Reduce Your Risk Factors

Following these nutritional strategies can help you reduce or even eliminate some risk factors, such as reducing total and LDL-cholesterol; lowering blood pressure, blood sugars and triglycerides; and reducing body weight. While most dietary plans tell you what you can’t eat (usually your favorite foods!), the most powerful nutrition strategies help you focus on what you can and should eat. In fact, research has shown that adding certain foods to your diet

Download a blank food diary page

Meal or Snack Foods and Beverages Consumed Amount Preparation Method Fat Used * Today’s Good Points: * What I Can Improve: Breakfast
(7:00 am) Oatmeal ½ cup cooked Microwave None Skim milk 8 ounces Slivered almonds 2 Tbsp Apple 1 medium

Exercise is an important part of improving and maintaining normal, comfortable back function. It is important to exercise regularly so that you can maintain your fitness level.

What are the different types of exercise?

Exercise can be divided into three basic groups:

Strengthening— using repeated muscle contractions until the muscle becomes tired Stretching or flexibility— slow, sustained lengthening of the muscle

Cytologic screening (Papanicolaou or Pap smears) represents one of the most successful screening efforts of modern medicine. The morbidity and mortality secondary to cervical cancer has substantially decreased in adequately screened populations. Patients, however, need to understand that Pap smears are intended to be a screening, not a diagnostic, test. For any screening test there is an inherent false negative rate, which is approximately 10 to 20 percent for Pap smears.

Despite the

Determining A Proper Serving Size

In a portion-distorted world, here are some tips on how you can determine a proper serving size

Most of us would like to think that we have a good handle on portion control. But in our country – where “super-size it” seems to be our cultural motto, obesity is running rampant, and diabetes rates continue to rise – most of us could stand to learn a few things about portion control.

While it may seem disheartening at first to learn

Soup! The best comfort food around on a cold winter day or night. This minestrone-style soup is hearty, healthy and satisfying, loaded with veggies and pasta, and makes a delicious one-pot meal.

This recipe is from Holly Clegg's Too Hot in the Kitchen: Secrets To Sizzle At Any Age cookbook.

Your heart is too small to continue to carry painful experiences in it, all because you refuse to forgive! You should be tired of allowing people you haven’t forgiven to take up space in your mind. It is probably more than past the time for you to let it go, let them go, forgive, and live! You will find freedom, relief, as well as inner and outer peace when you give yourself permission to forgive.

Forgiving as a Process

Moving to a point of forgiving a friend or loved one

There will always be times in your personal and professional life when you have to say "no" to someone's request. The challenge is how to do it without alienating them. In fact, would it be possible to say "no" and actually have the person walk away appreciating you? I believe it truly is.

How Not to Say No

I was in a small electronics store the other day and watched a woman try to return an item. She started out fairly pleasant, but no matter what she said, the store

Did you ever have the kind of day that made you wonder where all the nice people went? It was as if there was not a single nice person left in the world. Vendors were cranky, your coworkers were grumpy, even your best friend was a little testy. What happened? Was it something in the water? Were the stars lined up wrong?

While there are times when we all get a little crabby, I do believe there is something we can do to bring out the "nice" in people.

My Experience

You're committed to doing the best work you can. You're smart and hardworking and want to excel. But as you move ahead and make progress, you begin to detect a little resentment coming from your coworkers. At first you try to ignore it, then you start to get angry and frustrated. You're tempted to confront it head- on, but aren't sure if that's the right move or not. What's the right strategy?

While there are no hard and fast rules, and every situation may be different, the following

All of us have been on the receiving end of someone else's anger. Through those miserable experiences, we have all learned one important thing: joining them in their anger and firing back verbal assaults didn't solve the problem. In fact, it might have made it worse.

If we want to effectively deal with the problem in such a way that resolves the issue and maintains the relationship, there are certain key strategies and behaviors which you can employ.

Listen First

Think of three words to describe yourself. What are they? These answers have a direct impact on the way you lead your life. Your self-image is directly related to your self-esteem and can actually become how you are viewed by yourself and others.

You are a person with vast, unlimited potential. Until you believe that to be the truth, you will continue to deny yourself free access to your own wisdom and magnificence.

Make Your Self-Esteem Soar

Following is a list of

Relationships are complicated, multifaceted and an absolutely necessary part of life. They can be the source of our greatest joy and some of our deepest sorrow. There is absolutely nothing in life that we can achieve or accomplish without other people and it's our relationships that connect us to them. So, it stands to reason -- the better relationships we have, the better outcomes we will get.

There are two myths in our culture that seem to influence our thinking, our behaviors and

A positive attitude is very important for successful weight loss and weight management. To lose weight permanently, you must make a commitment to gradually adopt a healthier way of life.

You can control your weight. To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories or burn up more calories than you need. The best way to lose weight is to do both.

Following a very low calorie diet can leave you feeling deprived and can increase the temptation to binge. Often, very low calorie diets

Stress is defined as "any stimulus, such as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism." Put simply, stress is our response to daily life. The right amount of stress can be a positive force. It helps us do our best work and keeps us alert, energetic, focused, and engaged in the world around us. However, too much stress can leave us anxious, depressed, and uncomfortable.

Everyday life continually presents us with stressful

This easy, tasty recipe gives a wonderful blend of sweet and salt to sweet potato wedges. Fantastic prosciutto is wrapped around sweet potato wedges and baked until it’s crispy and mouth-watering. Mix with basil leaves to create a popular new treat. Add a kick to traditional potato wedges with this innovative flavor combination!

News outlets have recently published news reports and opinion pieces based on a study about a possible link between hormone therapy and a very rare increased breast cancer death risk. Dr. Holly L. Thacker discusses the facts.

With more than 30,000 items filling the shelves of the average grocery store, it is no wonder that you may feel confused when trying to select heart-healthy choices for you and your family.

3 Tips for Shopping for Healthy Food

1. Eat your veggies

It always comes back to the green stuff. But it’s for good reason: The nutrients in vegetables (whether the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and/or polyphenols) all seem to be disease-fighters in a variety of ways. When it comes

Many restaurants offer delicious low-fat, low-cholesterol meals. These tips will help you make eating out enjoyable as well as healthy.

Before you order:

If you are familiar with the menu, decide what to order before entering the restaurant. This tactic will help you avoid any temping foods that might not be so healthy. If you are trying a new restaurant, take time to study the menu in order to avoid making unhealthy decisions. If possible, log on to the restaurant’s

A monthly self breast exam should be performed by all women starting at about the age of 20. A breast exam increases the chances of early detection and survival of breast cancer.

Monthly Breast Self Exam

1. The first part of the breast exam is inspection, or looking at your breasts. Stand undressed from the waist up in front of a large mirror in a well lighted room. Look at your breasts. Don’t be alarmed if they do not look equal. Most women’s breasts are