Beauty from the Inside Out

Janet Maccaro, PH.D.,

You’ll need more than cosmetics for great-looking skin and a lovely appearance. You’ll need to understand the health and beauty connection.

Beauty truly does radiate from within. A healthy, vibrant woman defies age. As a testimony and reflection of our self-esteem, inner beauty and vibrancy, true beauty is the result of inner vitality, balance, health and happiness, not vanity.

Optimal nutrition, stress-relieving exercise and a positive frame of mind are requirements you must tote along on your continued journey toward complete balance. A balanced body and a beautiful spirit are better than the very best cosmetic application or surgery.

With proper nutrition, rest, relaxation and exercise, you can keep your body balanced, healthy and youthful throughout your entire life. Your skin can be wrinkle-free and elastic, your eyes can sparkle, your complexion can be smooth, and your face can be firm and tight.

The Best Diet for COPD Patients

A healthy diet can play an important role in the management and treatment of COPD.

By Krisha McCoy, MS

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Finding the right diet can be tricky for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), since they need to eat a healthy diet and maintain their optimal weight to keep COPD symptoms in check.

COPD: The Impact of Body Weight

For COPD patients, maintaining a healthy weight is important for controlling symptoms.

"If you're overweight, you have to carry more of your weight around," says Barry Make, MD, co-director of the COPD program at National Jewish Health in Denver and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado. Having more weight to carry around can increase shortness of breath, which is one of the primary symptoms of COPD.

With that said, it’s even more crucial for COPD patients not to be underweight. "Being overweight is bad, but being underweight is probably even worse in COPD patients," says Dr. Make. "A lot of COPD patients want to lose weight, but we tell them not to lose too much." According to Make, losing too much weight when you have COPD is associated with a poorer prognosis, or worse long-term outlook. In addition, not weighing enough can zap your energy, making it difficult to adhere to your COPD management plan.

COPD: Nutrition Tips

Talk with your COPD medical team about the nutrition plan that is best for you. They may recommend that you see a nutritionist, who can work with you to develop a meal plan to best meet your needs and monitor your progress along the way.

In general, people who have COPD should consider the following to maintain an optimal weight:

• Monitor calories: If you are overweight, you can lose weight by eating fewer calories. But don't eat so few calories that you feel fatigued and hungry all of the time. If you need to focus on maintaining your body weight, talk with your medical team or nutritionist about the foods you should be eating to keep the weight on.
• Avoid fad diets: "Fad diets are not appropriate for COPD patients," says Make. Make recommends that COPD patients eat a healthful, balanced diet instead of going on fad diets to control weight.
• Focus on protein: Work with your medical team and/or nutritionist to determine the amount of protein you need. "A lot of people do not get enough protein in their diet," says Make. Make says that protein is particularly important for COPD patients who are exercising as part of their pulmonary rehabilitation plan.
• Watch your portions: "We tell our COPD patients to eat small meals frequently, rather than large meals," says Make. Eating several small meals throughout the day instead of two or three large meals can help lessen shortness of breath.
• Get balanced: Focus on consuming fruits, vegetables, dairy products, whole grains, and lean proteins.
• Limit salt: Consuming excessive sodium can lead to fluid retention, which can worsen your shortness of breath.
• Remember your oxygen: If your medical team recommends it, use supplemental oxygen during and after meals to aid in digestion.

A healthy diet is an important part of a COPD patient's treatment plan. Eating the right foods can help manage your symptoms, make you feel better overall, increase your energy level, and give your body the fuel it needs to fight infection. It takes energy to breathe when you have COPD, so feed your body well.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/diet-for-copd-patients.aspx

11 Ways to Make Mealtime Easier With COPD

COPD may make it difficult to get needed nutrition. Being strategic with meal planning and food preparation can help you work around the fatigue and shortness of breath you feel.

By Madeline Vann, MPH

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Struggling with COPD, specifically the fatigue and shortness of breath that come with it, can leave you struggling to prepare and eat even the simplest meals. Yet it's possible to bring joy and nutrition back to your daily menu, despite COPD symptoms.

"For people with COPD, it's challenging and exhausting to eat and take a breath at the same time," explains registered dietitian Carol Wolin-Riklin, MS, RD, an instructor in the department of surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School.

