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What will it take, America? Seriously, I’m asking a real question & would truly like an answer because I’m ever baffled when I look around me today at the state of our public health. Look around you, what do you see? Because this is what I see…sadness, illness, & death.

• The prevalence of disease according to the CDC continues to rise.
  
• We have the first gen of kids that won’t outlive their parents age according to the CDC as well.
  
• We have a society where every 2^nd commercial on tv, in a magazine, in a store, on a billboard is for a drug.
  
• We fail our children with schools where kids have no energy outlet anymore so they show up with guns and violence due to pent up unreleased aggression & then are drugged up after the Dr’s claim they have ADHD when they’re simply victims of no exercise & poor diet of sugar that jacks them up & wires them.
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  Obese kid
• We have a world today where the words gastric bypass and diabetes are as common as ‘the’ & ‘of’ to our vocabulary, and it’s nothing to someone to invade their body & destroy the natural system of disgestion to cut it to pieces & tie it up – that’s more appropriate to them then simply eating right and exercising!

I had a client recently say so eloquently about why she wanted to finally work with me towards making changes in her health & life, “I finally realized if I don’t have my health I have nothing.” If I could put those words on a billboard throughout America I would, because the American people have lost their way when it comes to their health.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our first wealth is health”… so why is it that when we have a health symptom to address or if it’s just attending to our health in our lives we put it off, it’s always the last of thing to get to, to take care of on our list of to-do’s...washing the car, buying a new tv, going on vacation, shopping at the mall,  ALL more important -  C’mon, you KNOW you are guilty of this!

Or the best is the all too common attitude of people that if I need a health treatment for caring for my health, but my insurance doesn’t cover, I won’t do it because I can’t afford the extra expense – but we can afford vacations, fancy cars, cigarettes, all the costs of our hobbies like golf or motorcycles or hunting, going out to $100 dinners & $40 movies every weekend, high test fuel for our vehicles, and new flat screen tv’s, THOSE we can afford.

I'm here to tell you, look around & take a gander at the cost of NOT AFFORDING OUR HEALTH IN OUR LIVES. Isn’t it funny how people put their money where their values are? Isn’t is sad that as a country we have entirely LOST health somehow as a core value?

Healthy family

Look where we were 20 years ago, look where we are today, now envision where we’re headed ….. mindblowing, isn’t it? Because this is where not valuing our health anymore in our lifestyles is taking us:

• a world of still increased death at younger and younger ages due to MORE diabetes,  MORE cancers, MORE heart disease, MORE death due to failed surgery of gastric bypass or use of pharmaceuticals that toxify and posion the body over time
• still no recommendations by Dr’s and healthcare practitioners and no actions on people’s part to address their poor diet & exercise regimen, and just wait til the arteries clog up with junk & I’ll  just get the Dr to open me up and fix what I’m not adult enough to take responsibility for in my own health because that’s the easy way, that the magic bullet Americans want & I’ve always got that back up plan if all else fails
• children not able to think in class,  learn and excel , or even socialize b/c they’re so slow from excess weight on their bodies and sugar in their bloodstream they can’t function optimally, let alone barely at all
• a world where 50% of people are walking around on assisted walkers, something once only common to the elderly and aged, because they can’t use their own joints anymore such as their knees or hips to do a function as normal as walking because they have too much weight on their joints naturally to sustain them
• a world where our life expectancy, at supposedly the time of most advanced medicine in the history of  the world, begins decreasing!
• a world where costs of airplane tickets and healthcare insurance become too astronomical for the average person to afford as a result of the commonality of obesity in our country and what that does to EVERYONE’s pocketbooks; don’t be fooled, we ALL share the cost & pain of this sad glutonous out of control trend we’re on, with no end in sight….
  

  Corp fitness dilmena

We cry when our loved ones contract cancer or diabetes or heart disease and we lose them, THAT makes us sad, THAT makes us react, THAT makes us finally CARE ABOUT OUR HEALTH.

