Pro-Healthy Diet and Life Change

It's that time again. My birthday is approaching quickly and I am not looking forward to it.  I will be turning the big 4 0 this year (and my heart drops).  The reality of it is that I can't do any thing to slow down the clock. So I just have to embrace my age and getting older.  But one thing that I do not want to embrace or take into the next phase of my life is my major health problems and unhealthy eating.

I have hired an awesome personal trainer and I have also decided to try eating Vegan for 30 days.   After my 30 days, I will see how I feel and what adjustments I want to make to my diet. But so far I am excited.

While researching, I found some great channels on YouTube of woman that are educating the public on how you can transition into eating Vegan, tips, recipes, information and more.  The first YouTube page I want to highlight is Food Heaven Show with Wendy & Jess.  Their Facebook page is also full of information and meal ideas. "Food Heaven Made Easy with Wendy & Jess is a web series with a mission to bring healthy cooking to your kitchen. The show is hosted by Nutritionista Wendy Lopez and Registered Dietitian Jessica Jones, who both hold Master's Degrees in Nutritional Science. These nutrition nerds demonstrate how to cook nutrient dense, delicious and affordable plant-based recipes, while providing scientifically sound nutrition information you can trust."

I also want to highlight another great youtube page FullyRawKristina.  Kristina's page also has great colorful, vibrant videos full of information, recipes and more on how to transition into a vegan or healthy eating lifestyle. Check out her Facebook page here.


I will be checking in every once in awhile to talk about my experience with trying the vegan diet and if I have experienced any benefits.

Introducing Double Dutch Aerobics

"I am Michelle Clark, owner of Double Dutch Aerobics. Double Dutch Aerobics is my hearts passion. Our classes are bringing Child like joy to fitness. As a world champion in Double Dutch, I have the skill to teach anyone who can jump up and down how to jump Double Dutch in less than 1 min! Teaching rate 100%. Our class consist of both street jumping and competitive style jumping which includes - jumping jacks, pushups, mountain climbs, popups and more! The smiles, high fives and laughs that happen during Double Dutch Aerobics reminds me that I must continue to build my Double Dutch Aerobics Empire. Currently I have Certified Double Dutch Aerobics Instructors in NYC teaching classes and I am currently certifying more teachers in Atlanta. Expansion across the world is 100% the next step.  As a working adult, we are super busy, but things that we have to include in our lives in happiness and fitness. At double dutch aerobics we combine the two. Our saying is "Double Dutch Aerobics, where fun is the experience and fit is the result"."

To see more about Double Dutch Aerobics, check out this article on MyBrownBaby.

Chef Ahki

I am excited to write about Chef Ahki. Not only is she beautiful, but she is a celebrity Chef, natural food activist and blogger. It's my birthday today, and it is a day of reflection.  I am realizing that my health is the worst that it has ever been, and I am at my heaviest weight ever in life.  Part of this is due to be having a new business that is very demanding and being a full time mom to teens and a baby. I am busier than I have ever been and my health is paying the price. I have have not slept well for two years and my diet is horrible.  You hear all the time that good sleep is a great way to keep your weight down, well it is true. One is because your body needs that time to recover from your day and replenish itself.  So that when you do wake up, your not overeating to try and make up for feeling tired. Also when you stay up for longer hours, you end up eating more than you would if you went to bed at a regular time. So besides my never getting enough sleep, and always eating more meals in the day that I should - my food choices have been pretty bad.   So with today being my birthday, and me health being at its worst - I think I want to make a promise to myself to try and make better choices when it comes to eating better, getting more rest and working out more.  

That is why I am excited to have found Chef Ahki's facebook page.  I knew about her before this time,

because she was well known beauty in the natural hair community. But today, my appreciation for what she is doing is because she centers her craft of being a Chef around healthy eating.  "Different from other "veggie heads" " green- smoothie fads" and the likes, AHKI's content is laced with amazing personal style, intelligence, real -time relevent science, and surpisingly Hip-Hop. She is known to express her fury about our current food state with phrases like Your Tastebuds have been Hijacked" "Illness is Unnecesary" Diabetes is Reversible" "Because we ain't Supposed to be Sick" "You Ain't depressed, you just malnutrtioned". "Friends Don't let friends Eat at Waffle House" etc. She has used controversial figures like Che Guevara and Malcom X to "artistically express" her ideas and considers herself a though leader. In short, she cares not if she ruffles your feathers, as long as you walk away empowered and inspired to Get Healthy..By Any Greens Neccasary.

