|
To: You
Putting
Natural Health in the Spotlight
 When Chandra Burnham
was a teen, she envisioned herself among the beautiful, intelligent,
confident women strutting across the stage in the glamorous pageants she
saw on television. When the images of shiny gowns, glamour and glitz would
flash on the screen, Burnham was inspired and always in awe. This past
October, Chandra was able to see her dream come to fruition. Burnham was
crowned Miss South Dakota USA 2011 at the Brandon Valley
Performing Arts Center in Brandon, S.D. The crown was her golden ticket to
compete in the upcoming Miss USA Pageant, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas and
air on NBC in June.
The victory meant more than a crown and publicity to Chandra. It also
meant a window of opportunity had opened for her to achieve some of her
other lofty goals in life – including promoting her passion for
chiropractic care. At age 23, she is currently studying to be a doctor of chiropractic
at Northwestern
University of Health Sciences in Bloomington, Minn. It is a career that
will certainly make her stand out among her peers and other pageant
contestants.
These days, she is hitting the books with the same determination that
got her the reigning crown at her last pageant. "Your reign in
pageants is only a year ... but with chiropractic you also get to reach out
to a lot of people [for much longer than just a year]. I don't think you
can beat that feeling; I think it's going to be even better than winning a
pageant," she said.
The pageant winner makes sure she is just as active in chiropractic
organizations as she is in pageant events. She is a member of the Student
American Chiropractic Association and attends professional events such as
the National Chiropractic Legislative Conference, and also promotes the
Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, a not-for-profit organization that
helps increase public awareness of the many benefits associated with
chiropractic care.
Even if she doesn't win the top prize – the Miss USA crown – Chandra
said the best part for her will be promoting the benefits of chiropractic
care as her main platform and knowing that when she becomes a doctor of
chiropractic, she will always be a winner in the eyes of her patients.
"People love their chiropractor and what they can do for
them," she said. "That's what made me want a job like that. I
mean, how rewarding is that?"
Read
More
Healthy
Snacks for Kids: Nuts and Seeds
 Research continues
to reveal that nuts and seeds do not deserve their bad reputation.
Absolutely, they are high in fat; but it's the good fat, not the bad, and
when eaten in moderation, their health benefits far outweigh the dangers of
their fat content. The fact is, the more we learn about nuts and seeds, the
more we realize that they're one of the best snack-food options for
children.
In 1996, the Iowa
Women's Health Study found that women who ate nuts four or more times a
week were 40 percent less likely to die of heart disease. Since then,
similar studies performed by the Harvard School of Public Health and Loma
Linda University in California have found the same. And the
Physicians' Health Study (2002) determined that men who consumed nuts
two or more times per week had a noticeably reduced risk of sudden cardiac
death.
Studies performed at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard School of
Public Health revealed that three times as many people who were trying
to lose weight were able to stick to a diet that included moderate fat
content in the form of nuts and seeds. Researchers suggested that the fat,
protein and fiber in nuts helped the dieters feel full longer, so many felt
less deprived and ate less during the day.
Another study of women by the Harvard School of Public Health reported
that there was a 30 percent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in those women
who ate five or more 1-ounce servings of nuts per week as compared with
women who rarely or never ate nuts.
Finally, studies published in the Journal
of Nutrition and elsewhere have found that seeds, flax
seeds in particular, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have proven
benefits in the fight against heart disease, stroke and other circulatory
diseases.
Nuts are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, with 1 ounce of
Brazil nuts containing 780 percent of the recommended daily intake of
selenium, and walnuts providing the most omega-3 fatty acids of any common
nut. Almonds are a wonderful source of copper, magnesium and phosphorous,
and provide 6 grams of protein per 1-ounce serving. And the June 2004 issue
of the Journal
of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reported that pecans
contain the highest antioxidant capacity of all nuts.
In short, the worst thing you can do for yourself and your children is
reach for junk foods when you need a snack. Nuts and seeds are a
convenient, healthy snack food that takes the edge off hunger without the
added carbohydrates and sugar of most other snack food options. Your doctor
can tell you more about the health benefits of moderate nut/seed intake.
Read
More
5
Simple Stress Solutions
 Stress can be a
killer - quite literally, research suggests, but it can also make your
day-to-day existence miserable. Who wants to walk (or rush) around all day
as the oppressive weight of stress takes its toll on your body and mind?
Here are five simple strategies to help you deal with stress and get back
on the road to health and wellness:
|
1.
|
Walk it off.
There are so many physical and mental health benefits to a good walk;
when it comes to stress, it's the perfect opportunity to relax, enjoy the
outdoors and reduce your stress, either by forgetting about it for a
while or having the chance to process it. In fact, in many cases stress
isn't caused by a particular situation, but by the sense that you can't escape your
situation – your too-loud, too-hectic, too-frantic, responsibility-filled
day.
|
|
2.
|
Talk about it.
One of the things that makes stress so damaging is that we often keep it
to ourselves. Sometimes talking about how stressed you are (and why) with
someone else is exactly what's needed to reduce it or at least understand
it a little better - and that's half the battle. Your significant other,
a family member, a friend or even a co-worker might be just what you need
to get your stress (and how it's affecting you) out in the open. And once
it's out in the open, it's easier to deal with.
|
|
3.
|
Distract yourself.
Stress doesn't have nearly as much power over you if you're not thinking
about it. That can be a challenge, of course, especially when your every
thought is focused on a particular stressor, but it's worth trying
something – anything – to take your mind off your stress. True distraction
means doing something that forces you to discard your stress to the
greatest extent possible – try a baseball game, a night at the movies
(particularly pure action or comedy), or even a good book or board game
at home. Anything that requires your mind to focus on something other
than your stress.
|
|
4.
|
Deal with it.
How do we "deal" with stress? It can involve any of these
suggestions, but there are definitely a whole bunch more. It boils down
to a few simple rules: a) Recognize when you're stressed; don't ignore it
or pretend you're "fine." b) Understand why you're stressed;
identify the source of the stress and think carefully about why it's
affecting you. c) Find a way to reduce the stress (or eliminate it
entirely); if that's not immediately possible, at least find a way to
manage it so it doesn't continue to build.
|
|
5.
|
Find the positives.
There's a silver lining to every stressful situation or circumstance,
whether it's stress about your job or career, your relationship, your
family life, your (lack of) free time, your finances or anything
else. It might be difficult to see at first, but it's definitely there.
Think of stress as an opportunity to explore creative solutions that will
not only ease your stress, but also reduce the chance it will return.
|
Read
More
This issue features a number of articles you will want to
share with your family, friends and co-workers. Please feel free to forward
this newsletter to them via e-mail. If you have received this e-mail
newsletter from someone else, you may subscribe
free of charge and begin receiving your own copy.
Unsubscribe
Thank you for subscribing to To Your Health. If you have received
this newsletter in error or wish to unsubscribe,
you may remove your name from our e-mail subscription list here.
Update
your e-mail address
You may update the e-mail address your newsletter is sent to here.
If you have any questions regarding your subscription,
please complete this form at www.toyourhealth.com/newsletterhelp/TYH.
|
