Stretching Exercises

As most of you know, I exercise regularly. I run 4 days a week with my dog Patch and I bike ride 1-2 days a week. In the summer I run 3 days a week and I add swimming 1-2 days a week. Sounds pretty good huh? Not really. I am very "tight." I am lousy at stretching and very inconsistent at lifting weights. I spend an average of about 20 seconds stretching before I run. I lift weights 2 days one week, none the next, 3 times the next and so on. I am very motivated to run; I love it, it's my quiet time and even if I don't feel like it sometimes, Patch does, so I go. I can not seem to get myself to stretch out no matter how many times I tell myself I am for sure (!) going to make this a part of my routine. Well, I decided last week that I need help with this. I need someone to be accountable to until it is ingrained in my soul!
I hired Marina James-Galvin (her web site is a link on my site) who is a Personal Trainer to help me. She came over to my house yesterday and stayed for an hour showing me many exercises for my tummy (my problem area) various stretches and some light weight exercises. Boy was I doing it all wrong! I was going much too fast and had all the wrong postures. By the time she left I felt I was an inch taller and I have to admit a tad sore. I knew I felt tight but I didn't know how badly I needed these exercises. For those of you who go to yoga regularly, you are probably in great shape as far as stretching goes. I realize now that I really needed this help. Marina is going to come back (my idea, she is not pushy at all) in 2 weeks to see how I'm doing. It's all about working out consistently and cross training- aerobic exercises, stretching exercises and strength training. If you already work-out regularly and combine these 3 things--great! If you don't work out at all--start moving today. Everyone knows about parking in the back of the parking lot so you walk more, take the stairs not the elevator and one Marina just taught me, as you're driving or sitting at your desk "engage" your tummy muscles. It's all about taking time (we are all very busy, that's no excuse) to keep yourself healthy. If you have a family, it is important to set a good example. If you need help starting, call your doctor for a physical and call a personal trainer (if you can, if not do your best) for help. Be well,
Patty

My New York Connections

Hello everyone!
I just returned from New York where I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Annemarie Colbin, founder of The Natural Gourmet Institute of Food and Health and author of many books including Food and Healing. She led me on a tour of her school and gave me some advice on my thesis for my Master's degree. Thank you Dr. Colbin! Her web sites are www.naturalgourmetschool.com and www.foodandhealing.com
I also met with a wonderful woman, Nancy Easton, who is involved with a terrific program at a local middle school where they are incorporating exercise and healthful cooking. I am assisiting her with some tried and true recipes for kids and look forward to meeting with her again. She has amazing energy and a great vision. Nancy's web site is www.wellnessintheschools.org
Speaking of Kids Classes, be sure to send your child to Kids Can Cook Classes every Wednesday. This past week they made a Tofu Curry with Winter Vegetables and Lime served on Quinoa. It was excellent! Good job kids. I have just completeted the curriculum for Summer Camp For Kids and this year will be the most fun yet! More details available soon.
My daughter Olivia (a wonder with computers) is almost finished with my new catalog and it is beautiful. It will be available shortly. Thanks Livi!
We'll chat again soon. I have so much more to tell you.
Patty

Kale. The Perfect Winter Vegetable.

Kale is so wonderful this time of year as are other leafy green vegetables. For today, let's focus on Kale. A one cup serving of cooked kale contains 192% of the daily value (DV) for vitamin A, 89% DV for vitamin C and 27% DV for manganese and is very low in calories... 34 calories for one cup. Most leafy greens contain oxalic acid and some people have sensitivity to oxalic acid therefore they should be steamed. I take off the largest stems of the kale, chard and/or collard greens and then slice them in about 1/2" ribbons. Steam the kale for about 5 or 6 minutes and the collard greens and chard for just a few minutes. I have posted 2 recipes on my web site recipe page for you to try. One recipe does use raw kale, so if you do indeed have a sensitivity to raw kale this recipe might not work for you. That being said, the lemon in this recipe generally helps with the oxalic acid.

Also, with regards to collard greens, try cutting off the large stems and steaming the leaves whole (larger leaves.) When they are done, in about 3-4 minutes, drain them and let them cool. Mix leftover brown rice with a little olive oil, dried cranberries, chopped almonds and a bit of Feta chese, if desired, and place in the center of the collard leaf and roll up like a burrito. Drizzle with fresh orange juice and you have a collard green dolma. They are very, very good.
Eat more leafy greens!! They are indeed wonder foods. Be well,
Patty

For Kale Recipes Please Visit: www.pattyjames.com/pages/recipes.html

Kids Health

As we all know by now, many children and young adults are in need of a health overhaul! Here is an excerpt from an article I read:

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NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
NIH News
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) http://www.nichd.nih.gov/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, January 11, 2006

MOST BEHAVIORS PRECEDING MAJOR CAUSES OF PREVENTABLE DEATH HAVE BEGUN BY YOUNG ADULTHOOD

By the time they reach early adulthood, a large proportion of American youth have begun the poor practices contributing to three leading causes of preventable death in the United States: smoking, overweight and obesity, and alcohol abuse. This finding is according to an NIH-funded analysis of the most comprehensive survey of adolescent health behavior undertaken to date.

