Healthy Cities Newsletter - Feb/March

HEALTHY CITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

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Newsletter February/March 2019 IN THIS ISSUE

Living a Healthy Lifestyle What does living a healthy lifestyle mean?

Is it living a disease-free life? Or maybe it’s being able to eat right and adhere to an exercise schedule. Though the definition of healthy may differ from person to person, living a healthy lifestyle is a fundamental component to achieving your optimal mental and physical well-being.

People who engage in unhealthy habits such as smoking, a poor quality diet, and physical inactivity are at increased risk for premature health decline. Though many factors contribute to your overall health, diet and physical activity are leading determinants of your level of health and quality of life. A nutritious diet of whole grains, lean meats, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats is necessary for weight management.

A balanced diet also helps maintain energy levels throughout the day. Regular physical activity, which includes a variety of aerobic and strength-building exercises, prevents weight gain that can lead to a plethora of chronic conditions. Additionally, lifestyle habits such as not smoking and limiting alcohol intake contribute to a healthy life.

Allowing your body to rest each day by getting a proper amount of sleep is also important to achieving a healthy lifestyle.

Recipe of the Month Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Focusing on a healthy lifestyle not only improves your quality of life, but it may add years as well. Being mindful of your diet, physical activity and stress levels allows you to effectively balance all aspects of your life and might increase your life span. contribute to a longer and healthier life.

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Meal Prepping for Beginners Meal Prepping is simply preparing some, or all of your meals ahead of time. It’s like having those TV dinners that you would purchase from the store, except that you prepare them yourself, with better, healthier ingredients. Not only does it save you time, but it also helps to ensure you eat healthier foods more often with the proper portions, instead of reaching for quick processed and prepackaged snacks or meals that go over your caloric needs. It’s important to remember to not get overwhelmed when you are a beginner. Too often people get bogged down in details when sticking to the basics will do more good.

The first thing you should do is pick a day to prepare all your meals. Next, you need to decide which meal you are going to prepare first: Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. You should use the proper containers. Good storage containers are really the foundation of your meal prepping. What’s needed is a container that’s air tight, with divided sections that are also air tight.

Start off, with just a few meals. Don’t try to cook a whole week’s worth of meals in one sitting. Hopefully this guide has given all you need to get started with meal prepping so you can make life a little easier.

Understanding Stress

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HEALTHY CITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | Issue 1

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EXERCISE OF THE MONTH

Bicep Curls

Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand at arm's length.

Keeping the upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the weights while contracting your biceps. Continue to raise the weights until your biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder level.

Inhale and slowly begin to lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.

Stand with both feet together, holding the handle of a resistance band in either hand.

Step both feet onto the middle of the band, hips-width distance apart.

Stand up with your torso upright and a dumbbell on each hand being held at arms’ length.

Inhale, and as you exhale, simultaneously bend both elbows.

Make sure you have the correct alignment.

While holding your upper arm stationary, raise the weight until the biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbell is at shoulder level.

Hold the contracted position for a brief moment as you squeeze the biceps.

As you inhale, straighten both your arms, coming back to the starting position.

After the brief pause, inhale and slowly begin the lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese Ingredients: 1 tablespoon chopped garlic ¼ onion, diced ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium cauliflower head, broken into florets and cut into bite-sized pieces 1 ½ cups whole wheat pasta 1 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions: Place the chopped cauliflower on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle chopped garlic, diced onion, salt and pepper.

Roast at 425°, tossing occasionally, until the cauliflower is caramelized and crisp, about 30 minutes.

While cauliflower is roasting, bring large pot of water to a boil. Cook 1 ½ cup pasta according to package directions (will yield 3 cups cooked pasta).

Remove pan and sprinkle cheese evenly on cauliflower. Bake additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and lightly browning.

Serve over pasta with protein of your choice! Tuna, chicken breast, pork chop, etc.

HEALTHY CITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | Issue 1

aggressive towards others; this can be due to our bodies’ natural reaction being “fight”. This can be a helpful reaction to ward off predators, but in unnecessary situations, it can negatively affect relationships and ruin reputations.

Understanding Stress Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your to-do list seems endless, deadlines are fast approaching, and you find yourself saying ‘Eek! I feel stressed!’? But what is stress really, and how does it affect us?

Stress is primarily a physical response. When stressed, the body thinks it is under attack and switches to ‘fight or flight’ mode, releasing a complex mix of hormones and chemicals such as adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine to prepare the body for physical action. This causes a number of reactions, from blood being diverted to muscles to shutting down unnecessary bodily functions such as digestion. That heart pounding, fast breathing sensation is the adrenaline; as well as a boost of energy, it enables us to focus our attention, so we can quickly respond to the situation. In the modern world, the ‘fight or flight’ mode can still help us survive dangerous situations, such as reacting swiftly to a person running in front of our car by slamming on the brakes. The challenge is when our body goes into a state of stress in inappropriate situations. When blood flow is going only to the most important muscles needed to fight or flee, brain function is minimised. This can lead to an inability to ‘think straight’; a state that is a great hindrance in both our work and home lives. If we are kept in a state of stress for long periods, it can be detrimental to our health.