She transitioned to a plant-based diet at just 18, and became a colon-therapist. She decided to study under Dr. Mark Armstrong and recieved a bachelors in naturopathic science and holistic theology and was intrigued by the healing power of herbs, and eastern healing modalities.

Raised by four generations of medicine women in her native Oklahoma, Ahki was introduced to indigenous foods and alternative modalities early on. Growing up working in her grandparents garden, she knows what real food is supposed to taste like, she believes that humans are electrical, and that we need electrical foods for optimum health. She uses seasonal, organic, fresh non-hybrid fruits and vegetables to create living food recipes designed to heal bodies and enhance lives." - about Ahki

READ THOSE LABELS...

"Theres' nothing worse than going to a health foods store and rollin' up on some delicious "sounding" health item only to be shocked at the overwhelming amount of CRAP that's hidden inside. Let's face it. The Health food game is sewed up too. The aisles are filled with just as much crap as you'd find at Kroger. The Good thing is...with a little research, (and some discipline) you can avoid alot of these Fraud Foods disguised as health food items. Look for MSG. Sugar. Monondiglycerides.FructoseCorn Syrup.Whey. Rice or Potato Starch. Aspartame. Casein. Corn and Canola Oil. These are just a few to begin. More on these later." -Chef Ahki

Foods for Beautiful and Healthy Hair

African American women sometimes have problems with their hair breaking, slow growth, and split ends. By adding some essential foods to your daily diet, you can prevent your fragile hair from these annoying problems. According to Seymour M. Weaver, a Houston-based dermatologist, �There's an epidemic of hair loss taking place among African-American women. It is partly because of damaging grooming techniques and styles that pull the hair back. Changing your hair care routine can promote growth---and so can the food you eat.

Vitamin B Enriched Foods

According to Seymour,� B vitamins---along with amino acids---are the building blocks for protein, so they are critical if you want to grow strong, healthy hair. Vitamin B also plays a role in producing red blood cells, which transport oxygen and nutrients to your scalp and follicles. If you suffer from vitamin B deficiency, Bauer points out that your hair is likely to shed, grow slowly and break. Eat foods such as whole-grain cereals, garbanzo beans, bananas, soy milk, oatmeal and beets, to get your daily vitamin B fix.�

Foods Rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Eating foods that are rich in omega � 3 fatty acids can help prevent the loss of hair and help it to grow. A traditional Western style diet often tips the balance towards foods rich in omega-6 fatty acids. When in fact your hair actually needs the foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids not in omega- 6 fatty acids. You can design a healthier diet by eating fatty fish like as sardines, salmon, mackerel, and herring three times a week. In addition, to adding flaxseeds to your breakfast cereals or salads at lunch and dinner will help a lot in making sure you are getting enough omega � 3 fatty acids in your diet.

Iron

According to public health experts, iron is the leader of nutritional deficiencies in the US. When the body is low in iron, the blood vessels cannot transport the oxygen to the tissue and cells, including the tissue and cells that the scalp needs to maintain the hair follicles. Iron is necessary for the cells to grow. Many women have low iron levels or iron deficiencies caused by the menstrual cycle.

To increase your iron intake you can take iron supplements (always consult your doctor before taking any supplements) or if you prefer add more iron to your daily diet. Foods that are high in iron include iron-fortified foods, lean beef, beets, poultry, beans, lentils, and lamb.

Protein

Protein is also beneficial for health hair. Eating 3 ounces of lean protein twice a day in addition to other foods high in protein can do wonders for your hair health. If beef is not part of your diet, you can eat food such as legumes, beans, peanut butter, low-fat dairy, and seafood. 

If you incorporate all of the suggestions above you will have strong, beautiful hair again in no time!

Articles Author - Tammy Mahan has worked in the healthcare field for over 20 years. She often shares her knowledge on Healthline.Com.