Healthy Lifestyles

It is time to take a new approach to wellness and wholeness. Time to focus on promoting healthy, happy lifestyles for both children and adults. This paradigm shift is being called health at any size, or health at every size, or simply healthy living.

With this new healthy living approach the caregiver asks: How can I help this individual be healthier at the size he or she is now? How can we promote health without fostering new problems related to disordered eating or weight loss attempts? How can stress be reduced to help one enjoy a normal lifestyle that embraces living actively and eating well?

By Karin Kratina, PhD, RD and Ellen Shuman. Adapted From Moving Away From Diets (2003), with input

Bread dipping is the new, healthy alternative to crackers and cheese which have been a staple, but often overused, appetizer. A tasty trend, filled with breads and flavored oils and sauces in the olive oil dipping dish will be an instant winner.

If you’re bored of serving carrot and celery sticks to guests, why not try something different?

Symptom	Cold	Swine Flu
Fever	Fever is rare with a cold.	Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the flu.
Coughing	A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.	A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).
Aches	Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.	Severe aches and pains are common with the flu.
Stuffy Nose	Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.	Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the flu.
Chills	Chills are uncommon with a cold.	60% of people who have the flu experience chills.
Tiredness	Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.	Tiredness is moderate to severe with the flu.
Sneezing	Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.	Sneezing is not common with the flu.
Sudden Symptoms	Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.	The flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.
Headache	A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.	A headache is very common with the flu, present in 80% of flu cases.
Sore Throat	Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.	Sore throat is not commonly present with the flu.
Chest Discomfort	Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold.	Chest discomfort is often severe with the flu.

One of the most bacteria laden inches in your home is usually your toothbrush; especially if you keep it brush end down, in a cup inside the medicine cabinet where it is dark and warm. (The perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mold spurs to grow). When you rinse your tooth brush, always store it brush-end UP, so it can dry as quickly as possible. Weekly, wash your toothbrush in a 1 to 1 solution of water and distilled white vinegar. Remember a healthy smile is the beginning to a healthier you.

WHAT COUNTS AS CARDIO EXERCISE:
15 Minutes = 1 mile
Golf, baseball, and softball do NOT count

What counts: Continual walking; Swimming laps; Jogging; Elliptical trainer; Biking; Rowing machine; Tennis; Stair climber; Racquetball; Continuous chair exercise; Soccer; Continuous dancing; Treadmill; Basketball; Crosstrainer; Aerobic exercise class; Circuit weights

The Governor's Fitness Council of Kansas, with the support of the Healthy Kansas Web site of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, recently established the one mile walk as the fitness test for Kansas adults. The Kansas Medical Society and the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians passed resolutions making the timed one mile walk the next "vital sign" for their patients. Go to www.healthykansas.org and click on the What's Your Mile toolbar. It will direct you through a safety checklist and instructions for the test. Record your mile now and at the end of the summer; continue tracking over each season. Your "fitness" vital sign trend can be tracked. What a good thing for preventive health!

Sign-up for a web tracking log.
Retrieve password. (You can use the same username and password as "Walk Haiti".)
Enter or view your miles (need to sign-up first).

Being physically active has so many health benefits. So if you are thinking you can't possible fit 30 minutes or more of exercise into your daily routine, these tips from Johns Hopkins can help.

If finding enough time to exercise seems too much to contemplate, remember that any exercise is better than no exercise and small steps are the key to eventually making larger changes in your habits. What this means is that you shouldn’t forgo exercise altogether just because you can’t find the time or energy to exercise for 60 minutes a day -- even 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week offers significant health benefits. Here are some strategies you can try to increase your amount of physical activity:

Exercise tip 1 -- Replace sedentary activities with more active ones.
For example, instead of watching television while sitting on the couch, take a walk while listening to a book on tape or talking on your cell phone. Or at least try doing some calisthenics while watching your favorite show.

Exercise tip 2 -- Look for stolen moments throughout your day to add activity.
Climb the stairs instead of taking the escalator, walk instead of taking your car or public transportation, do a lap around the mall before you start shopping, and return your cart all the way back to the supermarket instead of leaving it in the nearby cart bay.

Exercise tip 3 -- Buy a pedometer.
This step counter will help you assess how many steps you’re taking per day. We and other experts recommend 10,000 steps a day (equivalent to about 5 miles), although most people walk much less than that. Start off by tracking the number of steps you take on a typical day. Then, try to increase your step count by 500–1,000 steps every 2–3 weeks. Keep a record of your step counts and reward yourself (not with food, of course) when you reach your goal.

Exercise tip 4 -- Consider activities such as tennis, golfing, fishing, and dancing.
These activities can be enjoyed well into later life and add a social element to exercise.

Exercise tip 5 -- Plan for exercise every day.
Mark out 30 minutes or more a day for physical activity and stick to it as if it’s an important meeting or appointment. Individuals who become habitual exercisers are those who make physical activity a priority.

*People who weigh more than 154 lbs. will burn more calories per hour and people who weigh less than 154 lbs. will burn fewer calories per hour when engaged in the activities listed here. Source: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005.

Blood Pressure Checks
Blood Pressure Clinic every second Sunday of the Month will be held in the Fellowship Hall in a screened off area, and in between church services. Hypertension, better known as high blood pressure, is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. There are several categories of blood pressure, including:

Important reasons to consult your physician and have your blood pressure checked regularly is because hypertension can damage the heart and blood vessels leading to:

What is parish nursing?
Parish nursing/faith community nursing/health ministry is a non-medical, holistic model of caring for people within the faith community. It is designed to promote wellness and improved holistic health to congregational members. Registered nurses lead multidisciplinary teams as trusted providers of health education and prevention services. The philosophy of parish nursing embraces the historic roots of professional nursing without direct medical care.The roles of the parish nurse include: