Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Heart Health for Valentine's Day and Every Day!

Ok, first and foremost I have to say how FABULOUS it is to see sunshine!!! Even when I know it won’t last…it still lifts my spirits! And I bet for Valentine’s Day you were expecting a red something or other…surprise! It’s grapefruit! Why will be obvious shortly…

How we can cram so many categories into 28 days is beyond me. (Sorry! 29 days this year.) February is Black History Month, National Cancer Prevention Month, National Heart Month, National Cherry Month, National Grapefruit Month, National Library Lover’s Month, National Snack Food Month…oh good grief. LOL! That isn’t even the full list I found online!

National Library Lover’s Month…I like it. I like it a lot. And for Black History Month, the February bonus category for the Des Moines Public Library’s reading challenge is to read a non-fiction book by a Black author. So I won’t be reading poetry by Langston Hughes, but maybe I’ll see about a copy of Nina Simone’s autobiography. If you have a February birthday…Hughes and Simone were both February kids. As was my grandmother. Strangely enough, so was her twin brother. (What? They weren’t Leap Day kids! LOL!) You’re in good company. ;)

But I digress. If you’ve been here before, I’m sure you’re shocked. :)

Cancer prevention, heart health, cherries, grapefruit, and snack food. I can absolutely tie all of those together. Ha!!

Big shock…I’ve written about heart health on Valentine’s Day before. I had to laugh at myself. Substitute broccoli for mashed potatoes with a steak? HOW did I consider that fun? Delicious, yes. Healthier? Yes, definitely. But fun? What was I thinking?

Cherries are stuffed with health benefits: vitamins C and B6, potassium, magnesium, and fiber. Snack on those. They’re delicious and good for you. 

We will take a small detour to emphasize that this does not necessarily include maraschino cherries, which, while delicious, have enough sugar in them to pretty much wipe out any nutritional value. ;)

Tart cherry juice (or eating tart cherries) may help you recover after exercise. Cherries can help reduce inflammation, and reducing inflammation reduces the risk of developing cancer or heart disease. (Reducing inflammation is a good goal!)

I am one of those folks who love grapefruit, although I don’t eat it as often as I did in the past. (One of my favorite ways to prepare it is DEFINITELY not necessarily heart-healthy: broiled with maraschino cherries and brown sugar. Sweet-tart and delicious!) Grapefruit, as a citrus, is clearly full of vitamin C, along with vitamin A, and, surprisingly, calcium and iron. Snack on a grapefruit. It’s good for you. (BE CAREFUL if you are taking certain medications, as grapefruit and some meds do not play nicely together. Talk to your pharmacist or physician!)

See? I can totally tie together cancer prevention, heart health, cherries, grapefruit, and snack food. ;)

How are you caring for your heart this Valentine’s Day?

 Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Hearth Health

Golly…it has been a minute, hasn’t it! Gracious…

Well…it’s February and hearts are on lots of people’s minds. Since yesterday was Valentine’s Day, I’m throwing it back a bit to a #winewellnesswednesday post when Valentine’s Day was a Wednesday ;) with a bit of an update.

Anyone who knows me knows I advocate for drinking plenty of water and that the quantity of water you need to consume depends on multiple factors, for example, your activity level.

Did you know staying hydrated is critical to heart health? Drinking enough water (or black coffee, or unsweetened tea) helps your body function efficiently, including your heart. If you stay hydrated, your blood vessels stay healthy, your circulation is better, and your heart will be healthier. So while I also advocate for drinking small quantities of red wine (or Concord grape juice!), make sure you keep a water bottle handy!

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Life Is Short; Eat Dessert First. (AKA Chocolate Is a Health Food!)

I’m a little incredulous that I’ve only gone over the topic of dark chocolate as a health food once and it’s been over 6 years. Say…whaaaaaaat? So here’s another oldie-but-a-goodie…now pardon me while I go find some dark chocolate!

