It’s Time to Get Smart About Your Health!

You probably already know that November is National Diabete’s Month. Every November the American Diabetes Association encourages the public to learn more about this horrible disease. If you, yourself, are directly affected by the disease - either from being a diabetic, yourself, or from loving a diabetic - you know, firsthand, how blatantly unkind Diabetes is.  I really don’t think most people realize just how much suffering goes along with this disease. Through various family members, I’ve been up close and personal with many ailments, diseases, and medical problems.  I can say, without hesitation, that Diabetes is one of the ones that I try to hide from the most.  I pray that it never gets my number.

 The monster known as Type 2 diabetes can be prevented for many by making smart lifestyle decisions. You guessed it, doing the things we know we SHOULD do but never seem to master.

1. If we’re ovreweight, we need to lose the weight and keep it off. When diabetes is on the hunt for new victims, it seems to favor those with extra padding.
2. We should all eat a lot more fruits and vegetables. Number 2 would actually take care of Number 1 if we went about it the right way. With the right seasonings, herbs, and spices, vegetables can actually become the highlight of the meal. [Yellow squash and zucchini cut into chunks, boiled and spritzed lightly with butter, then sprinkled with chopped fresh rosemary is amazing. Another of my favorite ways to cook vegetables is to combine okra and tomatoes, with just a little salt to coax the flavors out. No herbs are even needed.] Experts recommend diets such as the South Beach Diet, which emphasize lean proteins and the right fats and carbs. 
3. I know. You know. We all know. We’ve got to get these bodies moving and keep them movint! My husband and I were pricing treadmills recently (Sam’s Club seems the most interested in making a sale. Check their website for Online Only deals.) Exercise machines are an ideal way to get moving. The one Michael liked even had a place to sit your iPod so you could listen to music as you marched along. Pretty sweet. I’m pretty sure I’d do my own walking while watching something on Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, or my regular Food TV lineup - Alton Brown and Ace of Cakes.  You know, something I’m going to be watching anyway. My body might as well benefit as much as my mind does!

I guess - and I say “I guess” because I’m generally looking for the answers just as much as anyone - that the trick is to make a healthy lifestyle a habit. When we routinely step on the treadmill, exercise mat, or stationary mat each time a certain show comes on, whether it’s One Life to Live or Sportscenter, it’ll become such a habit that sitting on the couch while Lindsay and Nora fight over Bo or while the Booya’s fly out of Stuart Scott’s mouth just won’t seem right.  By the same token, if we were to start filling up with vegetables and fruit, we wouldn’t even miss the foods that are essentially wasted calories.

We have to start using our heads and make intelligent, healthy changes in our lifestyle - choosing Subway’s healthy subs over McDonald’s Big Macs, grabbing an apple as we head out the door rather than a cookie, watching tv while exercising rather than becoming one with the sofa, etc.

Exercise and Eating Right are the best bodyguards we could ever have…if we’d just employ them.

* Speaking of eating right, click HERE to see how carrots can help your brain!