Vitamin D and Asthma

I just read a study about Vitamin D and Asthma. The upshot of this research was that kids who had higher levels of vitamin D tended to have less asthma treatment needs. Indicating that Vitamin D does make a difference in the immune system. Two of the markers that indicate immune activity, IgE and eosinophils were both lower in the kids who had higher levels of Vitamin D.

So how to we get it? The best way is to spend some time in the sun. Not hours but 15-20 minutes a day is enough to begin to replenish the body's Vitamin D requirements. You can also get it in Vitamin D fortified milk, fatty fish and fish oils.

Hooping Your Way To Health

Were you one of those kids that had a hoola hoop back in the 60's? If not, you may remember seeing them and some of you may have seen them more recently. The hoops today are a way of exercising, meditating and staying in shape.

The hoops today are bigger and heavier and afford a great workout with a little music. It really is a form of dancing which is great exercise as we all know. The hoops can be used on the waist, the chest, legs, arms, and hips. The movement is great and as you get into the music, you can put yourself in a meditative state.

Some Last Thoughts On Portion Control

Curb your appetite. Before a big meal, eat a salad or broth based vegetable soup. If you do this before you go to have the big meal, you will have a feeling of fullness much sooner and will tend to eat less.

Eating out - here are a couple of things for when you eat out. Ask for a lunch size portion of a dinner entree. Share whatever you order with a friend. My husband and I have found that the portions are so huge now in restaurants, that we do much better just ordering one and sharing it.

Ask for a takeout container or doggie bag when you place your order. When the order comes, place half of it in the container before you start eating.

Lastly, on eating out, steer clear of the "All-You-Can-Eat" buffets. If possible order off of the menu.

Portion Control

Another thing to do for portion control is to use smaller plates. If you have a smaller plate and it is full, you will have a sense of eating the right portion. If you have a big plate, you will want to fill it.

Another thing is the utensils. Use small spoons for gravies and heavy sauces and big spoons for vegetables. This way you will get more of the vegetables and less of the things that are not as good for you.

More to Control Portion Size

Slow down!! Eat more slowly. Most of us eat until our brain tells us we are full. The problem is that we have probably had 2-3 times as much food as we need by the time our brain says we're full.

Take sips of water between bites. Take time to really enjoy what you are eating. Pause before you take seconds and ask yourself if you really need that second helping. Think about it for a few minutes and have another sip or two of water. If there are going to be leftovers, put them away before you start your meal after you have dished up. This will make it more of an effort to go get seconds.

Better yet is to cook so that there will not be left overs. Then the temptation for seconds is removed.

Limiting Portion Sizes

Yesterday I started to talk about controlling portion sizes. Here are a couple more tips on controlling portion sizes.

Read the label. How much is actually one serving? Sometimes what we think is one serving is actually 2 or 3 servings.

Put left overs into single serving size containers. This will help you limit that next portion instead of grabbing the entire leftover and eating what may be 3-4 portions.

Ways to Control Portion Size

Here are some tips to help control portion sizes. Start out with half of your usual portion of your favorite foods. Then substitute vegetables and fruits for the rest of your portion. This is a great place to start.

Try to avoid the big snack bags of chips and cookies. Either buy the smaller pre-portioned sized bags, or if you buy the big bag, as soon as you get home, immediately divide the bigger bags into single serving plastic bags.