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Archive for the ‘Health & Fitness’ Category

Health & Fitness

January 11, 2010

Raw Food Diet on the Road – How to Stay Raw and Healthy While Traveling

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Author: Lenette Nakauchi
Source: ezinearticles.com

Whether you are traveling for work or leisure-planning and preparation is key!

You’ve discovered that the raw food diet and lifestyle definitely allows you to feel your best. Now you need to maintain that level of energy as best you can while enjoying life in another city. It can be easy to fall into bad eating habits while traveling, so you need to make your raw lifestyle and personal health a priority when you’re away from the comforts of your home kitchen. I’ve found that bringing along dried, portable foods and supplements, as well as some fresh foods can be the difference between staying raw and completely falling off the wagon and experiencing a wave of regret. Planning ahead, some internet research before you leave, and getting to know the local natural food stores will help you enjoy the healthiest trip of your life.

These are all things I do and doing all of them allows me to never be apprehensive towards travel. I would hate for my diet to hold me back from traveling. I don’t think it would be worth it if it did! A couple days before you leave, start thinking about what raw snacks, superfoods, and supplements you’d really love to have with you. I portion my superfood snacks into small plastic baggies, and keep them in a larger zipped bag (for example: handful of almonds, goji berries, pumpkin seeds, dried figs, etc). I usually bring at least one raw food snack bar for each day I’ll be on vacation. Other handy (and super-nutritious) travel snacks could be sea vegetables (such as whole leaf dulse), bee pollen, and an old vitamin jar full of superfood powders (green powder, maca, a little stevia for sweetness). I always bring a glass jar with a screw top lid to shake up the green powders in water. I never go anywhere without my Celtic sea salt shaker bottle either. All this, believe it or not, will fit in a large plastic zipper bag.

If you take multivitamins and other supplements, bring those too! Most of us will need this kind of nutritional support the most while traveling because we may not have access to all the foods we’re used to. I love reusing the tin cases mints come in for toting around vitamins, enzymes, and other supplements. They’re the perfect size!

A couple more things you may want to pack: a thin plastic cutting board, silverware (including a butterknife or something similar-packed in your checked in luggage, please), and some herbal laxatives–a change in diet plus travel makes for constipation-you’ll thank me!

You’re almost set! If you’re staying in a hotel, be sure to ask if there will be a refrigerator in your room. There is usually no charge for one, especially if you say you have a special diet. If you’re staying at a friend’s place, let them know about your diet and ask them if they don’t mind you having a special area in their fridge for your foods. If you’re going to be in a car for a while, maybe think about bringing a small cooler. The bottom line is, you’ll want to keep your salad greens, vegetables, and fruit cool so they don’t go bad.

Also, before you leave, be sure to spend some time online checking out all the raw vegan, vegan, vegetarian, and/or organic restaurants near you. Write down the addresses and phone numbers before you leave. Find out where the nearest natural food store is and see if there are any farmers markets in town. These should be some of the first stops you make when you reach your destination. Natural food stores will be essential in supplying your greens, organics, and other fun snacks you’d like. Many times you can find a raw food section with prepared gourmet raw entrees as well!

Here are some great websites that will help you:

rawfoodrestaurantguide.com/blog/ (Enter your email on the website and the guide link will be emailed to you. )
sunfoodtraveler.com
.HappyCow.net (lists all vegetarian, vegan, and raw food restaurants)/li>

The key is to not feel nutritionally deprived at any point during your trip. The people you will be traveling with may have to make an extra stop just for you, but as long as you have what you need, you can hang out with them from that point on.

Some people have asked me if I travel with my Vita-mix blender or Magic Bullet mini-blender. I don’t. But I usually don’t travel for more than one week at a time. If I was to travel for two weeks or more, I would definitely consider bringing a blender with me because I love green smoothies in the morning. I could also make juice with the Vita-mix using a nut milk bag. But for trips of only a week or less, organic fruit in the morning is perfect.

I usually make a salad for the plane flight, or long car ride, too. I do this for several reasons:

I usually can’t go for more than three hours after my typical fruit-only breakfasts without eating.
I usually have plenty of greens, veggies, and ripe avocados in my fridge that will go bad while I’m gone, so why not use them?
I like to get one last awesome meal in before switching to more dried foods and possibly non-organic meals.
I like saving money on meals and snacks.
I need a couple of reusable plastic containers for salads I’ll make in my destination city anyway, so why not start using them now?Now you’re set! You have most of the non-fresh things on you and you’ll be buying your organic fruit, greens, salad veggies, and avocado (great to use for dressing) when you get there. Enjoy your trip, stay raw, and have the best time ever!

