Internet Safety

Today we take a detour from our mainstay of diet, lifestyle and such. The Internet is the most fascinating entity in my lifetime. It has and will continue to rapidly change what and how we learn, how we do business, our recreation patterns and so much more! Some of us don't remember the typewriter but it was invented soon after my birth and has become obsolete. They actually used to have typewriter repairmen that would come to the house to fix yours if it wasn't working well.

Like anything else in life powerful things can be used for good or evil. And, the Internet is truly powerful! So we must not only learn to use this wonderfully powerful tool but we must learn how not to get hurt while using it. We must especially take care with how our children and young adults use this powerful tool!

I recently found a great website and took their FREE course on Internet safety. It was quick, interesting and very informative. Again it was also FREE! I believe that every serious Internet user and every parent should take the time to listen to and watch the FREE material on this website and then get others to do the same. No, this is not a marketing tool or system. In fact, no one gets paid for going there or referring someone else. It is a site dedicated to providing cutting edge statistics and information about what's happening on the Internet and how to be safe while online.

i-SAFE Inc. is the worldwide leader in Internet safety education. Founded in 1998 and endorsed by the U.S. Congress, i-SAFE is a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting the online experiences of youth everywhere. i-SAFE incorporates classroom curriculum with dynamic community outreach to empower students, teachers, parents, law enforcement, and concerned adults to make the Internet a safer place. Please join us today in the fight to safeguard our children’s online experience.

OK, the site already!!! It's i-SAFE Inc. located at http://www.isafe.org/. We must make the Internet safer for everyone, especially the children! Some of the videos will absolutely be a wake up call to you as they were to me. Witty inventions are given by the Lord and it's up to us how and what they're used for! Go to the site, bookmark it and make a difference in your family and your community!

Wow I just learned how the spellchecker works here at Blogger. So, my spelling shall be impeccable from now on!

Healthy Alternatives for Better Snacking

Deciding on healthy snacks can be difficult. You must take into consideration overall caloric intake and expenditures. No matter how healthy a snack is we must consider the calories and their impact on our total dietary goals. Then you must decide on the type of calories that are best for your body. Some of us do better with low fat, some with low carb and some with low protein.

By now we would have to agree that there is no one size fits all when dealing with nutrition. Our bodies are unique and individual. I recommend that anyone that is really serious about providing themselves good nutrition get a blood and or hair analysis done to evaluate your own personal system to see how your body works. Also you must consider any health issues, medications and alergies you may have.

Once a complete and thorough examination of your own personal and present situation is done you are ready to use the internet and library for foods that will help you acheive the best results. There are some great computer programs like "Balance Log" available to monitor your diet and exercise. These programs serve as a dietary log or journal and help keep you focused and on track! They also allow you to make substitutions and see how that will effect your diet and health.

So, while I'd like to play the expert and tell you what is best, the right thing to do is provide information for information that will help you find the perfect dietary solution for you! Pray and Read your Bible to get insight and inspiration from the Lord. Go to a good doctor who can do an extensive blood and/or hair analysis. This can be costly but very worthwhile if you can pay for it. If not, you have to keep a good log of everything you eat and drink and record how it makes you feel. A program like "Balance Log" can help before, during and in planning your new dietary lifestyle. Continue to explore my blog and the internet for advise and suggestions as we search together for our best life now!

Grace and Peace,

Ed

Recovery is sometimes needed!

Sometimes, even under the best of situations and circumstances, we are forced to battle to get back to the condition of health! The majority of those living a "healthy overall lifestyle" have less incidents of many of the current prevelent illness' and sickness. But even we have either an area of overall healthy decisions that we were mis-informed about or we refused to do what was necessary to avoid the negative consequences of not following the spiritual and natural truth.

My wife used to tan on the top of her parent's blacktop roof for hours a day throught the spring, summer and fall months. She did this for more than 10 years! Two days ago she was operated on and received over 50 stiches as the result of a melanoma on her back. The lesion was only 2" around!

She is feeling better tonight and is recovering well! We think this operation may be the last physical consequence of this foul thing! "Back in the day", we were instructed, by the copper tone girl, to get in the sun and get a tan with SPF's of 2 and 4! Now we avoid the sun because we are aware that too much un-protected exposure to the sun could be an un-healthy practice!

I was hospitalized years ago for being morbid obese. I also had hypertension (controlled by medication). Years of eating fast food, high sugar carbs, animal fat , added salt, diet soda, processed white flour and starchy vegetables took their toll. I also went from twelve hours a week of exercise to less than a half hour per week!

I have since lost 70 lbs! I did gain 30 back over a year's time. I am in the process of ordering my diet aright again and will again reap the benefits of a prescription, fat and sugar free, with the right amount of organic, raw, whole food and exercise.

My dad smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. He was diagnosed with lung cancer at 71. He died at 73 after he had a lung removed and was put on dialysis three times a week. He also worked a lot of his life as a mechanic surrounded by asbestos. Which, when we thought it was great, we put around and in everything that was constructed. Walls, Pipes, Ducts, Brakes etc... Now we pay hundreds of thousands of dollars removing it!

So the answer to our Recovery of health again is consistent!
Eat a little healthier each day! Add more live, organic, whole foods and eliminate unhealthy choices (More on this tomorrow).
Balanced exercise 6 days a week! Begin slowly and add to your program a little every week. Slow and Steady!
Research and Study out your biggest challenge and get as much info as you can. "Knowlegde is Power" Having the knowledge will help give you the power to do what's best for you!
Pray and Read the Bible every day! Open up your heart to Him. Start with 5min. a day for a week then go to 10min etc... He promises to lead you, guide you, and cause you to prosper! Do it for Life! Faith comes by hearing the Word of God in prayer and as recorded in the Bible.
Drink plenty of good water!
Don't smoke!
Don't drink more than two servings of alcohol per day.
Get about 20-30 minutes of skin protected sun per day when possible.

