Writing your goals down on paper (or on your computer in this computer age) is essential.
A recent study was conducted recently to find what made Harvard’s most successful graduates so successful. It turns out that the common denominator among these prosperous alumni was writing down their goals. Luckily, you don’t need a degree from Harvard to do that!
Tina Turbin
Start looking at the glass half-full! Keeping oneself in a good mood is likely to stretch your life span. Studies show that people with a positive way of looking at things—even just regarding the aging process—can increase their life span by seven years. Stress and negativity can lead to overall bad health, affecting the heart, immune system, and endocrine system. Choose whatever healthy mood-boosters you know work for you—such as reading a good book, baking cookies, or taking a relaxing bath.
The National Sleep Foundation offers a few tips which I’ll pass along. First, make sure bedtime is a routine and relaxing affair; keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool. Make sure to exercise regularly, but make sure you don’t exercise in the evenings, as this can interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Next, avoid caffeine for at least eight hours and alcohol for a few hours before you go to sleep. You may not think your cola from dinner at five o’clock is disrupting your sleep at midnight; not only can it prevent you from falling asleep, but it can interrupt your sleep throughout the night. Finally, make your bedroom your bedroom, removing work, paperwork, computers, and the TV; by associating your bedroom only with sleep, you’ll find it much easier to get a good night’s sleep.
I truly believe that the quality of your sleep determines the quality of your waking life. Just as you can’t afford to not eat right and exercise, it’s imperative to handle any sleep problems you may be having.
Tina Turbin
Dr. Alessio Fasano
As an author, researcher, and gluten-free advocate, I work to raise awareness for celiac disease and gluten intolerance because with increased awareness comes more research, more diagnoses, and even better treatments. I’d like to give you an example of how the work of just one researcher, Dr. Fasano of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland, can make a difference:
In Scientific American, Dr. Fasano poses in his article, “Surprises from Celiac Disease,” the question of why some celiacs develop the disease later than others, even though all celiacs share a genetic predisposition to it.
According to Dr. Fasano, the different onset time among celiacs is associated with the microbiome—that is, the community of bacteria or microbes which live in the digestive tract. Dr. Fasano explains that the microbiome varies among different people and even in the same individual over time. Furthermore, Dr. Fasano says these microbes can have an effect on the genes which are active in their host. Therefore, someone genetically predisposed to celiac disease may have been able to handle gluten for a long time, but upon a shifting of the microbiome, and a subsequent activation of the gluten intolerance gene, the symptoms of celiac disease will appear.
Not only do Dr. Fasano’s studies shed light into a question that has been perplexing researchers for some time, but it also opens the door to a treatment for, or even prevention of, celiac disease—good bacteria for the digestive tract, otherwise known as “probiotics.”
I look forward to hearing more from Dr. Fasano about this fascinating topic!
Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info
Make sure that you and your spouse have individual as well as common goals. Just as you personally can feel lost without knowing what your purpose is or having something worthwhile to pursue in life, so can your relationship suffer without goals to strive toward. Name your goals for how much money you’d like to retire with and vacations you’d like to take together, for example. In making these goals, your imagination is the limit!
In my work as a children’s author, researcher, and humanitarian, I am always looking for ways to help people with celiac disease or who are gluten-sensitive by raising awareness and making the gluten-free diet easier to maintain. Therefore, I’m incredibly excited to announce the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America’s 2010 campaign, which you can find out more information about at the following link: http://gluten.net/events.php. This campaign will help to spread awareness about celiac disease and gluten intolerance by partnering up with restaurants that offer gluten-free foods.
According to GIG, the 2009 campaign was an extraordinary success, which helped people all over learn about gluten intolerance and the gluten-free diet. By partnering with GIG this year, your organization will be included under the media campaign listings as well as on their website—free of cost! When you become a sponsor, contributing toward the cost, you will get your logo featured on the literature in restaurants.
Last year, they sent out over 5,000 pieces of literature to 196 restaurants, including a number of
chain restaurants, in the U.S. and Canada, and they estimate that the campaign reached 1.6 million people alone during Celiac Awareness Month—a very impressive number!
Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info
First, remember that it’s never too late to start. No matter your age or your fitness level, you can get started now and soon see your work pay off. Remember, though, to check with your doctor before starting an exercise regime if you’re currently experiencing any health conditions such as high blood pressure.
Start off gently. In your first workouts, remember you’re a beginner and don’t overdo it. Start off by warming up and stretching every time you exercise, and gently cool off after each work out as well.
