Category: All Tips & News

Developing New, Healthy Habits

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[vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Put together a number of beliefs, develop a strategy for putting those ideas into practice, and you have a new habit. You possess the power to change. Here are some ideas to make that happen.

  1. Believe in yourself. Don’t feel trapped by self-imposed limits. Decide on the habits you’re going to change and remove your doubts. When you firmly believe you will succeed, you make success happen.
  2. Visualize success. It’s pretty amazing how much emotion you can generate and how motivating visualization can be. Here’s a powerful example. Let’s say your new habit is a physical fitness routine. Visualize yourself running. Hear your footsteps on the pavement, feel the breath in your nostrils and lungs, see the vivid color of the environment through which you’re running, and smell the fresh air. When the whole image is this real, you understand that your habit is truly achievable.
  3. Be the new you. Do not just ‘want’ to reach your goal some vague time in the future, but think in terms of already attaining it. In your mind, use language that makes you certain that your new habit is real. “I am strong and fit.” And start now, in the present tense, not next Monday. Procrastination is the enemy of positive change.
  4. Be strategic in making your new habit come to life. For our fitness example, execute strategies like these:
  • Get up early. Set the alarm 45 minutes ahead of your normal wakeup to make time for exercise.
  • Make appointments with yourself to work out. Pick your days and times and put them on your calendar.
  • Put out your athletic clothes the night before so they’re ready to go in the morning.
  1. Affirm yourself. After every workout, thank yourself for exercising and taking care of your body. And be grateful for the attention that others pay you. Your more vibrant, happier self will be appreciated by everyone around you. That reality will help further fuel positive change and more healthy new habits.

At Full Circle Market, we love fresh ideas for living right.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”news-page-list”][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=”See More” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Shadows%20Into%20Light%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”2″ element_width=”12″ orderby=”rand” item=”8536″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1557890278227-ec1da0f3-7227-9″ taxonomies=”28″ el_class=”news-grid”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Superfoods Do More Than Satisfy Your Appetite

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Family cleaning kitchen together

Science shows that everyday, delicious whole foods can put health-improving benefits on your plate. Choose the improvement you want and shop for tasty foods that are good for improving mood, energy, metabolism and memory. “Food can reshape our medical destinies for the better,” says David Katz, MD, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center.

For mood: walnuts & asparagus

Walnuts deliver a high amount of the amino acid tryptophan, which the body uses to create serotonin, a natural mood-regulator. Plus, your body digests walnuts slowly, which helps you tolerate stress.

Asparagus contributes to good mood with the B-vitamin folate. This vitamin helps the body synthesize neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which all contribute to good mood.

For weight loss: spring garlic & legumes

Spring garlic tastes milder and sweeter than the dried white bulbs available year-round, making it easy to consume more. (It can even be enjoyed raw.) When you eat more garlic, you’ll get more of the aromatic compound allicin, which contributes to making you feel sated sooner and gives garlic its distinct, delicious smell.

Legumes work two ways to contribute to weight loss.

The high fiber content makes your body work harder to digest legumes, burning calories just by eating. And the protein in legumes sends satisfaction messages to your brain’s hunger center.

For energy: spinach & artichoke

Spinach leaves are a great source of iron, which red blood cells need to deliver energizing oxygen to muscles. These greens also increase the efficiency of your cells’ energy-producing mitochondria.

Artichokes are rich in magnesium, a mineral that’s part of your body’s energy-generating biochemical reactions–along with more than 300 other functions. Adequate magnesium helps your muscles react faster and endure longer.

For skin: salmon & strawberries

Salmon provides an omega-3 fatty acid, elcospentaenoic acid (EPA) that blocks the release of collagen-reducing enzymes that are otherwise induced by exposure to UV rays. Strawberries are rich in antioxidants that help skin repair damage caused by exposure to pollution and UV rays.

For memory: eggs & blueberries

Egg yolks are full of choline, which your body uses to produce acetylcholine, a brain chemical that helps you store memory. Blueberries contain anthocyanins, shown to increase signals between brain cells and enhance learning and memory.

At Full Circle Market, we love sharing healthy food with all its benefits.

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Eat Yourself Happy

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Your food plays a role in your mood. It makes sense, when you realize that food fuels the brain’s processes and helps form its building blocks. Let’s look at what food does for your brain.

Your nervous system uses foods in many ways. The body breaks down foods into substances used as chemical messengers, including neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, melatonin, and epinephrine. Food also provides amino acids–glutamate, tryptophan, GABA, tyrosine, taurine, and others–that are the precursors to neurotransmitters. Food also contributes to the development of stress hormones such as cortisol, and to natural opiates like endorphins.

