For All Single Parent Families – How to Have Sound Nutrition on a Limited Budget

Realizing sound nutrition for your family on a limited budget is synonymous to just eating cheap. Beans, potatoes, bananas, oranges, apples, grains, rice, carrots, oats, macaroni, spaghetti, flour, additional fruits, and vegetables all can be bought at economical prices. The opposite of this is true for unhealthy foods. With this in mind, lets look at ways you can put your food bills on a diet and still have sound nutrition.
Make More Meatless Meals
You can reduce the amount of expensive meat and poultry you buy by changing your recipe repertoire to include meatless meals. If you don’t want to do without your favorite meats altogether, use them ( along with a lot with poultry and fish) as flavor enhancers, rather than the main course. Add chopped meat, chicken, and fish to omelets, pasta, rice dishes, salads, and stews. You will not be skimping on the flavor, only on the budget.
Be a Savvy Shopper
If you want to be the smartest shopping in the neighborhood, shop only in perimeter of the supermarket. That way you will buy healthier groceries. Whole foods, such as produce, meat, and dairy products are always on the outer edge of the store. Generally, the inside aisles are filled with processed and more expensive foods.
Eliminate JunkA�Foods
Just say no to junk food. Food with little or no nutritional value has no place in a frugal shopping cart. Make your own cookies, pop your own popcorn, and make iced herbal teas and other healthful beverages. Don’t buy packaged deserts. Eat more fruit. It’s a healthier choice and will fill you up faster. Avoid sugar filled sodas and drink more water.
Be Careful in the Cereal Aisle
Cold cereal is overpriced and overrated. If you have coupons, use them, especially when there is a sale. But the most frugal solution is to get your family hooked on oatmeal. It is more healthful and cost less. Buy the least expensiveA�brand and dress it up with some with raisins, cinnamon, sliced or dried fruit, or anything else that delights your taste buds.
Create a Personal Pricing Guide
Buy a small notebook and keep track of the prices of items you buy every week. Compare prices at all of the local supermarkets. You’ll likely find one store that sells your favorite flour, cereal, or pasta for much less than another market. An easy way to start a personal guide is to keep your register receipts so that you can record your item costs. Once you finished your guide, you will find that it will take a little longer to get your shopping done, especially if you shop at three different stores, but you’ll spend less money in the long run.…

Eating Healthy When You Have Diabetes

It is always important to eat a healthy diet, but for those who have such medical conditions as diabetes, it is even more important. There are certain foods that are not good for diabetics and certain foods that they should be getting more of in their diets. Obviously, it is important to make sure that the foods that diabetics eat are not high in sugar and fat, and it also helps to eat foods that will help diabetics maintain a healthy weight.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease that causes the body to either not produce enough insulin, which is necessary for breaking down the foods we eat, or not using the insulin it does produce properly. If you have been diagnosed as having diabetes, it is more important than ever to make sure that you are eating right. There are three types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes; Type 2 diabetes; and gestational diabetes. When a person has diabetes, it means that they have extremely high sugar counts in their blood and this must be controlled. Depending on which type of diabetes you have, controlling your sugars could be as easy as making some dietary changes-or you may need to take insulin to keep your sugars regulated.
Type 1 Diabetes – People who have Type 1 diabetes do not have enough insulin coming from the pancreas and must rely on insulin shots to make sure that they have enough. At one time, this involved taking needles, sometimes several times daily. Today, there is a device called an insulin pump, which is attached to the stomach and will supply insulin to the body as it needs it. Often, Type 1 diabetes is caused by an autoimmune disorder, and the person with this type of diabetes has an immune system that actually destroys the pancreas cells, making the organ unable to produce enough insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes – When the body does not properly use the insulin created by the pancreas, it is known as Type 2 diabetes. Often, this is a condition that is caused, or at least worsened, by being overweight. It is thought that excess body weight will inhibit the body’s ability to absorb and use insulin, and one way to alleviate this is by losing weight. This can be done by eating a healthy weight loss diet that is meant for diabetics. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease, affecting between 90 and 95% of all diabetics.
Gestational Diabetes – This is the only type of diabetes that is a temporary one. It usually occurs when a woman is in the latter half of her pregnancy. It is always important to eat healthy when pregnant, but when gestational diabetes comes into play, it is even more important. When a woman has gestational diabetes, her pancreas is not able to produce enough insulin, and she will have to make some dietary changes, as well as monitor her blood sugar levels regularly. Fortunately, this form of diabetes usually goes away once the baby is born, and it is rare that it will cause the baby to be born with diabetes. It is important for women who are pregnant to be tested for gestational diabetes, so they can start making the dietary changes necessary to control the condition and have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.
What Are the Symptoms of Diabetes?
There are many different symptoms of diabetes and although many people experience many of the same symptoms, others may not, depending on the type of diabetes they have. Some of the most common symptoms associated with Type 1 diabetes include:
– Extreme thirst and hunger
– Frequent urination
– Loss of weight
– Blurred vision
– Extreme fatigue
The symptoms of Type 2 diabetes are often very similar to those of Type 1 diabetes, but they are not usually as severe and they come on more gradually. Weight is a huge factor and about 80% of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight.
Risk Factors for Developing Diabetes
There are a number of risk factors for diabetes and if you find that you have some of these risk factors, you should have your physician test you for diabetes. The risk factors for diabetes include:
– If you have a family history of diabetes, you may be at risk of developing the disease yourself.
– Being overweight can greatly increase your risk of developing diabetes and the more overweight you are, the greater the risk.
– Certain ethnic groups are at a higher risk for developing diabetes, including Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, and Latinos.
Blood Sugar Levels
When a person has diabetes, it is essential that they monitor their blood sugar levels and take the appropriate steps to make sure …

