Note: The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for professional care. For medical emergencies, dial 911!
Posts with tag worthy
Posted Sep 8th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Worthy Wisdom
It's not necessary to travel all the way to Tucson, Arizona or Lenox, Massachusetts for a little health enlightenment -- although I highly recommend it.
Canyon Ranch professionals are not stingy with their health secrets. They offer a
website for all to view, complete with all sorts of diet and fitness tips and and even an opportunity to sign up for an e-newsletter. In a binder I brought home from my trip to Tuscon in May, I've found even more resources, these specific to cooking. Take a look.
Recommended Magazines
Cooking Light (www.cookinglight.com)
Eating Well (www.eatingwell.com)
Fine Cooking, (www.finecooking.com)
Recommended CookbooksCanyon Ranch Cooks (1-800-726-8040)
Canyon Ranch Cooklets (available at canyonranch.com)
- Salad & Appetizers
- Soups
- Fish & Seafood
- Poultry
- Vegetables & Vegetarian
- Desserts
- Mexican
- The LPGA Cooks with Canyon Ranch
The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison & Edward Espe Brown
Jamie's Dinners by Jamie Oliver
How to Cool Everything by Mark Bittman
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Resources for healthy living
Posted Sep 1st 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Worthy Wisdom
We know it's best not to miss
breakfast. It's the meal that gives us energy for the day, increases metabolism, and helps our bodies burn fat faster and better. Since breakfast comes at the time of day when most of us are rushing and hustling to get going for the day, it becomes pretty easy to skip this power meal. In the spirit of putting breakfast back into your schedule, here are some simple
Canyon Ranch ideas for getting the boost you need during the start of your busy days.
- Cottage cheese and fruit. Grab some low-fat cottage cheese and top with fresh fruit. Add your favorite nuts and seeds and some ground flax seed for a nutty flavor and a burst of omega-3. Add flax to any of the following ideas too.
- Scrambled egg or tofu with spinach and scallion in a whole wheat wrap.
- Whole grain bread with one tablespoon nut butter.
- Plain yogurt with fruit, cinnamon, or berries.
- Hot oat bran cereal or oatmeal (not instant) with cinnamon, dried figs or other fruit, and nuts.
- Smoked salmon with tomato and onion on whole grain bread.
If any of this sounds like too much to accomplish in the early morning, try preparing some items ahead of time so all you have to do is grab and go.
Thanks
Canyon Ranch for the breakfast basics.
Posted Aug 18th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Worthy Wisdom
"What one thing did you learn at Canyon Ranch?" my dad asked me the other day. We hadn't yet fully discussed my April trip to this Arizona health and healing destination and so he wanted to know what I had absorbed during my four days in the desert. I couldn't possibly name just one lesson I'd learned. But I could sum up all of my lessons in one broad category. This is what I told him: I learned how to change my lifestyle.
I learned how to change the way I live while at Canyon Ranch. I've since come to realize this is what most of us need to do to rid ourselves of our bad habits, our unhealthy ruts. There's nothing temporary about getting healthy. It's takes a lifetime commitment. I lacked commitment before Canyon Ranch. I have commitment now.
I'm committed to eating right, exercising, minimizing stress, processing my anxiety, focusing on family, prioritizing, and so much more -- all because of cancer and what I learned at Canyon Ranch.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: What I learned at Canyon Ranch
Posted Aug 11th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Worthy Wisdom
I'm still synthesizing all of the information I gathered at
Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. I've been home from this health and healing institute for three months now. Still, I'm discovering new and exciting ways to put into action the tools I brought home.
One task I've mostly mastered is trimming the excess fat out of my diet. I never realized how much fat I was eating before I closely examined my habits. A
half order of cheese fries with ranch dressing during an occasional trip to the Outback was costing me 91 grams of fat -- not to mention 1,450 calories and 120 grams of carbohydrates. Now I steer clear of fatty foods and pay close attention to what I ingest. In case you want to jump on board, here are a few tips: Use skim or soy milk, pick low-fat cheeses, pick up some ground turkey instead of beef, and snack on fresh fruit instead of chips, dips, cookies, and cakes.
This is just a start. But a difference it will truly make.
Posted Aug 4th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Prevention, Diets, Nutrition, Worthy Wisdom
The folks at
Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona told me all about the merits of flax seed. They told me to sprinkle it here, sprinkle it there, sprinkle it everywhere. While at this desert destination, I did just that. I dipped into the bowls of flax scattered at all dining locations, and I topped my bagels, cereals, salads, and more with this powerful substance. As soon as I got home from this little slice of paradise, I bought my own personal container of flax. I promptly placed it in my refrigerator, have used it a few times, and just recently realized I'd forgotten why exactly it's so good for me.
I've done some research, and now I know a little more about this thing called flax -- and I remember why it must become a part of my everyday life.
