Straight Talk Live! with Tonja Walker
news
14th Apr 2010
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I’m very excited to be appearing Today, Wednesday, April 14 on Straight Talk LIVE! with Tonja Walker on VoiceAmerica Business Channel. I will be speaking with Tonja about healthy living and eating, along with Michael Subach, a professional fitness manager.
If you want to tune in, you can listen through VoiceAmerica at 1:00 pm ET, 10:00 am PT
Questions? Comments? Call: 1-866-472-5790 or you can e-mail your questions to Tonja
Michael Subach is a professional fitness manager who uses different methods of workouts as opposed to traditional methods to get tremendous results.
Michael works with special populations, children, older adults, athletes and disabled individuals. Michael believes hard work only takes you so far and that good health is achieved through lifestyle decisions.
Save your heart – eat more chocolate
diet, news
1st Apr 2010
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No this is NOT an April Fool’s joke.
According to this article by the Associated Press:
German researchers followed nearly 20,000 people over eight years, sending them several questionnaires about their diet and exercise habits.
They found people who had an average of six grams of chocolate per day — or about one square of a chocolate bar — had a 39 percent lower risk of either a heart attack or stroke. The study is scheduled to be published Wednesday in the European Heart Journal.
Previous studies have suggested dark chocolate in small amounts could be good for you, but this is the first study to track its effects over such a long period of time. Experts think the flavonols contained in chocolate are responsible. Flavonols help the muscles in blood vessels widen, which leads to a drop in blood pressure.
But remember, this isn’t taking about your average candy store chocolate or stuff you get out of the bulk bins. This is high quality, dark chocolate in small amounts.
I have recently been experimenting with some very high quality dark chocolate that also contains acai and blueberry extracts. I have been eating it every day for about a month. So far, I feel great – no weight gain and more energy. Want to try some? I will be picking 5 people at random to sample my chocolate – but the only way that you’ll be in the running is if you join me on my Facebook page, here.
Is canned or frozen food as good as fresh?
food, news
25th Jan 2010
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What would you guess – what’s the best option for healthy food?
A- Eating fresh is the only way to eat
B – Frozen is as good as fresh
C – Canned, fresh or frozen are all equal
Any takers?
Here are some things to think about:
Fresh food is great – when you can get it.
However, think about eating fresh fruits and vegetables when you live in a Northern climate. What do you get?
Usually if you go to the farmer’s market, all you can find is potatoes, apples and cabbage. Now, I happen to like all of these, but let’s face it – who wants to only eat potatoes, apples and cabbages all winter?
If you go to the grocery store, you can get any sort of fruit or vegetable any time of the year. But where is it coming from? Most of those options are from South America where it’s summer when North America is in winter. Produce from Argentina, Chile, Brazil has to travel such a long way before it gets to your table. How long ago was it picked? How much of the vital nutrients have been lost from the transit time from vine to plate?
Frozen food is actually a good option, too.
Foods that are frozen are usually preserved this way at their peak of ripeness. No loss of nutrients. And frozen foods are convenient – your frozen spinach will last months in the freezer while only lasting days fresh in the refrigerator.
But frozen foods are not very green. They use up more energy than fresh foods – they have to be stored at a certain temperature. The refrigerator is one of the biggest consumers of electricity in the house.
Canned food – nothing wrong here right?
Wrong.
Unfortunately, the cans that our foods are stored are lined with a chemical compound that contains Bisphenol-A. This chemical has been show to leach into canned goods. And according to the Centers for Disease Control, 93% of the U.S. population tests positive for the chemical.
The issue is that BPA is an endocrine disruptor that mimics the hormone estrogen. When your hormones are disrupted or go out of balance, many things can go wrong with your health.
BPA can cause a decline in male sperm count, trigger early puberty in girls and induce feminine characteristics in men. It can also play a part in insulin resistance, tumor growth and promoting the spread of cancer cells.
Are any cans safe? The only company that currently has safe canned goods is Eden Foods. And they also are the only ones with safe Organic Tomatoes 
According to this article in Total Health Breakthroughs, you need to be particularly careful when it comes to acidic foods such as tomatoes. And heating your leftovers in plastic containers is not a good idea – chemicals from the plastics can easily leach into your lunch.
So, fresh whenever you can, frozen for ease and convenience, and be selective when it comes to your canned goods.
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Curious about what it’s like to work with me? Contact me to learn more about my services.
Thoughts on orthorexia and food perfectionism
diet, news
6th Nov 2009
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Do you obsess over healthy food? I know quite a few people who fall into this trap. It’s becoming more common as Americans become overly focused on getting healthier through the perfect diet.
I was reading this article on orthorexia yesterday and thinking about this issue. How ironic that some of us are falling prey to this way of living – while many others are suffering with growing issues of overweight and obesity.
