Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be the waistline downfall it is typically made out to be. If you thought sweet treats couldn’t be healthy, think again. Here are just a few ways to be sweet and good to eat.…
Strawberry “milkshake”: make a sweet, pink, and healthy treat with frozen strawberries, plain Greek yogurt, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, liquid of choice (ex: water, milk, unsweetened almond or soy milk) and a frozen banana. Instead of using added sugar to sweeten, the banana gives a great texture and comes with additional nutrients and fiber.
Strawberry spritz: blend frozen strawberries, pour into wine or Champaign glasses. Fill glasses with seltzer water (suggested flavors: unflavored, grapefruit, cucumber, or tropical blend). Garnish with sliced strawberries.
Heart-Shaped Pancakes: making pancakes into fun shapes is always a crowd pleaser. Top with fresh berries or make this easy and no-sugar-added strawberry syrup. Simply blend strawberries (frozen or fresh) and put in a microwave safe dish. Heat for about 30 seconds and serve hot on top of your favorite pancakes or waffles.
Source: Submitted by Abby Forman, RD, Bon Secours Physical Therapy and Sports Performance.
It’s winter, and it seems like every other person is getting sick! How can you boost your immunity to keep from catching the bug going around? Besides washing your hands frequently, follow these tips to help you stay healthy this season.
Get Your Vitamins
There’s limited evidence that Vitamin C may help prevent the common cold, but increasing your Vitamin C intake with citrus fruits and leafy green vegetables won’t hurt you at all!
Many upper respiratory problems, such as the common cold, are caused by viruses and do not benefit from antibiotics. If you are seeing a health care provider for cough, cold, or congestion during the winter months, ask if you need an antibiotic to treat what you have or if the issue will run its course with or without the antibiotic. Inappropriately using antibiotics can weaken your immune system and make other infections harder to fight when you need your immune system at its peak.
Drink Plenty of Water
The majority of your body is made up of water, and dehydration can make it harder for your body to cope when it gets stressed or you get sick.
Use Probiotics
Did you know we actually have bacteria living in specific sites of our body? It may sound odd or gross, but our gut naturally has bacteria growing and living in it. The native bacteria actually can help ward off the infectious bacteria that may invade our body. To help support the good bacteria, or “normal flora,” take a good probiotic every day. Probiotics are available in supplement form wherever you buy your vitamins. Some foods, including fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, or yogurt, naturally have probiotics.
Try Herbs and Spices that Boost Your Health
Try using herbs and spices that can help give your health a boost when you cook. There is some evidence that the following herbs and spices can help by containing antioxidants that help your immune system. Plus, they’re delicious! The ones to try are garlic, ginger, black peppercorn, cayenne pepper, allspice, curry, and turmeric. Avoiding processed foods with lots of salt can also help your overall health – use whole foods such as lean proteins, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Wash Your Hands
Washing your hands is the number one way to prevent infection. Wash your hands before preparing food, eating food, after using the bathroom, and any time you may have come into contact with someone or something that has bacteria and viruses on it (such as when out shopping). Protect yourself and others around you by washing your hands.
Thanks to Taylor McKeowen, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, for writing the first draft of this blog.
It’s that time of year again – the days have shortened and the cold is increasing. But just because it’s not as much fun to be outside doesn’t mean you have to give up physical activity! Here are some ways you can stay active and stay indoors.
Join a Gym
The most obvious answer is to join a gym. Depending on the facility, you may have access to treadmills, ellipticals, and weights. Some facilities may have a basketball court, indoor track, or indoor pool. Many gyms have free classes included in the membership, and some may have personal training, often for an extra fee.
Clean
Deep cleaning your house can work up a sweat! Climb (safely) on ladders to dust the tops of your cabinets. Move the furniture and vacuum underneath it. If you have younger kids, make it a game to see how quickly you can clean up their room or playroom. Squatting and reaching adds up to a lot of full-body movement.
Decorate
Decorate! Go up to the attic and get your favorite pieces down. You can decorate for a religious holiday, your annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza, or just for winter in general. Hang up twinkle lights and put out a festive flag. If your balance is unsteady, skip the ladders and decorate things you can reach from the ground.
Dance
Have a dance party! Bounce around the house to your favorite tunes. Invite your friends over to rock out to your high school favorites, or get your kids (of all ages) involved.
