The Daoist Diaries

As parents, most of us do our best to teach our children good eating habits. We offer them a variety of healthy foods simply because this is what is best for their bodies. We teach them the importance of being healthy, not necessarily because we’re concerned about obesity, but because we want them to have a physically healthy body.

We try to teach them self-esteem and how to find and see the beauty within themselves. Because having an emotionally healthy body has a direct effect on their physical health.

But, is the media helping us with what we are trying to teach our children? I recently viewed this photo online. At first glance, I thought this was a picture of someone starving or suffering from anorexia. I was terribly wrong. This is a picture of an actual model wearing a creation from the 2007 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear fashion collection in Paris, France.

Is this a good example of what people should look like? The media is telling our children, by using models that are beyond thin, that this is what we should strive to look like. This is a dangerous message to our children, many of whom are too concerned for the way they look already.  

We, as parents, need to teach our children what healthy is, what healthy means and what healthy looks like. Because it certainly does not look like this. This is our responsibility. A responsibility that we cannot leave up to the media to teach.

As autumn arrives, trees provide a stunning display of color; plump pumpkins appear on roadside stands and in grocery stores…and advertisements for the flu shot abound.

A  major health insurance company in our state has been advertising free flu shots to members.  After hearing the advertisement at least a dozen times over the past week, I wondered if my husband, children and I should get flu shots this year.  Afterall, it’s very convenient that we are members of the healthcare organization offering the free vaccines. However, the common cold and chicken pox were the worst ailments to hit our household over the last six years. I found myself thinking, “We don’t really get sick much, do we really need flu shots?” 
In a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control, the majority of adults surveyed said they were not going to get the flu vaccine this year.  Of this majority, 43% indicated they didn’t feel the flu was a big enough health threat to them. The study also revealed that less than half of the children in the United States will have a flu vaccine this year.  
If you do opt for the flu vaccine, experts agree that it is still possible to get the flu.  

Whether you get a flu shot or not, it’s a always good idea to focus on some simple lifestyle and eating habits that can boost your immune system. According to FluHelp.org  we need to focus on simple behaviors that can naturally boost our immune system – getting plenty of sleep and exercise, drinking plenty of water and taking in plenty of fresh air.  They also recommend reducing sugar intake.

“Even small amounts of sugar can significantly impair your immune function, making you more susceptible to a flu infection. A large amount of sugar, such as the amount found in a normal can of soda, hurts your immune function for hours.” 
Foods and herbs also play a role in boosting our immune system.  For centuries, people have been using elderberry to boost their immune system and ease flu symptoms.  A research study from Hadassah University Hospital in Israel, found that extract from elderberry slowed immune-enhancing properties by increasing the production of cytokines, a key component in the functioning of the immune system.

Want to boost immunity the natural way? Check out our article, “Healthiest Foods on Earth”, and discover delicious ways to boost your immune system naturally.
 
So, how about you?  Are you going to get the flu vaccine this year? We want to know!

Eating walnuts at the end of a meal may help cut the damage that fatty food can do to the arteries, research suggests.
It is thought that the nuts are rich in compounds that reduce hardening of the arteries, and keep them flexible.

A team from Barcelona’s Hospital Clinico recommend eating about 28g of walnuts a day.

The study, which appears in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also showed walnuts had more health benefits than olive oil.

The researchers recruited 24 adults, half with normal cholesterol levels, and half with levels that were moderately high to the research, which was partly funded by the California Walnut Commission.

Each was given two high-fat salami and cheese meals, eaten one week apart.

For one meal, the researchers added five teaspoons of olive oil. For the other eight shelled walnuts were added.

Tests showed that both the olive oil and the walnuts helped to reduce the sudden onset of harmful inflammation and oxidation in arteries that follows a meal high in saturated fat.

Over time, this is thought to cause the arteries to start to harden - and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

However, unlike olive oil, adding walnuts also helped preserve the elasticity and flexibility of the arteries, regardless of cholesterol level.

Arteries that are elastic can expand when needed to increase blood flow.

Lead researcher Doctor E. Ros said eating high fat meals disrupted production of nitric oxide by the inner lining of the arteries, a chemical needed to keep blood vessels flexible.

Key chemical

Walnuts contain arginine, an amino acid used by the body to produce nitric oxide.

The nuts also contain antioxidants and alpha-linolenic acid, a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid with health giving properties.

Doctor Ros is starting a new trial to see whether the alpha-linolenic acid in walnuts can help people with abnormal heart rhythms.

He warned against people assuming they can eat what they like so long as they accompany it with walnuts.

“Instead, they should consider making walnuts part of a healthy diet that limits saturated fats.”

Professor R. Vogel, of Maryland University in Baltimore, said: “This demonstrates that the protective fat from walnuts actually undoes some of the detrimental effects of a high-saturated-fat diet, whereas a neutral fat, such as olive oil, does not have as much protective ability.

“This raises a very interesting issue because many people who eat a Mediterranean diet believe the olive oil is providing the benefits.

“But this research and other data indicate that’s not true.

“There are probably other factors in the diet, including that it is a relatively rich source of nuts.

“This is not to say that olive oil is bad, but it’s not the key protective factor in the Mediterranean diet.”

So, eating walnuts is another good way to keep our bodies in good shape and healthy!