Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers discusses colds and the flu

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers discusses the difference between a cold and the flu.

A flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses.These viruses can cause anything from mild to severe illnesses and can even lead to death.Between 5 and 20 percent of the people living in the United States will get the flu in any year. Generally the flu is not serious enough for hospitalization, but because of this and the possibility of death, the flu is not something to take lightly.Some areas of the population are at greater risk than others of getting the flu.The most common symptoms are fever and chills, headache, extreme fatigue, dry cough, sore throat and muscle aches.Nausea vomiting and diarrhea can also occur, but are most likely in children than adults. The ordinary flu can lead to complications, including bacterial pneumonia, bronchitis, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration and worsening of current medical conditions like congestive heart problems, asthma and diabetes.

Flu viruses are thought to be spread person to person through air droplets from coughing or sneezing and also from touching something infected and then touching your hand to your eyes, nose or mouth.Adults can spread the condition about one day before they experience symptoms and are infectious up to 7 days after becoming sick.Symptoms may not arise until between one and four days after you have been infected, so the possibility is there that you will infect others before you are even aware that you are sick.The Centers for Disease Control recommends that you stay home at least one full day after your fever is gone. Children may pass on the virus for longer than 7 days.

There are at least 200 different viruses that cause symptoms that are associated with the common cold.They are known as rhinoviruses.These are most active in the early fall, springand summer months.Corona viruses also bring on the common cold and they are more active in the winter and early spring.There are about 1 billion colds in the U.S. each year.Adults experience on average 2 to 4 colds each year, whereas children are effected 6 to 10 times each year.Nearly 22 million school days are missed because of the common cold.

With all these incidences of colds and flu going around, one must take every precaution available to avoid getting a flu or cold. In a subsequent post, I will discuss preventative measures.One thing is to boost your diet with immune-supportive supplements.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics.Call 214.871.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers warns of the very low calorie diet.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers warns of the very low calorie diet.

Many Americans want to loose weight so they go on a diet. It’s no wonder they are with the statics pointing out that two thirds of Americans being overweight. Half of that number falls into the obese category. Being overweight effects many aspects of one’s health. In fact, carrying around extra weight is in the top ten health risks.

 

There are many diet programs out there and many of them are very good. Some of them are downright dangerous.  One problem I find is that many people just decide to loose weight and go about a program they put together in their own mind or they will follow a program that they heard about but have not done enough research to find if it is a viable program for them.

One of the first steps is to cut calories.  This is a good place to start, but many people see this as the one solution to being over weight.  Some dieters go to the extreme and reduce their daily caloric intake to a dangerously low level.

There are serious consequences to maintaining a very low intake of food.  First of all the nutrients one would normally get from eating a proper amount of food will be low if not missing altogether.  We know that vitamins and minerals are what make our bodies function properly and without trouble.

Second, a low amount of calories means less of the macronutrients-proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  Fiber is not considered a macronutrient, but it is very important. These sources of energy and nutrients are required to, once again, allow our bodies’ many functions to occur properly.

Third, when calories are highly restricted, the body goes into survival mode.  Just like a cactus in the desert hoards water to sustain itself during periods of drought, the human body makes changes to accommodate a “drought” that comes when there is an inadequate supply of the aforementioned micro and macro nutrients.

The first adaptation is to slow the body’s processes to extend the period of time the food that is taken in so that it will last longer.  You may know this by its much-used name metabolism.   At the same time the body becomes very efficient at storing energy for later use.  This energy is commonly known as fat.  So, when the body is in a starvation mode, many negative repercussions come about because of the inadequate food supply.

We should always make certain that our eating habits are healthy and that they supply the number of calories needed to sustain us through out each day without causing those “malfunctions” to begin, causing more fat weight gain and a slowing of the natural processing of food.

A good weight reduction plan I have found is the Cinch Inch Reduction Plan from the Shaklee Corporation.  This plan comes with a computer program that will allow you to determine the proper amount of calories you need to reduce weight, keep track of those calories and learn what foods are best for health and weight reduction.  Check it out in order to get healthy and stay healthy while you get down to a smaller, more appropriate size.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics.   Call 214.871.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

 

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers offers nutritional help when attending parties.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers offers nutritional help when attending parties.

The holidays are here.  That means gatherings of friends, family and coworkers. In the United Stages, gatherings typically do not happen without food and drink.  These are two things that seem to pull people together, make them more relaxed and engaging.

Generally, these festive foods are so tasty and we enjoy them so much.  Maybe that should be that we enjoy them too much.  One problem lies with the fare that is often loaded with sugar and fat.  We have heard the stories of sugar plum fairies.  Hosts and hostesses love to put out the prettiest, most decorative sweets to impress their guests. And because they are so enticing and so much effort has been put into them, a proper guest will have to have one. Or two. Or one of everything.

And fats are often abundant also.  Think of all the nice hors d’oeuvres that were cooked in butter, or worse yet oil. Then there is the ranch dip that some eaters think improves on everything.  I have even seen pepperoni pizza dipped in ranch dressing.  Even when raw vegetables are served there is a variety of dressings and dips that are laden with fats.  There is even hidden sugar and sodium in these dips.

