Lower Cholesterol – Include rich sources of omega 3 fatty acids in your diet everyday.
The list of benefits associated with omega 3 fatty acids continues to grow. By increasing your intake of omega 3 fatty acids you’ll decrease triglycerides, reduce blood pressure, increase HDL cholesterol, reduce arterial wall inflammation, and the list goes on.
Here are a few steps you can take to increase your omega 3 intake:
1. Eat fish at least twice a week.
2. Add ground flaxseed to foods.
3. Take a fish oil or flaxseed oil supplement. (Discuss all supplements with your MD.)
4. Snack on nuts and seeds rich in omega 3’s, such as walnuts.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
eNutritionServices
Weight Loss – Make the Salad Bar Work for You
Salads can be a great option when trying to lose weight, but it can quickly become a disaster for even the best weight loss plan if you make the 5 mistakes below.
Mistake #1 – Selecting iceberg lettuce.
Iceberg lettuce is one of the most common forms of lettuce you’ll find on a salad bar. Think of iceberg lettuce as crunchy water providing minimal nutrients. Select dark green, leafy lettuce varieties, such as romaine and endive.
Mistake #2 – Skimping on fresh vegetables.
Pile on fresh vegetables, such as peppers, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, and mushrooms. Fresh vegetables are low in calories and rich in vitamins and minerals.
Mistake #3 – Loading up on salad toppings.
Salad toppings, such as croutons, sesame noodles, and bacon bits should be used sparingly. They are low in nutrients and high in calories.
Mistake #4 – Selecting a high fat, high calorie salad dressing.
You don’t want to ruin a nutritious salad with a poor dressing choice. Opt for vinegar based salad dressings or low fat/calorie salad dressing and use sparingly. Tip: Dip your fork in a small cup of salad dressing before every bite instead of pouring the dressing on your salad.
Mistake #5 – Making too many trips to the salad bar.
Just because the salad bar may include unlimited trips doesn’t mean you have to go back multiple times. Decide in advance how many trips you’ll make and stick with your plan. Even though a well-balanced salad is a healthy choice, too much of a good thing can quickly turn bad!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Heart Healthy Tips
How to Lower Diastolic Blood Pressure
I’m frequently asked how to lower diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure, so I wanted to give you some good tips to see results.
First of all, you need to have a solid foundation in place that supports a low blood pressure. If you’re not sure what this entails visit Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure.
It’s important that your potassium, calcium, and magnesium intakes are adequate. Studies show that potassium can reduce diastolic blood pressure 2.5 mmHg, calcium 1.5 mmHg, and magnesium 3.4 mmHg.
Don’t forget omega 3 fatty acids. Studies show that consuming fish for one meal everyday decreases diastolic blood pressure 3.0 mmHg. Fish oil supplements are also and option.
With any supplement or nutrient – don’t go overboard! More is not necessarily better.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
https://lisanelsonrd.com
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Omega Q Plus supports:
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Would you like to ask Dr. Cynthia Shelby-Lane, heart health expert, a question?
Dr. Cynthia Shelby-Lane, MD
Well, now’s your chance! I will be interviewing Dr. Cynthia Shelby-Lane later this month. I want to ask the questions you want answers to. Submit your questions by commenting on this post below.
Here’s a little background information on Dr. Shelby-Lane. She’s known as the “agelessdoctor” with a private practice located in Detroit, Michigan – Elan Anti-Aging & Longevity Center of Michigan. After 23 years as an emergency room physician, her experience with life and death crises made her realize the limitations of traditional medicine. She became a board certified anti-aging specialist with a holistic approach to medicine, integrating traditional and complimentary strategies to treat and prevent disease. Dr. Shelby-Lane has recently expanded her practice to the internet and answers questions for patients around the world, providing alternative solutions and second opinions.
Dr. Shelby-Lane’s knowledge is extensive and has led to positions with numerous state and national medical boards, including two terms as President of the American Association of Women Emergency Physicians. Her areas of expertise include cardiovascular disease prevention, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, detoxification, adrenal and thyroid disorders, weight management, memory and brain health, autoimmune disorders and fibromyalgia.
In a unique twist, Dr. Shelby-Lane not only graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School, but also the Second City Comedy School in Chicago. She’s a firm believer that laughter is good medicine and I have to agree. She’s produced her own comedy show titled “Laugh Attack: Stopping the # 1 Killer – Heart Disease” and delivers a powerful lecture called “Heart Sense & Humor”. You can join her live via satellite radio on February 4th as she discusses heart disease and her upcoming book release.
The list of Dr. Shelby-Lane’s accomplishments is endless (including being a guest on Oprah – more than once!). The above is just a quick synopsis of the ones I thought you’d find most interesting related to heart disease.
Make the most of Dr. Shelby-Lane’s generous offer to carve time out of her busy schedule to answer your questions.
Comment on this post to submit your questions.
This interview will be posted in February as a special feature to recognize “American Heart Month”. So, watch for the answers to your questions next month! Until then, I’d love to have you join the hundreds of people reading The Heart of Health ezine where I provide free heart health and weight loss tips. Subscribers also receive the free report “Stop Wasting Money – Take Control of Your Health” or the free e-course “How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps”.
9 Tips for Living Well Before You Lose the Weight
I’ve been corresponding with a subscriber to The Heart of Health email. She shared an article with me related to her struggles with weight loss that I’d like to share with you. I agree with just about all her suggestions. It’s vital to love yourself before you lose the weight if you’re ever going to be successful and happy. The only point I disagree with is number 3. Yes, your weight loss struggle is personal; however, I think a show like “The Biggest Loser” can be very motivational for some individuals. Read on to learn more!
NINE TIPS FOR LIVING WELL BEFORE YOU LOSE THE WEIGHT
Niama Leslie Williams, Ph.D.