As tiring as it can be to eat, people with COPD still want to enjoy mealtime. A survey of 81 people with COPD showed that the majority wanted more information on what to eat and how to manage their symptoms.

COPD and Diet: A Primer

"When you have a hard time eating, every bite should provide nutrition," advises Wolin-Riklin.

Here is a brief outline of a healthy COPD diet:

• Calories. Living with COPD symptoms takes so much energy that you may need to increase your diet's calorie count to 3,000 or more a day. Work with a dietitian to figure out exactly how many calories you need.
• Protein. People with COPD often experience muscle wasting because of the way their bodies use protein. As a result, higher-protein diets are advised, as long as you don't have other conditions that this would negatively impact, says Wolin-Riklin. Check with your doctor first, especially if you have any illnesses that affect the kidneys. Nut butters, smoothies or shakes with protein powders, chicken, and fish are all easy-to-prepare protein sources.
• Fruits and vegetables. Eat as many as possible and in a rainbow of colors to get various nutrients. If you don't want to chew raw veggies, steam them, puree them for soups, or try low-sodium vegetable juices.
• Healthy fats. Opt for foods with omega-3-fatty acids, such as cold-water fish, like salmon and sardines, and healthy fats such as olive oil. These are good sources of additional calories and may also help cut down on inflammation overall.
• Fiber. Aim for 25 grams of fiber daily. You might need to take fiber supplements to reach that amount.
• Limited carbohydrates. You need some carbs, but eating too many can increase the carbon dioxide in your blood. Stick with six to eight servings throughout the day.

11 Tips to Make Mealtimes Easier

Struggling to eat the same way you did before COPD symptoms took over simply won't work. Instead, try these strategies:

• Select prepared foods. If you don't have someone to cook for you, Wolin-Riklin suggests buying prepared foods as much as possible. Prepared foods do not have to be expensive — consider choices like hot, store-roasted chicken instead of roasting one yourself. Check whether your household qualifies for a Meals on Wheels program or another service that delivers prepared hot meals.
• Rethink dinnertime. "Find the time of day you feel best, and make that your biggest meal," advises Wolin-Riklin. For most people, that's early afternoon. It's fine to spend the rest of the day enjoying healthy snacks or eating liquid meals, such as smoothies or shakes with added protein or nutrient powders.
• Freeze extras. If you have leftovers or muster up extra energy to cook at certain times, freeze meal-sized portions you can easily reheat on a day you're feeling tired.
• Avoid carbonated beverages. Fizzy drinks will make you feel uncomfortable and bloated, putting pressure on your lungs and airways from below. Gas-producing foods, such as beans, may also make you uncomfortable unless you take an over-the-counter supplement such as Beano at the beginning of the meal.
• Choose low-salt foods. Look for low-salt labels, or make sure caregivers don't add salt to foods they prepare for you. Too much salt (you want only about 1,500 milligrams a day) can cause fluid retention, which adds to COPD symptoms.
• Eat small but frequent meals. Wolin-Riklin says this approach, which should result in five or six mini-meals, will help you feel less tired while eating and get consistent energy and nutrition through the day. Keep small high-calorie snacks, such as peanut butter and apple slices or cheese and crackers, on hand when you're out of the house.
• Ease your chewing. A number of people get in the habit of eating large mouthfuls quickly, but people with COPD do best with small bites of easy-to-chew foods. Instead of thinking of this as restrictive, consider that chewing small bites slowly helps you appreciate the flavor of your meal.
• Sip liquid throughout the day. It's important to get enough fluids — water, juices, smoothies, and soups. Try sipping 6 to 8 cups of water and possibly meal-replacement drinks like Boost or Ensure, over the course of the day instead of drinking a lot of fluid at one time.
• Wear your oxygen. If you have been prescribed oxygen, wear your nasal cannula while you eat. This allows you to breathe and eat at the same time more easily, says Wolin-Riklin.
• Eat sitting up. You'll breathe more easily while you eat and swallow more safely if you eat sitting up rather than reclining in bed or a chair.
• Be dairy-aware. Some people feel like dairy increases their mucus production. If this sounds familiar, try a milk alternative like soy or almond milk.

If you make these adjustments and still have difficulty eating and breathing at the same time, talk with your doctor or your pulmonary rehabilitation team to get some more ideas about how to cope.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-function/mealtime-easier-with-copd.aspx

Caring for a Loved One With COPD

What's involved in home care for the COPD patient?

