A Winter's Day, Memories, Mood and Diet

Looking out my window this morning I see a snowfall that poems are written about. Slow fat snowflakes falling onto tree branches which are coated with a fluffy white so beautiful that you see them in  artists paintings.  This puts me in a good mood and I haven't even left the bed yet.  I take a picture of this beautiful scene to look at again in the future and remind me of this quiet, pleasant moment.  Why is taking this moment to observe the scene so important you might wonder?  Well, for me, I have a childhood memory of my mother and I taking a rest on her bed and looking out the window of our home when I was a child.  It was quiet time for both of us from our busy lives.  My mother worked every day, most years, and didn't get the luxury of being a "stay at home" mom.  So usually at the end of a day, before dinner, we would have "quiet time" and cuddle and talk about the past or the future.

 We lived on a busy street corner and watch the cars go by.  Some cars would go really fast and make wild turns.  One time a car lost control and ran up the lawn before stopping suddenly and moving on.  Mostly though, we would notice color or not notice anything at all, and comment on the weather, if it were raining or snowing.  I miss my family time as a child, I can't deny it.

 I am now in what I call the grandparent generation, as it becomes my turn to move into that role in the spring.  I have cleaned out closets and drawers lately, and found old archival oral history recordings of family members, now deceased, that I recorded years ago. I hear them with a new ear for the small details of their family life, that I paid no attention to when I first heard them.  I feel like it is the wisdom from ages past.  Our meals back then were mostly high fat, salt and sugar laden foods and some family members smoked cigarettes and drank wine and liquor with no limits.  Many relatives died young or way before their time.  I think about it all.

Winter is a complicated season for many people.  Holidays become an emotional roller coaster depending upon the family relationships.  When I was actively seeing patients for nutrition counseling about ten years ago, I had patients tell me that their eating changes were often sabotaged by jealous family members who did not want to see my client succeed.  I learned that many family's had members placed in roles.  The successful one, the thin one, the fat one, the jokester, the idiot, etc.  So when my client was successful in dropping weight or bringing healthy changes to the family dinner, they were made fun of, and to fit in, had to cheat on their diet to survive. It occurs with other unhealthy habits like drinking alcohol, smoking and drug use, too. Seeing a physician for help is a must for these situations.

 Today it seems the reverse.  I know my holiday meals look nothing like they did when I was a child or even five years ago and though we are not vegan yet, it is a much different table.  We definitely have many dietary choices such as low sodium, vegetarian and gluten free available at our holiday now. The changes are welcome and now I cannot eat some of the family favorites because my tastes have evolved.  Staying healthy is a full time job as we age.  As a nutritionist, I say this often and will as many times as necessary, along with dietary changes comes exercise at least 30-45 minutes a day, 5-7 days per week.  Meditation or yoga as often as you can and strength training 1-2 times per week.  Putting together a plan for a healthier you for the new year is important!  If you haven't had a physical exam and have your blood pressure taken in a while, now might be a good time to do that.

Well, out my window now the snow has stopped and the sun is starting to come out.  I see a blue sky and the snow is melting off of the tree branches.  I believe it is time to get outside and smell the fresh air.  It is time to exercise and plan for some family fun this weekend. To make new memories for my family to share. I hope you do the same! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Distraction and Noise

I am a people watcher. I always was since I have been a young child.  I learn from watching how others behave and then decide if that behavior would work for me, or not.  It goes along with my love of history.  I believe strongly that you have to learn from the past, so you do not repeat the mistakes.  Being Jewish and hearing the stories of my grandparents and parents, we, along with other immigrant children learned of the treacherous paths our families tread to provide us with a safer life in a new land, America.  We enjoy a quiet peaceful life, for the most part.  I worry that very slow and subtle changes to the world we know, not only here in United States, but overseas, where we traveled as a family for two weeks, throughout Europe, are happening.  I can use my vote as an American to speak for me, but I cannot help but worry for the future, at least at this moment in time. That is how I feel about what is going on in our world today.

What does this have to do with nutrition you ask?  Stress is actually a large factor in your health.  There is a medical relationship between stress and the body's ability to keep blood values at normal levels.  Medical research has identified inflammation as a reaction to elevated stress levels and many conditions are related to this inflammation, such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, among others.  What does this have to do with distraction and noise?  The distraction is the daily worry every time one reads a paper, turns on the news, or even has a conversation with family or friends.  The noise is the internet constantly intruding in your life with hourly teases of something potentially important, but often, not important at all.  The answer, of course, is to turn off your phone or turn down the sound.  Easy to say but hard to do.