Many people will actively plan to overeat and eat erroneously at these frequent parties.  “If I skip breakfast I can eat what I want at the party.”  Often what happens when a meal is skipped is that the missed nutrition and calories are compensated for throughout the day.  It is easier to eat ‘just a little something” in an attempt to stave off the hunger pangs.  That “just a little something” often is not the healthiest choice.  Remember that the plan was to not eat, so the likelihood that healthy snacks are available is very small.  It is usually a trip or two to the vending machine for candy or chips or crackers.  By party time the meal-skipper has eaten many more calories than would have been ingested at breakfast and with much lower nutritional levels.

The solution is to eat a good breakfast and a good lunch.  You will go to the party without that look on your face that no one should be between you and the food tables.  You will be more able to eat responsibly and pursue the actually reason for the gathering:  you will be able to socialize and connect with the other guests.

If you are concerned about getting a good breakfast and lunch in before the party, try a meal replacement shake to get you though the day.  Shaklee Corporation’s Cinch Shakes are a great way to get your protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals for a very low number of calories.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics.   Call 214.871.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers warns of meal skipping consequences.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers warns of meal skipping consequences.

On any given day, 10-30 % kids skip breakfast and 20% of adults skip breakfast.

According to the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, (NHANES) breakfast consumption is lowest among adolescents and young adults.  Only sixty two percent of twenty-something men and 71% of twenty-something women eat breakfast.

Some breakfast skippers think it is a short cut to losing a few pounds.  Others just don’t think it is important enough to make time.  This is faulty reasoning because skipping breakfast  can back fire on the weight loss efforts, but it can also have negative impacts on your short term and long term future health.  It also has detrimental affects on your mental performance and mood.

Breakfast isn’t the only meal that, when skipped, can turn your dietary day into a train wreck that can derail your efforts at dieting or your attempts to eat healthy, well-balanced meals to fuel a day of good performance.

Missing breakfast can be the beginning of a day long fiasco, nutritionally speaking.  This extended “fast” that you are creating can negatively impact your metabolism and your neural/hormonal balance.  Impacting the cognitive functions, breakfast not only fuels your muscles, but also your brain.  Thus, it is  very important to have breakfast, especially for children.

Breakfast can also a very dense source of nutrients even though it generally only accounts for 15% of the daily caloric intake.   Many breakfast foods are fortified with extra nutrients.  NHANES also reported that adults who skip breakfast have the lowest levels of key micro nutrients.  Another study showed that those who skipped breakfast did not meet the recommended daily allowance for vitamins. Their odds for overall nutritional inadequacy were 2 to 5 times higher than those who did eat breakfast.

So,  not eating breakfast cheats your body of key nutrients needed for you to function at your best.

One great way to get a good nutritional start to your day is with Cinch Shakes from the Shaklee Corporation.  These drinks, when mixed with non-fat milk pack a load of dense nutritional value in around 280 calories or less.  They are quick and easy to use and are great for adults and children.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics.   Call 214.871.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers points out the dangers of skipping breakfast.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source Tim Wallace of Dallas Health Helpers points out the dangers of skipping breakfast.

Today’s lifestyle leaves us in a rush much of the time. There are appointments to make, deadlines to meet and more things on our lists than can humanly be done in a day. One of the fallouts of this hectic pace is the most important meal of the day-breakfast.

As we wake from what is now too few hours of sleep, we are in a rush to get ourselves psyched up for the day and get out the door and to our first task. Often this means a less than healthful selection of food to just get something in our stomachs rather than a wise choice of nutritional sustenance. That is if we even eat anything at all.

There are consequences to missing breakfast. If you think about it, your last meal was several hours ago. If you ate at 7 p.m. last night, breakfast at 7 a.m. is 12 hours away. During this time your body has processed the dinner and is now awaiting breakfast.

Denying your body breakfast causes it to go into a preservation mode. The body will do all it can to preserve what energy it has available so it can last until more food is taken in. One of these preservation methods is to slow the metabolism down. A slower metabolism burns up fewer calories, thus making a less than optimum intake of calories last longer. This chronic slowed metabolism leads to an increase in fat levels of the body composition.

This increase in fat levels is another preservation mode of the body. Because it is not getting enough to sustain normal daily activities, the body adapts by increasing its ability to store energy for later use. This energy is stored in the form of fat.

A good healthy breakfast is important to keep the systems of the body working at their optimal levels. One should include protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats in the breakfast meal. This can be easily done with the proper selection and can be accomplished in a way to fit into that frantic morning routine we often find ourselves doing.

Because supplementation is, in my opinion, mandatory these days, a good breakfast drink is Caffe Latte Life Shake, from the Shaklee Corporation. This meal replacement, which also comes in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavors, contains protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats as well as fiber to give you a healthy break to your fast. It is rated as a very low glycemic food. Give it a try for 2 weeks. You will notice a more alert, even keeled energy through out your morning.

Dallas Alternative Nutritional Supplement Source is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics. Call 214.770.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.