Dental Care – Ways to Take Care of Your Teeth

Most people try to neglect the importance of taking care of their teeth. They tend to overlook it and everything then will be too late. You see, you have all your chances to make things right. Start it by reading this article. Here are some ways to take care of your teeth:
1. Brush your teeth regularly – One of the best ways to take care of your teeth is to brush them regularly. Brushing your teeth every single day will just definitely make your teeth strong and clean. Just apply gentle pressure so as not to cause bleeding of the gums. The nozzles of the brush can actually irritate the gums if done harshly. Make gentle strokes in each side of the mouth including your tongue. This will prevent you from developing tartar and it will also prevent you from developing some foul cavities. Do not forget to maintain this habit. You should brush your teeth for at least three times a day. This includes after breakfast, after lunch and after dinner. Well, there is no harm in brushing your teeth many times.
2. Avoid too much sweets – It is important that you avoid too many sweets. This is one of the best ways to prevent serious decaying of teeth. You can always eat sweets like chocolates or sweet juices, but to a limited amount. Excessive consumption of sugar-rich food can aggravate dental problems. The sweet can accumulate in your teeth, resulting to some bacteria formation. The bacteria that have accumulated will cause serious decays and damages to your teeth, especially when consumed for a long period of time.
3. Regular dental check-up – Regular dental check-up is very much recommended for everyone to give proper care of his or her teeth. The dentist knows best when it comes to teeth conditions. They check some cavities and decays that might probably need some repair. They can also check your teeth and see some major or minor defects. It is important that you maintain a regular check up so as to prevent more severe teeth problems in the future.
Dental care is very important. If you want to live having healthy teeth, take these helpful ways to maintain a healthy one.…

