10 Habits of Healthy Familiies - Part 2

Eat dinner together every night

“I can talk about the importance of nutrients for good health all day. But studies show that if you want your kids to have an appreciation of how precious their bodies are, you can’t beat just sitting down together,” Dr. Oz says. This simple ritual improves not just kids’ eating habits but their grades and willingness to open up to you, too.

“When families come together to eat, they create an emotional harmony that I think is pretty sacred for long-term health.” If evenings don’t work, turn breakfast into your family sit-down instead.

Play together every day

“In our house, we put on 50 Cent and the kids bop around,” Dr. Oz says. “It’s our very own dance party.”

Just like with exercising at home for 20 minutes, the key is to carve out a reliable pocket of time when you can actually get active as a family. Working up a sweat together is an antiaging move, too: Using your mind to activate your muscles, either to dance or catch a ball, is one of the best ways to keep yourself young,” Dr. Oz says. Play a pick-up game of soccer, have a dance party, or shoot hoops after dinner.

Let your children police you
Talk to your kids about smart-eating goals, and encourage them to call you out if you grab junk food. “Kids love feeling empowered,” Dr. Oz says. It makes them feel like part of the solution, instead of feeling singled out as the only ones who have to follow healthy-eating rules.

Tell little ones a bedtime story

Or talk to older kids about their day. “That’s the one time that kids let their guard down—when they’re tired and about to go under,” Dr. Oz says. “It’s when you hear what’s really on their minds and you can try and impart some knowledge.”

Make sure you have a bedtime routine
A good night’s sleep keeps you young. “Half of American adults have lost the ability to sleep, and not getting about seven hours a night can be a contributing factor to heart attacks and strokes,” Dr. Oz says. Keep your bedroom cool and dark, and nix the technology. If you can’t fall asleep after 15 minutes, don’t beat yourself up; get out of bed and meditate or read to help you relax.

Bond in bed

Having regular sex can add an extra three years to your life expectancy, Dr. Oz reports. His suggestion? Aim for twice a week. “The love that stems from that blissful moment of being in each other’s arms,” he says, “is crucial for strengthening your relationship—and your health.”

 (Source: Health.com)

10 Habits of Healthy Families - Part 1

10 Habits of Healthy Familiies - Part 1

Team approach

Every wonder how families stay healthy, fit and thin? We asked Oprah’s go-to doctor, Mehmet C. Oz, MD—who gets his own show this month—for his tips on "how to build a healthy family strategy". Dr. Oz says families (like the Carroll's pictured left) that make healthy lifestyle choices together, stay healthy together. Here's his gameplan for your family.

Don't go hungry

To stay at a healthy weight, you have to eat, not starve yourself. “If you don’t fuel up regularly, you’ll become insatiably hungry, causing the ‘hunger’ hormone, ghrelin, to spike,” Dr. Oz says. “The problem is, it takes a half-hour for that hormone to return to normal once you start to eat, but in that 30 minutes you’ll likely chow through many more calories than if you hadn’t eaten on an empty stomach.”

Dr. Oz keeps filling almonds on hand—don’t be surprised if you see him nibbling a few on his show.

 

Automate breakfast and lunch

Without a healthy go-to option for each, you’re far more likely to make bad spur-of-the-moment grabs. Plus, having a staple of one or two healthy usuals makes grocery shopping easier. “You don’t want to reinvent the wheel every day,” says Dr. Oz, who starts his day with a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal with flaxseed oil, a few walnuts, and some raisins or agave for sweetness—a morning meal that Randy and Kathleen have adopted and now love.

For lunch, Dr. Oz recommends a vegetable-based soup (like this tomato fennel soup recipe) or a turkey or tuna sandwich on whole-grain bread. For the kids, you can improve upon the PBJ sandwich (it’s not horrible, but the jelly is all sugar) by using less jelly or turning it into a PB sandwich with a piece of fruit.

Exercise 20 minutes a day—at home

Why stay at your place? “If you have to go somewhere to exercise, you’re automatically going to need more than 20 minutes, and it violates the flow of your day,” Dr. Oz says. “An hour is a long time; 20 minutes is nothing.” Keeping your daily workout goal short and convenient works, he explains, because none of us want to admit that our lives are so disorganized that we can’t carve out 20 quick minutes.

“What we find is that if we tell people to do 20 minutes, they enjoy it and end up doing more than 20 minutes,” which is even better for your heart, Dr. Oz stresses. Simple ideas that work: Skip rope in your driveway, and alternate with crunches and push-ups; do 20 minutes of a workout video; walk in your neighborhood.

Be the food decider in your house

“I know this can be tough for parents, but the big decisions about what to eat must be made by you at the supermarket,” Dr. Oz says. Here’s why: If you bring chips and cookies home, your kids (and you) will naturally want to eat them.

And if you try to restrict them, you’ll actually cause your child to crave them more. But if you don’t buy the sweets to begin with, kids won’t even miss them, Dr. Oz promises. Keep good-news snacks on hand (like nuts and pretzels) and fruit and veggies washed and chopped in your fridge. “Kids will eat healthy snacks when they get hungry enough,” Dr. Oz says.

 (Source: Health.com)

10 Habits of Healthy Families - Part 1 

How can you control energy equation?

Why do we sleep anyway? That’s 9 hours I could be playing video games, practicing my free-throw, or even studying—what a waste!

