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Garden-Variety Problems? Put Your Business Savvy to Work
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2012 CommentIt's bad enough when you run into problems with a work project, but do you really need these kinds of challenges in your garden?
Let's flip that outlook on its head. Garden challenges are great opportunities to both boost and apply your business skills. They force you to observe, gather data, use your resources, experiment, expand your patience and creativity, and persevere. What's more, garden work lets you learn to live as part of a complex ecosystem, where distinct partnerships can be mutually beneficial.
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Mind Games: How to Prevent Dementia
Tweet Share on Facebook November 2, 2012 CommentDementia in general, and Alzheimer's disease in particular, count among the most frightening prospects of our senescence. My patients routinely convey this worry to me. I'm right there with them. And most of us know—first hand, through our social networks, or via media portrayals—how devastating it is for patient and family alike to deal with a condition that leaves intact the appearance of health, while destroying its inner essence.
And so most people are eager to know what they can do prevent dementia. There is abiding interest in brain-specific "superfoods," cognition-enhancing supplements, and pharmacotherapeutic advances. There is as well a booming market in mental calisthenics, from crossword puzzles to Sudoku, which purportedly keep the brain in fighting trim.
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10 Tips to Survive the Season of Gluttony
Tweet Share on Facebook November 2, 2012 CommentWe've officially entered the season of gluttony—that period of time that begins with Halloween, and ends sometime around New Year's (or perhaps Valentine's Day). Candy bowls line countertops, cocktail parties fill the calendar, cool weather calls for all kinds of baking, and exercise is pushed off our crazy to-do lists. Many people end up gaining weight around this time of year, and studies indicate that these extra pounds tend to stay put. This season, arm yourself with these 10 tips to avoid the holiday weight creep:
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Storm Survival Tips From a Foodie Without a Fridge
Tweet Share on Facebook November 1, 2012 CommentAt 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 29, I took the chicken out of the oven and put the finishing touches on the ravioli sauce. My salad was already assembled, and I continued to ignore the flickering lights and the weather reports, blaring across the radio waves, warning of Hurricane Sandy's imminent approach. We live in an evacuation zone, and by that time, I had already lost touch with neighbors who described the same flickering lights about a half-hour earlier.
Minutes later, we were in the dark. All I could think about was the food that filled my refrigerator and freezer. This was the food that took me hours to shop for, pack up, and unpack; it included the best produce I could pick, fresh fish and poultry, and enough milk, cheese, and yogurt to make a dairy farmer smile. All would be destroyed within hours. And then I thought of all of the people who go hungry each night, and how much they could benefit from my loss. This was a painful gap that could not be bridged.
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6 Ways to Make Time for Your Health
Tweet Share on Facebook November 1, 2012 CommentOver the years, I've heard a common complaint from my patients, who say they don't seem to have time to take better care of themselves. Their jobs, families, and friends keep them so busy that there just isn't a spare moment left. Getting to the gym? Not possible. They work crazy hours during the week and spend their weekends with their children. Go food shopping, and plan healthy meals? They wish, they'll say, but they're too exhausted during the week, and out with friends all weekend. The excuses can line up, but unfortunately, the end result is the same. We need to make time for ourselves.
Here's how:
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365 Days of Halloween
Tweet Share on Facebook October 31, 2012 CommentThis past Saturday, I took my 8-year-old to dance class. When the music stopped, and the kids shuffled out, she had an ear-to-ear grin … and a chocolate bar in each hand. The teacher had given them out to the class in honor of the pending arrival of Halloween.
The next day, she brought home a birthday party loot bag where, of course, the "loot" was more candy. A week earlier, one of her school teachers surprised the class with ice cream for being well behaved. And let's not talk about her school's pizza days, ice-cream fundraising, and inclusion of chocolate milk in its milk program.
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How to Handle Halloween Candy Cravings
Tweet Share on Facebook October 30, 2012 CommentHalloween is all about sweets! So it's no surprise that Halloween can trip up even the most conscientious dieter. With Halloween and the end-of-year holidays looming, it's important to determine a strategy for dealing with the temptation of sweets: what to eat, what to bring into the home, and what to serve others.
My philosophy is that all foods can be enjoyed in moderation. But there are special challenges posed by some foods, particularly sweets. Understanding the science behind sweet cravings and overeating can help us eat in a more moderate and healthy way:
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How Your Reflux Medication Affects Your Health
Tweet Share on Facebook October 30, 2012 CommentIt's official: The season of heartburn is upon us, courtesy of overstuffed Thanksgiving bellies, too many drinks at the office holiday party, and indulgent seasonal sweets featuring mint, chocolate, and other triggers of acid reflux. What better time, then, to address how the most common medications used to treat acid reflux can affect your overall health and nutrition?
According to a new analysis in the journal Gastroenterology, acid reflux is the most common gastrointestinal (GI) diagnosis for doctor's visits outside of the hospital, representing almost 9 million such visits in 2009. Since being introduced in the late 1980s, a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have become the most common medication used to suppress stomach acid production in people with reflux. Name brands of popular PPIs include Nexium, Prilosec (or the generic, Omeprazole), Prevacid, Dexilant, Aciphex and Protonix. Combined, this class of drugs accounts for an estimated $11 billion in U.S. retail sales. Their ubiquity, in fact, has led some experts to question whether these drugs are being over-prescribed. Indeed, patients who start on a PPI tend to stay on it for years, and it's not uncommon for people to stay on one for life.
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NYC Super-Sized Soda Ban: Now in Effect
Tweet Share on Facebook October 30, 2012 CommentThe Barclays Center, the new home of the Nets, recently opened, and the season begins this week. I'm not a huge sports fan, but as a proud Brooklynite, I've been anxiously awaiting the start of the season. The thought of taking my kids to watch an NBA game in my own 'hood is pretty thrilling. And other folks must be pretty excited too, because that first game is sold out. Blame it on Jay-Z.
But get to a game we will—eventually. And as with any special outing, I'm sure we'll indulge in some courtside snacks. While I gave up soda 20 years ago, and we don't keep it in the house, my husband does like to sip the sweet stuff at movies and other events. And yes, he does go for the larger sizes on these occasions, much to my chagrin. But it looks like I won't have to be the regulator when we head to Barclays, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg's soda ban is in effect.
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Myths and Facts: Exercising While Pregnant
Tweet Share on Facebook October 29, 2012 CommentI'm eight months pregnant with my first baby. I can't believe that my life is about to change forever. Overall, I'm excited about the transition to parenthood, and I'm ready to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly. While I've received some fabulous advice from moms, I've also received some warnings that soon I will start putting myself last.
That news has been a tough pill to swallow because self-care is a major part of my identity. This includes making "me time" for eating well, exercising, and managing stress. I'm mentally committed to preserving that identity while I make room for baby. Throughout my pregnancy, I've followed this guiding principle: "Everything you do for you, you do for the baby inside you." This line of thinking has increased my motivation for self-care, not decreased it.
