Brenda Skidmore's Health Tips

Every day, thousands of Americans with health problems are joining an exclusive group. It is a group that most folks hope they never become a part of. Can you think of what group that might be?

Not being able to obtain, or afford, health insurance because of a pre-existing health condition.

Even if a person manages to find a health insurance company willing to cover them, a restriction (rider) is usually attached to the policy so that it can not be used for that specific health condition. The insurance company usually considers them a health risk at that point for 'other' related health problems, and the price tag for coverage suddenly sky-rockets. The bottom line is most people can not afford it and end up without any kind of decent coverage, or none at all.

This discrimination tactic also puts more people in a position of not being able to meet even the basics of today's conventional health care expenses out-of-pocket, without the help of a charitable source. Thus, a system of disease management dependency, that offers no real solutions, has been created. It becomes a vicious cycle that is hard to break free from. Especially if that system is where you have placed your most of your faith and reliance on for help.

It has been said that even 'if' you have good health care coverage now, every family is really just one catastrophic illness away from financial ruin. I don't know who originally coined that statement, but you can bet that most of us have heard it and can see the reality in it. For some, it will spur inspiration, in making some much needed and doable changes in their lives. For others, it will perpetuate fear and a sense of being overwhelmed.

If you feel angry over today's current health care conundrum, it might help to ask yourself a few, sensible questions. For example, why do certain key industries and organizations seem to be overly willing to offer 'reduced price' handouts for products and services to those who do not have the resources to pay for such services? Might those entities have an invested, self-interest in keeping a system of managing sick care alive (with overly expensive options) be the most preferred choice? Do you really need that kind of a help system that promotes a sense of helpless dependency instead of a system that promotes a sense prevention freedom? And finally, what small steps could my family and I take to improve our lot in this confusing situation?

Health and weight loss decisions that hold up to the test of time are the ones that involve minor, do-able changes. The key is to take several small, positive steps that move you in the right direction consistently. Be realistic about the changes you think you can achieve.

For example, better than 'willpower' is learning how interpret food labels when dining out or shopping for food, so that you can make healthier choices in what to eat.

Here are 5 Ways To Lose Weight And Improve Your Health

Invest in a pedometer:

Let's be honest: Seeing a number at the end of the day can make walking a lot more fun. Not bad for an investment of around $5. to $15. Striving to reach a goal, such as 10,000 steps a day, can be just the motivation you need to keep moving. Two physical benefits as a result of wearing a pedometer-- a decrease in BMI (body mass index) and systolic blood pressure. After just two weeks of walking more, you may see other measurable health benefits too. Walking even 30 minutes a day for two weeks should be enough for people with hypertension, diabetes, and elevated blood sugar to see better readings.

Drink 2 cups of tea a day:

With each sip of green or black tea, you get health-promoting substances. Green tea in particular is loaded with the catechin called EGCG, which is supposed to have anti-cancer properties. Stay away from manufactured green tea drinks, as they are loaded with sweeteners and additives you don't need. Buy tea bags and brew your own. Keep some at work and at home and drink hot or iced. If you are sensitive to caffeine, avoid drinking tea several hours before bedtime, or choose decaf teas. This habit can be beneficial, especially if you replace other beverages that add calories to your diet without nutrients. Try sweetening your tea with 'Stevia', a supplement sweetener found in health food stores. Bet you can't taste the difference between it and sugar!

Add some fiber:

Switch to 100% whole grain grains in bread, crackers cereals, and pastas. Eat more fresh raw fruits and vegetables, or lightly steamed, with the skins and peelings on if you can. This food group is loaded not only with fiber, but enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and whole slew of identified antioxidant phytochemicals (and some yet to be identified). Sprinkle some ground flax seeds on salads, breakfast cereal, or toast and honey to add fiber with a nutty flavor. Flax seeds also provide a certain type of omega-3 fatty acid to your diet. ALA (alpha linolenic acid) is a precursor to EPA and DHA essential fatty acids found in cold-water fish like salmon and tuna. As everyone is not able to easily convert ALA in to EPA and (especially) DHA, it is advised not to rely solely on flax seeds for your omgega-3 intake. Add a fish oil supplement to balance out your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

Get a healthier variety of different fats:

There has been so much confusion and contradiction over the past 50 years over which types of fats are healthy for us, and how much. One thing that is becoming clearer, as time goes by, is the body requires a variety of fats in the diet. Too much of any one kind is unhealthy. Also, the less refined those fats are before they end up in our kitchen, the better they are for us as well.

When cooking, try replacing margarine, shortening, and soybean oil for coconut oil or butter. Homemade butter made from fresh raw cream has more nutrition than store bought butter. Butter is one of the best and most easily absorbed sources of vitamin A. Butter also contains vitamin E and is a very rich source of the trace mineral selenium.

Coconut oil is 50 percent lauric acid, a saturated fat, which is a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT). Most other fats, such as vegetable oil and animal fats are long-chain triglycerides. MCTs are burned more efficiently in the body than LCTs. The fat is also present in coconut milk and can be used instead of regular milk in most recipes.

Canola oil contributes two "smart fats"--monounsaturated fat and plant omega-3s. Canola oil also has a low amount of omegea-6 essential fatty acid. It has a neutral flavor, is reasonably priced and widely available.

Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat and low in saturated fat. Furthermore, it contains more than 30 phytochemicals from olives (many of which have antioxidant properties that promote a prompt anti-inflammatory reaction in the body).

Balance your water/salt ratio:

Sodium is a problem for lots of people with salt-sensitive hypertension. This is most likely due to a water shortage inside the body. When the body begins to collect salt, it is doing so to keep water inside your body. From this 'abnormal' collection of built up watery body fluid, your body's blood pressure will rise to meet the demand of filtering some of its water and 'forcing' it through cell membranes into some of the cells that are becoming dehydrated. High blood pressure is the body's necessary reaction to an unbalanced salt to water ratio inside your body.

All salt is NOT the same. Most of us get plenty of salt (although not healthy salt) in eating too much refined foods. Good salt is unrefined and not pristine white in color. Salt that is good for you has a dirty looking color and has not been processed to eliminate naturally occurring trace minerals such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

So up your water intake, and make it a life-long habit. Even those who have hypertension that is not salt-sensitive, although it may take longer, will benefit from increasing their water intake.