Flax, also known as Common Flax or Linseed, is an annual plant that grows to 120 cm tall, with slender stems. Native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India, its leaves are green, its flowers blue, its fruit round and containing glossy brown seeds. Grown for both its seeds and its fibers, parts of this plant are used to make fabric, dye, paper, medicines, fishing nets, and soap. The seeds, like what sit in my refrigerator, come in two forms -- brown and yellow or golden. The yellow, golden variety is the one most often consumed.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Flax seed to the rescue
Posted Jul 28th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Non-toxic alternatives, Cancer prevention foods, Worthy Wisdom
Are we living in a toxic environment? The experts at
Canyon Ranch ask us to consider these facts:
- The EPA estimates that 4.7 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released into the environment annually.
- It's likely that 25 percent of the U.S. population suffers from some level of heavy metal poisoning.
- Fourteen pounds of food colorings, additives, preservatives, emulsifiers, and flavorings are consumed per person each year.
Toxic? Maybe. At minimum, though, we are living in a world filled with chemicals, pesticides, additives, preservatives, antibiotic and hormone residues, and heavy metals. Whether consumed, inhaled, or absorbed, our bodies soak this stuff up. In order to reduce the load, and the toll it takes it takes on our health, there's something we can do. We can eat clean. Here's how:
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Clean eating may fight off cancer
Posted Jul 21st 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Skin Cancer, Prevention, Worthy Wisdom
I'm a little tired of reading and writing about sunscreen. Maybe it's not the actual reading and writing that has me worn out. Maybe it's the realization that I keep reading and writing about sunscreen yet the information is just not sinking in with the masses of sun-hungry people out there -- according to the EPA, there has been a staggering 1,800 percent increase in malignant melanoma cases since 1930. Recent figures show a shocking rise in skin cancers among those in their 20s and 30s.
The experts at
Canyon Ranch are weighing in on sunscreen. So here I go again, with some more about this tiring topic.
- Sunscreen contains unique chemical components which absorb ultraviolet (UV) light. When applied to the skin, the chemical molecules form an invisible, protective layer that repels the penetrating UV rays. It also helps prevent premature aging and pre-cancerous growths.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Suncreen, sunscreen, sunscreen
Posted Jul 14th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Worthy Wisdom
Ever heard that the white stuff we eat is not so healthy? I've heard it, time and time again. I was reminded of this fact while at
Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona this past April. My Ranch nutritionist confirmed it. And the foods I ate while at this health and healing institute derived from the whole wheat, whole grain, whole goodness family. There wasn't a slice of white bread in sight. No white pasta either. Or white rice. I did have a white baked potato one night for dinner -- but it was the smallest white baked potato I'd ever seen.
It's not so hard to transition from white to non-white. Just search your grocery store aisles for the healthier alternatives -- and buy them. Or make your own varieties of nutritious stuff. Like whole-wheat pizza crust. Remember when I wrote about
eating pizza once a week? Instead of ordering it, why not make your own? Here's how you might start:
Whole-Wheat Pizza Crust
Makes six pizza crusts, each containing 175 calories, 36 gm. carbohydrate, 1 gm. fat, 0 mg. cholesterol, 6 gm. protein, 150 mg. sodium, and 4 gm. fiber
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Out with the white, in with the wheat
Posted Jul 7th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Stress Reduction, Exercise, Worthy Wisdom
In this
Worthy Wisdom series, I have been spouting off all sorts of grand ideas about health and healing, diet and nutrition, exercise and fitness. What I share all comes from
Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. I spent four days there. I plan to spend a lifetime practicing what their experts preach.
Canyon Ranch worked for me. I bought into every one of their healthy living approaches and for the two months since I've departed this desert destination, I've done just about everything right -- the eating, the exercising, the de-stressing. And as I sit here eating a bowl of red raspberries instead of a bag of chips and handfuls of M&Ms, I think it's only fair I make a confession.
I've made many attempts at changing my lifestyle. I've gone without sweets several times in my life, only to later reintroduce them into my daily routine and inevitably go way overboard on my consumption. The same goes for soda. There have been times when I've obsessed about exercise. And times when I've let it go altogether. My stress levels have been up and down and all around. I've searched long and hard for the motivation to change, to do better, be better, feel better. It took cancer to push me over the edge, toward positive and long-lasting change.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: A confession in health and healing
Posted Jun 30th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Worthy Wisdom
I knew when I landed at
Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona that I'd hear all sorts of health-conscious messages. I did. I got quite an earful. It was all great stuff. Go low fat. Cut sugar. Nix the soda. Up the protein. Increase the fiber. Minimize portion sizes. Decrease stress. Rest. Relax. Breath. And exercise -- a lot. I took it all in. I processed it. I stored it in my foggy chemo brain. And I try daily to put my new-found wisdom to work. It's going well -- in part because I have permission to take a break.
My Canyon Ranch nutritionist -- the one who taught me how to shop, cook, stock my pantry, and make healthy snacks and treats -- also gave me this happy nugget of news: eat pizza once per week. What? Can that be healthy?
