The Power of Addictions
drug addiction
Addiction does not discriminate.
It can be found in the rich and the poor, healthy and not so healthy. It is not only the underpriviledged who may have easy access to drugs, but also the college educated business executive striving to stay on top of his game. Addictions are everywhere and they are holding people hostage to alcohol, cigarettes, hard drugs, painkillers, food, sex, gambling and other things.
The addict is not the only one affected…family, friends and co-workers are involved as well. It can be a very difficult thing to watch someone you know and love slowly destroy themselves right before your eyes, but its happening all over the world…right now.
I don’t mean to be so sobering about this topic, but it hits very close to home. Not only have I seen the effects on loved ones, but I’ve seen what it can do to myself as well. There is a lot of information to cover so lets get started.
Signs of an Addict
- using alcohol or drugs to relax
- using alcohol or drugs to forget about problems
- loss of interest in those activities that were once important
- keeping secrets from friends and family
- withdrawing and wanting to spend more time alone
- missing school and unexplained absences
- falling grades
- different friendships that aren’t always healthy
- spending time finding ways to get drugs or alcohol
- stealing money
- stealing items and selling them for cash
- failed attempts at addiction recovery
- anxiety
- depression
- anger
- mood changes
The addiction didn’t start overnight…and it certainly won’t stop that way either. For the addict to ever get better, it will take a serious commitment as well as support from loved ones and family members. It won’t be easy either. It will be the hardest thing the addict has probably ever tried to do, with dire consequences if they should fail…and they more than likely will. It usually takes a few serious attempts for the addict to be able to stay “clean” or steer clear of their “drug”.’
If you are seeing signs in someone you care about, don’t wait until it’s too late…don’t hang onto a sinking ship either, because you must save yourself in order to help the addict. There are wonderful programs out there for children and partners of addicts…Alanon and Alateen are just a few. They have chapters in every major city…and sometimes the smaller cities as well.
Help is out there, don’t be afraid to ask for it.
My next blog post will continue this conversation by delving deeper into the addict’s psyche.
Until next time, good health to you!
Darlene
The Amazing Banana
After Reading this, you will NEVER look at a banana in the same way again!
Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, which is why a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.
No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes. But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
- Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND among people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel better.
- PMS: Forget the pills — eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
- Anemia:High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
- Blood Pressure:This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
- Brain Power:200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex England ) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
- Constipation:High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
- Hangovers:One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
- Heartburn:Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
- Morning Sickness:Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
- Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
- Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
- Overweight and at work?Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
- Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
- Temperature control:Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
- Smoking:Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B-6 and B-12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
- Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be re-balanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
- Strokes:According to research in “The New England Journal of Medicine,” eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death from strokes by as much as 40%!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!
Footnote: If your roses are covered with Aphids, drape banana skins over the branches, it’s amazing, but in a day or less, they are GONE! I’ve tried it, and I couldn’t believe it, no more aphids, as long as I save my banana skins for the rose bushes!
Impressed? Well then, PASS IT ON TO YOUR FRIENDS!
Unzip a BANANA today!
Darlene
Bananas are an integral part of my Strip That Fat routine for losing weight.
Make Sure Your Food Is Safe
keep your food safe
Foodborne illnesses are known to cause some 7 million documented cases every year. Some cases are violent and even result in death. Of course this is commonly known as “food poisoning.” The culprit is food that has dangerously high levels of bacteria due to improper cooking or handling.
Food safety is usually taken for granted by the buying public but everyone’s attention was recently directed to food poisoning involving some meat that was undercooked. It was determined that the problem never would have happened if the meat had been cooked properly. E.Coli 0157.H7 is a potent virus, but it can be completely destroyed when the meat is fully cooked.
It is important for consumers to take an all-around safety approach to purchasing, storing and preparing both traditional and new meat and poultry products. Ultimately, consumers and food handlers bear the responsibility for keeping food safe once it leaves the store.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 85 percent of foodborne illness cases could be avoided each year if consumers would handle food properly. The most common foodborne illnesses are caused by a combination of bacteria, naturally present in the environment, and food handling mistakes. Ironically, these are also the easiest types of foodborne illnesses to prevent. Proper cooking or processing of raw meat and poultry kills bacteria that can cause foodborne illness.
When you’re out, grocery shop last, take food straight home to the refrigerator. And never leave food in a hot car! Don’t buy anything you won’t use before the use-by date. Don’t buy food in poor condition. Make sure refrigerated food is cold to the touch. Frozen food should be rock-solid. Canned goods should be free of dents, cracks or bulging lids, which can indicate a serious food poisoning threat.
The performance and maintenance of your refrigerator is of the utmost importance. Check the temperature of your refrigerator with an appliance thermometer. To keep bacteria in check, the refrigerator should run at 40 degrees F; the freezer unit at 0 degrees F. Generally, keep your refrigerator as cold as possible without freezing your milk or lettuce.