By Krisha McCoy, MS

Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

When you care for someone with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at home, you may have numerous responsibilities.

One of the most important things to do when your loved one is diagnosed with COPD is to learn as much as you can about the disease, says Barry Make, MD, co-director of the COPD program at National Jewish Health and professor of medicine in the division of pulmonary sciences and critical care medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. COPD caregivers "need to understand the disease as well as the patient does," he says.

Talk to your COPD patient's doctors about what tasks you will need to perform. It is also important to seek support from your loved one's medical team, and other friends and family members.

COPD Home Care: Specific Tasks

Some tasks you may need to perform as a COPD caregiver:

• Encourage pulmonary rehabilitation. Pulmonary rehabilitation consists of prescribed exercise, nutrition counseling, and disease education. Rehab can improve quality of life, increase strength, and reduce shortness of breath and other COPD symptoms. As a caregiver, you can encourage your loved one to go to rehab and even attend rehab sessions with your loved one. "Not only should the patient be in [pulmonary rehabilitation], but their spouse or significant other should attend as well," says Dr. Make.
• Help with medications. Depending on your loved one's symptoms and severity of disease, he may need to take multiple medications at a variety of times throughout the day. You can help keep track of these medications and make sure your loved one is taking them by creating a chart that tracks each medication, its dosage, and time of day it is to be taken. You can use the chart to check off when the medication is taken as directed.
• Attend doctor's appointments. "I think that the spouse or significant other of the COPD patient should go into the physician visits as well as the patient," says Make. You can help your loved one remember what the doctor said and make sure all questions are answered. "One of the best things a caregiver can do before they bring home their newly diagnosed COPD patient is ask a lot of questions," says Kitty Weary, of West Yellowstone, Mont., who provided COPD care for her father, husband, and mother.
  Weary suggests writing down all of the questions you and your loved one have in a notebook and leaving spaces to fill in answers from the medical team. "All of this new stuff is getting fired at you, and there is a good chance you won't remember anything," she says. At the visits, you can learn how to use any prescribed equipment, which may include supplemental oxygen, a handheld bronchodilator inhaler, or a nebulizer.
• Monitor your loved one's condition. Talk with the medical team about the warning signs of an exacerbation (an episode of worsened symptoms), and when you should seek medical help. In general, you should call the doctor when your loved one has:
• 
  
  • Excessive trouble breathing during everyday activities
  • Greater than usual coughing or coughing-related chest pain
  • Increased mucus production or change in appearance of mucus
  • Swelling in the hands or feet
  • Cramping of muscles
  • Tiredness or weakness
  • Trouble sleeping that is related to shortness of breath

Caring for a COPD patient at home can be challenging. But by following the medical team's instructions and encouraging your loved one to adhere to her COPD treatment regimen, you can play an important role in improving your loved one's quality of life.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/caring-for-loved-one-with-copd

Vogue article by mom about 7-year-old daughter’s weight sparks heavy backlash

By Dylan Stableford | The Cutline

An article by a woman who is "fighting" her 7-year-old daughter's "childhood obesity" at home--published in the April issue of Vogue--is causing a big backlash online among readers critical of the magazine and its author.

Dara-Lynn Weiss, the author, wrote about her response to a pediatrician who suggested that her daughter, Bea, should be put on a diet because--at 4'4" and 93 pounds--she was clinically obese and could be at risk for high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes.

It wasn't the diagnosis that readers railed against, but Weiss' management of Bea's subsequent year-long diet.

"Sometimes Bea's after-school snack was a slice of pizza or a gyro from the snack vendor," Weiss wrote. "Other days I forced her to choose a low fat vegetable soup or a single hard-boiled egg. Occasionally I'd give in to her pleas for a square of coffee cake, mainly because I wanted to eat half of it. When she was given access to cupcakes at a party, I alternated between saying, 'Let's not eat that, it's not good for you'; 'Okay, fine, go ahead, but just one'; and 'Bea, you have to stop eating crap like that, you're getting too heavy,' depending on my mood. Then I'd secretly eat two when she wasn't looking."