Let me be perfectly clear – as a health coach, it is not my goal to make you feel guilty or bad if you’re not eating in a certain, perfect way. On the contrary, nothing would make me happier to release you from obsession over food so that you can easily achieve the health that you desire and enjoy food that you like.
I don’t believe that diets work, and I don’t recommend them for my clients – instead, when you work with me, you get to discover for yourself which foods work for you. Through this discovery, you will naturally gain more energy, lose weight and feel better. Many people report “side effects” of improved digestion, loss of migraine headaches, better sleep, and an overall sense of well being.
If you’re interested in trying out a new way of being, I have some new classes coming up soon – check out the events page for more details and to sign up.
How much sugar is in your food?
diet, food, news
13th Jul 2009
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How much sugar are you getting in your afternoon snack or breakfast cereal? Sure, you know how many grams because it says on the side of the box, but what does it really mean? How many teaspoons of the sweet stuff are you really getting in your system?
SugarStacks.com shows you by reviewing common foods and stacking up sugar cubes next to each item so you can see how much you’re consuming. The site is just a couple of months old, but it’s already causing controversy and receiving complaints from food manufacturers.
What’s great about it is that it provides a very simple way of seeing how much sugar you would eat if you decided to raid the vending machine or indulged in your favorite candy. For readers who are contemplating a treat, it may help them make a better choice the same way that calorie counts on menus have influenced buying habits.
The most controversial parts of the site are the fruits and vegetables sections. It’s true that some fruits and vegetables are sweeter than others, and reducing the number of sweet produce items in your diet can help you if you’re trying to reduce your sugar consumption or lose weight. Since the site doesn’t go into other nutritional details such as fiber, vitamins, fat or sodium which can affect the healthiness of certain products, some readers may confuse low sugar with healthy. Even if a serving of grapes has more sugar than say, a Reeses peanut butter cup, it doesn’t mean that the Reeses is “better” for you or a “healthy snack.” It simply has less sugar.
Overall, I love the concept and that whomever is writing it is causing a controversy for good reason. If you want to learn more about sugar and its effects on your body, read some of my previous posts:
Solving the American obesity epidemic
diet, food, news
2nd Jul 2009
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A new report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation showed that Americans are getting fatter. In 31 states, more than 25% of adults are obese. In 1991, no state had more than a 20 percent obesity rate. Today, the only state that doesn’t is Colorado, at 18.9 percent.
In addition, among children 10-17, about 30% are overweight or obese in 30 states. Numerous other studies have found that overweight children are more likely to become obese as adults.
Among key findings, the report notes that the current economic crisis could exacerbate the obesity epidemic:
Food prices, particularly for more nutritious foods, are expected to rise, making it more difficult for families to eat healthy foods. At the same time, safety-net programs and services are becoming increasingly overextended as the numbers of unemployed, uninsured and underinsured continue to grow. In addition, due to the strain of the recession, rates of depression, anxiety and stress, which are linked to obesity for many individuals, also are increasing.
Processed, mass-manufactured foods have been cheaper than healthy, whole foods for years. And even before the recession started, the poorest neighborhoods didn’t have access to healthy foods. In New York City, the green grocers and farmers markets are plentiful around the wealthier addresses – not so in the lower-income areas.
I think the only way to really turn around the obesity epidemic is greater access to nutrition education and “real food” as Mark Bittman says. Some ideas I have:
More edible community gardens – so that people can start learning how to grow their own produce and see where their food comes from.
Healthy cooking classes – many people don’t know how to cook. In my experience, cooking our own food gets us more connected to our health adn well being.
Community exercise programs – there are some great free classes in the parks in the summer. It would be wonderful to see these programs extend into the spring and fall, and maybe having free or sliding-scale exercise classes in the colder months indoors.
What other ideas do you have to help your community get healthier?
Seizing the day
inspiration, news
29th Jun 2009
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My dad with Billy Mays
One of my clients told me that her biggest fear is death. I think this is many people’s biggest fear, though it’s not top of mind most of the time. We don’t think about how short life is until someone near to us falls ill or leaves us – or when celebrities leave this mortal coil.
Ed McMahon, suffering from multiple illnesses, including bone cancer, departed at age 86 on June 23, 2009. Farrah Fawcett, battling cancer for a few years, exited at age 62 on June 25. Michael Jackson, about to go on his last tour, also died on Thursday, June 25 at age 50. And famous “yell and sell” Pitchman Billy Mays died Sunday, June 28, possibly of heart failure.
With all of these high-profile passings, it’s hard not to think of life as fragile and fleeting. As my dad says, you don’t know when your number will be called.