I can tell you I was not raised this way.  I do not have the skill set to take it all in and try to maintain my center.  I love vacations that have no internet access. Even that is changing, as on my last trip. I was the one who arranged international internet availability.  I felt it was necessary for emergency access, and, of course, my internet carrier made it quite convenient to do so.  I used it to keep in touch with the news from home.  I admit, it calmed me down as we enjoyed a nine hour flight to Zurich.  I downloaded podcasts and listened to them as I fell asleep for several hours.  I used to watch movies or, god forbid, read a book, but listening to stories of the news did the trick.  Maybe I have changed. 

 Medical science suggests that to help keep a healthy brain you need to learn new things as you get older.  I recently turned sixty and attend classes at the local college center for seniors.  I have been doing this for years, and I am usually the youngest in my classes.  That means everyone else is in their 70's, 80's and 90's, and all healthy.  These are some of the smartest people I have ever met.  In their working life they were physicians, attorneys, business owners and regular working class people who somehow lucked out on the health game.  I want to be them when I grow up.  Every time I take a class thinking it's going to be boring, I eventually learn something new and then find out that these people already knew it.  

I also hang out with the Millennial's, those in their 20's and 30's.  I can't help it, four of them belong to me, and they have friends.  They are also very brilliant and also physicians, attorneys, future business owners and regular working class people.  I admit it. Our trip to Europe wouldn't have happened or gone along so smoothly if it weren't for them.  I mean, to take a land tour as thoroughly as we did, with all the trains, planes, trams, buses and boats we took.  We flew five separate airlines and stayed in four different hotels.  I believe I finally got to experience the European trip I could never afford when I was in college.  I thank my kids for the experience and I hope we do it again sometime.

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is a month or so away and I want to make a deal with myself, to take the time, and cut out some of the noise and distraction in my life.  Give myself permission to sit down and take a break.  We had a busy year last year. I recommend to you to do the same, and while you are at it, go get regular check ups. It is necessary, and important, no matter how old you are.  Here is the spirituality part of the story. Distraction and noise equals stress. Elevated levels of stress translates into disease no matter how healthy of a diet you are following. Of course regular exercise is part of the lifestyle, and if you are dragging your feet, you should start today.  But, stuff happens, even to the health gurus, so try to include some quiet time off the grid.  I will keep following my senior friends to figure out their secrets and hopefully the Millennial's will follow me.  Here is to a very long and quiet life!

Water Rituals that Cleanse Body, Mind & Soul

 Water Rituals that Cleanse Body, Mind & Soul



Water to cleanse your body and soul is a consistent theme throughout history. It is necessary for human survival, literally, and fought over politically in battles large and small. But in this moment, I want to talk about the lesser known, but important uses for water spiritually and physically. It is first mentioned in Genesis 1:1-10 when the world was covered in water and the later divided in forming the land from the seas.  Even the story of Noah's Ark is a essentially a cleanse. An opportunity to begin all over again.  So it is no wonder that during the Jewish New Year from Rosh Hashanah through Sukkot many people, religious or not, take advantage of a tradition called Tashlich.  In this tradition, we find a body of moving water, perhaps near a local park, and toss bread crumbs or leaves into the moving stream.  As we do this. we say blessings and share feelings of regret or things we could do better.  We say we are sorry to ourselves and others. Our family tradition includes inviting friends to participate.  It is a meditation, of sorts, which allows a person a chance to say out loud things they might keep to themselves.  This experience unburdens the spirit.  It can be done privately or within a circle of family or friends that is safe and loving.

 Mikvah  is another ritual that involves cleansing of the body and spirit.  This is a ritual created during biblical times which solved a cleanliness issue for menstruating women. Today participants can be male or female and are free to use mikvah as a spiritual renewal for any reason.  Brides often include mikvah before marriage and it is also used for those converting to Judaism. In Christianity, a baptism is similar to the idea of spiritual renewal and historically is derived from the use of mikvah in ancient days.  Family celebrations are often a part of the spiritual renewal ceremonies for both Jews and Christians.

