Akron Today Magazine

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Health & Fitness

Which Food to Shop For a Healthy Liver

Still trying to get healthy for the New Year?  Today we focus on the second largest organ in your body – the liver. Considering that your liver has to work overtime filtering chemicals from the blood, you shouldn’t take this particular organ for granted. Like everything else in your body, the key to ensuring that your liver stays healthy is eating healthy and not indulging in substance abuse. As a part of the whole digestive process, everything that you consume, whether it may be food, drink or medicine, goes through your liver. This means that when you put too much harmful stuff into your system, your liver will have to filter those through and prevent those from coming into your bloodstream. Do note that while the food listed below will help in ensuring that this vital organ remains healthy, everything will be useless if you make your liver work overtime when you consume harmful substances for your body. With that in mind, let’s begin our list of food for a healthier liver.

  1. Turmeric. The Global Healing Center has named turmeric as the “liver’s favorite spice”. Turmeric helps the body process fats and will encourage bile production. Adding turmeric into your diet will help your liver detoxify by getting rid of carcinogens.
  2. Green leafy veggies. Remember when your mom would force you to eat your green veggies and you grudgingly obey? Well, as it turns out, that simple act done regularly will help you avoid issues with your liver later on in life. It’s even better if you consume organic products. Why so? Well, as previously mentioned, you liver filters everything you put in your mouth, including some possible leftover pesticides that may have been left there from non-organic veggies. Leafy vegetables have a neutralizing ability, which will help your liver when it encounters metals, chemicals and pesticides that you have consumed through food.
  3. Cruciferous vegetables. You can almost never go wrong with veggies. Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower belong to this category. Cruciferous vegetables are rich in compounds called glucosinolate, which helps the liver get rid of toxins you have ingested into your system.
  4. Grapefruit. This is not the first time that eating vitamin C rich food has proven to help your body. Grapefruit contains vitamin C and glutathione, which has been found to be helpful in aiding the liver do its job of filtering harmful toxins in the body.
  5. Walnuts. Fond of munching on these? Like grapefruit, walnuts are rich in glutathione, which as mentioned above, will help your liver do its job. Plus, walnuts also contain Omega-3 fatty acids, so consuming it will not only ensure your liver’s health, but also that of your heart.

With the many unhealthy food and substances we tend to consume daily with our diet, you can imagine how much a football-size organ has to do in order to filter those from our bloodstream. Remember, eating food such as the ones mentioned above in a regular basis is only a part of the whole process in ensuring that your liver remains healthy. With proper diet and avoidance of harmful substances as much as we can, there is no reason why we cannot save ourselves the trouble of dealing with liver disease in the future.

Akron Boxing and Kickboxing

For a lot of people, boxing paints a mental image of two individuals beating each other into a square ring on national TV. Recently however, the sport of boxing has become more available and tapered to any kind of individual. Kickboxing first seemed to spur the initial boxing trend, but then eventually, boxing and kickboxing clubs started popping up everywhere. On social media, you began to see your favorite stars donning boxing gloves and posing by bags. It’s all for a good reason too, boxing has some major mental and physical benefits that can burn a ton of calories as well.

  1. Boxing helps lower stress levels. The amount of adrenaline you get from punching a bag after a long, stressful day is incredibly rewarding. The hormones and chemicals released afterwards are a great way to boosting your mood and feeling incredibly productive.
  2. Boxing is a great workout, and works the entire body. Not only does it work your arms and shoulders. But continuously hitting the bag, and rotating your body, works out your entire core, and makes your heart rate skyrocket. All of this results in a killer workout for your entire body, and ends up burning a ton of calories. This is also great for keeping a healthy heart and mind.
  3. Boxing is a great way to improve hand-eye coordination. Many of the moves in boxing require a focused eye and a good mind and body connection. Constant drills, and routines that have set moves are great for this, and continuous practice will really help improve these skills.

Now that boxing has become more available, and friendly for everyday people, it is a great way to mix up your workout routine, and get yourself in a friendly environment with people who are trying something new, and trying to improve themselves.

Remember to check with your doctor before trying anything new like boxing or kickboxing.  You want to be sure you are ready for a good workout and you do not have any issues that might be made worse by the repetitive motion or the types of movements you will be making.  Most clubs ease you into the sport and make sure you are ready, so do not worry that you are going to be fighting people.  You move at your own pace.

How To Keep Germs Away This Flu Season

During a school flu outbreak, it is very likely your child will come home sick and will get the other members of your home sick as well. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/freeresources/updated/everyday_preventive.pdf offers some guidelines to help you deal with a flu outbreak at school or at work, and here are 7 concise easy steps to follow if you are home with a sick child or spouse.