The question is, then, what do you do about it? Are you living your life as fully as you want to? Or have you been holding back and delaying your dreams?
And if now is not the time, then when will it be right to do what you know you’re here to do?
Dangers of Gardasil
news
27th May 2009
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I don’t normally talk about pharmaceutical issues on this blog, but this is particularly disturbing to me.
Yesterday, Merck received preliminary qualification from the World Health Organization for its HPV vaccine, Gardasil. This will make it possible for agencies like the United Nations Children’s Fund to use Gardasil in national immunization programs.
The problem is that it is uncertain if the vaccine works or if it’s even necessary. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that many questions about Gardasil’s efficacy remain unanswered. The New York Times notes that cervical cancer is almost always preventable when routine Pap smears are given.
In a recent newsletter from Dr. Douglass, I read about the dangers of Gardasil – which include a link to epilepsy, ongoing illnesses, and death.
There are many stories popping up on YouTube about how Gardasil is injuring and killing girls. Here are just a few:
Emily Tarsell’s talks about her daughter on CBS News
Becca, age 11, shares her Gardasil story
Holly had seizures after Gardasil injections
Gabi had seizures and mini strokes after Gardasil
Merck’s goal is to make Gardasil mandatory for all schoolgirls in every state. You can change this – get the U.S. government to investigate the Gardasil vaccine risks by signing the petition.
Beat the recession snacking blues
mindfulness, news, self care
15th May 2009
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The recession may be shrinking wallets, but for some it’s expanding waistlines.
A couple of months ago, the NY Times reported that candy sales were up – not fancy candies, but corner store and nostalgic varieties. And a recent survey by Career builder showed that people were snacking more due to worries about the recession.
This is alarming in many ways.
First, eating candy is only a temporary relief of stress. Once people get on the blood sugar roller coaster that inevitably happens when they indulge in large amounts of sugar, they will alternate between euphorically happy and weepily depressed.
Second, sugar encourages many diseases to flourish in the body. It contributes to imbalances and helps create a highly acidic environment, perfect for viruses and pathogens to thrive. It weakens the immune system so that your body will have a harder time repairing damage being done to every area.
I could list about 100 different harmful things that sugar does to you, but what’s more important is finding better ways to deal with stress if it is causing you to eat massive amounts of sugar. So…
Go on a media diet – turn off the news, stay away from the gloom and doom. You will not miss anything, I promise. If something really big happens, someone will tell you about it.
Take care of yourself – make time to do things that you love to do. The things that give us the most joy don’t cost much as all to do. For example, I love to read novels, walk around my neighborhood, and listen to music. None of those things cost a lot of money but I get a lot of joy from them.
Be grateful – if you’re feeling poor and thinking poor, then you are poor. But if you start appreciating all that you have in life, you’ll never feel poor again. Keep a journal of all of the things that you are grateful for – write down a short list of 3-5 things per day.
Do this every day for a month,and I can guarantee that you will have forgotten about your fear and lost the need to snack it away.
Why swine flu shouldn't matter to you
diet, news
4th May 2009
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Have you shut yourself in, started wearing a mask, and avoided pigs at all cost because of the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus? Despite all the media hype, there’s really no need for you to worry about this so-called pandemic.
The news is already starting to turn the story around. The Washington Post reports that Richard Besser, acting director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the virus isn’t looking any more severe than a typical seasonal strain.
The New York Times reports that there are 226 cases across 30 states. Although more cases are expected to appear, most have been mild, and the cases in Mexico have leveled off.
Of course, many professionals in the alternative sphere didn’t think it was anything to worry about in the first place. Dr. Douglass notes in a recent article that the media was blowing up the issue even though there were very few cases in the U.S. and that the drug companies stood to gain from this exposure.
Dr. Mercola says that the hype around pandemics is often more deadly that the potential threat itself – because more people die from vaccinations than the disease itself.
If you’re seriously afraid of catching a deadly strain of flu, here are some simple things you can do to protect yourself:
1 – Rest – If you feel yourself coming down with something, don’t be a hero and try to go through your usual day. Stay home and rest until you feel better.
2 – Fluids – Keeping yourself hydrated makes sure that your body can function well. Drink water and herbal teas. Reduce or avoid coffee, caffeinated beverages, sugary sodas, and alcohol – they dehydrate you.
3 – Wash – Make sure to wash your hands frequently. The New York Times Well blog notes that viruses can be transmitted from things that are handled by many people, like money.
4 – Vitamins – It doesn’t hurt to take a multivitamin and some extra Vitamin C to make sure that you’re getting all the nutrients you need to fight off the flu or colds.
5 – Cleanse – Finally, if you clean up your diet, your body will work more efficiently, your immune system will be stronger and you’ll be more able to fight off infections.
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