PCOS

What is PCOS? Polycystic ovary syndrome. It's also known as PCOD (polycystic ovary disease). So many women have this, but don't know they do. It's a hormonal imbalance and insulin resistance. If you can't lose weight and the weight tends to be in the middle, menstrual problems, acne, excess body hair, fatigue, depression, etc....take a moment to take this test. This company says they can reverse the PCOS conditions. I checked out the company and it's A+ rating on BBB. The problem when it's not treated, the conditions related to PCOS is bad (heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity). Doctors tend to treat those symptoms, but it's a whole balance of your endrocrine system. Check this link out.

http://pcos.insulitelabs.com/PCOS-Self-Test.php

Planting Seeds

It's spring time..time for planting!!! Want to plant something different than what you'll find at Home Depot? Check out this website: www.rareseeds.com

I ordered a catalog, didn't know I would get this beautiful colored catalog with many different and rare seeds from all over the world. The catalog has fruits, veggies, flowers and herbs. I haven't heard or seen a lot of the items listed. Interesting stuff. Their seed bank location is in Petaluma, CA. Cost for the seeds are from $1-$3. Order a catalog for your home (doesn't cost anything) and start planting.

http://rareseeds.com/about-2/catalog-requests/

First Steps To Eating Better

Reflecting the progress of my family down a healthier lifestyle reminds me that it didn't happen overnight. I thought about a few easy steps that can be incorporated immediately and would like to share this with you.

1. No more sodas. It's been about 5 years since my daughter stopped drinking this. She'll have one now and then as a treat. That's what sodas should be, a treat. She started to have lemonade instead, but even that's been eliminated. She just drinks water, even at restaurants. For school lunch, she fills her BPA free water bottle every morning and now it's habit.

2. From white to wheat--again, another easy one to change. You know the benefits from making this change.

3. The tracking of 5 fruits and veggies a day. This has been a really good visual trick. Our names are posted on the refrigerator with a ticker of our day. It's a reminder for all of us as a family to make sure we have at least 5 a day. My daughter makes sure I'm tracking all of her fruits and veggies everyday. Nice, huh? Now when we go out for dinner and she indulged, she feels sick and wants to go home and have an apple.

It's a start. It's a good start.

Protein Salad...Edamame

I made this as a side dish, but on top of any salad mix, it's just as good!

Ingredients:
Trader Joe's frozen out of pod edamame. Cook as indicated.
Corn (can or fresh. If fresh (2), cook and cut kernels).
1/2 red onion, diced
Avocado (1) diced.
Mango (1) diced.
Cilantro, a small handful, cut.
Pico de Gallo or 1-2 tomato (plum or any kind) diced.
Olive oil and lemon.
Salt/pepper.

Such a good cold salad. You get all these veggies, some fruit and protein.

Salt

An interesting article in Nutrition Action about salt and the impact, especially with high blood pressure. "Over time, 90% of people in this country develop hypertension," according to physician Stephen Havas, former VP of Science, Quality and Public Health at the American Medical Associaton. If you don't have high blood pressure, odds are you will in time. So what can you do? Reduce your salt intake for starters. The average American woman consumes about 3000 milligrams of sodium a day. Average man about 4000 milligrams. Recommended levels are 1500 mg a day.

I've noticed the last 4 times I've gone out for sushi, I feel kinda bloated or not quite right feeling afterwards. I feel like I've had way too much sodium. All that rice, soy sauce, sodium. Now I'm taking notice of how much sodium I'm having in a day. It's hard when you eat out. Here's some examples of sodium levels:

McDonald's Big Mac 1040
Panera French Onion Soup 1560 (10 oz)
California Pizza Kitchen Chinese Chicken Salad 2460
PF Chang's Sesame Chicken and Rice 3060

The sodium levels add up, huh?? Try and take notice and keep the 1500 a day in mind. Stay healthy.

5 A Day

So I'm trying to make sure my family has their 5 fruits/veggies a day. I've posted on the fridge our names and day of the week and track each meal with a check mark if it has a fruit/veggie. It's a fast easy way to monitor our daily intake and it seems to work. My daughter makes sure I give her credit for her meals that contain a fruit &/or veggie. I think having this visually on the fridge for all of us to see has put us all in check. Try it out.

Leptin and Sugar

I read this interesting article about leptin resistance similar to insulin resistance. Here's the link http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/15/shocking-sugar-content-of-common-food-products.aspx

A few points in Dr. Mercola's article:

Sugar consumption has caused people’s appetite regulation system to go awry. Leptin, the hormone responsible for satiety, isn’t working properly anymore in a majority of people.

Leptin appears to reduce cravings for sweet foods by targeting taste receptors on the tongue. Therefore, it is possible that a lack of leptin, or your body's failure to respond to the hormone due to leptin-resistance or defects in your leptin receptors, may contribute to the so-called 'sweet tooth' that affects so many people.

Leptin, which is produced by your fat cells, is an integral part of your weight regulation. When fat cells are “full,” leptin sends signals to your brain to reduce hunger so you can stop eating.

However, once you become leptin-resistant, your brain can no longer hear these signals, and so the sensation of hunger is not shut down. This typically leads to overeating and gaining excessive amounts of weight.