Lenette Nakauchi is a raw foodist who is passionate about teaching, coaching and demonstrating to others how to go and stay “raw” in a fun, healthy, sustainable way. Learn more about the raw food lifestyle and about superfoods by visiting her websites http://www.gorawchicago.com and http://www.eatsuperfoods.com.

Health & Fitness

November 21, 2009

Travel With Beautiful Louis Vuitton Luggage

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Author: Jennifer Reyes
Source: ezinearticles.com

Want to travel in class? Then you need to travel with classic Louis Vuitton luggage. The name Louis Vuitton has a legacy for creating quality as well as luxurious pieces of luggage and other things of that nature since 1854. The brand offers a wide array of different things that you can choose from and utilize to do anything with. There are various accessories, luggage and custom designed products that are available through this famous designer.

The products are for sale all around the world. You can find them in the United States, the UK, and France as well. There are different travel accessories that you can purchase that will fit your designated trip. When people travel they usually only travel with the amount of things that they are going to need.

You will run across a plethora of places that offer luggage that does not fit your specific needs. Some of the bags may be deemed to be too small, while others are simply too big. And the humorous thing about it all is all of the luggage bags are made in a square shape. Everyone knows that not everything in this life is perfectly square.

Regardless of the shape other luggage companies want you to be able to fit everything that you need for your trip in this complex square bag. But, the reality of the matter is most of the time people are forced to leave things behind simply because they do not fit in their luggage bags. You should not have to leave anything that you need in order to have a great trip behind.

When you travel with classic Louis Vuitton Luggage, you are getting the optimum luggage that you need at a fairly reasonable price. All of the individual luggage bags are made in a variety of different shapes and sizes. The company realizes that everything that you wish to take around on your trip is not going to be square objects.

For people that are always on the go, Louis Vuitton has the perfect carry on bags that you can take with you. A lot of people that have children or simply have a lot of things to do love the carry on bags because they can actually be utilized to carry on all the things that you need while you are enjoying your plane ride to your particular destination.

You should not have to settle for a monotonous square bag when obviously hardly anything that you own is in a perfect square. Variety is the spice of life, and the Louis Vuitton luggage definitely preys off of this fact. The luggage is incredibly durable and a great fashion statement to make at the same time as well.

Everyone wants something that draws attention to their bags. If you have ever been through a bag exchange at the airport this can be extremely frustrating especially when all the bags look exactly the same; traveling with a Louis Vuitton bag will assure that your luggage stands out from all the rest, you can be in and out of the airport in no time at all.

Jennifer Reyes is an expert author. She has written many articles in various interesting stories about brand handbags with Hollywood stars. For more information about Louis Vuitton handbags, please contact with us.

Health & Fitness

November 11, 2009

Planning For Travel With Diabetes And Insulin

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Author: Vivian L. Brennan
Source: isnare.com

Travel can be a lot of fun, but it takes some advance planning. People with diabetes have to plan a little more. Here are a few things to keep in mind about your insulin when you head out for that dream vacation.

Your Blood Sugar

When you are traveling, it is important to monitor your blood sugar more closely. This means checking your blood sugar every four hours when you are awake. Travel can be stressful, which can raise your blood sugar level. Don’t treat your blood sugar without monitoring it, and monitor it to make sure that you are giving the correct dosages of medication and/or insulin.

Insulin Storage

Keep your insulin with you when you travel, in your carry-on or purse. Insulin needs to stay in a fairly moderate temperature zone, and as such, cannot go with your luggage in the depressurized compartment. Also, if there were ever a baggage handling mishap, you would want your insulin to be with you: if your bags end up in Minneapolis-St. Paul’s when you are in Sao Paulo, you want to make sure you have your insulin.

Insulin does not need to be refrigerated. To keep your insulin at moderate temperatures, however, consider the climate in which you are traveling. Often, keeping your insulin in an insulated container or thermos will be enough to keep it cool in warm temperatures. If you are someplace very warm, however, you might consider keeping some frozen water bottles in your insulated container as well, which will help keep your insulin even colder. If you are going to be in cold climates, perhaps skiing, keep your insulin close to your body so that it stays warm.

Storing your insulin on a trip is another matter to deal with. Don’t leave your insulin in the glove compartment of a car, where temperatures can vary. Backpacks can also get very warm in the sun. Keep your insulin someplace where you can reach it.

