Medicine Cabinet

How can we feed our children more healthfully in school?

It was not yet 11 a.m. at the Partin Settlement Elementary School in Kissimmee, Fla., on a sunny day last October. But lunch service necessarily begins early when there are 838 children to feed, and the meal was already well under way. Danielle Hollar walked calmly amid the lunchroom chaos, holding a large, raw, uncut sweet potato in one hand and a tray filled with tiny cups of purйed sweet potatoes in the other. That Hollar does not get frazzled even among hundreds of jabbering children is one of the talents she brings to her job. That she is tall and blond and slim, and many of the students seem to have school-kid crushes on her, is another.

How can we feed our children more healthfully in school?
Photomontage by Stephen Lewis
“This is a sweet potato,” she said, as she stopped at each table and gave each child a purйe sample. “It has a lot of vitamin A and C and B6. Have you ever seen one of these?” Most of the children had not. “It’s like a regular potato, but it’s orange inside,” she said, which got their attention. “It has a lot more vitamins than a white potato.”

Angelina wanted to know why there were no marshmallows on top. Angel put down his lemon pie, tried the sweet potatoes and announced he preferred the pie. Mateo, however, was making a meal of what his classmates eyed so suspiciously. Collecting the cups of everyone around him, he ate a dozen of the tablespoon-size portions before a teacher cut him off.

“It’s sweet, which is why it’s called a sweet potato, but it’s also good for you,” Hollar said, as she moved from table to table, sounding one exclamation point short of a sales pitch. Eager as she was to get the children to taste what she offered, though, she pointedly refused to compare this vegetable to candy.

“I don’t like sweet potatoes,” said Jessica, who is in the second grade.

“Have you ever tried one?” Hollar asked.

Posted by FinanceGod

Don’t Give Up! The easy way to lose weight.

Have you tried all possible diets to lose weight only to find yourself at the same weight or even worse? Losing weight can be difficult at times because of misconceptions about food and how the metabolism really works. Many foods that we think are low in calorie are really not. We eat what we think is right, unaware of the hidden fat and calories. Losing weight can seem impossible if you’re not aware of hidden fat.

You should never skip meals to lose weight. Eat 500 to 700 calories under your basic metabolic rate to properly lose weight. Unfortunately, many sabotage their metabolism by not eating. Too many people think the only way to lose weight is to skip meals starting with breakfast. This practice is guaranteed to bring your metabolism to a screeching halt! The best ways to increase your metabolism does not come from pills but by eating smaller meals through the day and regular exercise.

Millions waste their money on diet pills, herbs and diet contraptions. The US Food and Drug Administration clearly states that you should make a modest reduction in calories and exercise more to lose weight. They also warn against using dietary supplements that claim to trap fat, block fat absorption, flush fat out of the body, raise metabolism or decrease your appetite. Many of these supplements are dangerous to your health and they don’t work as advertised!

The good news is that you can lose weight by eating great tasting foods through the day. The biggest misconception is that you have to skip meals and eat “rabbit food” to lose weight. Many people are surprised that you can make great tasting homemade hamburgers made with lean beef, low fat cheese, toppings and whole wheat bread for the same amount of calories and less fat than a bowl of clam chowder. The trick is to modify what you normally eat.

Read the labels on foods that you buy in the grocery store. This is going to help you evaluate the amount of calories and fat and give you better insight to planning meals. Don’t believe the hype, CALORIES DO MATTER!

A tuna or turkey sandwich from the deli shop can have as many as 900 calories and 25 grams of fat because of the mayonnaise or cheese. However, there are great low fat alternatives if you like mayonnaise and cheese. You can quickly make a turkey sandwich with light mayonnaise and low fat cheese that’s only 300 calories with 6 grams of fat.

You do not have to give up all your favorite foods to lose weight but you need a good diet plan. Avoid long period between meals without eating. This will slow down your metabolism. Manage your portion size and know the approximate amount of calories you will be eating.

When your body loses fat it produces water which may increase your weight during the first week or two of a new diet. Have you ever been discourage because you did all the right things only to get on the scale and discover that you didn’t lose a pound? That probably was due to the extra fluid which is a by-product of losing fat.

Posted by Miss Fashion

Male Low Libido

Women often complain about being hounded for sex by their partners, but what about when men don’t want sex? It’s among the touchiest of couples issues, since society and even evolution teaches us that men are sex-hungry beasts who always want it. When a woman isn’t fighting off her partner’s advances or wants sex more than her partner, self-esteem of both members of the couple can be at stake.

Low libido in men is another one of those issues no one seems to talk about. One in five men suffer from it-and the best news is that help is available, if you want it. Men complain of low libido because of declining hormones, certain medications and health conditions, and too much stress. The relationship matters, too. It’s not just women who are tuned into the quality of their intimacy and sexually inspired-or uninspired-because of it.

The real issue seems to lie in getting over the shame both members of a couple feel when a man has a low sex drive. If you’re worried about your partner’s sagging libido, pay attention to what’s going on in your relationship. Carve out time for just the two of you, in which you focus on reconnecting as a couple. Try to minimize his stress by tuning into what he might need. If you feel at an impasse, gently bring up the idea of counseling and/or a visit to his general practitioner for further discussion.

Once you do put low libido on the table, interventions like stress reduction, sifting through medications that may be dampening sex drive and testosterone therapy all offer help. Low libido is a natural part of the relationship cycle and the life cycle, but it doesn’t have to be a permanent one.