Our Quality and Quantity of Life depends on this stuff!

Grace and Peace,
Ed

Exercise and the Healthy Lifestyle

Exercise is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle! The term "use it or lose it" is so true! The importance of exercise is greater today than ever before! All of our present technology can lead to a relatively sedate lifstyle which can result in many different problems such as obesity, atrophy, depression and more.

Regardless of which forms of exercise you choose, all exercise can be broken down to three vital components. Aerobic, Anaerobic and Flexibility. Simply put they are Cardio, Strength/Power and Stretching. Doing a combination of the three ensures the optimal use of our muscles, organs and injury /illness prevention and is necessary for overall fitness.

Aerobic exercise improves our cardio-vascular system and increase our endurance. It helps our heart, veins, lungs and, as a result, our entire body by increasing blood flow and oxygen volume to every cell. As a result it improves our mood, increases our daily energy level and helps our sleep patterns. Examples of Aerobic exercises are running, riding a bike, walking, jumping rope, swimming etc...

Anaerobic exercise helps with our muscle tone, bone density and overall strength. It helps us look good, feel good and helps with weight control. By reducing our fat to muscle ratio we burn more calories both when exercising or resting! Muscle requires and uses more calories than fat does. Also, by putting stress on our skeletal frame it cause our bones to maintain density and helps stave off ostioporosis. Examples of Anaerobic exercise are weight lifting, isometrics, sprinting, power yoga etc...

Exercise that works on flexability reduces the incidence of injury. It also helps to manage and slow the debilitating effects of arthritis. It balances our strength training by lengthening our muscles, tendons and ligaments. Anaerobic exercise tends to shorten the muscles, tendons and ligaments. Exercises that focus on flexability also increase our range of motion. Examples of exercise that increase flexability are stretching, yoga, swimming, calestetics etc...

As you can see some exercises incorporate more than just one of the three components of fitness. Also sports and daily activities can improve our fitness level as well! Things like climbing the stairs instead of using the elevator or walking instead of driving can all contibute to a better level of fitness!

Generally speaking we should try to incorporate at least 20 minutes of each fitness component daily. Try it for one month and you will notice a marked improvement in how you look and feel! Remember to start slowly and avoid injury. When it comes to increasing your fitness level "slow and steady wins the race"! Also, always consult your doctor before starting any diet or exercise plan to be sure it is safe for your individual situation!

The bible says, "24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives sthe prize? So trun that you may obtain it. 25 Every uathlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we van imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I wdo not box as one xbeating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and ykeep it under control,2 lest after preaching to others zI myself should be adisqualified."
s Phil. 3:14; Col. 2:18
t Gal. 2:2; 5:7; Phil. 2:16; Heb. 12:1; [2 Tim. 4:7]
u 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 2:5; 4:7; [Jude 3]
v See James 1:12
w [Heb. 12:4]
x [ch. 14:9]
y [Rom. 6:19]
2 Greek I pummel my body and make it a slave
z [S. of S. 1:6]
a [Jer. 6:30; Rom. 1:28; Heb. 6:8]
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (1 Co 9:24-27). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

By the way, I use logos bible software. It is absolutely incredible and the best of its kind on the market! E-mail me for a 25% discount on it's already reasonable price!

Grace and Peace,

Ed

Childhood Obesity

In response to a response to my last post I have chosen childhood obesity as the topic for today's blog. As an Assistant Principal of a Pre-K to 12th Grade school this is certainly an important topic to me!

Childhood obesity is a growing problem here in the United States. According to the National CDC, the percentage of overweight children between the ages of 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 20 years, going from 7% in 1980 to 18.8% almost 1 in 5 in 2004. Obesity in adolecents between 12 to 19 has more than tripled, increasing from 5% to 17.1% in the same time frame! An estimated 61% of overweight young people have at least one additional risk factor for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. In addition, children who are overweight are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem. According to the National Institute of Health, obesity in kids is now at epidemic proportions in the United States!

What are some of the causes to this increasing problem? One thing being observed is a lack of physical exercise. Years ago outdoor activities were the largest source of entertainment for young people. All through the day you would hear the sound of kids playing in their front yards or in the street. Also, the average diet has changed drastically. Children are eating at fast food establishments at an ever-increasing rate! The consumption of fried, sweet, salty, fat laden food is becoming the main staple in their diets. These two conditions coupled together spell disaster for the present and future generations.

As always, the only long term solution is found in correct information and education. Education of parents as well as students is crucial in stoping this epidemic from growing. The Bible says, "My people perish for a lack of knowledge". It also says that, "Without a vision the people perish". Ah the wisdom of the Word! The One who created us knows how to keep us if we would just learn, listen and obey!

As far as our schools, we need to re-visit the importance of Physical Education, Team Sports, and Exercise Physiology. As a society we realize the importance of proper education and instead of reducing gym, art and music programs we must fund the schools to provide a complete education that prepares the young people Spiritually, Physically and Intellectually. Schools also need to look at the foods they serve as well as the snacks and drinks they provide. We lead by example!

As always, I hope this article was enlightening and I want to thank you for your imput and sugesstions for future topics!

Grace and Peace,

Ed