  1. Wash your hands and your children’s hands with soap and water every time you enter your home. Keeping germs away from the outside world is a good tip for anyone dealing with small and school age children.
  2. Change linens and bathroom towels daily when you are sick. Contaminating each other by using the same towels or sharing a pillow will ensure that everyone gets sick, and stay sick for a longer period of time.
  3. Disinfecting kitchen and bathroom counters thorough out the day will ensure that you’ll encounter less germs going forward.
  4. Believe it or not, feeding your children chicken noodle soup will get them through their illness a bit faster
  5. Covering their mouths on their sleeves instead of their hands should decrease the number of germs they spread around the home.
  6. Cleaning door knobs around the home will greatly decrease the germs that get passed around.
  7. A diet full of fruits and vegetables can do a lot of good to your child. The old saying of “An apple a day will keep the doctor away” hasn’t survived this long for no reason.

Whether you are in Akron or anywhere, this is great advice.

For more about flu outbreaks and what to do about them, check the CDC for more information.

How To Keep Your Children Healthier This Year

Many parents around the country try successfully or unsuccessfully to keep their children healthy. Eating well, and reminding them to wash their hands, are some of the many things we as parents remind our children to do.  But, one of the things that researchers know that can benefit your child now and in the future is getting enough sleep. Researchers have found that children with late bedtimes are more likely to be obese as adolescents than those with early bedtimes (8:00 pm) http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(16)30361-4/abstract. The difference between early bedtimes and late bedtimes for children’s obesity in their adolescent years is approximately 13%.  Turning off the TV and electronic devices to ensure proper rest for our children seem to be something we can do as parents that will benefit our children all their lives.

For preschoolers and kindergartner children an 8:00 p.m. bedtime is feasible, but for older children, the idea of sending them to bed at 8:00 p.m. seems a bit ridiculous.That’s why the new recommendation guidelines from The American Academy of Sleep Medicine breaks down children by age and the recommended amount of sleep children should get daily.

  • Babies 4 months to 12 months should get 12 to 16 hours
  • Children 1 to 2 years old should get 11 to 14 hours
  • Children 3 to 5 years old should get 10 to 13 hours
  • Children 6 to 12 years old should get nine to 12 hours
  • Teenagers 13 to 18 years old should get eight to 10 hours

Many researches agree that not only early bed times are important, but the number of hours of sleep children get on a daily basis. Letting our children’s bodies get the rest they need improves their capacity to concentrate at school, and researches have found that getting enough sleep benefits their mental health as well.

Next time before turning on the TV at night, ask yourself if that is really a good choice for your family. Read a book, do a puzzle, or any other activity that will keep your children on a good bedtime schedule.

 

Indoor Tennis in Akron Ohio Area

Tennis is a great sport for any age.  One key to enjoying the game is to win more, and this means sharpening your skills year round.  Serious players know there are indoor courts to play in the Winter months, but a more causal tennis player or someone just starting may not know these indoor tennis courts are available in the Akron area.  We have assembled this list of indoor tennis courts around Akron so that you can play this Winter.

  1. Latuchie Tennis Center – Stow, Ohio – 6 Indoor and 4 outdoor tennis courts and unlimited options.
  2. Towpath Tennis – Akron, Ohio – 10 Indoor and 4 outdoor tennis courts.
  3. Springside Racquet & Fitness Club – Akron, Ohio – 5 Indoor and 6 outdoor tennis courts.
  4. Paramount Tennis Club – Medina, Ohio – 8 Indoor tennis courts.
  5. Western Reserve Racquet & Fitness Club – Hudson, Ohio – 10 Indoor and 5 outdoor tennis courts.

Check out video on YouTube

If you have a junior tennis player that enjoys the sport and wants to compete for a position on a high school team, playing year round is critical.  The junior players that play year round keep advancing their skills and improving, while those that only play in warmer months have to start over each year and do not make as much progress.  That is why the top players on most high school tennis teams in Akron Ohio as well as everywhere else play year round.

Many of these locations have regular times for different skill levels to meet and play.  Early mornings, evening men’s and women’s leagues, junior tennis clinics and regular tournaments all make playing tennis year round easy.

With five places close by to play at, you have no reason to let your game get rusty this Winter.  Give one of these Akron indoor tennis clubs a call and find out what you have been missing.

Teaching Your Kids Proper Dental Care

The habits you teach your kids as a young age will shape their entire future.  This is especially true with dental care.  Having all your teeth at a more advanced age depends on the habits you have practiced your entire life.  While it may seem strange to be thinking about your young ones being elderly people, that is kind of the goal, is it not?  And having teeth versus having dentures or missing teeth come down to what you are teaching them now.

Based on multiple dental sources, we have assembled this guide to helping parents teach their kids the best dental habits that will serve them well their whole life.