Originally posted 05/11/2016 on my Facebook page; come on over & follow me on social media!

Dark chocolate goes very well with red wine.  (Well, with most red wine, that is.) So for this week’s Wine & Wellness Wednesday, I have a little red wine and a square of 72% dark chocolate. (Yes, that number is important!)

Dark chocolate is also good for you.

Say…whaaaaat?

Yes!! Dark chocolate, in small doses, is a health food. (Sort of!)

Note that I specify “in small doses.” (So I’m fairly sure the chocolate tasting class I had when I was an undergrad was a bit excessive! I really loved that economic botany class...) No, a dark chocolate Snickers or Milky Way doesn’t count! (And if you’re having a little bit of dark chocolate, make that your dessert. It’s important not to overdo those calories! So having dark chocolate after you’ve had a piece of chocolate cake? No, that will not actually double the benefits!)

Let’s start with a quick look at why we love chocolate. Eating chocolate releases dopamine (a feel good transmitter) in your brain. That will improve mood and potentially help you relax.

What are the health benefits? Dark chocolate can lower blood pressure. It contains antioxidant compounds that are good for your heart. It is more filling than milk chocolate, so you need to eat less to feel full. It may reduce your stress hormones. It may even make you smarter!

What kind of dark chocolate should you look for? Make sure you’re buying at least 70% cocoa content, and not loaded with sugars or other additives. Keep it simple! It won’t be as sweet as that dark chocolate Milky Way Midnight, but it will be much better for you.

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Sleep Matters

Is there anything better than a snoozy dog? Sleeping dogs…they’re an inspiration to us all to get good sleep!

I recently had an absolutely awful night’s sleep. I couldn’t get comfortable, I hurt, I couldn’t get into a good position for sleeping, and I woke up still tired. The day after the absolutely awful night’s sleep was also absolutely awful. I had multiple appointments and plans, all of which I cancelled because I could not face leaving my house.

Luckily, the following nights were much, much better, so it didn’t take me long to recover. But here’s the thing. Even a single night of poor sleep can have a negative impact on your overall health & wellbeing.

I’ve posted about sleep several times over the past however many years, mostly because World Sleep Day (in March!) reminds me to do so. LOL! I gave it more thought again recently because of the aforementioned lousy night’s sleep.

How much sleep do you need? How do you know if it’s quality sleep? Why does it matter?

Let’s start with that last question. Why does it matter? What does sleep do for you anyway, other than waste time you could be cross stitching or crocheting? (Oh, wait…that’s me. But I digress…)

Sleeping helps you form memories as well as holding on to and recalling details about your life and everything you have going on. (And let’s face it, our attention spans are decreasing, so recalling details about life is even more important.) Sleeping soundly helps rest your heart by decreasing your blood pressure. It also gives your body important down time during which your body repairs any issues that may have come up during the day, as well as fighting off any germs you may have encountered. Glucose levels drop when you’re sleeping deeply, which potentially helps fight off type 2 diabetes. A solid night’s sleep also helps with appetite control! It’s important for your mental health, too.

Ok, let’s go back to that second question. How do you know if it’s quality sleep? How do you feel when you wake up? Are you refreshed? Feel rested? Are you cranky, creaky, or grumpy? Check in with yourself for a few mornings in a row to see how you’re feeling. That will help you determine if you’ve slept well.

Last but not least because it was first on the list: how much sleep do you need? This really is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Some people border on bragging that they function just fine on 4 or 6 hours of sleep. That may be true (I have my doubts) but it isn’t necessarily a good thing (reference all of the text above or the links I’m sharing later). The recommendations on hours of sleep are based on age, generally, but also depend on overall health and activity levels, which makes sense if you think about it. Infants? Experts suggest 12 to 15 hours a night. (Zoikes!) Teenagers? Eight to 10 hours. Older adults? Seven to eight hours. Honestly? It’s important for you to figure it out for yourself. How? I have ideas. (Of course I do.)

