KEEPING IT COOL AND SAFE ON THE JOB SITE

This summer has been hot!  Due to our regions’ normally temped climate, adjusting to the heat can be difficult for many. The heat can literally be exhausting for those who are out working on the jobsite.

Here are some tips for keeping cool and therefore safe.

HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE

·       Drinking a minimum of 6 to 8, 8oz glasses of water per day is generally the requirement for staying hydrated under normal conditions. When facing a consistent heat wave, our bodies need much more fluid. I like to think of it as if I was an athlete in an 8 hour endurance race. My body is under consistent stress and is sweating thus I need to consistently hydrate.

·       Drink BEFORE you are thirsty. If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

·       Stay clear of iced coffee, tea and sodas with caffeine and high sugar content. Caffeine is a natural diuretic and will cause the body to lose water.  Sugar beverages cause your blood sugar to spike, making you jittery and then tired and sluggish.

·       Keep water nearby and accessible.

APPROPRIATE CLOTHING

·       Light weight – cotton is best for breathing

·       Light color – helps reflect heat away from body

·       Cooling vests and cooling hard hat pads with neck shades

REST BREAKS

·       Take rest breaks more frequently. Find some shade or seek refuge in an air conditioned space if available.

PROPER FUELING FOR THE BODY

·       Keep meals small and frequent.

·       When the body sweats it not only loses water, potassium levels are also depleted. Here are some examples of potassium rich and water packed whole foods that will fit nicely in the lunch box. Some foods even have the benefits of both!

            Potasium                     Hydrating

            Tomatoes                      Celery

Banana                          Cucumber

            Avocado                        Citrus fruits such as Oranges & Grapefruit

            Carrots                          Iceberg Lettuce & green leafy vegetables

Oranges                                   Radishes

            Edamame                      Tomatoes

            Papaya                          Bell Peppers

            Raisins                          Cauliflower

            Mango                           Broccoli

            Cantaloupe                    Melons such as Watermelon, Honeydew & Canteloupe

            Strawberries                  Baby Carrots

            Pears                                                                          

                                               

Be sure to keep an eye on your colleagues on the jobsite. Make sure everyone is remembering to drink water and take breaks to cool down. Be sure to know the signs and symptoms of dehydration and heatstroke.

Signs of dehydration

·       Dry mouth

·       Headache

·       Increased stress and agitation

·       Infrequent urination

·       Dark colored urine (you want clear to very lightly colored urine!)

·       Difficulty concentrating

·       Increased blood pressure

·       Body swelling

Signs of heatstroke – Courtesy of The Mayo Clinic

·       High body temperature - 104 F or higher is the main sign

·       Altered mental state or behavior - Confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures and coma

·       Alteration in sweating – Heatstroke brought on by hot weather, skin will feel hot and dry to the touch. Heatstroke brought on by strenuous exercise, skin may feel moist.

·       Nausea and vomiting

·       Flushed skin – skin may turn red as body temperature increases

·       Rapid, shallow breathing

·       Racing heart rate – Pulse increases significantly because heat places a tremendous burden on the heart to help cool the body.

·       Headache – throbbing

What to do if you or a colleague has signs of heatstroke – Courtesy of The Mayo Clinic

·       Call 911

·       Get the person into shade or indoors

·       Remove excess clothing

·       Cool person with whatever means available. Spray with gardenhose, sponge with cool water, fan while misting with cool water, place icepacks or cold, wet towels on the person’s head, neck, armpits and groin.

By planning ahead for hot working conditions, jobsite crews can stay safe during the heat of summer. 

Tracy Cromwell is a Master Builders Association member, Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Public Speaker and the owner of Innovations In Anti-Aging, LLC. To find out more about her company or how she can help you live a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle, contact her at 425-999-6304 or tracycromwell@innovationsinantiaging.com You can also visit her website at www.innovationsinantiaging.com

Temporary website outage. New Website Coming!

My new website will be live this weekend! Within the next 48 hours it should be up and running. If you try to access the site now you won't to be able to. Please be sure to check back however. I think you're going to like it! I certainly do!

Do You Have Wonderful Helpers Too?

I don’t know what I would do without my two helpers. They are very quick to assist me in many areas of my personal and professional life. Right now, they are keeping me company through a knee injury. I just know I will be healing much faster because of their unwavering love and affection! Thank you Annabelle and Rampage!

 

Having a pet is very healing to the human spirit. It does not matter what kind of pet necessarily. Science has shown that holding a pet, even if it is not your own, lowers stress levels in humans.  I have visited several assisted living centers where bunny rabbits have been brought in for seniors to hold. This pet therapy helped to raise the residents spirits and lower their stress levels.

 

Let’s all be sure to hold a pet today!

Diet and Brain Health

More and more effort is being given to studies linking diet to brain health. Check out this Huffington Post blog by Carolyn Gregiore's. It's short and worth the read. Is your diet "Brain Healthy?" Let me help you find out. Contact me today. info@innovationsinantiaging.com

We know that food affects the body -- but could it just as powerfully impact the mind?

While the role of diet and nutrition in our physical health is undeniable, the influence of dietary factors on mental health has been less considered. That may be starting to change.