No way is sleep a waste! Sleep is an important a part of your health and energy—it ranks right up there with diet and exercise. Sleep gives you the energy to play video games and basketball, and to study. Even if you could study for 9 hours straight without getting tired, you’ll remember what you studied more if you sleep after studying. While you sleep, your body stores memories. And not sleeping enough can make you clumsy—that’s no good while you’re on the court. While you sleep, your brain releases the hormones that control your growth. If you don’t sleep enough, you may be tired, cranky, klutzy, and forgetful.

While scientists are a little baffled about why all this recharging can happen only when we sleep, they all agree that we do need to sleep. 

Test your smarts in the Picnic Pickup Game! In 60 seconds, try avoiding junk foods and click on the healthy, nutritious foods instead to win points and maintain your energy level.

  

It's tough to stay alert in classes all day, do stuff after school, see your friends, and get through all your homework at night. Who has time to add physical activity to this list? It’s a weird but true fact: being active actually helps you feel more awake and have the energy to do all the things you want to do every day. Activity helps you feel better, stay alert, and deal with stress. Plus, it helps you sleep better—so you’ve tackled two parts of the energy equation at once.

 

(Source: HealthFinder.gov)

10 Ways to Eat Your Way Gorgeous

Try Lobster

Why It Makes You Pretty: In addition to offering a good, low-fat source of protein (key for healthy hair growth), shellfish contains high amounts of zinc, a mineral which may help prevent acne and boost your immune function, says N.Y.C. nutritionist Keri Glassman, author of The O2 Diet. Shellfish also has pantothenic acid, a B vitamin that makes hair look shinier.

Sprinkle On Some Chia Seeds

Why They Make You Pretty: These antioxidant-rich seeds are great sources of vitamin E and omega-3s, essential fatty acids that make skin glow and hair shine. And unlike their cousins, flaxseeds, they don’t need to be ground up for their beneficial oils to be absorbed.

Cook Up Some Artichokes

Why They Make You Pretty: Anything with lots of fiber—and one artichoke supplies 25 percent of an adult’s daily quota—is detoxifying because it helps rid the body of waste. The result? Clearer, more radiant skin. Artichokes also contain rutin, an anti-oxidant that reduces inflammation throughout the body, so skin appears plumper and less red. 

Eat Strawberries

Why They Make You Pretty: This sweet fruit is loaded with vitamin C, an immune-boosting antioxidant that stimulates collagen production and reduces damage from free radicals, those nasty molecules that cause skin to age prematurely. Strawberries also contain malic acid, a natural astringent that can help remove discoloration from teeth.

Bake Some Sweet Potatoes

Why They Make You Pretty: Full of fiber, this tasty, orange complex carb is also high in vitamin A, an antioxidant that keeps skin fresh, smooth and clear. (The topical version of vitamin A—a derivative known as tretinoin—is the main ingredient in many prescription acne and anti-wrinkle creams.)

Try Açai Berries

Why They Make You Pretty: Known as a super-fruit, this reddish purple Brazilian berry is full of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants (a couple of ounces have more free-radical fighting power than a glass of red wine). Though it’s difficult to find the real fruit outside of Brazil, many companies (like Sambazon) sell açai capsules, sorbet and other products. We love Borba’s açai gummy-bear boosters

Eat Wild Salmon

Why It Makes You Pretty: One of the best-known sources of skin-beautifying omega fatty acids, salmon reduces inflammation more effectively than almost any other food. "It enhances radiance and reduces wrinkles and puffiness," says Connecticut dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, who is so enamored with the fatty fish that he created a beauty diet based on it (The Wrinkle Cure).

Cook With Kale

Why It Makes You Pretty: This dark green, leafy vegetable offers lots of fiber (for clear skin) and plenty of vitamin A and C (take that, wrinkles and discoloration!). Kale also has lutein, a nutrient that makes the whites of your eyes look brighter

Embrace Quinoa

Why It Makes You Pretty: B-complex vitamins in this nutty grain help skin glow and hair feel less dry. Unlike many starches, quinoa does not contain gluten, a common but often overlooked source of food allergies that can irritate the skin, according to Idaho nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman

Drink Kefir

Why It Makes You Pretty: Probiotics in this tangy drink cleanse the digestive tract, so skin appears clearer and more luminous. Studies also show faster weight loss among people who drink kefir or eat yogurt, says Perricone. 

 

 

(Source: InStyle)

How to Clear Snow Off a Car

If you live where it snows and aren't blessed with a garage, mastering the best technique for removing snow from you car will save you time and frozen frustration.

Clear Snow Off a Car

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Snow boots
• Snow gloves
• Snow scraper/brush
• Ice chipper
• Snow shovel (optional) 

Steps:

1. Dress appropriately, with warm, waterproof gloves, winter clothing and high-topped snow boots.
2. Stand on one side of the car. Using a long-handled snow scraper, push the snow on the roof of the car as far to the other side as you can reach. Once the roof is mostly clear, continue pushing the snow on the rear window, trunk, windshield and hood.
   
3. Walk around to the other side of the car and use the snow scraper to pull the piled-up snow off the car.
4. Use the snow brush to remove any snow that hasn't come off the windshield, hood or headlights. Use an ice chipper to remove any snow that has melted and refrozen into ice on the windshield.
   
5. Use a snow shovel to remove the snow from around your tires so you can pull out of the parking spot, if your car is truly buried.

Tips & Warnings

• When pulling the snow brush toward you, stand back so you don't pull snow onto your clothes and shoes.
• Before you open the car door, brush off any snow that has collected above the door frame to avoid snow falling into your car.
   

(Source: Internet)