Start picking a bedtime and stick to it. If you can, try not to set an alarm and see if you wake up naturally and feel good about waking up, then see how many hours of sleep you’ve had. Try that for several days and see what happens. (I’ve become so accustomed to waking up between 5-5:30 a.m. that I ALMOST don’t need an alarm to do so!) Put away your technology; the light from cellular phones, tablets, and laptops messes with your body’s ability to get good sleep. Create a bedtime routine that helps you wind down, and stick to it, even on weekends and vacations. Make sure you have a comfortable place to sleep and a quality mattress and pillows. An awful lot of this seems like common sense…so why aren’t we sleeping better? “I’ll just check Facebook one more time,” and suddenly it’s 45 minutes later and you’re wide awake because you’ve had an argument over whether Star Trek or Star Wars is better.

(For the record? It’s both. Now move on.)

Sleep. It’s good for your health. What are you going to do to sleep better? Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Heart Health!

It’s an oldie but a goodie, and in honor of both Valentine’s Day and American Heart Month, AND because dogs are good for your health and today is our dogs’ Gotcha Day…here’s a throwback to a Valentine’s Day Wine & Wellness Wednesday from a few years back. Have a glass of wine (or Concord grape juice) and enjoy the read! Cheers!

p.s. here’s the post about pets being good for your health. ;) Call it a bonus!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: The Mediterranean Diet (My Way!)

For quite a while now I’ve toyed with the idea of trying recipes that go with various dietary theories for a month at a time, in order to see what I like and what works well for us. Menu planning can be a chore, or it can be a lot of fun. Right now I’m in the fun phase, picking out recipes and ideas and plugging them in using the 80-20 rule. (80% of our menu is following the Mediterranean diet; 20% is not. It’s an idea I picked up from a friend who menu plans using the clean eating philosophy.)

Did I mention I’ve been having fun?

What is the Mediterranean diet? Short version: it focuses on healthy eating using common ingredients found and used in countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. This includes Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, and Morocco. I haven’t listed all of the Mediterranean countries, to be honest. I focused on those whose cuisines I either already know that I like, or that I want to try! For example, I have two cookbooks by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi: OTTOLENGHI and JERUSALEM. I’ve been getting back into one of my favorite cookbooks, ITALIAN LIGHT COOKING by Marie Simmons, and I have several labeled, generically, “Mediterranean.” I am super excited to dive in and pick out recipes!

What are common ingredients in the Mediterranean diet? They include olive oil, poultry, fish, goat cheese, vegetables, nuts, fruits, whole grains, coffee, and red wine. (Those last two? Moderation, definitely!) Low amounts of sodium, and many, many wonderful seasonings, such as oregano, garlic, lemon, turmeric, curry, and pepper, to name a few. And many of the recipes I’ve played with already have been very simple, easy to prepare, with not many ingredients. They taste fresh & light & yet are very filling & satisfying. (The photo with this post is one of my recent recipe experiments. Sweet potato, carrot, tomato, onion, garlic, chicken, curry, & turmeric. It was very tasty!)

Why is the Mediterranean diet a good option? There’s an emphasis on plant-based meals and healthy fats, which is good for your heart & brain and, among other things, may lower your risk for dementia by 30%. These are all really, really good things. (Clearly!)

I decided to start with the Mediterranean diet simply by random chance, and I’ve really been enjoying it. I know that I’m accustomed to fattier, saltier meals because I’ve been craving things like salted nuts or string cheese, but the more time I spend eating along the guidelines for this diet the less I succumb to the cravings. I also love to cook so I’m having fun with the recipes. Even one of my favorite Modern Table lentil pasta kits almost fits into the diet because it’s lentil pasta with a pesto mix and very few ingredients. I’ll take that as an option because it’s a quick meal on a busy night!