For the first time, a report by a task force advising on new dietary guidelines, commissioned by the departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture, included a point considering the possible role of diet in mental health outcomes. The USDA and HHS report notes, for example, that the American Psychiatric Association classifies omega-3 fatty acids (which are most commonly found in oily fish) as a complementary treatment for depression. However, the advisory panel concluded, for now, that the research was too limited to make policy suggestions.

Some psychiatrists, too, have recently launched a rallying cry for a more integrative approach to mental health care -- one that takes diet and other lifestyle factors into account in diagnosing, treating and preventing mental illness. In a paper recently published in The Lancet Psychiatry, an international group of scientists (all members of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research) argue that diet is "as important to psychiatry as it is to cardiology, endocrinology and gastroenterology."

With over 450 million people globally suffering from some form of mental disorder and a pharmacological approach having achieved only limited success in treating debilitating mental health conditions, the field of psychiatry may be reaching a sort of tipping point.

"We're now facing this huge epidemic of mental health disorders," one of the paper's authors Dr. Drew Ramsey, an integrative psychiatrist at Columbia University and author of Fifty Shades of Kale, told The Huffington Post. "Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world and soon it will be the leading cause of disability in America. So, as somebody who treats depression, it's of great interest when we see a data signal that suggests that we can treat depression by focusing on nutrition and what we eat."

Ramsey and colleagues' paper cites a number of studies attesting to the vital role of certain nutrients in brain health, including omega-3s, Vitamin D, B vitamins, zinc, iron and magnesium. The modern diet, while dense in calories, tends to be lacking in these important nutrients, which may be contributing to the rise in mental health conditions. Many studies have linked depression with low levels of key B vitamins, for instance, while low maternal Vitamin D levels have been found to play a role in the child's risk of developing schizophrenia.

The research has been mounting in recent years, and has expanded from a focus on individual nutrients to dietary patterns more broadly. In 2011, a large study found the modern Western diet (which is high in processed, high-calorie and low-nutrient foods) to be linked with increased depression and anxiety, as compared to a traditional Norweigan diet. 2014 review of studies, too, linked unhealthy dietary patterns with poor mental health and children and adolescents.

"For a long time in psychiatry, we've known that individual vitamins can have a big impact on mental health -- vitamin B12, iron, magnesium -- but really in the past 10 years, studies have begun to look more at dietary patterns, and that's been quite revealing," said Ramsey.

Growing evidence of the brain-gut connection also lends support the hypothesis that when it comes to mental health, food matters. The idea that there might be a significant link between gut health and brain health -- and that gut bacteria imbalances in a number of neurological conditions, including anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD and schizophrenia -- has gained steam in the scientific community. A 2014 neuroscience symposium even called the investigation of gut microbes a"paradigm shift" in brain science.

"The idea that brain health depends on gut health... that's certainly the next wave of this," Ramsey noted.

However, up to this point, the traditional line of treatment for mental heath problems has been pharmaceutical interventions or treatments like talk therapy, or some combination of the two. Diet and exercise are rarely taken into consideration, except by "alternative" practitioners. Bringing diet into the equation would represent a major shift in the field of mental health care, opening up new modes of treatment and low-cost, low side-effect interventions for individuals suffering from a range of mental health concerns.

"Food should be the first line of defense because it's a foundational treatment," said Ramsey. "We really need to move away from thinking of things like diet and exercise as 'complementary' or 'alternative.' That's really bad thinking that's gotten psychiatry into trouble."

Of course, it's important to remember that the causes of mental health problems are complex, and can span psychological, biological, emotional, environmental and dietary factors. But improving one's diet with brain-healthy nutrients can only support mental and neurological health.

"A well-nourished brain is going to be more resilient," says Ramsey. "Being a modern human is stressful. There are a lot of demands for our attention and we're exposed to a lot more trauma ... Through diet, over time you make the brain more resilient."

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that the new dietary task force was commissioned by the Food and Drug Administration, when in fact it was commissioned by the HHS and USDA. Language has also been adjusted to clarify that non-pharmaceutical interventions for mental health issues are not always behavioral in nature.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/24/diet-mental-health_n_6566376.html

Gratitude in a Tea Bag

I am a featured contributor to an amazing book filled with hope!

Do you believe that things happen for a reason? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.  Do you believe that you have a purpose? I didn’t think that I did.  

 

Not many people know my story.  I was diagnosed pre-diabetic. I have always struggled with my weight. I have felt nauseated and sick most of my life.  I have struggled with anxiety.

 

When I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic in 2006, I didn’t have any idea how that diagnosis would positively impact my life. Yes, I said “positively.” That diagnosis has helped me find my purpose. It has helped me truly become healthy. My life’s journey has led me to where I am today.

 

With that all said, I am excited and incredibly honored to have been asked to tell my story in Christine Marmoy’s compilation, “One Crazy Broccoli, My Body is Smarter Than My Disease.” The book will be published this fall and will be filled with amazing, real life stories of hope and courage.

 

If you are struggling with a diagnosis, or any of the symptoms I have had – please feel free to contact me. As a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I would be honored to help you help your body be healthy and vibrant.

 

Keep your eyes open for more updates on the book launch.

 

Many blessings!

 

#onecrazybroccoli #wellness #prediabetic #anxiety #weightmanagement #diet #antiaging