The at-home basics are as follows:

  1. Brush twice a day – morning and night. Use a soft bristled toothbrush and appropriate toothpaste for the age of your child.  Also, get a mini hour glass that times 3 minutes so they can time their brushing.  Kids love to do this and even when they are much older they may still keep using the timer.  You can buy these on Amazon or your dentist may have them.
  2. Floss once per day – If you buy the floss on small plastic holders it is much easier to do. This is probably the most under-taught habit as many adults do not fail to brush but skip flossing frequently.
  3. Use mouth rinse – There are kid appropriate rinses (read labels) which get them into the habit of using this as well. The American Dental Association does not recommend kids under 6 use mouthwash unless directed to by your dentist. The reason is they may swallow the liquid which is not good for them.
  4. Limit sugary snacks and hard, tacky candies which can stick to the teeth.

Your Akron Area Dentist

If your kids are doing a good job of taking care of their teeth should find going to the dentist enjoyable.  Any cleaning should be minor and hearing praise for what a good job they are doing never gets old.  If you are going twice a year as recommended, it is unlikely there will be a sudden issue.

Often schools will have programs and there may be low cost or free dental services to help people who may not be able to afford normal costs for seeing a dentist.  Search free Akron dentist or low cost Akron dentist to find some of these resources if you need services.

If you have not been seeing a dentist regularly it is a good idea to talk to friends for referrals.  Pricing and service vary greatly and going to any random dentist could be pricey.

Tis the Season to Be Stressed

There are a lot of articles written and advice given during the holidays about how to handle stress.  Google “holiday stress” and there’re thousands of pages of information. While the holidays can be a difficult time stressful situations occur throughout the year and it’s important to develop a long term plan for dealing with them.

The best strategies to use while the stressful situation is occurring are ones which can be done anywhere at any time.  They’re simple, immediately applicable and unobtrusive.

The best way to handle stressful times is to find out what works for you, practice it and do it consistently.  People are unique and different things work for different people. There’s no one size fits all strategy.  In some combination use the following ideas to craft an individualized plan.

 

* Breathe – Inhale for a count of 5.  Hold for a count of 5.  Exhale for a count of 5. Hold for a count of 5. Repeat 5 times.

* Physical activity – Do something physical, it’s a great way to relieve tension.  Bathrooms are great places to do toe touches, jumping jacks or run in place.

*Affirmations – Create a few short, positive sentences you can keep repeating to yourself.

* Quiet Time – Take a 10 – 15 minute time out.  You can find quiet places once you start looking for them.

* Gratitude List – Make a mental list of the things you’re grateful for right at that moment.  Don’t complicate it, look for small things.  Gratitude lists don’t have to be full of big life affirming issues, being grateful for a comfortable pair of shoes is good too.

Remember, the idea is to find the right combination of techniques which work for you.  You’re trying to establish a strategy for a lifetime, so be patient and give them a fair trial over a reasonable period of time. If none of them work there’s always the Internet.

 

– – Article contributed by Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist.

Cold Weather Activities To Keep Kids Active

You need to get creative when cold weather hits so your kids don’t just sit in front of a device all day long.

One of the hardest things about a four season climate like Akron, Ohio is the changes in season disrupt good habits.  Maybe in the warm months you hike, and in the cold months you binge on Netflix.  Maybe not.  But kids need to have good cold weather habits to stay healthy and be social.  Sure, school has gym for the younger kids but are you providing enough additional activities to keep the colder months active and engaging?

We assembled this list of possible things you can have your kids do during colder months.  Enjoy.

  • Swimming – Many indoor pools have swim teams during the Winter months, including the Kent Seariders.
  • Indoor Tennis – available in many locations such as Stow, Fairlawn, Medina, Hudson, Aurora and Green.
  • Karate – Lots of local martial arts studios.
  • Basketball – This time of year most community centers and YMCA’s are going to have Basketball going on.
  • Dance – year round exercise in every town.
  • Theater – You might not think of this as a physical activity but if it is a musical they will spend hours a week working on dance moves, as well as singing and memorizing lines.  Many community theaters exist around Akron.
  • Indoor Volleyball – popular with adults and older kids.
  • Pickle-ball – Sure there is going to be an older crowd, but they usually love getting younger people in there too.  Pickle-ball is all over the Akron area.
  • Gymnastics – There are many gymnastics centers in the Akron area, including Flytz in Cuyahoga Falls.  They not only have more advanced gymnastics training but also tumbling classes for the younger kids.
  • Yoga and Zumba – Classes kids can participate in are all around.
  • And finally, there is always the option of hooking your laptop to the computer, going on YouTube and finding workout videos the whole family, or a group of friends together after school, can do together.  A great workout and zero cost.

Whatever you decide, now is the time to develop good cold weather habits so you maintain good health and fitness all Winter long.

