Check out this great new guide and app from the EWG!

Click here to read the entire May newsletter!

1.  Plant a Garden.  Gardening is not only a great way to enjoy colorful blooms or fresh vegetables all summer long, it is also a great form of light exercise.  Planning the design of flower beds or planters stimulates your  creativity and encourages social interaction at the garden center and in the neighborhood.    Best of all, getting your hands in the dirt is a great way to relieve stress and forget your worries.  Click here for some gardening tips and how-to videos from HGTV.

2.  Find a local Farmer’s Market.  ‘Farmer’s markets’, outdoor markets featuring fresh produce and many other items are popping up everywhere, which is a great thing.  The produce you’ll find there is usually locally grown, often with fewer pesticides (ask to be sure), and is fresher than what you’ll find in the supermarket.  That means more nutrition and longer shelf life at home.  Lower prices on seasonal fruits and vegetables make them an affordable, as well as  enjoyable, way to shop.  For example, click here for a list of Farmer’s Markets in Bergen County, New Jersey.  A simple Google search of your area should tell you where to find a market near you.

3.  Try something new (or appreciate what isn’t).  Something about summer makes it easier to open yourself up to new ideas.   You may also feel motivated to take better care of yourself.  Put these together and and you can make positive changes.  Try a new hobby or rediscover an old one, take in a sunrise, connect with an old friend, start a  gratitude journal. When you break from your usual patterns, you have a chance to see things in a new light.

4.  Simplify. The  casual nature of summer almost begs us to be more relaxed.  Simplify your dinner hour with an a no-cook  pasta sauce such as pesto, or olive oil, slivered garlic and chopped tomatoes, or pack up a Mediterranean style picnic of hummus, whole grain bread or crackers, fresh vegetables, olives, cheese, and a few lean meats and take it to the park or the porch.

5. Rethink exercise as “active play”.  The best exercise is always the one you will do, so find activities that are enjoyable and incorporate them naturally into your day.   What matters is that you move and feel refreshed, whether it is a brisk walk, a swim, taking the stairs, stretching, yoga, dancing, cleaning, Pilates in front of the television, or isometrics while standing in line.  Exercise doesn’t have to be  an isolated chore or a bullet on your to-do list.    For a fun and easy game you can take just about anywhere, try Goodminton, a racquet game with two paddles and feather-tailed birdies.  Have fun!

Most likely, you need no convincing about the benefits of reducing stress, conflict and worry in your life.  But in case you are not convinced, here is one more very good reason.  This new Danish study shows a strong link between high levels of   family and/or spousal conflict and a significant increase in mortality during middle-age.  This is so important.  Stress has been long understood to lead to certain types of disease or illness, but this new study suggests it also leads to higher mortality, generally, during middle age.  Read more.

Is it the box of cookies or the stress…or both? Read on to learn how stress plays a significant role in fat accumulation, blood glucose levels, insulin resistance and more…

Click here to read the article.

Click here to read my latest Huffington Post blog!  In honor of my 2nd anniversary of survival, it tells of the amazing journey I wouldn’t trade for the world.

My Unexpected Teacher

Finding ways to manage stress and tension is critical to living a balanced,  healthy life.  The impacts of chronic or sustained stress are far reaching and can impact health in many ways.  High levels of prolonged stress have been proven to increase infertility in women, suppress the immune system, and cause blood vessels to constrict leading to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

While practices like yoga, mindfulness and time management tips are more and more accessible, many of us still only give lip service to stress management.   But you don’t have to wait for a weekend yoga class to reset your body’s physiological response to stress and chill out.

With just a few tools in your back pocket, you can bring stress reduction into your day no matter where you are or how much time you have.  Even 5 minutes of deep breathing and/or meditation can create a change in hormone levels in the body and create a relaxation response.  That is good news.

You can take it with you – With many apps out there, you are bound to find one you like to tune into when you have a few minutes at your desk, between meetings, or on the walk to the train.  Click here to see some of the best mediation apps.

Turn your car into a mobile spa – Driving can be relaxing, but it can also feel like wasted time, or at worst get stressful with traffic jams and aggressive drivers.  Try something different by keeping a meditation CD in the car, or tune into XM radio’s “Spa” station.  You will be amazed how quickly the stress melts away and you will arrive at home or work feeling more refreshed.

Breathe!  If you simply cannot find time to tune into an external source to guide you, you can use deep breathing techniques to effectively reduce stress anytime, anywhere.  Take 10 deep belly breaths, holding to a count of 4 and exhaling slowly.  Notice how you feel, and do it as often as you can throughout the day.

Get outside –  With warmer weather finally here, find a reason to take a short walk.  Even 10 minutes outside in the sun and fresh air can bring positive health benefits.   Find a bench  to stop and take a pause if you can (but no checking email!).

Be Well!

5 Ways to a Happy, Healthy Heart  

Eat more plant based foods.  Increasing the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables we eat is good news for lowering the ‘highs’:  high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, and high blood sugar.  When enjoying a meal of animal based foods, be sure to include a big helping of greens, vegetables and/or fruits.  They can help to reduce the artery-constricting effect of a meal high in animal fat.

Eat more potassium and less sodium.   A 2008 study from Harvard Medical School showed that eating twice as much potassium as sodium can decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease in half.  That’s big!  How it works?  The high potassium/low sodium diet has the effect of lowering blood pressure, which is a primary cause of heart related illness.     Click here to see a list of potassium-rich foods!

Relax.  Dr. Sears puts it well, “The brain and heart are energy-delivering teammates.  When the brain is upset, so is the heart”.  Stress levels (particularly among middle-aged women) are through the roof and the consequences to heart health, as well as  to emotional well-being are serious.  Chronic, relentless stress triggers the brain to release hormones that cause blood vessels to constrict, leading to high blood pressure.    Make it a priority to carve out time to clear your mind and decompress in a way that works for you.  Exercise,  meditation. yoga, music, a walk in nature, or just the art of doing nothing.  Once you find one fits, get busy being unavailable.

Move!  Exercise and ‘active play’ is perhaps the single most important thing you can do for heart health.  The heart is a muscle, and like others, it strengthens as we use it.  Increasing blood flow through exercise triggers the release of the body’s own natural medicines, such as Nitric Oxide.  This amazing natural medicine triggers blood vessels to widen, prevents blood from getting thick and ‘sticky’,  and helps keep artery walls smooth and flexible.    All that adds up to great heart health!

1. Don’t go to the party hungry: Before you head out, eat a healthy snack. Crudites, a handful of nuts, or a protein-rich smoothie are all good choices.  If you struggle with sweets, having a small piece of dark chocolate will help you resist the dessert tray later on .
2. Use a small plate:  This will help to keep portions small and avoid the urge to ‘super-size’ your meal.
3. Choose wisely:  Double up on healthy choices like fruit, vegetables, and salad.   Choose fish and lean meats over fatty meats, fried foods or pasta.
4. Take small bites and chew twice as long:.  It can take up to 20 minutes for your brain to register that hunger has been satisfied.  Take your time!
5. Drink water:  If you will be sipping on drinks all night, alternate with a glass of water to moderate alcohol consumption (and blood sugar levels) and stay hydrated.  You’ll thank yourself in the morning!