X-rays

Insulin manufacturers have a warning on their insulin that you should not expose insulin to x-rays. This does not mean that being x-rayed once or twice as you carry your luggage on should be a problem. However, if you are going to be traveling a lot, and going through many security checks, you can ask for your insulin to be visually examined. You should also be cautious to make sure that your insulin is not in the x-ray machine for too long, so asking for a visual examination is never a bad idea.

Packing

When you go on a trip, be sure to bring an extra supply of insulin and medication with you. You want to have all of the medication with you. If you do need to get medication while you are in a foreign country, see our advice below. Be sure to pack extra syringes and extras of all of the materials you generally use to monitor and care for your diabetes.

Insulin Conversions

In the United States, insulin comes in the strength U-100. Not every country has insulin standardized, and some countries offer varying strengths of insulin. If you must get insulin when you are away, check the strength to make sure it is equivalent.

If you have to get insulin while you are away, get the same kind of insulin that you are normally prescribed. If you cannot get the same brand, get the same formulation in a different brand (for instance, if you are on Novolog and cannot find any, get Humalog). A pharmacist or doctor can help you establish which insulin is equivalent.

Consult a doctor

If you have to pick up insulin when you are in a foreign country, get the kind of insulin that you are used to. This particularly means that you should not switch from a slow-acting to a fast-acting insulin, or vice versa. These types of changes should always be made with medical supervision.

Go to a doctor that you trust in a foreign country. Consider calling home to get references if possibly, or ask a friend in your new location.

Insulin-dependence can be difficult to manage, particularly when traveling. But with a little forethought and some information, you can plan an exciting getaway that still maintains your health.

Health & Fitness

October 24, 2009

Strategic Planning Required When Traveling With Diabetes

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Author: Yvonne A Jones
Source: ezinearticles.com

When someone has an ongoing illness vacation travel plans or travel for any reason have to be approached with much forethought. Traveling with diabetes is no exception. Strategic planning must be done before leaving for the trip, as well as during the trip. It is strongly recommended that you discuss your travel plans with your health care team so that they can make recommendations that will insure you are protected while away from home. These might include locating or recommending, when possible, a medical team or facility in the area to which you are traveling as well as specific things to do and extra supplies to take with you when you travel.

Diabetes is affected by many external as well as internal factors and it is amazing the effect these can have on blood sugar levels. Let’s examine some of these factors.

1) Changes in activity: It is generally understood that being physically active is beneficial for lowering your blood sugar or glucose levels. It also improves the ability of your body to absorb and use insulin. On the other hand, some types of activities can have a negative effect on your glucose levels. For example, if you decide to go on a hiking trip over hilly countryside while carrying heavy bags, you might want to discuss this with your doctor first. Lifting heavy weights and taking long walks over rough terrain could increase the pressure in the blood vessels in your eyes and make diabetic complications to your eyes worse. You could also develop blisters to your feet, and if these are not treated promptly they can result in complications. Unfortunately what started out as minor foot concerns for many diabetics have led to amputations.

2) Immunization shots: Usually these shots have very little adverse effects on a non-diabetic patient. However, like any other medicines or food that can have an effect, they can disturb your blood sugar levels. You doctor or health team may recommend that you schedule immunization shots a few weeks, as much as four weeks, before you’re ready to travel. The goal is to start your trip with your glucose levels as normal as possible.

3) Changes in Time Zones: For patients who are on medication, this is an area that has to be calculated carefully and is best documented for proper self-management since you could leave one area at 1:00 p.m. and arrive in another part of the world at 7:00 a.m. In additional, proper rest must be a part of diabetes management.

In large numbers patients are finding that they have been able to reduce the effects of diabetes and control the disease. However, if your diabetes is at a level that you are insulin dependent, traveling can still be fun but strategic planning must be implemented so that if medical attention is needed, you can receive it promptly.

I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes four years ago and have worked on controlling it with diet and exercise. Unfortunately I was not consistent until I discovered the Diabetes Reversal Report. This report explains in great detail not only what diabetes is but discusses factors that we may have not considered that can negatively impact our blood sugar levels and our bodies’ ability to absorb insulin.

I particularly like that the report introduces different phases so that changes can be made gradually and effectively. I now have a blueprint on how to control my diabetes effectively and I invite you to experience the benefits yourself at http://www.saygoodbyetodiabetes.com.

If you are a home-based or small business owner, I also invite you to visit my website at http://www.mysuccesscircleonline.com for valuable articles and tips.