Follow At-Home Workouts
Thousands of at-home workouts are available, from free videos on YouTube to DVDs to books from the library. Experiment to see what you enjoy the most: Yoga? Lifting weights? Doing bodyweight exercises? Walk-in-place routines? Whatever you feel like, there are exercises you can do at home.
Meditation, also called mindfulness, is an ancient tradition that has modern health benefits. You can learn to meditate at home, and it requires no special equipment.
What is meditation?
Meditation is slowing your thoughts down—literally. Your brain waves slow down to half as fast as they are when you’re thinking normally. Your brain naturally produces these slower brain waves when you sleep, but learning to meditate lets you also produce them when you’re awake.
What are the benefits of meditation?
Regular meditation has been shown to have a number of health benefits, including:
Lower blood pressure
Less anxiety
Less stress
It may also help with depression and pain, although traditional treatments such as mental health therapy and physical therapy, respectively, or prescribed medications should not be discontinued without direction from your doctor. Studies are ongoing to see what other conditions meditation may help with.
How should I meditate?
You can meditate at any time of day, as long as you are in a quiet area where you are unlikely to be disturbed. You only need to meditate for 15-20 minutes once a day in order to see benefits.
You may learn meditation from in-person classes near you, via audio files/CDs, via websites, or via apps. Experiment to find the method that works best for you.
In Richmond, cancer patients can have meditation sessions with Marc McGahee; ask your cancer team for more information. He also teaches at the Cullather Brain Tumor Quality of Life Center.
Example Meditation Exercise
Marc McGahee, who helps cancer patients learn meditation to help reduce their side effects, provided a meditation exercise on gratitude.
Most of the time we’re only grateful for what we already have, but this exercise can help you be grateful for things you don’t have.
Find a place where you will not be interrupted, sit down in a comfortable position, and close your eyes. Take several deep breaths and then imagine a white light emanating from the highest most wonderful part of the Universe reaching down and touching you. Allow this light to flow through every part of your body, relaxing from head to toe.
Think of something in your life that you are truly grateful for. Spend a few moments enjoying this feeling.
Get in touch with that feeling and anchor it into something you want to accomplish and feel this same level of gratitude for the new event.
Now think of an activity that you enjoy doing but had to learn how to do, such as nursing, playing chess, riding a bike, knitting, cooking, etc. Choose something that you are proud to know how to do. Now focus on that positive feeling and lock it in.
Think of the feeling of gratitude for the task you want to learn how to accomplish and add it to the positive feeling of having learned a new skill.
Next, see, hear, and feel the future accomplishment as real with these feelings.
The night before you leave on a flight for a long-awaited vacation, you notice a rash spreading all over your arms.
The last-minute gardening you managed to cross off your list seemed like such an accomplishment. Now, it appears poison ivy is having its revenge. The itching gets worse by the hour.
Not long ago, a situation like this would mean rearranging your flight plans so you can get to the doctor in the morning. Or taking the risk that you can find a doctor once you get to your destination.
Today, you have a better remedy. With Bon Secours virtual appointments, getting to a medical provider is as easy as downloading an app and making a few clicks on our website. You don’t even have to leave your home.
Bon Secours 24/7 allows patients to see a health provider without taking off time from work or school. You can talk privately to a licensed medical professional from your phone, tablet or personal computer.
The first step is to create an account at Bon Secours 24/7. You can also download the app to your phone or tablet. After that, you choose a provider and answer basic questions about why you need medical care.
Within minutes, you can speak face-to-face with a provider through your device’s video capabilities. Thanks to today’s video technology, health providers can examine skin conditions and detect breathing problems such as wheezing. Most appointments last about 10 minutes.
While some people need to see a doctor in person or for further medical testing, Bon Secours 24/7 is appropriate for several non-emergency medical conditions:
Seasonal allergies
Cold, cough, bronchitis and flu
Fever
Sinus and upper respiratory infections
Conjunctivitis or pink eye
Skin conditions such as rashes
Urinary tract infections
Headaches
Sprains and strains
Vomiting and diarrhea
When you or your child are not feeling well enough to get out of bed, Bon Secours 24/7 provides a convenient way to access medical care. Our medical professionals can prescribe many medications during your virtual visit. Every visit is private and held to the same confidentiality and security standards as a regular office appointment.
To use Bon Secours 24/7, your smart device or computer must have a web camera or video capability enabled. Once you establish an account, you can test your computer to make sure it can support a virtual visit.
No matter where you are in the United States, you can access our virtual visits. Through Bon Secours 24/7, we’ll connect you with a medical provider licensed to practice in the state where you need care.