• Then why is it that we don’t value and care for our health UPFRONT?
  
• Why do we wait for the worst to happen BEFORE WE ACTUALLY PAY ATTENTION TO OUR HEALTH?
  
• Why does it take FEAR for us to finally value the God given gift of our health that is the one blessing we can count on each day, that allows us to live our lives to the fullest? 
• What will it take in this country for people to finally say enough is enough, I want to put my health on the TOP of my to-do list today & everday, and I will be grateful for my health & tend to it as such? 
• What sign can exceed the signs we have already have now, that not valuing our health is a path of sadness, illness, and death? I can’t bear to imagine….

Don’t you want to see a different health future than where we’re currently headed?? I surely do! So you can bet I will do my part & have my health as #1 on my to-do list today, and all the rest of the active, happy, energetic, capable, healthy days of my life.

We all wake up with the same 24 hours in a day, and we all wake up with our health…what we do with those two factors is up to each & every one of us….and tomorrow is a new day, but HOW MANY days we all have on this earth differs based on what you invest into this equation through your efforts to attend to your health & this is SOLELY UP TO YOU, and you alone –

So how many days do you want to be here on this earth enjoying your loved ones & this life? Put your health on YOUR to-do list as one of your top values finally tomorrow – today it’s the only investment you can count on & I promise you it will pay you back tenfold.

Strength

Don't be like the average American and wait for the diagnosis to make your move, when it's already too late...Harsh maybe, but we've come to a time in our public health where somebody needs to stand up & scream a wake up call because they care deeply about the madness of what they see going on around them & where we're headed. Are you listening?

In health,
Heather Dubé - Health & Wellness Coach
Wellcoaches LWC Trainee, Group Wellness Coach, NASM CPT, BA Psychology

You & Improved Coaching
"Revitalizing Wellness in Health & Home"
www.youandimprovedcoaching.com
healthmatters.vox.com/
hdube@youandimprovedcoaching.com | 408.667.7551

Wellness Coaching Can Help You Feel & Live Better - Find out More Here.

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Amidst Michael Phelp's Olympic achievements this past week there has been much publicity and attention centered on his diet. Here is an article that lays out point by point what he eats at every meal & some commentary to his strange eating plan:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7562840.stm .

As people hear more and more of his high fat high calorie plan, we'd like to make sure no one misinterprets this info as a "free pass" to think that everyone who eats like Michael can be in the health of an Olympic athlete, as this is certainly not the case.

In fact, what it should make people think is: imagine just how much more this man could achieve if he fueled his body with good, quality, nutrient-dense food sources?

THAT is what the media should be talking about, instead of sending out the wrong message about the example Phelp's is not setting for people in the area of nutrition. It upsets me to no end that the media constantly needs to create drama, and in doing so they consistently choose to publicize negative topics to stir the pot.

If he eats that way, then NBC and other media sources should think about the number of people they have as a captured audience in this format & how they can HELP them to eat well through the message their sending, not patronize & confuse their viewers the way they are talking endlessly about Michael's junk food eating program.  Have they never heard the phrase, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all."?

This is the exact stuff that confuses people and is a detriment to the state of our public health both in adults and children. We may possibly now see a resurgence in the awful Atkins diet, which is basically filling your arteries with fat & unhealthy oils, based on the specifics they're putting out on tv about Michael's diet.

Keep in mind the frequency, length & intensity of someone's training of Michael's athletic caliber can counter some of the junk he is taking into his body for food. So what may APPEAR to not effect him negatively is partially due to the counter effect of his exercise schedule - but remember, you don't see his insides, and outward physical appearance is not always indicative of inner health both short & long-term.

That is how professional athletes sometime die shockingly from cancer or a heart attack unexpectedly every once in awhile to everyone's surprise. People too often wrongly associate outward appearance as synonomous with inward health quality. If he continued to eat like this over time, regardless of his training, it would no doubt take a negative toll on his health.