Food is processed by the digestive system, and the gut’s health influences your mental state. The gut’s nervous system contains approximately 100 million nerve cells and uses more than thirty neurotransmitters. The gut holds 95 percent of the serotonin in the body. Lastly, the balance of bacteria in the gut plays a critical role in mood and behavior.

Food affects the processes of the nervous system, and contributes to gut health that helps impact mood. A typical Western diet, however, is often high in sugar, gluten, omega-6 fatty acids, and toxins, which contribute to the negative effect of inflammation.

Inflammation often results from high insulin levels, a consequence of consuming sugary foods and high carbs. Food allergies, gut bacteria imbalances, and consumption of trans fats and toxins also trigger inflammation. The brain responds to the stress of inflammation by releasing immune system messengers known as cytokines. When produced in excess, cytokines interfere with the brain’s ability to receive and process signals from the rest of the nervous system. This cycle of inflammatory stress can affect cognition, learning, memory, and mood.
Fortunately, there are ways to incorporate different types of food to help support your brain and bodily processes. Consume a balanced diet that provides the proper nutrients, alleviates and tries to avoid inflammation, and helps your gut bacteria stay in balance are all important to your body. Here are additional suggestions of how to “eat yourself happy”
• Include whole, nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts.
• Eat frequent small meals to maintain adequate and steady blood sugar levels.
• Increase omega-3 fatty acids from foods like fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, and leafy greens.
• Help promote healthy gut function with prebiotic foods such as asparagus, dandelion greens, bananas, and garlic, and with probiotic supplements.
• Limit consumption of inflammatory foods such as gluten, sugar, and oils and omega-6 fatty acids (found in meat and corn, soybean, and canola oils).
• Consider food allergy testing.

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Bright ideas: Sunblock basics and sun safety

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]It’s summer, and time for fun in the sun. So it’s a great time to review the experts’ advice on avoiding sunburn and skin damage as you enjoy the outdoors.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommends these sunblock basics.

  • Use broad spectrum sunscreens that block both UVA and UVB rays.
  • Choose Sunburn Protection Factor (SPF) values of 15 or higher.
  • Follow package directions and apply sunscreen properly.
  • Reapply at least every two hours, more often if you’re sweating or spending time in the water.

Let’s shine a brighter light on the subject.

Learn the ABCs of broad spectrum. UVA and UVB rays each cause different sorts of damage to different skin layers. If you’re not using a product labeled ‘Broad Spectrum,’ you’re missing vitally important protection.

Get your minerals. Many of the latest sunblock products are mineral-based instead of chemical. Look for the words ‘titanium oxide’ or ‘zinc oxide’ on the label. While chemical sunblocks require application 30 minutes before sun exposure in order to activate on your skin, mineral sunblocks work right out of the bottle. What’s more, some of the chemicals used in sunblocks are associated with skin irritation and other side effects.

How much SPF is enough? While SPF 15 is the recommended minimum, you might see numbers of 70 or greater. Most experts agree that an SPF of 50 is likely the maximum level that makes an effective difference in protection. Higher SPFs offer only a few percentage points of added defense, as measured in sun exposure time. Studies also show that people may spend more time out in the sun when they are wearing very high SPFs, putting themselves at greater risk.

Proper application is key. Look at the directions on the bottle. If the quantity isn’t specified, use a big nickel-sized blob on your face, and an ample handful, about two tablespoons, for your body. Apply thickly and evenly, and get help for your back and other hard-to-reach places. Look at the expiration date, too. Sunblock generally loses its effectiveness in the span of a year or two; discard outdated bottles.

Sun protection is about more than just sunscreen. You should reduce your risk of sunburn and skin damage by taking other sun safety precautions, like:

  • Wearing clothes – sleeves, shorts and pants, long skirts, and hats to shield your face, neck, and scalp.
  • Finding or making shade – under trees, canopies, and umbrellas.
  • Scheduling outdoor time before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m., to avoid the hours of the most direct sunlight.
  • Putting on sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV radiation.

Take special care of the kids. Infants under six months of age should avoid all sun exposure. Children over that age should wear sunblock. Set a good example by protecting your own skin when the family goes out in the summer sun.

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Exercising for swimsuit season

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Get your body looking trim and toned, and feel great in your swimsuit. There’s a whole lot of summer ahead to enjoy. Start this swimsuit season exercise program today; you might want to keep it going all year around.

