support for mothers from a wider circle is needed, whether it is provided by trained health workers, lactation consultants, community leaders, or from friends who are also mothers, and/or from fathers/partners. 

 Offer Support To Mothers Today!

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/why-breastfeed.aspx#close
http://www.nrdc.org/breastmilk/benefits.asp

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