Caring For Your Teeth – 5 Reasons Why Teeth Should Be Cared For

A white and perfect set of teeth – that’s every person’s dream. A healthy dental and oral system contributes to overall wellness. Unhealthy teeth and gums hinder you from eating food that benefits your entire body. Unsightly teeth affect your self-esteem and prohibit you from enjoying a normal social life.
You may be surprised to know that there are 5 substantial reasons why the teeth should be cared for and they are by nature physiological, physical, emotional, social, and financial reasons.
1. Physiological. Obviously, if you have toothache, you can’t eat well and the body’s normal functioning is affected when you have weakened immune system due to inability to eat properly. Aside from that, toothache and other dental problems are stressful and it’s been proven that stress affects the body organs and their functions that could lead to an even more serious health condition. Furthermore, tooth decay can lead to infection and abscess which could contribute to gum disease which in turn is linked to heart attack and stroke.
2. Emotional. You will look and feel happier if you have healthy teeth. When you can smile freely, you will have positive emotions and more optimistic and affirmative situations follow your emotional highs. At your lowest emotional condition you may not even be able to leave your bed. When you have serious problems with your teeth you will stay unhappy until you finally get that appointment with the dentist.
3. Social. Your social life involves a lot of talking and eating. How can you communicate when, aside from ugly teeth, you also have bad breath? How can you enjoy the food when you have an aching tooth? You may not want others to know it but deep inside you know that you feel miserable with those unattractive and unhealthful teeth. You even feel shame as a result of your failure to care for your teeth. You will soon realize that you are starting to shy away from others socially, because they have a beautiful set of teeth and you don’t.
4. Physical. This becomes the first and most obvious result when you fail to take good oral and dental care. Teeth that don’t receive proper attention become physically damaged and discolored. Before other people notice your talents and intelligence, physical features make deep impressions first, especially your facial features. This obviously includes your smile, showing the physical condition of your teeth.
5. Financial. When you neglect giving your teeth the most needed care and attention, you will ultimately need to take a trip to the dentist to treat serious dental and oral problems. This means paying for a much more expensive treatment than if you had regular checkups.
Simple tasks such as regularly and correctly brushing and flossing your teeth can help you avoid dental woes later on in your life. The reasons why you should take good care of your teeth are obvious because they are as important as any of the other parts of your body.…

Are You Doing Too Much Cardio?

The ideal of the perfect woman has shifted throughout the years. It seems that now it almost changes every time that you turn on the television and there is a new starlet. The shocking trend that has really hit the Hollywood elite is to be ultra skinny. This craze of being skinny enough to be a stand in for a walking skeleton just isn’t healthy. Nor is it attractive. Yet, many women are doing everything from cosmetic surgery, unhealthy dieting, and extreme workouts to get the super skinny body.
One of the great myths that have come from women wanting to get the super skinny look is the devotion to cardio equipment. Many people that are looking to lose weight will not go anywhere near weights, nor will they think of doing anything but attacking a stair master, a tread mill, or an elliptical machine. The problem is that people that spend too much time on a cardio machine are not only hurting their bodies, but they might actually be doing things to gain weight.
When a person is using a cardio machine their body is searching for the best and most efficient way to power itself. It will burn through all of the available energy that it had stored before a workout, and then it will use the next easiest to convert. A body of a person that is running for long periods of time will turn to breaking down muscle in order to power itself through the workout. Why will your body use muscle instead of burning the extra fat? The muscle is easier for the body to break down, and the body is trying to lean itself in order to have enough energy to complete long cardio workouts. This means that the body will try to shut down as much as possible and really slow down its metabolism. The body is trying to conserve as much energy as possible. This is the result of too much cardio. This is also the reason that many marathon runners are so skinny, and have very little muscle. If a person that is really committed to cardio ever stops working out they would be very susceptible to weight gain due to their low metabolism.
The better way to help your body to lose weight and to keep it off is to balance workouts and nutrition. A person should try to add a good balance of cardio with resistance based training. Plus, people should really try to add a good regiment of stretches that work the core muscle groups. This type of training will promote lean muscle growth. Lean muscles are great for people that want to burn fat and lose weight. They also provide people with energy, so that they aren’t feeling tired or worn out during the day. A good way to help your body create lean muscle is by adding a good protein supplement to your daily diet.
Protein is key element that your body uses to create lean muscle. Taking a good protein supplement will help your body to have a supply to repair and create muscle. The best supplement that you can take to help your body is a whey protein supplement. Whey protein supplements are great because they are very high in protein purity. Whey protein isolates contain over 90% pure protein. Whey protein supplements also contain lower levels of fats and carbohydrate compared with soy based products. Whey protein is also easier on your body’s system limiting the side effect of the indigestion that sometimes occurs with soy based protein supplements.
If you are going to the gym and killing yourself everyday on a cardio machine, you might be doing your body a great disservice. It is important to have a good balance in workouts in order to get the best results.…

Depressed? Improve Your Mood With These Useful Tips

Depression is a serious disease that often makes even everyday tasks seem impossible. It can affect your ability to perform your daily activities, making even the simplest tasks seem more difficult. In this article we share tips to help you cope with depression.

