Did You Know It’s National “Clean Hands” Week Sept. 21-27?!!

Seriously, it is. And brought to you by the Soap & Detergents Association, of course…!  Kidding aside, their bottom line message is important– especially as we roll into cooler weather, more time spent indoors and the the advent of the cold and flu season.  According to the SDA telephone study, Americans get a C- on their hygiene.  Yuck.  Close to 40% of Americans don’t wash their hands after coughing or sneezing into them. And fewer of us THIS year are washing our hands after we use the restroom. Seriously, yuck.   Don’t you think? Except for teachers who understand the importance and proper “protocol” for maximum results.  Figures the teachers get an “A”–I’m glad they will be reminding our youth!  So, just to brush up on your “Hygiene IQ” here is what the SDA suggests:

The SDA outlined how to wash hands to effectively remove germs:

• • Wet hands with warm running water before applying soap.
  • Rub hands together to make a lather. Do this away from running water so the lather isn’t washed away.
  • Wash the front and back of your hands, between your fingers and under the nails. Wash for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
  • Rinse hands well under warm running water.
  • Dry hands thoroughly with a clean towel or air dryer.
  • Hand sanitizers or hand wipes are useful alternatives if soap and water aren’t available for washing your hands.

If you’d like to share this info with a youngster, they even have a site available: http://www.cleaning101.com/sdakids/ !  And if you are really, REALLY interested in all the facts about how and why washing makes good health sense, you can learn more at the Center for Disease & Control.

Just remember wash well, dry thoroughly, cover your mouth when you cough and STAY HOME when you are sick!  Add in a good night’s rest, a nutritious diet filled with real food iwith a variety of color, good fats, and lean protein and you are SET!

Have a wonderful weekend and happy hand washing!

Or so the saying goes…but I have to say I certainly agree!  This weekend I raced in a sprint triathlon with 6 other girlfriends. Some I work with, some I work out with, and some I just met.  Regardless, we entered this race with different aspirations and goals–to win, to place, to better our last time, to finish, to conquer and overcome….but most of all to have fun and celebrate life.  We met at Jayne Ann’s at 4:45 for last minute prep and our “before” shot. We were excited, anxious, tired (me…yawn) and ready to take on this experience.  We couldn’t have had better weather. The pool was comfortable–not too hot and not too cold.  The weather warmed up enough so that no additional layers were needed after the swim. The bike route was hilly and beautiful. And the run was off road, through some woods, on trails and along side a small lake.

You know the poem that talks about friends who come and go. Some are for a lifetime and some for a period of time. No matter how long, each brings a special gift.

My Saturday morning friends are amazing. One has a fear of water…and yet, that does not stop her from swimming several times a week and racing.  One of them has never run before, yet she put everything she had into this race, finished it and did fantastic. Another one I want to be like when I grown up. She runs a 6 minute mile and has a rock hard little bod.  Several of these ladies beat their best times and set personal records. Another one still looks like an amazing beauty after an hour and a half of strenuous racing!  These ladies are so motivating, so encouraging, so STRONG!

Here’s to a great weekend, a lot of fun, girlfriends who rock & more PRs!

Folks often get confused  regarding the carb-no carb issue.  Carbohydrates play an important role in your body.  It’s the MANUFACTURING process of foods that is not so good. You see, when foods are manufactured, that process manipulates the biological integrity of the foods. This usually means the glycemic response is affected. And that’s not a good thing.  Once the biochemical complexity is reduced and the glycemic index goes up, the food becomes a more simplified food source. In other words, THESE types of carbs are more quickly digested and absorbed into the blood at a faster rate.  I don’t know too many of us that can afford to have extra blood sugar (blood glucose) circulating around because that just leads to increased fat storage. 

Along those lines, sucrose and high fructose corn syrup can also wreak havoc on blood sugar levels. If you consume high amounts of simple sugars, the body has to work extra hard to remove glucose from the blood. Once your glycogen stores are filled, the body metabolizes sugar for fuel or converts it into triglyerides.  Triglycerides are stored as FAT.  Insulin is lipogeneic (increases fat storage). So, if you raise blood sugar, insulin gets released to try and remove it.  And that, my friends, causes an increased potential for fat gain.  

Your challenge this week: think before you eat. Rarely does anything taste as good as healthy and energetic feels!

Stay strong!

Last week, I came home from work to find a couple of plastic bags containing two huge phone books. Typically I recycle the bags, then bring in the latest books inside and swap them out for whatever ones are in the house.  I throw the older versions into my recycle can.  This time, I stopped. I never use the things. Between the internet and 411 Free Info. (If you are not familiar with this resource, RIGHT now enter 411-FREE into your cell phones 1-800-373-3411.  After a brief commercial from the sponsor of the day, you get a free directory assistance. It works about 90% of the time and you can have them tell you the info, get details like phone # and address, or have that same info texted to your phone!  We rarely use our phone books–yellow pages or residential.) So back to the yellow pages, I decided to do a little research and was pleasantly surprised to find the Yellow Pages gang is on top of it.  You can go to www.yellopagesgoesgreen.org and get your name removed from future telephone books. Sweeeeeeet!! They’ve got a pretty nifty little site set up and they also have an option to opt out of catelogs, as well.  See how simple it is to make a difference?  Just one small act, every day. Tell your friends. Together, we CAN make a difference!

Rule out recess, that is. This is one of my sore spots when it comes to children.  WE are responsible for the future of our youth.  We teach them all kinds of things from values to attitudes to how to eat. But somehow, in this “no kid left behind” world, we have become too focused on so called “enrichment” classes and activities to the point that childhood obesity has become an epidemic.

We CAN do something about school lunches. if you cannot influence the offerings, then at least you can send something from home. And, that’s definitely a step in the right direction.

But what about the other side of the equation?  The equation that’s been proven time after time after time: our bodies are meant to move.   We work & perform better.  We think better.  Our bodies heal better.  We feel better…when we are active.  And so do our kids.

No longer do schools have physical education every day…how sad is that? And recess–a physical and mental break which is key on many levels– is often dependent on a slew of factors.  Sadly, an article in Dallas Child magazine says close to 40% of our nation’s schools have reduced or are thinking about eliminating recess from the school day.   My daughter’s elementary school only has PE 2-3 days a week, where the goal is some activity for at least 20 minutes.

Gone are the days when our kids learn various sports in school PE. I learned all my sports that way! In today’s world, the knowledge comes from parents getting kids into extracurricular sports outside of the schools. And while that combats the issue some, it isn’t an option for many under-privileged families.  With parents working, kids are often left to the entertainment of TVs and computer games…and a lot of artificial, nutritiously empty, processed food.

Whole Foods has a wonderful program that is free for schools to participate in. It helps kids log miles that they walk/run in quarter mile segments. In Texas, there is a kick off celebration and 6 months later, a final lap celebration. The children who successfully complete a log that equates to a “marathon” (26 miles) earn a free T-shirt and finisher’s medal. I think it’s a great program for the education, goal setting and physical aspects. My daughter is participating for her 4th year.  The program also comes with a food calendar to count daily fruit and vegetable intake.  It’d be easy to implement in your area and Whole Foods would be happy to help.  We participate as “independents”!

Take a stand and speak up. For your kids or the kids in your neighborhood.   Be a role model.  Let children see you being active and invite them to join you.   And let me know what’s working for you!

This is a fight worth fighting.