What diets or eating philosophies have you followed & enjoyed?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Is Procrastination Bad for Your Health?

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while, related to #winewellnesswednesday, but I’ve been putting it off.

(See what I did there?) 

There are obvious ways procrastination is bad for your health. You get a cough and you delay going to the doctor, or you put off an annual exam. You find a lump but you think it’s nothing, put it off, and then it’s not nothing after all and if you’d dealt with it sooner it wouldn’t have been as critical. (Ok, that last one is a pretty extreme example. Sadly, we all have heard stories about people to whom it applies.)

There are less obvious ways procrastination is bad for your health, and those are the ones I want to talk about. Procrastination can lead to stress, which can have a negative impact on both your mental and physical health. Specifically, it can impact (or cause) hypertension and exacerbate cardiovascular disease. (That’s not good, for those of you playing along at home.)  

Procrastination can have multiple causes (as well as multiple effects). Are you depressed? Avoiding something out of fear? Finding it hard to just get going? Everyone copes with procrastination differently, or not at all. Sometimes the hardest thing in the world to do is to pick up the phone. Or a pen. Or the keyboard. Or…or…or…whatever the case may be. Only you can figure out what’s getting in your way and causing you to procrastinate about whatever it is and why it is you’re procrastinating.

Keep in mind that there’s more than time involved. It’s important to your mental and physical health as well.

There is also a school of thought that says some procrastination can be good for you, related to making decisions, certain critical actions, or putting off tedious tasks in favor of quality time with loved ones. I’m honestly not certain what I think of that, but it may have merit!

Sometimes, but not always, I’ll set myself a timer and sit myself down and try to do something, anything, related to the task at hand. If it works, I will occasionally work past the timer going off. If it doesn’t, when the timer goes off I’ll go do something else and then come back and try again.

What do you do when you find yourself procrastinating and how do you get past it?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Hugs!

*HUGS*

It's wondrous what a hug can do.
A hug can cheer you when you're blue.
A hug can say, "I love you so,"
Or, "Gee! I hate to see you go."
A hug is, "Welcome back again!"
And, "Great to see you!” or “Where've you been?"
A hug can soothe a small child’s pain,
And bring a rainbow after rain.
The hug! There's just no doubt about it.
We scarcely could survive without it!
A hug delights and warms and charms.
It must be why God gave us arms.
Hugs are great for fathers and mothers.
Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers.
And chances are some favorite aunts
Love them more than potted plants.
Kittens crave them. Puppies love them.
Heads of state are not above them.
A hug can break the language barrier,
And make the dullest day seem merrier.
No need to fret about your store of 'em,
The more you give,
The more there are of ‘em.
So stretch those arms without delay
And give someone a hug today.
~Author Unknown~

I have an old, battered photocopy of that poem taped to one of the doorways in our house. I absolutely love it, because it’s a good reminder that hugs are important.

I was thinking about hugs recently when I had the happy occasion to get half a dozen or so within a very short time frame as we were saying goodbye to some friends. A long time ago, a good friend of mine was insistent that 7.2 hugs per day, on average, was the ideal number of hugs.

(No wonder so many people are cranky. They aren’t getting 7.2 hugs per day!)

It was fabulous.

There’s something simply wonderful about a really good hug.

And, naturally, because I’m me, I started wondering about hugs & health.

Hugs boost oxytocin levels, leading to decreased feelings of loneliness and anger. An extended hug can increase serotonin levels and make your mood better, increasing your happiness. Hugs relax muscles and release tension in the body. Hugs can decrease your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Frequent hugs can potentially decrease your susceptibility to catching a cold or decrease your symptoms if you have one.

Sometimes, I’ll stop my husband as he’s walking through the house because I need a hug. I don’t even need to be in a bad or a sad mood; I might just need a hug to generally feel better. It always, always works.

Mood lifter. Health improver. All in one simple action! That’s a pretty darn good deal.

Cheers! Here’s to your health!