Fight When your body goes into a state of stress, we may feel agitated and

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warning signs. However stress can creep up on some of us, resulting in an unexpected breakdown.

That ‘bridge collapse’ in a human being could take many forms: ·

Mental and Emotional Breakdown

·

Taking one’s own life

·

Cardiovascular disease: The heart is the first organ in the body to experience stress.

The No. 1 killer on the planet today is heart disease and it’s no coincidence that as we find ourselves living under higher and higher levels of stress the instance of heart disease is increasing.

Flight Some of us avoid our stressors, removing ourselves from the situation instead of tackling it. This can be a sign of the “flight” survival instinct; a function that can save our lives if we find ourselves in dangerous surroundings. However, in everyday life, this natural instinct can lead to a stressful situation escalating and increase our stress levels when we realise that the stressor isn’t going away, and we need to face it.

Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that:

“Demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilise.”

The Stress Management Society uses a bridge analogy to approach the topic of stress.

When a bridge is carrying too much weight, it will eventually collapse. It is possible to see the warning signs before this happens, the bridge would bow, buckle and creak.

The same principle can be applied to human beings, with excessive demands and challenges placed on our bridges. There may be early

Stress has a profound impact on how your body’s systems function, Health experts are still sorting out whether stress actually causes cancer. Yet there’s little doubt that it promotes the growth and spread of some forms of the disease. Put simply, stress makes your body more hospitable to cancer.

Stress can cause a rise in blood pressure – the main cause of haemorrhagic stroke is high blood pressure, which can weaken the arteries in the brain and make them prone to split or rupture.

The key message is that if we are able to recognise when we have too much demand on our bridge then we can take action to prevent ourselves from getting anywhere near the bridge collapsing which thankfully most of us will never experience or see.

HEALTHY CITIES MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

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Blood Pressure WHAT IS BLOOD PRESSURE? Blood pressure is one of the most important indicators of health. You will likely get your blood pressure checked at every doctor appointment. Many drug stores have blood pressure machines in their waiting area so people can track their blood pressure.

Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood through the arteries as it leaves the heart and travels throughout the body. There are two numbers: systolic is when the heart pumps the blood out and diastolic is when the heart is relaxed before the next beat. When read, the numbers are shown next to or on top of one another. The systolic is the top or first number, and the diastolic is the bottom or second number.

A healthy blood pressure is considered to be 120/80 or lower. If you have high blood pressure, also called hypertension, or have been found to be at risk for high blood pressure, you may want to consider a few changes in your diet that may help lower your blood pressure. You may be able to avoid or minimize use of medications for blood pressure by watching what you eat.

LIMIT SODIUM TO HELP LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE Limit your intake of sodium. Sodium is present in many processed foods, so be sure to read nutrition labels carefully. Try to limit your sodium intake to no more than 2,400 mg each day. Avoid cooking with salt whenever possible. Take the salt shaker off the table and use other seasonings and flavorings for salt.

However, ask your doctor before using salt substitutes if you have kidney disease. Not everyone with high blood pressure is salt-sensitive. You can test yourself by following a low-sodium diet for two or three weeks; then re-check your blood pressure to see if it has improved.

LIMIT FAT TO HELP LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE Limit your intake of fat, especially saturated fat. Reducing the amount of fat you consume may lower your blood pressure and promote weight loss, which further reduces hypertension. Another reason to control the amount and type of fat that you eat is that high blood pressure increases the risk of arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Limit saturated fats that are in animal products such as the fat in meats, butter, cheese and whole milk products.

Use monounsaturated fats such as canola oil and olive oil, and polyunsaturated fats including safflower oil, sunflower oil and soy oil in moderation.

ADD HEALTHY FOODS TO YOUR DIET TO HELP LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE Studies also suggest that increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products may help reduce blood pressure. For a more structured nutritional plan based on these guidelines, you may want to become familiar with the DASH (Dietary

Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Diet.

This diet is based on a major study conducted by the American National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute that examined different diets and their effects on blood pressure.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T KEEP A HEALTHY BLOOD PRESSURE? High blood pressure is the second leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) after diabetes. Over time, the pressure of the blood through the tiny blood vessels of the kidneys can cause damage. By making lifestyle changes such as modifying your diet, exercising, stopping smoking and losing excess weight, you can help lower your blood pressure and avoid the complications such as kidney disease, eye disease and heart disease.

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