Weiss continued:

I once reproachfully deprived Bea of her dinner after learning that her observation of French Heritage Day at school involved nearly 800 calories of Brie, filet mignon, baguette, and chocolate. I stopped letting her enjoy Pizza Fridays when she admitted to adding a corn salad as a side dish one week. I dressed down a Starbucks barista when he professed ignorance of the nutrition content of the kids' hot chocolate whose calories are listed as "120-210" on the menu board: Well, which is it? When he couldn't provide an answer, I dramatically grabbed the drink out of my daughter's hands, poured it into the garbage, and stormed out.

After Bea lost 16 pounds--meeting her mom's weight-loss goal for her before a Vogue photoshoot--Weiss wrote about her daughter's reaction:

"That's still me," she says of her former self. "I'm not a different person just because I lost sixteen pounds." I protest that indeed she is different. At this moment, that fat girl is a thing of the past. A tear rolls down her beautiful cheek, past the glued-in feather. "Just because it's in the past," she says, "doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"I have not ingested any food, looked at a restaurant menu, or been sick to the point of vomiting without silently launching a complicated mental algorithm about how it will affect my weight," Weiss admitted. "Who was I to teach a little girl how to maintain a healthy weight and body image?"

"The socialites who write personal essays for Vogue aren't known for their kindness and humility," Katie Baker wrote on Jezebel.com. But Weiss "has to go down in history as the one of the most f---ed up, selfish women to ever grace the magazine's pages."

Weiss "comes across as obsessive and the fact that she made such an issue of her daughter's weight, both in public and in Vogue—seems wrong," Dhani Mau wrote on Fashionista.com.

An anonymous blogger for New York magazine added: "I'm pretty sure Weiss just handed her daughter the road map to all her future eating disorders."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/vogue-article-mom-7-old-daughter-weight-sparks-175546979.html;

5 ways you can stay fit as a couple

By Patricia Hizon | Yahoo! SHE

It takes two to keep fit and healthy.  If you’re a health buff, imagine being married to a junk food-eating, non-exercising, potbelly-scratching couch potato.  Not pretty! 


It is important for couples to work together, like they do in other aspects of their relationship, to achieve a healthier lifestyle.


Here are simple and easy tips.


1. Watch each other’s diet.


It’s really not that easy to go on any kind of diet if the person you’re constantly with is munching on the very same food you’re trying to avoid.  This sometimes leads to tension in the relationship. 


Couples should mutually agree on the terms of the diet—whether it’s to cut down on carbs or sodium, use organic ingredients, or go vegetarian.


Agreement is key to commitment.  That means that you have to manage your food intake together as a couple and check on one another.


The best way to get this started is to consult a nutritionist.  You and your partner might have different dietary needs and goals, but the reality is you share the same pantry and kitchen.

Read: Do vitamin supplements do more harm to the elderly?

2. Go to bed earlier.


This is a great excuse to get a head start on snuggling up. That might mean turning off the laptop, the TV, getting the kids out of the room and adjusting your evening routines so you hit the sack earlier.


When you improve your sleeping habits, you are allowing your body to recover and priming it to take on the demands of the day. 


Plus, studies have shown that people who sleep less than six hours a night undergo hormone changes that lead to an increase in hunger.

Read: 10 ways to break bad habits

3. Make gym dates a regular thing.

Using cardio machines side by side can help motivate and encourage the other to reach his or her individual goals.


On weights, you or your partner can praise each other as you flex in front of the mirror.  Ladies, squeeze his biceps and show some admiration.  A regular pat on the back (or the lower extremities) can put your partner in a giddy mood.


Use opportunities like wiping the sweat beads off the side of your partner’s face to keep the flames of romance alive.  At least you’ll be burning more than just calories!


Go on gym dates two to three times a week.

Read: The best time to stretch

4. Enjoy the outdoors.


Look for activities you and your partner would enjoy.  A brisk walk or a run around the neighborhood, a bike ride on a trail both of you can conquer, or a weekend fun run.


Or, try a little basketball, volleyball and even football at the local park. You don’t need to be great, but you need to be determined.


There are so many activities you and your partner can take up to make your bond strong...and your bones and muscles even stronger.

Read: 5 healthy reasons to get walking

5. Dance like no one’s looking.


It doesn’t matter if you have two left feet. What matters is that you’re willing to spice up your workout with a partner who won’t laugh (that much) at you for your not being blessed with rhythm and grace.


Dancing is a sure-fire way to add sizzle to your relationship while allowing those unwanted fats to fizzle.


There are many dance classes and dance workouts being offered in malls, hotels and neighborhood studios. You can also hit the many dance clubs in the city.


