It is hard to believe that over 950 million apps have already been downloaded on the iPhone/iPod. I just discovered one of those apps is The Environmental Working Group Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. This is one app everyone should have.

The Environmental Working Group have emphasized in this particular app the fruits and vegetables that are the heaviest in pesticides, additives and hormones. These choices, of course, should take priority when purchasing groceries for your family. Also mentioned are the “Clean 15” fruits and vegetables – a list describing the conventionally-grown produce items having the least pesticide load. Not everyone can afford to buy all organic even if it is healthier so this kind of information is very helpful.

Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, developed a solution that is an effective disinfecting procedure to clean those conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables. It is non-toxic and inexpensive, and can also be used to sanitize your kitchen counters and food preparation surfaces such as wooden cutting boards. She simply uses white vinegar (or cider vinegar) and 3% hydrogen peroxide (the same as found at the drugstore). Put each solution into 2 spray bottles. Spray your produce (or work surface) with the vinegar and follow with the hydrogen peroxide. Then rinse the produce under running water or wipe the surface with a clean, wet sponge.

My favorite easy way to clean that conventional produce is with a non-toxic product called Basic H2.  It is economical and safe as well.  Check out my Products I Recommend on this website if interested.

We all know that children are particularly vulnerable to toxins. Any way we can decrease the amount we all ingest can certainly be beneficial.

My daughter just recently remarked to me that our teen grandson no longer wanted to eat in the school cafeteria.  Curious, she asked him why.  His answer revealed what is being said throughout the country regarding children and school food.  “It’s making me fat, Mom!”  His decision is not about the food but the calories.  In fact he enjoys the food.

When she told me this, it brought me back to my days as a cafeteria manager, serving chicken nuggets, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries and horrible canned vegetables that the children always threw away. I knew these foods were high in calories (the average cafeteria meal is said to be 800 calories and 1479 milligrams sodium!)    I would have loved to change the menu but most of the food came to us in USDA  boxes quickly stored away in freezers.  We simply heated them up.  This food leads to the same villains that afflict American adults:  too much fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt.

Watching Jamie Oliver’s show, The Food Revolution,  a show about making changes in our nation’s school cafeterias, made me realize how, as parents and grandparents, we all need to do our part to make a difference.     It all begins with each family committing to helping our children make healthier choices and recognizing the connection between childhood diet and disease.  Kid’s food habits usually are in place by kindergarten, so education about better food choices definitely begin in the home.  David Levitsky, a Cornell University nutritionist, found that children who had learned about relatively unusal and healthy foods such as bulgur, couscous, greens, etc. ate between two and nine times more than their classmates when offered such food choices in school.

The picture on this post could be me as a child. As I stated in my first post I was very overweight as a child.  And I did not get this way by watching too much TV (we did not even get a TV until I was in the 5th grade!)  or going to McDonalds too many times.  I do not remember any fast food restaurants as a child.  (The first McDonalds opened in 1950).   My parents, both raised during the Depression, insisted on heaping our plates with food, good homemade food, but too much food.  They did not want to deprive us as they were deprived.  As a result, I simply became overweight from overeating.  Exercise literally saved me from becoming an obese teen.

Michelle Obama, featured on the cover of Newsweek this week, has begun a program called Let’s Move. a nationwide campaign with a single goal:  to help children born today reach adulthood at a healthy weight.  Focusing on things that families can do such as providing more nutritious, fresh food, and finding new ways to help  kids be more physically active is part of the campaign.   I am encouraged by so much media about this subject.   I would love to hear what your  family is doing to promote healthy living.

Spring is definitely a springboard for wanting to get out of the house and literally smell the flowers.  I had just spoke with my daughter about making daily plans to go on the 3 mile walk near our home at Bolin Creek. and  then learned about a study done by the researchers at the University of Michigan about the many benefits that walk can have.

Published in Psychological Science,  the researchers reported that walking outside in parks or in nature helps improve attention span and memory performance by 20%.  This perked my interest since in my last post about dementia, memory loss is definitely a cause for concern.

The participants in the study exhibited increased levels of alertness, satisfaction and mental tranquility after just one hour interacting with nature.  They also reported that their stress had decreased significantly and they felt more in control of their mind.   Wow…this is sounding better and better!

Another risk factor for dementia includes diabetes.  The Duke University Medical Center recently reported that walking briskly for 30 minutes every day lowers your odds of developing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors linked to higher risks of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.    And of course taking those steps can help burn calories.  5,000 steps per day can burn as many as 200!  And 10,000 steps per day is touted as leading to optimum health.

