Mother Nature Provides the Answer to Healthy Weight Management

In the United States today, one of the largest consumer markets is weight loss. American men, women, and even children are spending billions of dollars per year on weight loss remedies and solutions. The problem is that most of these “lose weight fast” tricks are just that, tricks.

Not only that, but some of them are actually dangerous for the heath of the people consuming them. Especially if the instructions are not followed correctly. However, physical appearance is such an important factor for most Americans, that they are willing to try anything that claims to help them lose body fat, increase their metabolism, burn fat, block calorie intake, or any of the other outrageous claims that weight loss products state they will accomplish.

There is an alternative that will do all of those things, and will improve your overall health too. What is this secret trick? It isn’t a trick, nor is it a secret. The answer is to change the way you eat, include some physical activity in your lifestyle, and avoid any weight loss product that promises miracle results.

You won’t even have to change your eating habits all that much, and physical activity could be as simple as walking to the corner store instead of driving. By adding natural foods and herbs to the meals you already enjoy, you can improve your mental and emotional health in addition to your physical health.

Mother Nature knew what she was doing, though we humans took her provisions for granted for so long that we forgot what benefits they offered. Many of the fruits, vegetables, and plants that grow all around us are healthful for us. These foods provide nutrients that we need to maintain many aspects of our health, including our weight.

Some of the foods that will assist in weight loss and improving your general health are listed below.

Citrus fruits such as oranges contain vitamin C, which aids the body in burning fat for energy. Vitamin C helps break down fat cells and it also inhibits the absorption of cholesterol.

Fruits such as pears, apples, and all red berries contain pectin, a natural chemical in our bodies that limits the ability of cells to absorb fat and stimulates the breakup of accumulated fat deposits.

Quite a few vegetables serve as first-rate fat burning food. For example, brussel sprouts and tomatoes encourage the pancreas, liver, and kidney to clean out the waste material and thus purify the cells in our body. They also are excellent sources of vitamin C.

• Radishes and lettuces are rich in iron and magnesium, which encourage the break-up of fat molecules. These minerals stimulate the metabolic process, wherein the body must consume the fat deposits for energy

• Onions and carrots are also enjoyable sources for healthy vitamins, and minerals that will help you reach your weight loss goal. Broccoli is another vegetable that helps disperse fat cells, inhibit the absorption of fat, and will help increase your energy levels.
• A few of the herbs that assist in weight loss are – Licorice Root, Cinnamon Bark, Honeysuckle Leaf, Spearmint Leaf, and Chamomile. With herbs, consult with a knowledgeable herbalist if you have any concerns before adding these or any other herb to your diet, as some herbs need special preparation to be most effective.

Including more of these natural weight loss solutions to your diet will not only enhance your health, but the health of your family as well.

 

Kangaroo Care

What is Kangaroo Care

Kangaroo care is also known as skin-to-skin contact. It is a nurturing method of holding your baby during feeding or at any time. The baby (in only a diaper) is held closely against the naked chest of the mother or the father. Parents have probably been practicing this type of thing since time began, but the name “Kangaroo Care” was first used in 1979. At that time, two doctors in Bogotá, Columbia started using the method of skin-to-skin contact to keep babies warm and healthy due to the shortage of incubators and clean blankets in the hospital facilities they were working in. Since then, much research has gone into the immediate and the long-term benefits, especially for premature and full term babies born with major health concerns.

A doctor working in South Africa performed a study that compared Kangaroo Care to incubator care and the results were astounding. The study clearly proved that infants placed in an incubator immediately after birth were less calm, had more difficulty learning to regulate their body temperature, cried longer, had less stable heart rates, and had more respiratory problems than babies who were held in the Kangaroo method.

Medical research has discovered that the breasts of a new mother would alter their own temperature to accommodate the temperature needs of her newborn. If the baby has a fever, the breast temperature will lower; if the infant is chilled, the temperature will increase to warm the baby. In addition, skin-to-skin contact stimulates the production of breast milk and the babies’ instinct to nurse.

When held against the chest, the heartbeat of the parent soothes the infant and actually regulates certain hormones that are related to stress levels, of both the parent and the infant. It is also believed that Kangaroo Care stimulates brain activity and proper development. Skin-to-skin contact is also beneficial to the natural bonding between mother, father, and infant.

