7 Reasons to Eat Sweet Potato

Mother nature likes to throw us curve balls every now and then, doesn't she?

Take the eggplant, for instance. It's not egg at all. Similarly, the sweet potato isn't a potato at all!
Distantly related to the regular, white potato, sweet potato is actually a root vegetable!

The sweet potato is full of vitamins and minerals that regular potato does not provide at all!

(Photo credit: Wally Hartshorn)
Here are 7 reasons to consume this heart healthy food:

One Medium Size Sweet Potato Contains:

1) Vitamin B6 (.3 mg)

This vitamin is crucial for keeping the walls of your arteries flexible and strong. It helps break down homocysteine, which contributes the hardening of arteries and all the passageways where blood must flow! For that reason a diet rich in vitamin B6 has been shown to help prevent heart disease!

2) Sweet potato boasts a large amount of betacarotene (11062 mg)

Betacarotene is what gives vegetables their bright colored hues and it's very important to include generous portions of brightly colored fruits and veggies in your diet anyway. One reason for that is because this nutrient actually helps protect your skin (internally) from the harm of UV rays from the sunlight! It also "flips a switch" in your skin's DNA triggering it to shed dead skin and regenerate!

3) Potassium (438 mg)

Both regular potato and sweet potato contain potassium, which is very important for regulating blood pressure! Potassium is an electrolyte, like salt and sugar.

4) The Unsung Hero: Maganese

(.3 mg)

Maganese is that little known trace mineral that does 2 things: it helps stabilize blood sugar (which is why sweet potato is recommended even for diabetics!) and it promotes that "I'm full" feeling!

5) Fiber Up! (3.9 g)

Sweet potato has about 3.9 grams of dietary fiber. Fiber is important for healthy bowel function, and over all intestinal health.

6) Rich in Vitamins A, E and C

There is 18441 IU of vitamin A in sweet potato. Vitamin A is important for healthy vision, immune function, skin, hair and antioxidant activity! There are .3mg of vitamin E in a medium size potato and 3.1mg of vitamin C in one. The synergy of all of these vitamins working together promotes overall immune health, disease prevention and vibrant skin, hair and nails!

7) Anti-inflammatory

The American diet is high in inflammatory foods and our lifestyles perpetuate the cycle of inflammation. Research has shown that chronic inflammation leads to chronic illnesses. It is highly advisable that you include foods that are ANTI inflammatory into your diet to combat this trend. Sweet potato is a great natural way to do just that!

So friends, why not try switching out white potato for sweet potato here and there? Your body will thank you! You can find more nutritional facts about this super food here.

Heart Healthy Food | Foods Good for The Heart

It's common knowledge in this very informed society we live in, so perhaps we take it for granted. The human heart's main function is to pump blood. The circulatory system literally depends on the heart's health.

Knowing that, it's only logical and I dare say it is highly advisable that we find all the ways we can, to promote excellent heart health and prevent heart disease. The statistics of heart disease in America are sobering and frightening indeed. Here's a quote:

(photo credit: JohnMason)

Between 1999 and 2009, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) fell 32.7 percent, but still accounted for nearly one in three deaths in the nation. That’s 2,150 people dying from CVD each day — about one death every 40 seconds. (Source)

In 2010 the AHA set a goal of reducing heart disease by 20% by 2020. Current projections in the 2013 report suggest that we may only improve that rate by 6%. There are many things we can do to turn this around though!

Instead of talking about "risk factors," let's look at great ways to improve our heart health!

1) Move more! 

Like anything else in your body, if you don't use it and even tax it to some degree, you'll lose it. Improve heart health by getting some regular exercise! Need some ideas to make it fun? Check out this site. Obesity has been an epidemic in this country and it often goes hand in hand with other major illnesses such as diabetes and cancer.

2) Eat more freshness and less processed foods

Go green! Eat plant based foods and lean organic or grass fed meats, range fed poultry and raw fruits 
and vegetables!

3) Load up on berries!

A study just came out last week that showed tremendous health benefits -especially for women- who eat berries!  Ladies, just by eating 3 or more servings of blueberries or strawberries a day, we woman can reduce our risk of heart disease by up to one third!

Yes guys, they're awesome for you too but this specific study followed the health of 93,600 women between the ages of 25 and 42 over 4 year intervals.

Personally, I love blueberries best! Not only are they great for heart health, they're super foods for the brain. My brain needs all the super food it can get! I put them in salads, eat them like candy, throw them in smoothies, add them into a hot bowl of steel cut oats. It's endless! When I have them, I eat them way too quickly ;)

4) Eat more fat!

No you didn't read that wrong, but let me explain. Fat from medium chain fatty acids such as coconut oil is EXCELLENT for heart health! You can learn so much more about that here. Have you noticed that since the push for non fat or low fat foods obesity has just sky rocketed. Trust me, there's something very crucial about making sure you have the right fats in your diet. Things like coconut oil and avacado.

5) Manage stress

Don't mistake "manage" for eliminate. It would be quite impossible to eliminate stressors from our lives. We have them. To some degree they are necessary and healthy. But to live in a chronic state of stress is one of many things that's killing us too soon!

Take a deep breath, slow down, enjoy the simple things, make time for play! Don't stress over the small stuff! It's stuff! It can be replaced or fixed. Conserve your strength for the bigger things and bring your whole self to those!

Those are my quick tips for being kind to your heart today!

Do I Have the Flu?

Good morning and happy Monday!
I hope you had a great weekend and this finds you well.

I mean that literally. You see, here in Boston it was announced that 18 people have died of the flu since the season hit us hard and fast. The most recent victim was just a child. This wide spread outbreak has caused Boston officials to declare a health emergency. You can imagine, it prompted a mad rush to flu clinics everywhere! I decided to dedicate todays post to the topic of the flu because after this weekend, it's on everyone's mind. Even as I sat in church yesterday I was amazed at how many people were missing and I know it's because many of them are very sick.

I think I've mentioned that I often visit the Yahoo Answers page to see how I might be able to help people in there that have health questions. One question I see a lot is "Do I have the flu?"

I guess I take it for granted everyone knows that dreadful feeling of having the flu. I've had it all my life at least once a season since I can remember.  Here are some symptoms that will help you identify whether what you have are cold and/or flu symptoms.

Signs of the flu

This list of symptoms is from the Mayo Clinic:

• Fever over 100 F (38 C)
• Aching muscles, especially in back, arms, legs
• Chills and/or sweats
• Headache
• Dry cough
• Fatigue and weakness
• Nasal congestion

Unlike a cold -which usually starts with a scratchy or sore throat, the flu can hit hard and fast, knocking you for a loop! Now, if you happen to be unfortunate enough to see signs of the flu coming on, do not panic! First of all, the stress won't help your immune system and all! Stress, lack of sleep, lack of nutrients and a weakened immune system put you at greater risk of developing cold and flu symptoms - as well as chronic diseases. 

Yes, it's normal to develop cold and flu symptoms on occasion but living a healthy lifestyle increases your chances of giving that cold or flu virus the boot much faster than the average person.

Oh no! I have the flu, what should I do?

So say you develop that dreaded virus. You have all the signs of the flu. What's the best way to handle it? Should you rush to the hospital or the doctor? Not necessarily.

As long as you can hold fluids down and you don't have any other chronic conditions that will put you at a great risk (such as asthma or any respiratory diseases) your body will be able to heal itself in time and with some TLC from you! 

**If you have any of those major risk factors, your doctor may want you on anti-viral medication for the first 48 hours.**

If you are otherwise healthy click here for my recommendations for ways to treat the flu.