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Juicers are the new must-have kitchen appliances. A home juicer makes it fast and easy to get all your recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day in one delicious beverage. But before you make your purchase, here is some advice from Overstock.com to help you choose the juicer that’s best for your needs and lifestyle.
First determine the type of juicer. Masticating juicers knead and grind the fruit or vegetables until the juice is released. Centrifugal juicers take anything you place down a chute and grind it up by spinning it quickly over sharp blades. Although both have their pros and cons, masticating juicers tend to be quieter than centrifugal juicers, while centrifugal juicers work faster.
Next, determine what types of vegetables and fruits you will be juicing. If it’s mostly leafy vegetables for green drinks, a masticating juicer will get more juice from fewer vegetables. If you will be juicing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, consider a centrifugal juicer, which will more evenly blend any consistency of fruit or vegetable.
Hate appliances that take forever to clean? Centrifugal juicers tend to require a more thorough cleaning than masticating juicers. Masticating juicers require removal of the unused fruit and vegetables that could not be pressed into juice, but they require only a thorough rinsing after removing this matter from the device.
What’s your budget? The least expensive juicers are hand juicers that use the pressure of your hand to squeeze out the juice. Moderately priced masticating or centrifugal juicers are designed for home use and are usually made of plastic. Commercial juicers are usually more expensive as well as more durable. They can process the largest amount of juice at one time. Frequency of use and ease of use are both important things to keep in mind when you decide how much money you will spend on your new juicer.
Water or a sports drink. Which should you grab on your way to your workout? Which best helps an athlete recover from strenuous physical activity? We tend to think that water offers the most benefits but it is actually sodium that helps an athlete recover. After doing an extensive study on sports- type drinks, I found that people should only drink them when doing strenuous activities. When a person who is only doing moderate activities consumes sports drinks, they take in a high level of sodium that is not beneficial to their health. A sports drink is typically made up of fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrates. However, a drink that is made up of carbohydrates and protein is even better and offers better recovery. In general, avoid drinks that include caffeine, as these are detrimental to your health. Here are the suggested ratios for a sports drink to ensure your greatest recovery. In most cases people do better with electrolyte tablets or powders versus pre-mixed sugary drinks. We offer an excellent brand at our office.
* Optimal Sodium: 110 - 220 mg per 8 fl. oz.
* Optimum concentration of carbohydrate in a sports drink is 6-8%
- 6 - 8 grams per 100 ml
- 14.2 - 18.9 grams per 8 oz.
- 21.3 - 28.4 grams per 12 oz.
For the list of best drinks check out our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Gatos-Wellness-Center/137680679599262
Does athletic shoe shopping drive you crazy? Visit any shoe store and you’ll be treated to row upon row of colorful, high tech shoes that are designed for running, hiking, cross training and virtually every sport you can imagine. Is there really a difference from one shoe to another? Perhaps. Most fitness experts will recommend a shoe designed specifically for any activity you participate in more than three times a week. To make shoe shopping a bit less painful here is a quick guide to the basic types of athletic shoes you’ll find in most stores.
· Running Shoes are designed to provide maximum overall shock absorption for the foot and should also have good heel control. Although not a cure-all, these qualities in a running/sports shoe help to prevent shin splints, tendinitis, heel pain, stress fractures and other overuse syndromes.
· Hiking Shoes are often sturdy, high tops, in a dark color to hide trail dust. A good pair of hiking shoes will give you good traction on uneven or slippery surface and provide good ankle support.
· Walking Shoes are designed for comfort and support. Shoes can be divided into motion control, stability and race walking shoes. Walking shoes have more rigidity in the front so you can roll off your toes rather than bend through them as you would while running.
· Cross Trainers combine several of the above features so that you can participate in more than one sport. A good cross trainer should have the flexibility in the forefoot you need for running combined with the lateral control necessary for aerobics or tennis.
· Aerobic Training Shoes should be lightweight to prevent foot fatigue and have extra shock absorption in the sole beneath the ball of the foot (metatarsal area) where the most stress occurs.
Whether you’re a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, injuries are bound to happen! Here’s a look at some of the most common injuries.
· Low back strain: The weekend warrior is especially vulnerable. Without regular and proper strength training an activity like soccer or baseball, that requires a lot of kicking or rotating, can cause undue low back strain.
· Neck whiplash: While most common in car accidents, whiplash can also occur during contact sports. An injury to the soft tissue of the neck, it’s usually caused by sudden and unanticipated movement of the head—backward, forward or sideways.
· Sprained ankle: This injury can occur with a physical contact sport or without contact as when someone inadvertently steps into a hole, off a curb or looses their footing. For those with frequent ankle sprains or weakness, multiple strength training exercises can prevent future injury.
· Jammed Fingers: From hammers during home fix it projects to balls during basketball scrimmages, jammed fingers are a common occurrence. No athletic conditioning offers protection. To treat, use ice and traction to reduce discomfort and swelling.
