Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Somebody please remind me… why do we live in New England? I forgot the reason… maybe I don't remember why because it's like 0 degree temperatures outside right now. Maybe it's because we warm up for a day, go back to severe cold weather, then warm up again, then the snow melts, then we get extreme cold, then we get snow again, then it warms up again, then back to freezing cold! I guess there's a lot of good reasons to live in New England… I just can't think of them right now!

I thought I would offer some tips on shoveling snow and staying warm. Remember to take it easy when shoveling. Every now and then we hear of people having heart attacks while shoveling snow. According to the American Heart Association, those that are at risk are people who are in poor physical condition, or those with existing heart disease or a personal history of stroke. We also have the danger of the extreme cold weather.

The following list of foods are what I feel are the most unhealthy and should be avoided. This isn't just for those looking to lose weight, but for everyone that would like to avoid diseases as well. I've researched many of these foods and they should be limited, if not eliminated from your diet altogether.

1. Aspertame. I know aspartame has been in the news recently, with some experts saying it's not dangerous in small amounts. I question this as I've read many different views on the subject. At the very least, it causes headaches and some severe cases have been reported about links to MS. This is a chemical discovered in a scientific lab. It doesn't sound very safe to me, and I would rather avoid disease than listen to the occasional reports that say it's okay to consume. I recommend trying stevia, a natural sweetener instead.

The new year is approaching, and everyone that wants to lose weight will begin to think of their resolutions. Some people will get gym memberships, others will try the latest fad diets. Instead of diets, you have to remember that true, sustainable weight loss only comes from lifestyle changes.

To achieve your weight loss goal, I think you need other goals too. You know what helped me lose the weight? I didn't only concentrate on the weight as I was trying to find foods to lower my blood pressure. I was on a mission to not be on hypertensive medication and I changed my diet because of it. The result was weight loss! Of course I knew I needed to lose weight… my doctor told me to lose 90 pounds, after all. But I don't think I would have made all the necessary dietary changes if it weren't for the other goal of lowering my blood pressure.

The Christmas holiday is a tough time to keep in shape. I applaud Ryan's recent post about how to maintain your waist size over Christmas. It is something so many of us go through… Christmas parties at work, family get togethers, cookies everywhere. Everyone expects you to partake in all the eating and drinking, so if you're not prepared ahead of time, you can really overdo it.

There's pressure for those that have already lost weight too. Certain people may watch closely to see what food you will take. Maybe they'll make comments like "go ahead, eat some dessert", or "you're skinny enough, you can eat this"! It can get very uncomfortable when all the people there know that you lost weight.

Last week, Dr. Oz had a show about preventing pancreatic cancer. One of the things he mentioned is to avoid foods with nitrites in them. Other possible risk factors include obesity and family history.

Luckily, I don't seem to like the foods with nitrites in them. Many of you probably do though, as they are very common in the American diet. They include lunch meat, hot dogs, sausage and… bacon. Yes, the popular breakfast choice of many has nitrites in it.