I'm rather surprised that an athlete of his level is not working with a nutritional consultant on a regular basis to support his training both in term of nutrient choices, meal composition, and nutrient timing to support his pre, during, and post workout periods properly with what he eats. The majority of athletes that compete at that level either are supporting their body with health nutrition through the consultation of a sports nutritionist, or through their own knowledge of being in and around the sport for many years.

I'd also like to mention his diagnosis of ADHA, which is important to note along with the correlation that he's openly admitted he's been eating this way for 20+ years. Why people don't connect what he's putting in his mouth in terms of loads of sugars, processed chemicals and foods, junk food, soda/caffeine, and high fats, along in direct relation to this exacerbated temperament as a child growing up to today leaves me speechless.

How we choose to support or not support our bodies nutritionally to do the work of their natural processes has everything to do with our resulting mood, ability to concentrate, ability to focus, to think, to have energy or not, to function, etc. For anyone who is diagnosed with ADHD or ADD, the absolute FIRST thing any Dr should do is assess the client's diet and rework it to put them on a whole foods paleolythic diet, by removing all processed sugars, all caffeine, all packaged foods, leaving only lean meats, decaf coffee or tea, loads of water and vegetables, and minimal fruit. Once that transition sets into their body over 4-6 weeks, then and only then should the client be reassessed for what type of possible additional medicinal support may or may not be needed at that point. Unfortunately, most Dr's do not even address the current diet and exercise program of the patient both in diagnosis and treatment.

In the article on Phelps, Barbara Lewin, a nutritionist who has advised international athletes on their dietary health for almost two decades, states "Health-wise, if he were eating like this long-term, he'd probably be having to see a cardiologist regularly," Mrs Lewin told the BBC.

It's too bad he has set such a stellar example on areas of physical health & achievement in sport for adults, childrens, athletes throughout the world, yet fails to set a similar good example of nutrition in this world at a time when it's SO needed by someone of his reach. Just like Mary Lou Retton was a unstoppable force and the athlete-to-inspire of my generation, Phelps is just this for figure for generation Y, which needs a  lot more positive role models on the exercise & nutrition front today then we needed back then.

I'm hoping as his accomplishments set in that the realization the amount of kids along with that that look up to him will to, and he'll begin to see the tremendous amount of responsibility that comes along with that & therefore how he can use this platform to help others in these areas of health.

And yet someone who is using high performance nutrition to reach her Olympic goals at the age of 41, Dara Torres, & would prove a wonderful example for people throughout the world on how she approaches her training to get where she has both physically and nutritionally, gets called out by the media in her interview asking if she's using steroids.

Can someone please just release the media from their duties? They are the cause of so many problems in our society today with the drama they try to create. So the media immediately skews and ruins a potentially great example for people by asking Dara if she's taking drugs, automatically assuming she is. Of course she has to be, right? No, not right.

How about asking her how she does it...how she achieves such physical goals at her age? THAT again is what would HELP people watching the Olympics via encouragement, vs. the over-asked steroid question. Just because you don't understand how someone achieves something, doesn't automatically mean it's not possible to achieve or they cheated to get there; it just means she has had some experiences in controlling and developing her health in a manner through her life that you haven't in your own, and we'd benefit to learn from her.

But of course the drama will always be more important to the media than doing what's right to help better people's health in their lives. I do hope people do see through the drama being made over Michael Phelp's diet to realize that it's basically much to-do about nothing & not worth the air time it's getting, as most things the media harps on.

Let's just enjoy his wins for the amazing feat they are & hope that, should he return to future Olympic competition, he adds in a great nutritional program to support his future athletic goals so we can see him at his true best ... & how incredible that would be.

Heather Dubé - Health & Wellness Coach
Wellcoaches LWC Trainee, Group Wellness Coach, NASM CPT, BA Psychology

You & Improved Coaching - "Revitalizing Wellness in Health & Home"
www.youandimprovedcoaching.com
healthmatters.vox.com/
info@youandimprovedcoaching.com

List spiritual, ethical and environmental reasons for not eating meat. Are there really any reasons left why one SHOULD eat meat?

