The Healthy Zebra - Owner/Coach is Anne Carr CPT, certified Wellcoach

11/12/2021

What are goals going into the holidays? And most importantly, who are you sharing them with so you will be accountable?

Goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.- Michael Phelps

10/31/2021

With Type 2 diabetes on the rise, I felt compelled to share this information. If you need help reducing fats and sugars in your diet - I'm here for you!!!!!

Insulin is the key that unlocks the door to let blood sugar into our cells so it can be used as energy or stored for future use.

Without insulin, blood sugar would be stuck in the bloodstream, unable to get into our cells, which is what happens with type 1 diabetes and is the reason people with type 1 need to take insulin.

Insulin resistance is when our body produces enough insulin, but the lock that allows blood sugar into our muscle cells has been gummed up. By what? Fat—specifically intramyocellular lipid, or fat inside our muscle cells. As the amount of fat, particularly saturated fat, in the diet goes up, our blood sugar spikes.

When researchers lower the level of fat in people’s blood, insulin resistance comes right down. Clear the fat out of the blood, and you can clear the sugar out of the blood, too. Watch the video "What Causes Insulin Resistance?" at http://bit.ly/2t58PeF to learn more.

Not all fats affect muscles the same way. Saturated fats, like palmitate, which is found mostly in meat, dairy, and eggs, cause insulin resistance, whereas unsaturated fats, like oleate, which is found mostly in nuts, olives, and avocados, may actually improve insulin sensitivity. This may explain why those eating plant-based diets have less fat buildup in their muscle cells and less insulin resistance. See the video "Lipotoxicity: How Saturated Fat Raises Blood Sugar" at https://bit.ly/3t1TWc1.

In How Not to Die, Dr. Greger explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions may trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches, freeing us to live more healthful lives. See https://nutritionfacts.org/book.

10/12/2021

Reach out if you need help making that "First Step".

No one’s perfect. The first step to improvement is to acknowledge & accept that improvement happens when we allow time & space for it. Learn new skills or approach familiar skills in new ways. Growth is always worthwhile.

09/16/2021

CARE about your health! Taking small steps daily will make a difference in the long run! Here is some great information that you can count on! While we don't think it matters in our 20's and 30's - it WILL catch up to you in your 40's and beyond.

Berries are the most healthful fruits, due in part to their pigments, and are second only to herbs and spices as the most antioxidant-packed food category. As a group, they average nearly 10 times more antioxidants than other fruits and vegetables, and have in excess of 50 times the antioxidants than animal-based foods.

Blueberries can significantly improve cognitive performance within hours of consumption, and the more berries, the better. The consumption of blueberries and strawberries is associated with delayed cognitive aging by as much as two and a half years—thought to be because of brain-localizing anthocyanin phytonutrients, as shown on functional MRI scans.

Dark green leafy vegetables are packed with lutein. A brain antioxidant, lutein is a major carotenoid concentrated in the brain and the eyes. Significant correlations exist between cognitive test scores and the amount of macular pigment—that is, plant pigments like lutein in your eyes. Increasing the amount of greens, such as kale, in our diet can be a beneficial way to improve—and maintain—the health of our brain and eyes.

Of all of the food groups analyzed by a team of Harvard University researchers, greens turned out to be associated with the strongest protection against major chronic diseases, including up to about a 20 percent reduction in risk for both heart attacks and strokes for every additional daily serving.

If you take the blood thinner warfarin (sold as Coumadin and Jantoven), talk with your physician before increasing the amount of greens in your diet so the dosing of the drug can be adjusted as needed. Greens are a great source of vitamin K, which may interfere with how warfarin works in the body, so be sure to address that with your doctor before you pile on the leafies.

Berries and dark leafy greens are some of the most healthful foods we should include in our daily routine. This is why they each have their own special categories in Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen checklist. Download the free Daily Dozen app today and start ticking off your daily servings.
https://bit.ly/3axjw2x

For even more on greens and berries, see:
our Berries topic page at https://bit.ly/3h9Fdsh
“Benefits of Blueberries for the Brain” at http://bit.ly/2l5GumS
“How to Slow Brain Aging by Two Years” at http://bit.ly/2rI2WVZ
“Brain-Healthy Foods to Fight Aging” at https://bit.ly/3hzQkZQ
“Do Lutein Supplements Help with Brain Function?” at http://bit.ly/2SzBGWj
our Vegetables topic page at https://bit.ly/3zYxPYg

02/10/2021

Gettin' in the run at 11 degrees. No excuses when the first game is in 3 days.

01/14/2021

https://laxcon.uslacrosse.org/register-now

It's not too late to join in on LaxCon! Register today and come visit me tomorrow at 5:00 pm EST for "The Healthy Official - A Balance of Nutrition and Fitness".