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Cold-Weather Gear for Your Pet

As the weather turns colder for most of us, it’s time to get our coats out of the back of the closet. Some of our pets require winter apparel as well, and ZooToo has a rundown of some of the latest products out on the market for keeping your pets warm. You can go with the traditional cute little sweaters and jackets that fill aisles at pet stores, or you can try something a bit different for your pets this winter. What you need depends on you and your pet’s lifestyle, so we’ll take a look at three different types. … Continue reading →

Foods to Help Prevent Diabetes

Since diabetes runs in my family, I am trying to do everything I can to avoid getting it. Diabetes statistics in the U.S. are staggering. Almost 26 million adults and children have diabetes. And, even more frightening, 79 million are pre-diabetic like myself. I’ve preached about how exercise and diet are great ways to starve off diabetes as long as possible, but there are also some foods that can help fight it. Bean Beans are a great way to raise your blood sugar levels very slowly because they are considered high-quality carbohydrates. And think of how many you have to … Continue reading →

Caring for Pets in Cold Weather

In June I posted about the dangers of heatstroke for animals. Now that we’ve entered the opposite extreme of seasonal weather, I’d like to take a look at ways to keep our pets safe when it’s cold outside. The ASPCA has a list of several things to remember when looking after pets in the winter. Just as leaving a dog in the car is dangerous in the heat the same is true in the cold. Especially when it isn’t sunny outside, cars trap the cold and can drop to dangerous freezing temperatures. If you must leave your pet in the … Continue reading →

Cold Relief Away From Home

Are you at home, close to your medicine cabinet every time a sore throat strikes? I’m not. I can remember coming down with a nasty upper respiratory infection while I was on a long car ride. With every mile, my throat hurt worse and worse until I was just about ready to cry. I didn’t even have a cough drop in my purse, just miles of misery. One of the best things you can do to relieve a sore throat is to gargle with warm salt water. But what can you do if you’re away from home or stuck at … Continue reading →

Be Careful With Zinc — Especially During Cold Season

Think zinc is the answer to all your seasonal cold problems? Think again! Zinc supplements can help boost your immunity, but there is a down side. A recent joint study between American and European researchers found that there may be a link between zinc and age-related macular degeneration. Eye deposits in people over sixty with age-related macular degeneration contain high levels of zinc! So overdosing yourself with zinc in order to ward off a cold may cause vision problems later in life. More research into the exact source of the zinc in eye deposits is underway. Zinc supplements may or … Continue reading →

Foods that Help Reduce Colds and the Flu

My 3-year-old daughter just came down with her first cold of the winter season. Technically, winter doesn’t officially begin until December 22nd and she had a horrible bought of the flu in early November so I’m hoping this latest round of fever, sore, throat and the sniffles is not a sign of things to come. Making matters worse is the fact that my daughter refuses to take oral medication. She will make herself throw up if a drop of medicine comes anywhere near her lips. (Any prescribed medication is administered via shots—an agonizing process to say the least.) Which means … Continue reading →

Beat Colds and Flu Faster

Do you ever feel like your body WANTS to be sick? Over the last week or so, I’ve been feeling the first hints that there may be a cold on the horizon: a scratchy throat, a drippy nose, and a general feeling of fatigue. Here are some tips to help you beat colds and flu faster this winter! Work on your resistance. When I start to feel crummy, I reach for my Echinacea and goldenseal supplements — but there are lots of different options out there! Check your local health food store or the vitamin section of your favorite pharmacy … Continue reading →

Fight A Cold With The Right Foods

Stuffy nose? Check. Scratchy throat? Check. Tickling throat and cough? Check and check. Sounds like the formula for a few days of misery while your body fights off a cold. Running to the kitchen can help ease your symptoms and help you feel better faster. Chicken soup. An oldie but a goodie! The salt in the broth is soothing to sore throats. The warmth can help break up mucous. The veggies are full of vitamins and minerals your body needs. What’s not to like? Whole grains. The zinc in whole grains helps your immune system keep running at peak performance. … Continue reading →

Top Cholesterol Fighting Foods: Part 4

Today we continue to discover some more no-guilt foods we can enjoy to lower our bad cholesterol, and increase the good HDL Cholesterol. This prevents heart attacks and stroke, and ensures good health. Chocolate Health Choosing dark or bittersweet chocolate can help you fight cholesterol! Dark chocolate has antioxidants (three times as much as milk chocolate!) and less sugar. So you can eat more chocolate for the same amount of calories compared to milk chocolate. Flavonoids are antioxidants found in chocolate, and also tea (see below). This antioxidant helps to prevent cholesterol from sticking to your arterial walls, keeping them … Continue reading →

Start Now to Make Changes for the New Year

We are winding down the year 2011 and already people are starting to make plans, if even just in their minds, on how they are going to start out the New Year with changes. December is a great time to get ready. It gives you a chance to really reflect on what changes you want to make and how you want to go about them. Fitness is one of the top New Year resolutions or changes that people tend to make. But the problem is that if you decide on January 1st to start and don’t have a plan, it … Continue reading →