Swimming is another water ritual that many people enjoy.  If organized religion is not of interest to you, but the feeling of quieting the mind, improving flexibility and muscle strength does, then this is your jam. What swimming offers is the isolation, mobility, weight force and freedom to only concentrate on one thing, getting from one side of the pool to the other. This is a sport that can be enjoyed and taken into advance age.  Working out in water offers a controlled resistance that is less strain on a person's joints than routines done on land. Noise and distractions are limited as the only senses in use are the eyes, and the touch of cool water.  When I swim I put in ear plugs so I cannot hear and I blow out air so I cannot taste. I wear swim goggles that do not work well above the water, but like a miracle, allow me to open my eyes under the water to see quite clearly.  I swim for thirty minutes at least one day per week which relaxes me physically and calms me spiritually.  When I ask people if they swim some tell me they are afraid of water or never learned.  I hope they try to learn as an adult. Many people with muscular or arthritis diseases have found comfort and relief in the pool.  Water aerobics is another way to increase strength and mobility for people who do not swim.  Many compare swimming to yoga as a sport that helps with strength, flexibility and calm.

Blessed and Horrified My Summer of OMG

Sometimes I get a major writer's block that I can't shake.  Probably because my life is a little too crazy to concentrate on any one thought.  Interestingly, I find solace in my previous writing pieces.  I am really good at this writing thing if I would take it more seriously.   Other people try to give me advice, but I take after my father who was incredibly stubborn, and I can only trust in the advice and thoughts I give out through my writing.  Sort of like a lecture to myself.  Here is an example of my crazy life.

This summer began in the usual way with our family braking out the tennis shoes and looking for local 5K races.  We try to participate in one or two a month and we enjoy traveling across the county for new locations. The VeloSano Bike for a Cure, sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic, is a ride that raises money for cancer research.  My husband, a family physician at Cleveland Clinic South Russell, and I have participated in this event for three years.  This year was different.  On Mother's Day weekend we went on a practice uphill bike ride on Saturday and then walked a 5K on Sunday.  Mark just did not feel quite right. He seemed more fatigued than usual and took it upon himself to call his cardiologist to check himself out.  When he found out his test results he was not pleased.  He required more tests. After sharing the scary news with the family we went with him to the hospital where he had a cardiac catheterization. This is an outpatient test where a dye is injected and the small arteries of the heart are available to view to determine arterial blockage.  If the blockages are small enough a small piece of wire or a stent could be placed to keep an artery open.  Any larger blockage and bypass surgery is required. In his case there were blockages found that could be cleared up with a surgical bypass procedure. Most of our friends and family were shocked and horrified to find this happening to Mark.  I was too, but I counted it as a blessing.

After the surgery, Mark took up the challenge and the gift he was offered and immediately began the routine back to good health. He followed a healthy diet.  In fact, we all did.  He entered a cardiac rehab program which he still follows. He is more mindful of his work time and allows himself breaks when he feels he needs to stop.  Now, seven weeks later he looks and feels much better.  It's almost like being reborn.  I hope he maintains this new outlook on life.  One day he said that no food was worth have major heart surgery. I believe him.

My husband has two brothers. One younger who, gratefully, has no medical issues and one older who in an unfortunate coincidence, also required bypass surgery.  He recently came out of the hospital and is on his journey to finding a new zest for life.  Interestingly, neither parent had heart issues.

So what blessings are appropriate in this case.  About five years ago I wrote about the Shehecheyanu blessing. In this post I describe this prayer as sort of an all purpose prayer to use when something new or unusual occurs.  It doesn't have to be health related. There is a prayer called the Mi Sheberach prayer, this is specific to illness, and getting back to good health. In this prayer we ask G-d for strength in healing and spiritual strength to get us through this time of illness. It was funny, when we went to the synagogue we couldn't decide which prayer to say.  My husband was healing and returning to good health, yet he is still a work in progress.  Which prayer to say? The one for healing or for something new.  After a few minutes of discussion at the bimah in front of one hundred congregants waiting, we did what any group of Jews would do...we said them both.

Meditation, Mindfulness and Prayer

    I decided to begin a meditation program to help with stress reduction. Meditation is a form of spirituality and many religions have their own unique methods.  Prayer is also effective and when I go to synagogue I find a sense of peace there.  Exercise is also something I do to relax and quite often I feel better about things after a workout. The goal here is to proactively calm down and so I started including meditation time in my day which, hopefully, will help me reignite my exercise routine.