When you prepare food, keep everything clean and thaw out any frozen food you plan to prepare in your refrigerator. Take it out of the freezer in advance and place it in the refrigerated section of your refrigerator. Always wash your hands in hot soapy water before preparing and handling any food as well as after you use the bathroom, change diapers, handle pets, etc. Remember, too, that bacteria can live in your kitchen towels, sponges and dishcloths. Wash them often and replace the dishcloths and sponges you use regularly every few weeks.
Be absolutely sure that you keep all raw meats, poultry and fish and their juices away from other food. For instance, wash your hands, your cutting board and knife in hot soapy water after cutting up the chicken and before dicing salad ingredients. It is best to use plastic cutting boards rather than wooden ones where bacteria can hide in grooves. Don’t take your food out of the freezer and leave it on the kitchen counter to thaw. This is extremely dangerous since the bacteria can grow in the outer layers of the food before the inside thaws. It is wise to do your marinating in the refrigerator too.
Hope this information helps keep you safe and healthy!
Darlene
Exercise Reduces Body Fat
exercise for good health
Exercise Reduces Body Fat
The leading experts now recommend that people who want to lose weight start increasing their physical activity. Just being more active in general (such as climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator, moving around instead of sitting still, sitting up instead of lying down as well as showing some excitement and enthusiasm instead of boredom), are things that more effectively burns calories and reduces body fat. Everyone seems to have lost sight of the value of being active. Consider this, a half-hour aerobic workout accounts for far less energy expenditure than our minute-to-minute movement in the office or at home.
Millions of Americans are trying to lose weight, spending approximately $30 billion a year on diet programs and products and often they do lose some weight. But, if you check with the same people five years later, you will find that nearly all have regained whatever weight they lost. A national panel recently researched data to determine if any commercial diet program could prove long-term success. Not a single program could do so. Being seriously overweight and particularly obesity predisposes individuals to a number of diseases and serious health problems, and it’s now a known fact that when caloric intake is excessive, some of the excess is more than likely saturated fat.
People who diet without exercising often gain more weight with time. Although your weight may initially drop while dieting, such weight loss consists mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid this cycle, increase your metabolism by exercising regularly.
Walking is one of the best exercises for strengthening bones, controlling weight, toning the leg muscles, maintaining good posture and improving positive self-concept. To lose weight, it’s more important to walk for time than speed. Walking at a moderate pace yields longer workouts with less soreness – leading t more miles and more fat worked off on a regular basis. High intensity walks on alternate days help condition one’s system. But in a walking, weight-loss program, you are not required to walk an hour every day as some people would have you believe.
When it comes to good health and weight loss, exercise and diet are inter-related. Exercising without maintaining a balanced diet is no more beneficial than dieting while remaining inactive.
Hope this information helps motivate you to get off the couch and enjoy the outdoors!
Darlene
Why Dieting is Wrong
If we think we are heavier than we want to be, we naturally are inclined to eat less food, thinking that if we skip a meal or eat less our body will burn off some of it’s fat.
This is not necessarily true. It actually makes it more difficult to lose weight when we reduce our food intake. Our bodies are designed to sustain us, even through starvation. We have a built-in mechanism to help us survive even when confronted with a lack of sustainable food.
Losing weight is not an overnight project. There is no “magic” pill that is going to make us lose weight and keep it off successfully. We must adopt a new mindset with common sense and certain guidlines. Healthy weight loss starts with a new attitude, one which allows us to think in terms of lifestyle eating changes and modifications.
Some of these modifications involve:
1. You guessed it…DRINKING WATER!
I assure you, you are not alone in your reluctance to drink the required amount of water every day (8 8 oz. glasses). I put a slice of lemon in mine to help it go down better.
2. Reduce or eliminate the consumption of Cola’s.
The taste may be enjoyable, but carbonated soda’s contain empty calories, adding pounds to our bodies.
3. Vegetables and Fruits are our friends!!
There cannot be enough said about the advantages of choosing healthy, natural meals consisting of veggies and fruits. Determine which ones you like, then be creative…put cheddar cheese on your apple, or some lemon pepper seasoning on broccoli. There are a lot of ways to spice up these natural foods.
4. Make your favorite recipes with leaner meats.
Chicken, turkey and fish are all lean meats which add less fat and cholesterol to your diet.
5. Make exercise a part of your daily routine.
Losing weight and getting fit does not have to mean a gym membership, buying a weight set or spending hours working out. Select a routine that YOU are comfortable with. Remember, walking is one of the easiest and best exercises for controlling your weight, toning your muscles and strengthening bone. It also helps release endorphins which just make you feel better.
6. Reduce carbohydrate consumption.
Carbs have gotten a bad rap lately, but they are needed for the proper daily requirements. Think quantity when you think about carbohydrates in your daily meal planning. Breads, pasta’s and potatoes all have a place in our diet’s, we just need to think on a smaller serving level.
I hope these ideas will help you in your goal to become healthier!
Darlene Schirmer
I use Strip That Fat to help me plan healthy meals and manage my weight!