Pizza is not the healthiest of food choices. Pizza Hut's personal pan cheese pizza -- you know, the little one containing just four small slices -- has a shocking 620 calories, 26 grams of fat, 69 carbohydrates, and seven grams of sugar. It does have 28 grams of protein. Still, not a very wise choice for those of us wishing to fill our bodies with power foods.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Take a breast for goodness sake
Posted Jun 23rd 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Worthy Wisdom
I couldn't help but leave
Canyon Ranch a few months back without a fresh take on healthy living. I'd spent four days healing myself from the inside out. I'd eaten the freshest and most nutritious foods, energized my muscles with twice-daily exercise, and invited therapists to fine-tune my chakras and balance my out-of-whack cancer body. I had my hair cut, my make-up done, my mind cleansed. I was massaged, scrubbed, pedicured, and pampered. I'd become relaxed, refreshed, recharged, revitalized. There's no way I could throw all that away.
Now back in Florida, I'm trying to live like I'm at Canyon Ranch's Tucson oasis. I've changed my diet, committed to exercise, and perhaps most important in the whole scheme of lifestyle change, I'm letting go.
I've identified three priorities in my life -- my family, my health, and my sanity. Any extraneous stuff, I'm tossing it. Commitments that take me away from my kids: no. Jobs that cause me stress: gone. Responsibilities I don't wish to tackle: I won't. A jam-packed calendar: never again. I tend to go with my gut. If something comes up and I feel a sick little feeling inside, I pass that something right up. I simply let it go.
Letting go makes me feel happier, healthier, more in charge of the joy in my life. It's good for my health, good for my soul. It's just plain good. And there's just no way I'm letting go of that.
Thanks
Canyon Ranch for the inspiration.
Posted Jun 16th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Exercise, Worthy Wisdom
It was a
Canyon Ranch nutritionist, not a fitness trainer, who shared with me these words of wisdom regarding exercise. I consider this more evidence backing the fact that diet and exercise go hand in hand, that each one cannot fully and successfully operate in isolation from the other.
So here it is, this Saturday's
Worthy Wisdom:
After we exercise, we should eat something within 15 minutes of completing our physical challenge. Why? Because we've taxed our bodies, depleted them, and it's important to put something back in after taking so much out. Consider a banana, a handful of nuts, something nutritious and energizing, and allow your body to recover. And don't forget about water -- drink plenty to re-hydrate yourself.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Replenish after exercise
Posted Jun 9th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Worthy Wisdom
In today's world, we worry about carbohydrates. We monitor them, count them, obsess about them, and pare them down to just about nothing in order to lose weight. Yet, quality carbs have a fierce power in the fight against disease. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. They absorb slowly and stabilize blood sugar, appetite, even mood. Carbs don't have to be avoided. In fact, they should be embraced -- in their most healthy forms.
While at the
Canyon Ranch resort in Tucson this past April, I observed that all meals are balanced with small-to-moderate portion sizes of carbohydrate foods. Canyon Ranch is all about health and healing. If the experts here say carbs can be good for us, I believe them.
The key to carb management is knowing which ones keep cancer and other disease at bay. It's simple, really. Just think whole fruit, vegetables, beans, and modest amounts of whole grains.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Carbs against cancer
Posted Jun 2nd 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Prevention, Diets, Worthy Wisdom
Do you have less energy than you did before cancer? Do you sometimes crash in the middle of the afternoon? If you answered
Yes to these questions and wonder why your energy is zapped, you may want to consider something completely outside the realm of cancer. Like your diet.
Canyon Ranch nutritionists say lack of energy is not always related to diet. It can also stem from lack of sleep and exercise, depression, anxiety, low-grade infection, medication, reaction to alcohol, and caffeine withdrawal or dependence. But diet surely plays a part, and sometimes a very large part. So in the interest of energetic and healthy living, you might want to give some thought to these energy-building diet tips.
Start the day with a healthy breakfast. When kids don't eat breakfast, they don't think as clearly and don't do homework as well as their well-nourished classmates. Adults are no different. Everyone needs a jump-start in the morning. It's good for metabolism and blood sugar. It's good for the brain.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Eating for energy
Posted May 26th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Diets, Obesity, Worthy Wisdom
I wrote recently about the
hidden amounts of sugar found in the foods we love so dearly. I learned all about this topic during my visit to Tucson's
Canyon Ranch -- a world renowned health and healing destination -- and this sweet lesson came right as I'd decided to rid my diet of as much sugar as possible. Learning that one can of soda houses 12 teaspoons of sugar and a typical container of fruit yogurt has eight sealed the refined sugar deal for me. No more, I say. It's just not worth it.
Now here comes the lowdown on fat. Some say the fat we eat is the fat we wear. Perhaps. But one thing is for sure -- fat kills.
That's Fit blogger Rigel Gregg wrote a May 24
post all about it, documenting five ways wearing fat can kill us -- it strains our heart and raises our insulin, leading to increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, for example. Now I'm here to clue you in on the fat hiding in more of our favorite foods.
Here goes.
Continue reading Worthy Wisdom: Fat in hiding
Next Page >