What Types Of Questions Should You Ask A Potential Child Care Provider?

New parents sometimes are unsure how to interview potential childcare providers. Some parents are even afraid to offend the person with questions that might be to intimate. As a provider myself, let me assure you that most of us would wonder about the parent if the right questions were not asked. On the other hand, it is understandable that important topics are often over looked once the conversation gets going. Parents should never be afraid to ask new or even the same questions again after the care provider is hired. The following list will give you a thorough starting point of questions to ask the people you are considering for the care of your children.

Basic Information Questions

· Why do you enjoy babysitting?

· Do you have children of your own?

· What is your hourly per child rate?

· Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime? What type?

· How many years have you been working with children?

· How many families have you cared for and how old were the children?

· Can we contact your former employers?

· Do you know First Aid?

· Do you know CPR?

· Have you had any childcare education?

· Are you comfortable caring for newborns?

· Have you had experience caring for newborns?

· Can you tell if a room is childproofed?

· Do you prefer to work in the child’s home or your own?

· Are you comfortable with preparing meals?

· Would you be willing to provide transportation to outings or appointments if needed?

· Is your driving record clean and safe?

· What are your child raising beliefs? (Discipline, behavior, learning, etc.)

· Describe how you believe a typical day with the child would be. How you would spend the time with the child?

These questions are only a basic example. Every family has unique considerations and needs, so it is up to you to ask the questions whose answers are most important to your family. Whatever information you want to know, do not be afraid to ask for it. This is YOUR child that this STRANGER is going to be caring for. If this person is not comfortable with your questions, you probably won’t be comfortable with the care they provide for your children.

10 Easy Tips for Being a Good Role Model to Your Children

Children learn from our actions, and from our words. They also learn things we never realize we are teaching them. Even our behaviors, reactions, and habits teach our children lessons we never intend for them to learn. In the world today, there is entirely too much “Do as I say but not as I do” involved in the raising of our children. Is it really fair to expect our children to become healthy, strong, and compassionate people, if we do not at least make an effort to do the same?

Many things have changed in society; our children are exposed to so many things so much earlier than the previous generations. We as parents must look at the world from their perspective if we are going to teach them how to live better lives. We must also teach those life lessons by example if we want them to benefit from the lessons.

1. Be proud of who you are and express that you are happy and content with yourself. Your children will always have a natural feeling of self-confidence and a healthy self-esteem if they grow up within that type of atmosphere.
2. Include your values and beliefs as everyday aspects of your life. If your heritage is important to you, share this interest with your children and it will become important to them as well. If you value honesty, make it a factor of how you live, and your children will too.
3. Share the successes and the failures of your life with your children in an appropriate manner. If something happened at work that was positive or negative, discuss how it affected you and what could be caused by the event or what you could have done differently. Children understand a great deal more than we give them credit for about many things. They will learn how to deal with difficult situations from our reactions.
4. Do not hide sadness or disappointment from your children. They need to see how you deal with emotions in order to learn how to handle their own in a healthy way.
5. Allow happiness and excitement to be part of the atmosphere in your home. These emotions will integrate themselves as part of your child’s very personality if they are encouraged by you.
6. Live a healthy lifestyle and your children will live that way also. Discourage those around you from exhibiting the types of behaviors that you do not wish your children exposed too. If you do not approve of drugs, smoking cigarettes, and alcohol use, then show your children how you feel about those types of habits by discussing them honestly and openly and by not indulging in them yourself.
7. Listen closely and carefully to your children when they talk with you. Sometimes, what they say is not nearly as important as the way they say it, and how we hear it. Your child could be telling you what seems like a trivial story to you, but the event actually had significant meaning for them. Important lessons are hidden everywhere, don’t take a chance and miss any of them.
8. Be aware of the world you and your children live in. Knowing what is happening in the world is important for your families’ safety and well-being. Instilling this virtue in your children at a young age will greatly aid them in their lives when they are adults.
9. Believe in and practice consideration and compassion for others. Kindness and respect for everyone around us are gifts that we must give if we expect them to be given to us. If we are selfish and rude, then our children will behave the same way to people.
10.  Express your individuality and independence. Raising your children to think for themselves and stand behind their convictions will only work if you show them that they have the right to do so.