Why Vegetarian? The Environment & cruelty to animals

http://www.squidoo.com/why-vegetarian

There are several reasons for people to become vegetarians. For me it has to do with the spiritual effects of eating meat as well as the impact of eating animals on animals and the environment in general.

Taking a cue from my ever hip and with it sister-in-law, D, I've started a new topical blog at today.com. EasyVeg will be geared primarily at those interested in making the transition into vegetarianism and those already there who would like tips, pointers, and easy recipe ideas that fall in line with their new diet choice. It will feature recipes, cookbook reviews, product spotlights, vegetarian friendly restaurants, and other vegetarian food related topics.

I'll be looking to my Vox neighbors as well as members of Vox vegetarian and vegan groups for additional topics of interest. Please feel free to let me know about any veggie food products you love (or hate!), vegetarian books, or anything else related to vegetarian food that you think would be of assistance to a vegetarian newbie. ;)

And don't forget to stop by periodically to let me know how I'm doing! Your feedback is welcome, valuable, and very much appreciated.

I had seen the nokillnow page before, but didn't dig too deeply as I doubted the authenticity.  After reviewing this link, and some of the accompanying news articles, I won't be able to support them anymore or until they completely change.  How awful.

Thank you for the reply to my letter concerning my husband's and my recent meal at Applebee's. 

I would like to better explain that we eat out 4-6 times per week.  We like variety, like many other consumers.  Applebee's has 2 locations that are convenient to us.  One location we enjoy visiting because there is an excellent server there and the atmosphere is friendly.  The other is closer to our house, and we have eaten there 2-3 times before because of its location and relatively-late hours.

On the recent visit, the menu had changed.  The vegetarian pizza was not available.  As a consumer, I want choice.  The choices you presented in your email might have been available if we had thought to bring the matter to the attention of a manager.  FYI: I don't like the idea of paying the higher cost for an entree that would normally have meat.  Think of it as an added bonus of being vegetarian--you get to save money on a regular basis and splurge on nice things.

Well, because I was not in the mood for mozzarella sticks (which are available in every other establishment in town), I asked our waiter what he could recommend.  I have worked in restaurants and know how important the waiter is as the first representative of business.  I know that they have an understanding of what the kitchen might be able to make--or they can go ask.  I asked our waiter if they kitchen might be able to prepare a burrito (using the ingredients that are stocked and used for other items on the menu).  He didn't think so but went to the back to ask.  Understand, I have no issue with our waiter.

What he suggested were the nachos, a salad without meat, and quesadillas.  We shrugged at those unoriginal offerings and asked about the vegetarian pizza.  He inquired of another waiter (maybe dining room mgr?) who said the veg'n pizza was not available.

We made do; we did not get up and leave.  We ordered the nachos (with beans instead of ground meat), and quesadillas (with mushrooms requested inside).  These items were good because the kitchen had made them good.

My letter to Guest Relations was to suggest that the menu be designed with more vegetarian options that all Applebee kitchens and staff are made aware of.  And the reason I would go out of my way to suggest such a thing is for your benefit as well as mine, because plant-based food (using plant foods as the predominant ingredients) are better for the environment, and for one's health.  Check it out if you don't believe me--I've been vegetarian for so long, I had stopped checking the scientific community's opinion.  Now, even the American Dietetic Association supports it as a viable diet.  See for yourself. 1

To reiterate, it would be to your benefit as well as mine, to prepare a menu that offers "an overall healthy, well-balanced approach to dining."

Sincerely,
Mrs. Mari Vega

1. American Dietetic Association (2003, June).  Vegetarian Diets.  ADA Reports, Vol. 103, No. 6.  Abstract retrieved 17 Mar 2008 from ADA website www.eatright.org