Staying fit and healthy not only allows you to enjoy life more fully, it also puts more excitement in your relationship.

Remember, it takes two to tango.  So drop the chips, get off the couch and vow to get through the challenge together, in fitness and in health.

Read: Street dance for fitness

Patricia Hizon is an accomplished sportscaster, mother of two, wife of a basketball player turned golf addict, free lance producer and writer, owner of a travel agency, marketing and events consultant, and founder of the "Everyday Is Your Birthday Foundation". Get to know more about her on her blog 
www.patriciahizon.com.

http://ph.she.yahoo.com/5-ways-you-can-stay-fit-as-a-couple.html;_ylt=ArEv_azmVf4OD.pyiC8YkHiIeeR_

New baby, no sleep: Dealing with sleep deprivation

By Unwirklich Vin Zant | Yahoo! Contributor Network 

While I wouldn't say sleep deprivation ends when a baby becomes a toddler, or even a "kid," I do know that parents often start getting insufficient sleep when their child is in the infancy stage. A lack of sleep, or sleep deprivation, can create a wide range of problems other than just difficulty staying awake. However, knowing that you need sleep and getting it as a parent are two very different bowls of Cheerios. Your only two means of counteracting the zombie-parent effect, as I like to call it, are to try to get more sleep and deal with no sleep.

Getting more sleep as a parent:

-Sleep when your baby sleeps. You've likely heard this before and ignored it in the pursuit of getting something done--or even not getting something done and just having some time to do nothing for once, but in my experience it really is worth it to just sleep when your baby sleeps if you're not getting enough sleep. I found I got more done rested with a baby awake, than dead tired with a baby asleep, which left me with more free time.

-Experiment to find the optimal routine for your baby. You may find changing a small part of your day results in your baby sleeping more, and therefore you sleeping more. It pays to experiment with things like sleeping locations, times, feeding routines, even background noise. Also, if your baby is having great difficulty sleeping, be sure to check that a health issue is not the cause. Acid reflex, for example, can cause frequent and unhappy waking in infants.

-Ask for help. I don't think it takes a village to raise a baby, but it certainly would help. If you have a partner or family member that's willing to watch the wee one while you catch a few Z's, don't be afraid to indulge in that.

Dealing with no sleep as a parent:

-Keep cold fluids on hand. I'm allergic to caffeine, so while I hear coffee, soda and other caffeinated wonders are a godsend to parents, I can't indulge. What I can recommend for sleep deprivation is an ice cold beverage. The chill factor helps you stay alert and the hydration helps you stay healthier, and thereby deal with the lack of sleep better.

-Keep your home cool. Something about a warm cozy house makes you want to curl up and take a nap, and if you can't, that's just frustrating. Keeping your home cool -- but not too cool for baby, of course -- can help you stay awake.

-Eat healthy. Heavy meals can lead to food comas. If you watch your portioning and try to eat light, you'll not only be healthier, but generally feel less bogged down and tired. Proper nutrition also leads to more energy.

-Hide your clocks. Not only will hiding your clock ensure you get up if you set an alarm, but it also prevents you from looking at it every 5 minutes and thinking about how much sleep you're not getting or even that you shouldn't be sleeping at *this* time. Overall, forgetting about time can lead to a far less stressful life. Stress, by the way, should be avoided if you can. Remember to take breathers and appreciate the small things in life. Don't get so caught up in being tired that you walk around asleep.

How do you deal with sleep deprivation as a parent?

http://shine.yahoo.com/baby-no-sleep-dealing-sleep-deprivation-001500650.html;_ylt=AhMi_OftazZ3UIqqjIjdHxNlbqU5;_ylu=X3oDMTFrb2U2c2liBG1pdANCbG9nUG9zdEJvZHkEcG9zAzgEc2VjA01lZGlhQmxvZ0JvZHlUZW1wQXNzZW1ibHk-;_ylg=X3oDMTM2ampoYjVpBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDMGRlYWNiODYtMjMwOC0zZWRhLTg4ZTEtNjdlNWI3MDA3MWUxBHBzdGNhdANoZWFsdGh5bGl2aW5nBHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQR0ZXN0Aw--;_ylv=3

7 Ways to Beat Stress Fat

http://www.prevention.com/7waystobeatstressfat/list/2.shtml