Winter Depression – How To Pep Yourself Up

During the spring and summer months, do you feel happier than usual?  Do you feel like there are more possibilities? Do you feel like life doesn’t suck as much? The abundance of natural sunlight during the spring and summer months is wonderful for our body and spirit.

But, as the fall and winter months approach,  do you feel sad  or more gloomier than usual with no apparent reason to the mood change? Then, according to the Mayo Clinic, you may be suffering from Seasonal affective disorder (SAD.)

Fall  and Winter SAD it’s a condition that comes as the chilly weather approaches and natural sunlight becomes more scarce. Some of the symptoms associated with this condition are:

  1. Irritability
  2. Tiredness
  3. weight gain
  4. appetite changes and
  5. Oversleeping

Although these are some of the symptoms also associated with major depression, SAD

symptoms can come and go as the seasons change, so it’s easier for people to note the changes and seek medical advise if necessary.  Spring and Summer SAD is also a condition and should be treated accordingly.

All of us have good and bad days. Those are some of the free perks we get by living life. Major depression though, is a serious illness than should be treated seriously and promptly. It is a serious illness that can be fatal if leave unattended. 

Now,  if you have notice mood changes or your doctor has diagnosed you with SAD, what can  you do to combat it?

 There are very simple, economical ways to keep yourself upbeat.

  1. Exercise regularly and get outside.  
  2. Go for a long walk by yourself or with your dog 
  3. Read a book outside. 10 minutes of sunlight can uplift your mood for the day
  4. Spend some time in your garden. Planting a mum or two for your garden can help you with your moods and your home’s curb appeal.
  5. Take a hobby 
  6. Eat healthy foods

Keeping active during the winter months is hard for people living in the North, but it does not necessarily mean it’s impossible. There are groups of joggers that run all year long.  They jog when raining, snowing or in windy conditions.  The only time they don’t jog is when there’s lighting or thunder.  In the United States, there are many trails, parks and neighborhoods where a walk is just a few steps away. Take advantage of them, and live a healthier life!

Winter Health Foods and Drinks You Must Have

The cold weather has taken its time lately, but it seems that is finally here to stay. Flu epidemics affect the United States every year, and every year local health agencies encourage people to not only wash their hands regularly but to eat a healthy balanced diet to help us deal with these epidemics.  There are many healthy foods and drinks that can help us stay healthy and fight the dreaded flu, and some of these foods and drinks are even enjoyable for many of us.

These are the top 5 healthy foods to incorporate into your diet:

Teas

With the cold weather comes the craving of warm beverages that can make your day a bit more pleasant and enjoyable.  But before you go out and get yourself a warm drink at your local coffee shop, think of the calorie intake and inches you will acquire after you have finished the drink.  A Mocha Frappuccino at your local Starbucks contains 500 calories, 140 mg of caffeine and 79 g of sugar in one 20 0z drink. Not something you should do regularly, and especially not a drink you want to jump-start your day.

But, there have been many studies that look into the health benefits of tea, and while some of those studies are speculative, there is strong evidence to suggest that tea does have the ability to reduced the risk of coronary heart disease in people.

Black, green, white and Oolong teas are at the top of the list for the super healthy drinks for us. These teas contain disease-fighting antioxidants that can help you reduce the risk of heart diseases. A black tea-Earl Grey – contains only 30-60 mg of caffeine, green teas — 25-50 mg, and herbal teas-0 mg. If you drink teas without sugar, the calorie intake is minimal.

Dark Chocolate

Another enjoyable food or treat for us is dark chocolate. We are not talking about the white and milky chocolate variety, but the dark chocolate. That is the one that is found to have some of the same antioxidants found in tea, red wine, fruits, and vegetables. The health benefits are better blood flow in older adults and could help you reduce high blood pressure levels as well.

Avocados

Avocados are another healthy food that is great to eat and brings you many health benefits.  Yes, they are fatty and have about 3.1 g of saturated fat and 230 calories, but the health benefits associated with this fruit are too many to ignore, and the fats they contain are healthy fats that help you lower your “bad” cholesterol.

Cold Water Fish

Fish is one of those foods that you know from an early age is good for you.  You may not like fish, but the health benefits associated with cold water fish can range from reducing the risk of blood clots and heart attacks to lowering your cholesterol. The best cold water fish you can have are salmon, trout, herring, tuna, sardines, and mackerel. They contained an abundance of omega-3 acids that can help you fight many diseases. So, even if you don’t particularly like fish, you should try to incorporate them slowly into your diet.

Beans

There are many varieties and dishes you can have with beans.  And like fish, there are many people that do not like beans or don’t know how to cook them.  Beans are an excellent source of fiber, can help you with your digestion, lower your cholesterol levels, plus helps you reduce the risk of heart attacks. Incorporating these foods slowly into your diet can help you live a long and full life.