"Smoking, obesity, and alcohol abuse are leading contributors to preventable death in the United States," said Duane Alexander, M.D., director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the NIH Institute that funded the analysis. "By early adulthood, a large proportion of Americans smoke, are overweight, and drink alcohol to excess."

Principal investigator Kathleen Mullan Harris, Ph.D., and her colleagues of the Carolina Population Center and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conducted their analysis using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

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This being said, what can we do to help our children become healthier? Set a good example is the best way I know. Kids won't listen when you tell them to eat their vegetables if you are not eating your vegetables. Exercise, turn off the TV or at least lessen your/their time in front of it. I teach kids every Wednesday how to prepare healthy and delicious foods and they love it! I once had a Mom tell me her son didn't like broccoli which was one of the dishes we were preparing that day and not only did he like it, he had seconds! If they are part of the process, they are more likely to eat it. Let them make mistakes in the kitchen, let them get creative. Let's take a sandwich (we're making a sandwich bar in class this Wednesday.)How about adding shredded carrots, hummus another interesting spread, homemade aioli? Throw it all in! It's fun and anytime you cn can more vegetables to anything, it's a good thing!
See you in class,
Patty

Interesting article about cancer risks

I am always reading health newsletters and scanning many institutes such as the Harvard School of Public Health. Here is one you should read:
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and a network of collaborators estimated mortality for 12 types of cancer linked to nine risk factors in seven World Bank regions for the year 2001. They found that of the seven million deaths worldwide that year from cancer, 35 percent were attributable to the nine well-known behavioral and environmental risk factors. The nine risk factors were overweight and obesity, low fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol use, unsafe sex, urban air pollution, indoor smoke from household use of coal and contaminated injections in healthcare settings.

They found that more than one in every three of the seven million deaths from cancer worldwide was caused by these nine potentially modifiable risk factors (2.43 million), with alcohol and smoking playing large roles in all income levels and regions.
Worldwide, the nine risk factors caused 1.6 million cancer deaths among men and 830,000 among women. Smoking alone is estimated to have caused 21 percent of deaths from cancer worldwide.

In high-income countries, these nine risks caused 760,000 cancer deaths; smoking, alcohol, and overweight and obesity were the most important causes of cancer in these nations.

In low- and middle-income regions the nine risks caused 1.67 million cancer deaths; and smoking, alcohol consumption and low fruit and vegetable intake were the leading risk factors for these deaths. Sexual transmission of human papillomavirus is the leading risk factor for cervical cancer in women in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where access to cervical screening is also limited.
Among low- and middle-income regions, Europe and Central Asia had the highest proportion of death from cancer from the nine risk factors studied; 39 percent of 825,000 cancer deaths in the low- and middle-income countries of Europe and Central Asia were caused by these risks. The effects were even larger among men; one half of cancer deaths among men in the low- and middle-income countries of Europe and Central Asia were caused by these nine risks.

Source: Harvard School of Public Health, November 17, 2005
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=8opbwqbab.0.et7ayqbab.zhu8c9n6.16950&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hsph.harvard.edu%2Fpress%2Freleases%2Fpress11172005.html

Interesting isn't it? Come take a class with me and learn how to make delicious and nutritious food that will make you an unhospitable host to cancer cells.
Be well,
Patty

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone and I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year! Join us this Saturday for Dr. Elson Haas' DeTox Experience; all the details are on my home page. It will be a great way to start your healthiest year yet!
As the new year begins I find myself with personal and business goals including the same one as every year....I will end the year healthier than I began it. This past year I had my 3 remaining mercury fillings removed and went through a detoxification prgram with the accent on heavy metals. I am writing an article on my experience that I will post shortly. I am awaiting my last test results to see if I am indeed, heavy metal free. I learned through this process that if you are high on heavy metals you are most likely low on minerals in that heavy metals reduce the absorption of minerals. More to follow.
I look forward to helping all of you make your New Year health goals a reality. I have some wonderful classes and seminars upcoming. Please let me know if there is a class you would like to see included on my calendar.