THE HEALTH & WELLNESS BRIDGE
December 2018
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December 1-7 is Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week
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How many people does IBD affect in the US?
- In 2015, 3 million adults in the US diagnosed with IBD compared to 2 million in 1999
- plus, an additional 80,000 cases estimated for pediatric ages (<20 years)
- can occur at any age but most cases diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 35 years
Symptoms include:
- diarrhea
- abdominal pain
- rectal bleeding
- urgent need to move bowels
- additional symptoms: fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, loss of normal menstrual cycle
Who is at risk?
- genetics - having a parent with IBD increases risk
- smoking - doubles the risk of Crohn's Disease
- antibiotics
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories
- appendicitis - children who have appendectomy, higher risk of Crohn's Disease
- diet
There is
no medical
cure and it often requires a lifetime of care (management)
- $1.7 billion in yearly health care costs
- 700,000 physician visits, 100,000 hospitalizations and disability in 119,000 patients
Also, more likely to have additional chronic health conditions including:
- cardiovascular disease
- respiratory disease
- cancer
- arthritis
- kidney disease
- liver disease
Being aware of the symptoms and your risk factors (family history and lifestyle) associated with various medical conditions such as IBD, should be topics of discussion at your annual physical.
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Nutrition - "Clean Eating" to Navigate the Holidays!!!
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We are already headed into the 5th week of the 49-Day Nutrition Challenge, "time flies when you are having fun"! The program is offered two times per year, in November and January, and focuses on the
7 Principles of Clean
Eating
. Obviously, making healthy nutrition choices this time of year can be difficult as one holiday "snowballs" into the next. Thanksgiving quickly moves into Christmas which steamrolls through New Year's! "Holiday Cheer" is everywhere you go!
What is Clean Eating? According to
The Daily Meal
,
Clean Eating is "consuming whole foods in their most natural state...removing excess fat, sugar and salt". You don't need to be a superhero to resist but it may be helpful to have a good plan, use the steps below to help you make healthier choices this holiday season:
1) Do not skip meals, in order to save calories, leading up to a big Christmas dinner or holiday party!!!
- If your big meal is at 3pm; eat breakfast, eat a morning snack, and eat lunch. Skipping meals results in overeating. Since our bodies can only process or use so many calories at one time, the rest are saved and stored as body fat.
2) Use the Clean Eating Principles to manage your meal:
- a) Drink water before and during your meal. Calorie free, filling and aids in digestion!
- b) Load half your plate with healthy vegetables. Low calorie, filling and full of nutrients!
- c) Get your protein (turkey, etc.). Slow to digest, filling and helpful in controlling blood sugar!
- d) Limit starchy foods (potatoes, dinner rolls, etc.). Use the "Handy Guide to Portion Control" and limit your serving to a "fist" size.
- e) Take 20-30 minutes before going back to get seconds.
- f) Give your dinner a chance to settle before indulging in dessert (1-2 hours) and be cautious with the serving size.
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- January - Drink 66-99 oz or half your body weight (ounces) in water per day!
- February - “Strive for 5!” Get a minimum combination of 5 fruits and vegetables per day!
- March - Eat a serving of heart healthy nuts/seeds daily!
- April - Eat 1-3 servings of "healthy" starchy complex carbohydrate each day!
- May - Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your daily nutrition plan!
- June - Add 2-4 servings (2-4 ounces) omega-3 rich fish to your nutrition plan each month!
- July - Incorporate a leafy green vegetable into your diet each day!
- August - Add a lemon to your water!
- September – Practice the “Half Your Plate” Principle! Fill half your plate with vegetables and some fruit!
- October – eat 1-4 servings of legumes each week!
- November - Starting with breakfast, eat a combination of protein and carbohydrate at 5 meals!
- December - use the 49-Day Nutrition Challenge food log and keep a journal of what you eat for a week or two!
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Ingredients:
- 2 large beaten eggs (room temperature)
- 2 cups of peanut butter or almond butter (smooth, creamy-room temperature works best)
- 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
- 1.5 cups of pure pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder
- 1/4 cup cacao or dark chocolate chips (author recommends Lily's brand sweetened with stevia)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 f.
- Spray muffin tray or line with parchment liners.
- Combine eggs, nut butter, maple syrup, pumpkin, baking soda & vanilla; just until smooth.
- Remove 2 cups batter and place in a separate bowl.
- In original bowl, add cacao powder & chocolate chips, mix well.
- Scoop 1/2 of EACH batter into each muffin tin, so it's half chocolate, half pumpkin color.
- Swirl batters together using a toothpick.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. They are VERY moist if they are NOT overbaked.
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Exercise of the Month - Get a Great Workout without Leaving Your House!!!
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As the weather starts to deteriorate into winter, most of us reduce our daily activity. If you are anything like me, the thought of getting up early in the morning or going out into the cold at night to get to the gym is a near impossible mental battle to win. Typically, I do not set a yearly fitness goal, but this year I have committed myself to get 150 twenty-minute cardiovascular workouts before my annual physical in November 2019. There is no way I will go to the gym to get that done, I have never minded lifting weights but I prefer to watch paint dry over working out on a treadmill or a stationary bike (20 minutes feels like hours). Last year, I realized when I got to the top of the stairs I was winded...I began to wonder how much more winded I would get marching up and down those stairs for 20 minutes? Also, how much more fit would I be? After all, the stairs were a standard conditioning tool when I wrestled in high school and if I recall correctly I was in much better shape back then!
It has actually been quite easy to just grab my phone and turn on a podcast or some music and "hit the stairs". I don't need to change clothes, get in the car, go to the gym, exercise and come home to shower. I efficiently and effectively exercise for 20 minutes and then I am back on track to finish other things that need to be done. Best of all, my membership is covered under my mortgage!
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