Blue Earth Farms - HealthWorks

You May Have Heard...

You should eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. But experts actually recommend getting MORE than that!!! As long as you don’t load them up with butter and dressings, and don’t deep fry them--- Enjoy as many as you want!

Get Your Sleep!

The latest studies are showing that sleep is as important to your health as food, affecting weight gain, diabetes. heart disease, and a host of other health issues. 7 1/2 -8 hours a day is recommended, for adults, 8-10 hours for children. Watch for our April Newsletter for the full article.

Start Your Day Right

Add some apples, berries, bananas, or other fruit to your cereal or oatmeal. Don’t even have time for oatmeal? Some nuts and a piece of fruit work on the run. Or, blend up a fruit smoothie with yogurt bananas and some berries, for a quick delicious start!

Extra Energy

All of us run out of juice at times. The carbohydrates in fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of energy. Combine them with a cup of yogurt, a tablespoon of peanut butter or a piece of cheese for some added protein and extra staying power!

Try a New Recipe Each Week

Our bodies like variety, so try something new each week. A good way to get variety is to eat veggies and fruit that are in season locally. Right now, try any of the abundant varieties of squashes and pumpkins, or a Washington apple!

Use Fruits and Vegetables as Ingredients

Use applesauce instead of oil in your baked goods. Add carrots to tomato sauce, it brightens up the color as well. Add chopped up veggies to your chili-- peppers, carrots, celery. Add’em to your spaghetti-- spinach, zuchini, or broccoli blend in easily.

Hungry for an Evening Sweet?

Reach for a piece of fruit! Peaches with a splash of cream or soy milk will fill the bill...Or why not blend up a healthy berry shake using yogurt ice cream vs the regular stuff?

Combine this with lots of clean fresh plain water and exercise and see how much better you feel!

Better yet, join us in the Fit Family Life Challenge! All your family needs to do is keep track of—How many whole foods you eat a day, how much plain old water you consume, and how much exercise you get. This translates into points which translates into prizes! We will begin the official challenge in January after the holiday festivities. It will culminate in August… Contact us for more details!

It's All About Water

As we all know, water is a precious and extremely important resource to all of us. Water is life. It is a precondition for human, animal and plant life as well as an indispensable resource for the economy. Water also plays a fundamental role in the climate regulation cycle.

There are many different aspects of water that we will address as time progresses, however to begin with we will focus on the importance of water to your health.

Water is essential for good health. It's as important as any vitamin or mineral. Drinking enough water every day is critical to help keep your body working at its best. The benefits of drinking plenty of water are endless.

Water can protect you from heat exhaustion. Drinking water helps keep your skin, eyes, mouth and nose moist. It also removes waste and transports nutrients.

Your body is made up of approximately 60 percent water; it accounts for about 60 percent of body weight in the average adult man and 50 percent of body weight in average adult woman. You lose nearly 10 cups of water every day through breathing, sweating, urine and stool.

To replace the water you lose, you may need to drink up to eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day. The exact amount depends on how much water is in the food you eat. Physically active people should add one 8 to 24 ounces of water for each hour of activity.

If the water you lose isn't replaced, you can become dehydrated. Thirst, headache, fatigue and weakness are all signs that your body may be running short of available water. Extreme dehydration can cause muscle spasms and kidney failure and death. Although water is a necessary part of any diet, it doesn't have to be boring. You can get the amount of water you need from a variety of beverages and foods. Skim milk, fruit juice and other water-based drinks in addition to water. It's best to limit beverages with caffeine, such as certain soft drinks, tea and coffee, because large amounts of caffeine act as a mild diuretic and can cause increased water loss through urine. Solid foods can also help supplement your body's water supply. Whole fruits and vegetables contain a lot of water.

No matter how busy you are, make time to drink water. If you don't want to take a break to drink water, try these ideas:

Make it a habit to take a bottle of water with you everywhere you go. Sip it in your car, on the bus or at your desk.
Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.
Take special care to get extra fluids when you're ill.
If you don't like the taste of plain water, add lots of ice or some zest with a bit of fruit juice or a squeeze of lemon, or switch to sparkling water.

Drinking Water and Children

Just because they have smaller bodies does not mean they need less of it. Water is in fact one of the most important nutrients for children. Often times when we read tips for nutrition for our children, they leave out important information about the intake of healthy fluids.

Water not only keeps children healthy, but also will help them perform better in school. Dehydration leads to a reduction in both mental and physical performance. Long-term chronic dehydration may cause health problems and illnesses.

Because many schools have inadequate water resources, parents and teachers should regularly encourage children to drink water at home, and even bring their own to school. Children should especially drink water after taking part in sports, such as in gym class. Even a small degree of dehydration can lead to a poorer mental and physical performance. Not having access to water, or not being hydrated before school, can lead to poor concentration in the classroom, which could mean less participation, and lower test scores.

Children are at a much greater risk of dehydration, as the process can begin much more rapidly. Once the body is dehydrated, the internal temperature rises and the body, particularly the brain, overheats. Since children are still growing, there is all the more need to keep the body hydrated so that it functions correctly. Children should always have unlimited access to safe drinking water. A loss of 2% of body fluids causes a 20% reduction in performance in both physical and mental activities. Dehydration in excess of 3% may lead to heat stroke, a condition to which children are much more prone than adults are.

Another reason why children should drink up is that there thirst mechanisms are less developed than adults, and tend to appear after dehydration has already set in. Children should therefore be encouraged to drink water even if they are not thirsty.

Blue Earth