· Bruising: Bruising is common in contact sports as well as with at home adventures! People often wonder if there is any way to treat these lingering black, yellow and green marks. The answer is yes! Icing will actually get bruise to heal much faster. Also taking arnica (oral and topical) can be very helpful as well as vitamin C, E and K. Consult your doctor for proper dosage.
Myth: Menopause begins at age 50.
Fact: Women start having a decline in hormones as early as their late 30s and 40s. This is called peri-menopause.
Myth: The Drop in Testosterone is why women loss interest in sex.
Fact: Most often the drop in libido can be linked to a decrease in estrogen making sex more uncomfortable and thus decreasing sexual desire.
Myth: Menopause only lasts a few years.
Fact: According to our definition of menopause, it is a stop in menstrual cycles occurring around the age of fifty and will lasting the rest of a woman’s life.
Myth: Hormones are dangerous and should be avoided.
Fact: HRT can have dangerous side effects if left alone and not supplemented properly. However, most bio-identical hormones are quiet safe and with proper balancing can improve health very effectively.
Myth: If you haven’t had a period in 6 months and are very close to menopause you don’t need to worry about getting pregnant.
Fact: If you haven’t gone a year without a period, you may still be able to get pregnant so you will still want to be careful at this period in timeUnless this your first V-Day with your significant other, you’re probably yearning for a little more romance and originality than flowers and an intimate dinner out with a crowded restaurant full of unimaginative lovers! Here are a few ideas to add personality and originality into your romance!
Don’t wait until the evening for your date. Think about a romantic lunch at a fine restaurant. It will cost less than dinner, be less crowded and will give you the rest of the afternoon and evening for romancing!
Re-enact your first date or other memorable moment.
Stay at home for a theme night. Rent a movie filmed in a country you’ve always wanted to visit~ Italy for instance. Grab a bottle of Chianti and make an authentic pasta dish while listening to beautiful Italian music. After dinner, plan your dream trip with a pile of travel brochures and tour books. Then cuddle up for your romantic film.
Grab a sexy “how-to” book and start studying! A less lusty and more romantic how-to guide is “The Art of Kissing: Book of Questions & Answers by William Cane.
Start, instead of end, your date in the bedroom. When you’ve already made the physical connection, the emotional connection is heightened and you’re in less of hurry to get home. P.S. Your man is less likely to fall asleep if he hasn’t had dinner yet!
Living with food allergies isn't easy, but you are certainly not alone. It's estimated that up to 5 million children in the US have a food allergy. While it certainly presents a challenge, by learning the facts and finding resources for tips and recipes, life can become much more manageable. One of our favorite websites is http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org. If you are looking for information on food allergy basics, emotional and social issues, safe label reading, food preparation techniques or school planning, you can find what you need here.
Another great site is www.allergicchild.com. This site offers great information for the newly diagnosed, children’s books on allergies, book and magazine recommendations, legislation, products, dealing with school and parties as well as a great monthly newsletter.
If you like your “daily dose” of information, check out the Food Allergy Assistant blog http://foodallergyassistant.blogspot.com/ Here you’ll find resources, recipes, FAQs and an Advocacy section as well as the blog. A parent who knows first hand the difficulties of raising a child with food allergies started the blog. She says,“As parents, we bear the ultimate responsibility for the safety of our food allergic child. We are using what we have learned to educate others about food allergy. We want to assist others who typically don't have time to think about reading every label or planning every party, trip and meal to the smallest detail”
Do you have a favorite website, book or blog that has helped you cope with food allergies and sensitivities? Let us know!
Adequate vitamins and minerals are essential for our children’s growing minds and bodies. Here are the supplements that we suggest you consider for your kids:
· Fish oil: There is a lot of buzz about fish oil these days and how it helps heart disease. But it is also very good for a developing nervous, heart and circulatory system as well as for digestion. It is also important for improving sleep patterns and reducing behavior problems.
· Probiotics: This is a “good bacteria” complex that is supposed to live in our gastro-intestinal tract. However, when kids come in contact with foreign bacteria or yeast, their digestive balance gets thrown off and they can have symptoms like constipation and diarrhea. Keeping a healthy gut helps boost their little immune systems as well.
· Vitamin D: This vitamin is deficient in most American kids and adults. As we protect of our skin with sunscreen and turn to indoor activities like video games and television, our children miss out on the sun’s rays that create vitamin D. This vitamin is a very powerful immune booster and is especially helpful when starting pre-school or day care.
· Multi-Vitamins: Most parents don’t have the time to be the cooks they want to be much less know how to construct a perfectly well balanced meal. Giving your child an essential blend of vitamins and minerals helps take some of the stress off so you know they are getting what they need to develop strong and healthy minds and bodies.
The dosages are not provided above since this depends on the age and weight of your child. Please call our office if you need assistance with this. Also, we recommend getting the highest quality Fish Oil and Probiotics. Unfortunately many companies are guilty of producing contaminated fish oil and probiotics with a high level of useless filler. We are always happy to recommend reputable companies to you that are in line with your budget.