Find what works for you. What really gets you going? Do you like to go for a jog with the dogs and reflect upon your day, or do you prefer competitive games with others such as one-on-one basketball? There are a variety of ways to get exercise, and every woman is different—going to the gym, doing laps in your pool, or working out to DVDs. Discovering the ways you love to get active can be lots of fun.
Studies show that keeping variety in your exercise is the key to keeping your body challenged and keeping you interested in working out. How would you like to eat the same thing for dinner every night? Exercise isn’t very different.
Make sure to have a high-protein snack of about 200 calories before your workout in order to stay energized, and drink water before, during, and after your workout. Taking your multi-vitamin and supplements such as calcium and magnesium will deliver to the body the nutrients it needs for exercise. A healthy diet and exercise go hand in hand.
With the above tips, soon you’ll be enjoying a regular exercise regimen just like I do—as well as the incredible benefits such as increased happiness, more energy, and improved self-esteem.
Tina Turbin
If you’ve been keeping up with me for a while, you’ve probably heard me mention and quote the benefits of a GF multivitamin on the gluten-free diet. After all, it’s common sense health advice. Now there’s scientific evidence that shows that taking a daily multivitamin also increases longevity!
The study in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that with a daily vitamin supplement, telomeres were lengthened by 5.1%. Not just any vitamins were taken, but specifically the powerful antioxidants, Vitamins B12, C, and E. Telomeres are considered to be the anti-aging “key.” Part of the DNA, they’re found in every cell in the body. As cells divide, however, telomeres become shorter, which means that cells are getting “older,” and lengthening telomeres will lead to a longer, healthier life.
You can take B12, C, and E regularly in supplement form, but it’s important to also get these in your diet as well. Food sources of Vitamin B12 include grass-fed beef, salmon, tuna, and milk; vitamin C can be found in produce such as kiwi, strawberry, orange, grapefruit, and red and green bell peppers; and vitamin E can be found in spinach, broccoli, almonds, peanuts, olive oil and kiwi.
Here are the minimum daily values recommended in supplements for keeping telomeres long: 100 mcg of Vitamin B12, 3,000 mg of non-synthetic Vitamin C, and 200 to 400 IU of vitamin E in mixed tocopherols form, the last of which needs to be taken with food because it is a fat-soluble supplement, requiring fat in order to be absorbed.
Now you have no excuse not to take your GF multivitamin every day—not only is it “insurance” to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need, but it’s also an effective anti-aging method at minimum cost and maximum convenience!
Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info
In order to keep your marriage strong, I recommend using a positive attitude in your relationship. Treating your spouse how you would like to be treated is generally the way to shape your attitude. Put a stop to blame and criticism and start paying attention to your partner’s good points and compliment these strengths. You will get more of what you support with positive remarks. You’ll often find a debate will go much more smoothly when you refrain from criticism and stay positive in how you approach the subject. For example, if you need to iron out a financial disagreement, begin by telling your partner that you know how hard he works to make money and or how skilled he is with managing finances. When he tells you his standpoint, make an effort to understand where he’s coming from and tell him that you see what he is saying. Maybe he’s right, after all. Just by being respectful and positive, you may find your spouse will be much more agreeable to compromising with you or will adopt your suggestion altogether.
Related to being more positive in the way you interact with your partner, be sure to adopt a positive frame of mind about your marriage in general. What is that you really love about your partner? It could be how hard he works at his business or even something like how he still gives you his pickle at lunchtime when you go out for sandwiches, showing his thoughtfulness and how well he knows you and your love for pickles. You’ll find that you’ll start seeing him doing right more often than before because you’ll be tuned to seeing his strong points.
Tina Turbin
How can you find out if YOUR child should be tested for celiac disease?
WebMD Health News recently published a questionnaire that you can use to find out if your child has celiac disease and needs to be put on a gluten-free diet. According to the article, at least half of children with celiac disease NEVER get diagnosed, leaving them suffering from the painful physical and mental symptoms of the disease.
Instead of indiscriminately administering a blood test to kids, now we can narrow down the children who need to be tested by asking them five questions:
1. Has your child ever suffered from abdominal pain more than twice during the last three months?
2. Has your child ever had diarrhea lasting more than two weeks?
3. Does your child have a tendency to firm and hard stools?
4. Does your child gain enough weight?
5. Does your child gain enough height?
Check out the link below!
Tina Turbin
www.GlutenFreeHelp.info