Today, diet and exercise are taken more seriously by the medical community as an alternative to medications alone. It is a way to keep people from stepping onto the path of chronic disease.  Diabetes and Hypertension are two diseases that start out quietly, but can and do often evolve into major problems later in life that are difficult and expensive to manage. The easiest way to overcome these problems is to not have them occur in the first place.

Stress is hard to keep in check in our social media world today, as well as, unforeseen events which always seem to happen.  You and your inherited gene pool might not have drawn the lucky straw which protects you and gets you into your 90's, but do not despair, there is a way back to a healthy lifestyle if you choose to make a few changes. Meditation might be the way to help find a diet and exercise program work for you.  There are Meditation classes, YouTube channels and Meditation apps for your phone, to help you find your way.  Guided imagery or silent time with or without a coach will be the method in finding meditative peace to a calm center and focus.

Meditation and Healthcare Costs 

In the workplace, businesses and insurance companies may give financial discounts to those who can maintain healthy blood screens and other markers that show you are a good risk.  The reward is better health care benefit plans at better cost.  When this health benefit movement started about ten years ago, whole work groups or living communities would go on a diet and then be rewarded by these companies.  The health and exercise industry evolved with the financial backing of Big Business sponsoring companies like Curves and Weight Watchers.  This worked great for some, but others resisted and dropped out because they couldn't follow diets easily or were not ready for the pressure of being herded and coerced into a program. The result is that the employees who were unsuccessful did not care or mind overpaying and therefore the first attempt to keep employees healthy and working through forced dieting failed. Now with the Affordable Care Act under repeal and replace, by the recently elected Congress, there may be even more people at risk for healthcare.

A healthy employee is a fiscally valuable employee.  They take off less sick time, use hospitals less often and generally are more productive and stay with the company longer.  At least that was what early research on this subject identified.  But you cannot make someone lose weight or make other healthy behavior changes when the person them-self is not invested in doing so.  This is where the Behavior Modification/Mindfulness comes into the picture.

History of Mindfulness

In the early 1970's Behavior Modification was a new idea whose purpose was to get people to change their behaviors.  Research identified that to change a habit, you needed to look at the behavior and then use whatever means necessary to change it.  Often negative strategies were used to change behavior such as isolation, deprivation, or emotional or physical abuse.  It worked, but no lasting results, and other more destructive behaviors resulted.  In recent years, a reinvention of behavior change is introduced and called Mindfulness. This is where no positive or negative judgement is imposed on a behavior, just an awareness of what is happening in the moment.  In this way a person can identify what factors are involved in how a decision is made and situations are identified for future reference.  Meditation is a method of turning your thoughts away from distractions and focusing in on the present.  Mindfulness uses a nonjudgmental view of behavior and when combined with meditation, it can be very effective.  Whatever method you choose adding some peace to your thoughts can go a long way toward achieving happiness and a healthier life.

Back to School- Food Service industry Dirty Little Secret

I graduated in 1980 from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor degree in Human Nutrition.  In 1983 I received a Master's degree in Nutrition Education, and in 2010 I received another Master's degree in Judaic Studies, so its safe to say I love going to school. Today, I am sitting in the main library at Ohio University while my oldest child, a Master's in Health Policy degree professional herself, interviews for medical school.  As I am waiting for my daughter and it's lunchtime, I head over to the cafe in the library.  I am struck by how different food choices are today for college students, and what is available to them, than it was in my day.  I am sure we had vending machines, but I don't remember food being so available.  I know that I signed up for the meal plan, but if I wanted food I had to walk to my assigned cafeteria and not have a card that allowed me to eat wherever.  I also know that the food was homemade right in the kitchens on campus that day and not by a food service corporation and trucked onto campus.  Today, I went to a local chain drugstore looking for a diet soda and discovered that the 20 oz variety costs $1.89, but if I wanted a 1 Liter it was $1.10 and if I purchased a 2 Liter it was $.99.  What a scam!