So grab those walking shoes and enjoy the beautiful budding trees.  Remember, Dr. Oz stated that even if there is a natural disaster such as tornado, hurricane or earthquake, we need those 30 minutes of walking a day for our health!

I often catch myself pondering about the subject of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease whenever I misplace my keys again, or so often find myself walking into a room and then wondering for what purpose was I there.  I know I am not alone with this fear.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s report,  “2010 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures”, 5.3 million people are living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.   The data examined covered the years 2000 to 2006 and found that deaths from Alzheimer’s increased by 46% compared with heart disease, breast cancer and prostate cancer deaths, all which have decreased in their numbers.

Another disturbing fact from this report discovered that African Americans are almost twice as likely as whites to have Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, and Hispanics are about one and a half times more likely to be stricken with it.

So what do we do with this new information? Alzheimer’s expert, Steven DeKosky, Senior Vice President and Dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, gives us the following preventative tips to reduce the risk of developing dementia:

1. Exercise…I am working on developing that habit now!
2. Watch our lipids (cholesterol), blood pressure and abdominal girth…hopefully my success with CINCH is helping with that abdominal girth!
3. Exercise our brain by staying active (challenge yourself with puzzles, etc.) Just being on the internet daily seems to be exercising my brain quite a bit!

Another good reason to watch our weight is the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, two diseases that are increasing at an alarming rate within the U.S.   Diabetic patients have a 30% to 65% higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease compared to the non-diabetic individual.

So, according to the Alzheimer’s Association,  if we are forgetting recently learned material, have problems staying organized (that one scares me!) losing track of steps in making a call or playing a game, forgetting simple words more often, putting a watch in the sugar bowl (??) and paying bills twice or not at all…..perhaps we need to realize these are not normal behaviors and may be a cause for concern.   But not to worry if we are just misplacing the keys.  (Well, that’s a relief!)

I can still remember receiving the call that our four year old son’s preschool teacher had been rushed to the hospital with a stroke.  All I could think about was her sweet smile and loving, nurturing way she was as Jonathan’s teacher.  He loved her so much and I did not even know what to tell him about what had happened.

When I was finally able to visit her it was shocking. She was unable to speak as the stroke had paralyzed her on one side, including half of her face.  Her sweet smile was now twisted.  I have never been able to forget that image.  It changed her life and the lives of those little ones who were never able to benefit from her wonderful gift as a teacher.  It made me very sad.

According to the American Heart Association, there are approximately 6,500,000 stroke survivors living today in the United States. Further, 795,000 individuals have a stroke that is new or recurring every year.  Stroke is the third most common form of death in the US yet most of these can be prevented simply by our own lifestyle changes.

I just recently learned that people in the Southeastern part of the US are more prone for stroke.  That certainly made me sit up and take notice.  Suddenly that quick sweet tasty muffin for breakfast had a whole new meaning.  Rather than spiking my blood sugar on a daily basis I have chosen now to begin my day with protein.  I particularly enjoy a high protein soy shake with frozen organic fruit.

Another top leading reason for stroke is high blood pressure.  Understanding that my top number should not be greater than 120 and my bottom number  should never be greater than 80 is a tip I need to remember.

I began to think more about the healthy foods Dr. Mehmet Oz recommends in his book, You Staying Young.  Foods with heart-healthy nutrients and strong anti-inflammatory effects include  fruits and vegetables, garlic, olive oil, Omega-3 fatty acids, (found in fish – the best being wild, line-caught salmon, mahi-mahi, catfish, flounder, tilapia and whitefish), foods with magnesium  (whole grain breads and cereals, soybeans, lima beans, avocado, beets and raisins), foods with soy protein…even dark chocolate!

I cringed as I thought about our last visit to The Red Robin Restaurant for my birthday and saw the “tower of onion rings”, saturated fat laden fries, thick burgers and textbook-thick (as Dr. Oz describes it) pieces of pie delivered to tables filled with families.  Even our granddaughter, Isabel, licked her lips as she watched the “tower” slip by to another table, wondering of course why we were not getting one!  It is not easy eating healthily at such a place.

Raising your heart rate each day can be a positive move.    I now enjoy walking every day  with Leslie Sansome.  Her 2 mile walk in 30 minutes on Exercise TV is great!

If you suspect someone is having a stroke, call 911 immediately if they have difficulty with or cannot:  (1) smile; (2) raise both arms; (3) speak a simple sentence.  Every minute counts!

Have you,  friends or family been impacted by stroke? How has it affected your own or their lives?