One way to treat depression is with prescription medication. Every year new ones come out too, so if you tried one years ago there are many alternatives now. Most of them work by attempting to restore the chemical balance in your brain as they believe depression is caused by a chemical imbalance.

There are some treatments for depression you can pick up from your local health store. Drinking juice and water, plus St. St. Johns wart has been shown to help with people who have a problem in the depression department. It can be cheaper than prescriptions, too.

A simple walk around your block can be a wonderful mood elevator and a way to get those happy endorphins working to your advantage. If you have forgotten the joy of walking, then take your dog (or borrow one from a neighbor) and focus on his joy and antics for a few minutes. Getting out in your neighborhood keeps you in touch with what is going on around you and helps you take the focus off yourself for awhile.

Make sure that you understand all of the possible side effects before you decide to take any type of medication. Your doctor may be eager to prescribe you pills, and this may actually help you greatly, but you need to be sure that you are aware of exactly what you are taking ahead of time.

Depression is often cyclical. This means that your highs and lows will start to come in waves. If you pay close attention, you may even be able to forecast when the next strong down will come. This can help you greatly as you will be capable of prepare yourself for what is to come.

If you have been prescribed medication by your doctor but do not feel completely comfortable with it, be sure to discuss this with him or her. He may be able to help you find a better medication or he may even be able to sooth your worries by explaining what it does.

Fitness

An effective way to resolve and overcome depression is to create some realistic goals that you can achieve. These goals can be anything from learning to play an instrument or setting a fitness goal. By living a more goal oriented life, you will be able to focus more of your thoughts on things that are making your life better rather than the issues causing your depression. Accomplishing your goals will also serve as a vital source for the self esteem and self confidence that you will need to overcome depression.

You’ve just learned a thing or two about depression. Bear in mind, this issue will not resolve itself overnight; you will have to make some effort in dealing with it. You can beat your depression; it’s not impossible. Get the support you require to beat this.…

How You Can Deal With Your Asthma The Smart Way

If you are a life long sufferer of asthma or you have recently been diagnosed, there are always questions about how you can manage your asthma better and need your medications less. This article will give you information and ideas on how to have an easier time breathing.

Think about getting a flu shot. If you have asthma regularly, your lungs have more risks have getting infected. A flu shot should protect your lungs from common types of infections. If you have a child with asthma, you should definitely get them a flu shot to prevent them from developing any severe lung infections.

If you are suffering from asthma, it is essential that you quit smoking cigarettes. Although smoking is bad for all people, it is especially worse for asthma patients because it cuts off the oxygen supply that you need in order for your lungs to function and keep away asthma attacks.

Be careful of what profession you choose if you have asthma. Certain jobs like painters, bakers, health workers, and farm workers involve using chemicals or materials that could worsen your asthma or cause an asthma attack. Try to stick with jobs in which you will be in a healthy environment all day.

Get the flu vaccine every year if you suffer from asthma. Respiratory or sinus issues that can come from a bout with the flu can really do a number on an asthma sufferer. Taking the preventive tack of getting the vaccine can save you some serious suffering down the road.

For help with asthma, maintain the humidity in your home. A great treatment for asthma is a clean, dry environment. Using a dehumidifier will reduce the amount of seasonal triggers that are present in your house.

Having the proper medications and treatments for your asthma is very important. If you need to use your inhaler more than once a day, or are awakened by symptoms more than twice a week, it may be time to switch to a more controlling medicine that can prevent your symptoms.

Learn as much as you can about living with your condition. Knowledge is power! Make sure you are well informed about the causes and known natural and prescribed ways to control your symptoms. Living with asthma can be difficult and cause you to have unwanted stress within your personal life.

Health Food

Raw apple cider vinegar is an excellent treatment for those who suffer from asthma. Mix two tablespoons with eight ounces of water or apple juice and drink up to three times daily. If you use water, honey can be added to make it more palatable. Look for raw apple cider vinegar in the health food section of most grocery stores.

Using the information in this article, you should have a better idea of some things that you can do yourself and some things to talk with your doctor about in order to get a better hold on your asthma. It doesn’t have to control your life, you can learn to control it.…