Copyright December 2008
for oprah
You may wonder why I dedicate this article to Oprah. I watched her show today, something I haven’t done since my days of daily addiction to her hour of power way back in 2000 when graduate school, warring faculty and a history of family trauma sent me back home–three thousand miles–with my tail between my legs.
I dedicate this article to Oprah because weight loss is never a permanent fix; addictions, however, are permanent fixtures waiting eagerly for any and every opportunity to spring from the shadows and once again seize control of your life, health, wealth, psyche and spirit. They literally lie in wait to destroy everything you love.
I feel Oprah’s struggle because I know that weight loss is not a battle, just as recovery from addiction is never permanent. Only a strong and relentless, tenacious even, belief in and dependence upon Your Creator, a force greater than one’s self, can relieve addiction.
We are not perfect, it will never be perfect, and we aren’t supposed to do it perfectly: that’s for angels, Oprah, not for humans.
Success and excellence, nevertheless, are always possible, and it is in that direction, helping us to live healthily and well in all areas of our lives, that I give this article to every man, woman, or child who has struggled with the weight loss demon. He really is a small, egotistical little imp who lives to make us believe we will never win. Think Napoleon on steroids and you have some conception of the Weight Loss Demon.
You can whip his narrow little self into submission with the following Nine Tips For Living Well BEFORE You Lose the Weight:
1. Self-care is essential.
If you’re too tired after showering or bathing to put lotion on every day, begin by doing it when you have a special event and take the time to FEEL your skin expand and relax as you moisturize it. At 413 plus, I was often exhausted after showering, and the idea of then slathering lotion all over my body? Yeah, right.
What changed? I began to feel, focus on and FEEL, my skin’s reaction to the lotion. Once I began to tune in and understand how much my skin appreciated that oh so necessary extra step, I became willing to take care of myself in that significant way. And boy, did my legs ever look fine at the end of the day, all nice and brown and NOT ashy!
2. LOOK at your body naked.
If you don’t begin to look at your body naked NOW, you won’t be able to see or trust what you see when you notice your body becoming slimmer. Look at yourself; get to know your image without clothes on. You will find body parts and areas that you come to love, and when they start shrinking, your smile will get wider and wider and wider. The pride you feel will be genuine.
3. Weight loss is neither a competition nor a spectator sport. I am not in this for humiliation.
I have yet to watch The Biggest Loser, and I am proud to say so. My journey is not spectacle nor is it cheap, vicarious entertainment. I’m serious and weight loss is serious. Respect me and respect my story.
4. I am not here for your approval.
Weight loss is TOUGH, so doing it for someone else’s approval is the road to disaster. DO IT FOR YOU. Do it because you want to be healthy and live longer, not for those skinny jeans. Think about it: once you achieve that first pair of skinny jeans, then what?
5. Recognize that weight loss is an INSIDE job that will touch on my deepest fears and know what those fears are.
My number one fear is of being thinner! Yes, I have moments of looking in the mirror, seeing my body shrinking AND BEING AFRAID. It’s tough, but I talk to myself and remind myself that THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR. I’m just afraid of the unknown, and thin, for me, is the unknown.
6. Before, during and after losing weight, associate with those who support you; drop those who don’t.
This one couldn’t be simpler, and yet many of us tank because we don’t follow such sage advice. My mother tried to lose weight thousands of times during her marriage, and finally noticed that when she was doing well on her diet, my father would suddenly bring home ice cream. I’m sure that had nothing to do with their divorce when I turned seven. You know who your saboteurs are, and it won’t take much introspection to determine their motivations. If you can’t get them out of your life, talk with friends or a therapist about removing the power from their actions. Your life, and your weight loss, are with it.
7. Move. Move in ways and doing things that give you pleasure.
a. I love to shop. I feel true delight in going up and down each aisle, surveying the goods and their respective prices, determining what strikes my fancy as well as what is an exceptional bargain. I love beautiful things and quality products and finding them at the best price is a heady experience. And the walking!!!! I have accomplished more miles up and down the aisles in Genuardis and Wal-Mart, Target and Impact Thrift than any stressed out woman on a treadmill in L.A. Fitness! And I enjoyed myself at the same time! Can’t wait to do it again.
b. Then there is yoga. When I lived in L.A. from 2000-2003, my budget could stretch to afford private yoga instruction. Please buy my books so that I can return to that particular heaven. Until private yoga, I forgot that my body LIKED movement, liked standing while I did the dishes, liked standing while I cooked and chopped and steamed dinner, liked the FEELING of experiencing and reacting to physical stressors.
c. The most important part of this tip? Be IN your body when it’s moving. Be psychically present as your body experiences movement. Be conscious, emotionally, physically, and spiritually when your body is moving. You will be surprised by what it communicates.
8. Practice being IN your body.
a. I love doing this when I am being hugged. There is nothing like feeling every sensation when someone—and not just a lover—is embracing you. Be fully aware the next time you are hugged. If you are comfortable and the person really means it, the smiles will not be able to stay away from your face.
b. Practice healthy sensuality; it is the first step toward getting carnal satisfaction from activities other than food/eating, but you must be IN your body when you practice. Consciousness when in the body really is quite a cool thing. That’s why the angels sometimes envy us.
9. Practice NOW.
Living NOW. Being NOW. Rewards NOW, not after you lose the weight. If you can do it NOW, you will do it consistently, and consistency and regularity are the hidden keys to successful weight loss.
Live now, and love yourself in the process!
Niama Williams, Ph.D.
If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Williams and the programs she offers, visit either of the following links:
http://www.blowingupbarriers.com/howtoliwebey.html
http://www.blowingupbarriers.com/workshops.html
All the best,
Lisa Nelson, RD, LN
eNutritionServices