  In the cafe by the library they do not sell soft drinks.  Only coffee and teas for hot beverages and for cold beverages only bottled teas and lemonade.  If you want a Red Bull or Monster drink loaded with sugar and caffeine, well, there are plenty of those. What happened  to choice in an institutional setting?  It seems that universities and Big Food have made a partnership. While new students are distracted by learning and developing a social life, colleges have been signing food contracts with food corporations or third party food service organizations.  Its a win for them all. The universities receive lots of income and Big Food or third party groups use Millennials to introduce new brand items for future customers.  The irony is that all the pressure parents and school districts put on food manufacturers to provide healthy food during the elementary, middle school and high school years is all forgotten once students leave the nest to attend college. There is fresh money and no parental interference in food choices. There is also no mandatory nutrition course to explain to students drinking Red Bull a few times a day may not be healthy for you at 27 grams of sugar for one 8.4 oz can.  Nor is there anyone to explain that you might feel better eating a healthy diet, getting some exercise everyday and making sure you get a good nights sleep.

 This is not to say that there is no healthy food served at the cafe at the library.  I just finished a "Which Came First Salad" which I finally figured out means that it is a salad with a sliced hard boiled egg and cut up chicken nuggets and cheese. Get it? I didn't when I ordered it but I do now.  It was fine, though I had to pull out many lettuce pieces because they were spoiled.  It was expensive for just a salad, but if I were a student, I would be using my meal credit card and not paying attention to cost.  A few years ago another daughter of mine realized that at her university she would never eat in food the amount of money she was paying for her meal card, and so she would go to the cafeteria/food store and buy up all the non-perishable items and bring them home at the end of every semester.  She realized before I did what over payment she was making every semester during her undergraduate years and by buying out the food it was her way of fighting back.  It was very clever.

 The problem of course is there is no refund or "carrying over" accounting for meal plans at colleges and universities.  That would defeat the purpose of schools overcharging students for food in the first place. In an article entitled "A Lesson in College Foodservice", fast casual service is what the Millennials are looking for on college campuses, leaving traditional fast food brands from the past, out of favor.  Slowly, the farm to table movement will be incorporated into institutional food life at college campuses, as long as Big Food and national third party vendors like Aramark and Sodexo can figure out how to monetize it. But in the mean time, everyone involved in this industry realizes the long-term profitability of engaging this demographic into a favorite brand. Once they are hooked on a brand it becomes part of their memory and looked upon fondly.  That is until one day they go to the doctor and realize their blood sugar is too high.  Oh well, that is another post.

Mind over matter

At the start of 2016 I determined that a page needed to be turned and some of my lifestyle habits needed to be reevaluated to a new level of heath and well being.  However, the idea of eliminating chocolate chip cookies out of my life is most likely an unachievable goal.  I tell you I have tried.  I have made or purchased low sugar, low fat, gluten free, whole grain, and no egg varieties.  It seems to be a waste of time, energy and money. Instead, I decided to try to change other behaviors in my life and work around the cookies.  In doing this, I started meditation.  It turns out there are several apps on meditation I can download to my smartphone that have free trials before purchase.  My daughter helped me out in this experiment. She and I exercise an adequate number of hours amount per week so non-compliance for aerobic activity really was not the problem. What I felt instead was that there was so much daily stress in my life and what seemed to be missing was the deep sense of calm or quiet that I remember having.  

 One day my daughter showed me one of these meditation apps and we decided to follow the plan.  It  took only ten minutes of time and used quick animation videos, on occasion, to help illustrate the point of that day's session.  At first it seemed funny and uncomfortable.  It was hard to believe that taking just ten minutes a day of guided reflection could make any difference in the stress level of one's life.  But after doing it for close to the ten days I really do believe it has made a tiny difference.  If only just to give me a pause before I make a knee jerk decision about something.  For example, I was in a hurry to get to a class for which I was late and did not remember to pack a lunch.  I was going to run through a fast food drive line to buy food that was quick but unhealthy.  In the short time it took me to drive to where the fast food restaurant was located I had taken an extra minute to reevaluate whether I really needed the fast food or just go home where I can make a healthy lunch. I chose to go home and probably saved some money and calories.  I attribute that decision to the meditation because before I started meditating I am pretty sure I would have gone out for lunch.

Taking the time, even just for a moment, to include another thought rather than just moving along on auto-pilot is the purpose of meditation.  This time it was a rather non-serious crisis but big poor choices are just a lot of small decisions added up.  I have had an enormous amount of stress in my life over the past few years and probably made many poor food choices.  I could run marathons and not fix the overall problem of too much stress.  But taking ten minutes to decompress and learn how to ignore distractions or be less critical of myself and others might just allow the better decisions to come to light.