Readers and friends, I am so sorry this blog post is late! This week was an unusual week to say the least ? I caught the coxsackie virus ? EEEEK!! The coxsackie virus spreads like wildfire amongst kids in school (if you?re a teacher, you know exactly what I?m talking about). And, even adults get it! As much as I?d like to NOT admit it because of my belief that I?m uber healthy, yes, I was oh-so-lucky to have caught this virus. And the battle with this never-desired coxsackie began on Monday morning with a fever of 103 and sore throat. The fever broke by Wednesday morning, and by Wednesday night I noticed the blisters on my fingers, legs and toes. Thursday morning I developed the sores in my mouth. Sounds pretty, right?
With this pleasant ?rash? I also experienced some lower abdominal pain and a headache at the beginning of the week. Since this virus is so contagious, I was forced to stay away from family and friends as well as stay out of the gym. Today marks 1 week since I last had a real work out ? this is killing me. Saturday morning is one of my favorite mornings at the gym. I do 30 minutes of abs and then 1 hour of high intensity total body conditioning. This Saturday, not so much. BUT, this morning I did wake up with a better attitude! The sores in my mouth felt much better and the blisters on my feet stopped bothering me. The absolute best part about this morning? MY APPETITE CAME BACK!! Oh, did I mention I have not been hungry since Sunday? Oh yes, loss of appetite is another symptom of this coxcrappy thang?
That being said, some of you would probably read this and say ?Lucky you! I wish I didn?t have an appetite!? Poo poo to that, I LOVE eating. Most people do love eating, but when you can love eating tasty, healthy food, what?s better? Healthy food does taste good. I repeat, healthy food does taste good. I think this is part of the battle with those who refuse to ?eat healthy? ? they believe the food is disgusting. Others fall into the trap and believe they are eating healthy while they base their purchases on food claims. If we approach food in a way that is healthy and make real food choices based on nutrients and taste instead of only taste and/or food claims, then we?d all be better off.
Nutrition can be so confusing to the average consumer?they are bombarded with so many food claims that are just part of the food marketing scam. I was in marketing for 5+ years. I didn?t do marketing for food, but I understand thoroughly now how food marketing and advertising works?So, here are a few traps you should never get caught in:
When it says ?fat free? salad dressing, that doesn?t mean it?s healthier ? we need fats (good fats). And if the food has been processed to remove the fat, that means it?s far from it?s natural state (who?s to say it was is it?s natural state to begin with) and sugar, sodium, or another component has been added to make it taste better.
Just because ?diet? soda has less calories, it is NOT healthier for you. For one thing, it?s soda. For another thing, diet soda has chemicals like aspartame, known to cause cancer, so it should just be avoided, period. We need calories to live, but not calories from soda.
You will see the ?whole grains? claim on numerous cereal boxes?I bet most, if not all, are also loaded with sugar. Whole grains are an excellent source of nutrition, as they contain essential enzymes, iron, dietary fiber, vitamin E and B-complex vitamins. Boxed cereal does not provide these nutrients.
And as a bonus, just because it says ?real fruit? on a fruit roll-up box, you aren?t consuming anything real and forget about the fruit part. Please choose an apple or fresh berries.
Are you now wondering what you should look for then? Here are some tips:
Start with the perimeter at the grocery store: The perimeter is the setup of the fresh, whole foods along the perimeter of most stores, like produce, fresh meat, dried beans and nuts. There are no food claims on broccoli, onions, garlic or avocados, right?
Take a trip to a health food store and just browse: Going to a health food store, like Mrs. Greens, can be very overwhelming (yet intriguing) if you have never been. I remember the first time I went to Mrs. Greens. I spent almost an hour looking through types of food I didn?t know about. Now that I have fantastic educational background from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I understand the benefits of hemp, goji berries, and kombucha.
Try new recipes: I hope we have some cooks out there! To me, cooking is fun, relaxing and easy (practice makes perfect). Did you know you can make homemade granola bars? Popsicles? Broccoli pesto sauce? I have recipes for all 3 of these and they take less than 15 minutes for prep! Cooking doesn?t have to be a burden or time consuming. Sometimes you may be hesitant because you don?t know what to cook or where to find healthy recipes. I suggest researching nutrition blogs (there are so many out there!) or starting with websites such as http://www.eatcleandiet.com/ or http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/.
Thank you, coxsackie, for bringing back my appetite. I?m ready to enjoy some home-made food. I even have leftover home-made mango popsicles from the batch I made for my throat ? yippy!
Liz Maida Fusaro
Source: http://blog.ctnews.com/carozza/2012/07/29/coxsackie-my-appetite-healthy-food/
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