Foods and Allergies

Everyone knows that allergies cause constant sneezing, breakouts or other uncomfortable reactions to occur. In order to stop these substances from wreaking havoc on our bodies, here’s a look at some common foods that may help alleviate some of the symptoms.

Fruits and Veggies

Studies have shown that a healthy intake of fruits and vegetables has been helpful in reducing allergy symptoms. They are also rich in antioxidants and nutrients that help the body fend off infections and diseases. Doctors say, the more colorful the fruit or vegetable the better it is for allergy prevention.

Yogurt and Kefir

While most people think of bacteria as a bad thing, the body requires a stable amount of “good” bacteria in order to promote digestive health and overall well-being. Yogurt and kefir, in particular, are two products that contain probiotics—healthy bacteria connected with improved digestive health and reduced risk for infections caused by harmful bacteria. According to "The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating During Pregnancy" by W. Allan Walker and Courtney Humphries, infants whose mother consumed probiotics during pregnancy were seen to exhibit half the allergic symptoms than those whose mother did not consume probiotics.

Fatty Fish

Fatty fish that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids are essential fats associated with brain function and heart-health. They also play a significant role in reducing inflammation that is associated with allergies.
Various fatty fish options, include:

• salmon
• albacore tuna
• lake trout
• flounder
• halibut and sardines

Whole Grains

When it comes to choosing what grains you and your family use, pick whole grains over refined grains. All the nutrients of the original grain remain in whole grain products, which offers greater dietary and health benefits. Try to stay away from processed pasta, breads and other sweets as it may help alleviate nutrient deficiencies linked to allergies as well as symptoms associated with food allergies. A few examples of whole grain foods include whole wheat pasta, 100% whole grain breads, steel-cut oatmeal, long-grain brown rice, pearled barley and quinoa.

This article was written by Northeast Georgia Diagnostic clinic, a multi-specialty clinic that has been providing nutritional services to patients in the area for over 50 years. Located in Gainesville, Georgia, NGDC is less than an hour drive from Atlanta.

Don't Let The Wintertime Hamper Your Workout Schedule!

Maintaining your usual outdoor exercise program is not always easy in the winter. During the winter, you'll face unpredictable weather, including snowstorms and harsh winds. Fortunately, you can still keep your regular routine by preparing wisely for each workout.

Wear the Right Clothes

Selecting the right clothes to wear when you exercise outside can make a huge difference in how you feel. You should always wear a pair of gloves and a hat to keep your entire body warm. Choose fabrics that will wick the sweat away from your body to help you feel more comfortable. However, you must avoid overdressing so that you won't feel too hot as you exercise. Remember, once you start your run, you will quickly generate some amount of body heat. Wear layers so that you can easily cool off if you start to overheat. Don't forget to wear a waterproof layer to help your clothes stay dry in snowy or rainy conditions.

Stay Hydrated

Drinking water in the summer seems more natural due to the warm summer temperatures. Drinking enough water while you exercise is just as crucial in the winter. Your body will constantly need fluids to generate enough body heat to keep you warm. Always bring your water bottle with you for your outdoor exercise session.

Longer Warm Up Session

In the winter, your body sacrifices some blood flow to your limbs so that your core will stay warm. You may discover that it takes you longer to hit your usual running pace in the winter. Avoid this issue by prolonging the length of your warm up session. You'll start each session feeling more ready to run.

Watch the Terrain

Running on ice is a vastly different experience than running on dry pavement. Aim to use shorter and lighter strides when running on slippery surfaces. Stay focused during your entire run to avoid a misstep. Crashing into the ice can lead to a bad injury that will sideline you for weeks.

Know the Signs of Hypothermia

If you exercise outdoor frequently during the winter, you need to learn about the signs of hypothermia. For example, if you start to shiver uncontrollably or feel unusually clumsy, you may be experiencing the early symptoms of hypothermia. Get inside right away to avoid any further dangers.

Avoid Bad Conditions

Sometimes, the weather conditions are just too bad for running or any other outdoor exercise. Extreme temperatures and bitter snowstorms are not ideal conditions for a long winter run. On these days, exercise indoor at your home or a local gym. A session on a stationary bike or a treadmill will help you get the exercise you want.

Jezebel Lake is a blogger who enjoys writing about health and the great outdoors. She is currently promoting Six Nutrition. If you are a man in need of vitamins and supplements for your health, Six Nutrition can help.

Getting and Staying Motivated Using a Calorie Counter

A common issue that many people who are using a calorie tracker to lose weight face is the ability to get and stay motivated. Getting and staying motivated while you are trying to lose weight can be essential to success. All too often, we get an initial burst of motivation when we first begin a new weight loss program, but it quickly fades away as we start to implement a new reduced calorie diet. When motivation is lost, we tend to give up on our new diets and go back to our old eating patterns.




There are many tools in a food database that can be used to get and keep motivation while you are losing weight. One great tool is the community forum. When you access this members only forum, you are able to find support and accountability in a way that would otherwise only be possible if you were participating in an in person group meeting. Another great way to get and hold on to your levels of motivation is to use the reporting features to chart your weight loss progress. For many people, simply seeing a trend line moving towards their goals can provide enough validation and satisfaction to continue on.

Using your food diary to stay motivated can be an essential part of your weight loss journey. If you have a large weight loss goal that will take many months to complete, there’s a trick that you can use to keep yourself motivated as time goes on. Instead of setting your overall weight loss goal to your big number, set a series of consecutive, but smaller and easily attainable goals. For instance, if you want to lose 40 pounds in 6 months, try setting a goal of 5 pounds per month. When you reach that goal, you will be giving yourself the sense of achievement and satisfaction that can keep you going until you hit your next 5 pound goal.

Motivation can be easy to get and keep when you’re using a food journal. If you take a look at all of the tools available to you, and make use of as many of them as possible, you will be setting yourself up for success that will last you a lifetime. Don’t let yourself slip away from your dreams because you can’t get motivated to continue.

Not All Salts Are Created Equal

Having become a published children’s author has opened up many opportunities for me like being asked to speak at a writers group this past summer. While there, I met a lovely woman and we spoke of many things including the non literary subject of salt. I don’t remember exactly how we got on that particular subject, but we did and she began to share with me that she had attended a salt seminar.

I don’t know about you, but up to that point in my life I was never aware that there was such a seminar to be attended. Be that as it may, I listened intently to what she had to say because my family had recently gone on a reduced sodium diet to help my husband lower his blood pressure naturally. I was amazed to hear that not all salt is created equal. That’s right my friends there are two kinds of salt, one that is good for you and one that is not.

My first thought was that the two kinds of salt were table salt and sea salt; and if you also thought that, you will be surprised to know that is incorrect. The two categories that salt falls into are processed salt and natural salt. Like sugar and flour, processed salt has been bleached and altered by man. Unfortunately, like most processed foods, processed salt is not healthy. Natural salt on the other hand is salt the way God intended salt to be ~ full of nutrients and minerals.

A logical question would then be: how does the average consumer 

tell if salt is processed or natural? It’s fairly simple; all salt that is white has been processed while natural salt will appear slightly colored in a range from pale pink to light grey.  This means that the currently promoted "sea salt" is not necessarily the healthy choice it is made out to be. To learn more about natural salt and it’s benefits I recommend that you drop by http://www.realsalt.com. Real Salt is a brand of all natural salt mined right here in the United States; so it is not only healthy for you, but healthy for the economy as well.

Aileen Stewart is the award winning author of Fern Valley - A Collection of Short Stories , a blogger, and a public speaker who is working towards achieving a healthier lifestyle for her family and herself.