At the core

Most of us look at our midsections, belly, and hips when we put on our swimsuits. Ab and core exercises help us tone and tighten for a leaner silhouette. Whatever core exercises you like to do–yoga, Pilates, or strength work–maximize the impact by building on these fundamentals:

  • Move from your waist, keeping the hips still. Twist from the bottom rib and up.
  • ‘Zip up’, as if you’re putting on your snug, shapely jeans. You’ll feel a tightening across the front of your abdomen between your hip bones.
  • Exhale every breath fully and pull in your navel. Doing this helps strengthen your core and protect your lower back, too.

Get crunchy

Your first fun crunch is the Russian Twist. It does double duty on both abs and obliques.

  • Sit in a v-shape, with your upper body held up at about a 45-degree angle, and your legs lifted with ankles crossed, knees bent, and shins parallel to the ground.
  • Hold a medicine ball between both hands, and swivel with control to the left side, then the right, nearly touching the ball to the ground. Do 3 sets of 15 reps each, 3 to 4 times a week.
  • Start with a 5-lb. medicine ball (or dumbbell), and increase the weight to a comfortable but challenging level.

Try another great exercise for the core: Advanced Leg Crunches.

  • Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor, with a 3-lb. dumbbell between your feet. Put your hands, palms down, beneath your sitting bones.
  • Use mainly your lower abs to bring your knees in toward your chest while lifting your hips, head, and shoulders slightly. Return to the starting position.

Do 15–30 reps, 3 to 4 times a week.

  • Start with a 3-lb. weight and increase as needed.

Burn, baby, burn

Don’t forget the cardio component to your swimsuit season exercise program. Cardio/aerobic exercises burns calories and fat. Alternate cardio with strength training days in your routine. You’ll feel exhilarated, energized, and ready to rock that swimsuit.

At Full Circle Market, we hope you enjoy getting out into nature for plenty of summer fun.

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Tips for Family Travel

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Summer vacation is more fun for the whole family when it’s a child-friendly endeavor. Summer Hull writes the website MommyPoints.com, dedicated to travel deals. The name of the site says a lot–Summer is a family travel veteran, with a 3-year old daughter going along on “mostly” successful flights.

Be sure to take Summer’s expert ideas on the road with your family this summer.

Eating and sleeping matter on vacation just like they do at home.

  • Bring special, easily dispensed tidbits like M&Ms and jelly beans for tense moments on planes or long car rides.
  • Pack granola bars and fruit purees for healthy snacks all through the day.
  • Stop at the local grocery store for affordable, wholesome treats like fruit, cheese sticks and nuts.
  • Put together balanced meals at hotels and restaurants by assembling your child’s meal off of your own plates.
  • And try to stick to something resembling a normal schedule for meals, naps and bedtime.

Keep kids entertained on your travel legs. You’ll be able to manage the logistics better when the children are occupied. And well-occupied little ones are less likely to stress out the rest of the family and other passengers.

  • Bring an iPad or portable DVD on the plane.
  • Pick up some new toys that have novelty value. Bring lightweight paperback books, small plastic figurines, and coloring books.
  • Select a rental vehicle with a built-in DVD if you’ll be traveling long stretches on the road.

Do your best to stay in good humor. Something will go wrong; it’s how you deal with the difficulty that really matters. If you make a sincere effort to calm a cranky child, other passengers in the planes, trains, and automobiles will show some understanding. And your kids will appreciate the positive attitude.

We hope you make great memories this summer on your family vacations!

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5 good reasons to eat your vegetables

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Nutritionists, physicians, and health gurus have a shopping bag full of very good reasons that we eat our vegetables. Here are five compelling arguments for a veggie-rich diet, direct from the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Vitamins

Vegetables are an important source of many nutrients, including vitamin A and vitamin C. Vitamin A keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections. Vitamin C helps heal cuts and wounds, keeps teeth and gums healthy, and aids in iron absorption.

Minerals

Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Vegetable sources of potassium include sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato products (paste, sauce, and juice), beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, spinach, lentils, and kidney beans. Dark green vegetables are also good sources of another important dietary mineral, calcium.

Other nutrients

Based on their nutrient content, vegetables are organized into five subgroups: dark-green vegetables, starchy vegetables, red and orange vegetables, beans and peas, and other vegetables. Beans and peas, also known as legumes, add plant-based protein to the diet. Red and yellow vegetables provide beta carotene.

Fiber

Fiber is important for healthy digestion, helping reduce constipation and diverticulosis. Fiber-containing foods such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories. And, dietary fiber, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease.

Calories

Vegetables are typically lower in calories per cup than many other food options per cup. And they make you feel full longer, thanks to that fiber content. So increasing the volume of veggies you eat can help you lower your overall calorie intake.

How much is good enough?

An adult woman needs about 2-2.5 cups of vegetables every day, and an adult man about 3 cups. Children 2-3 years old should eat 1 cup of veggies per day, with amounts increasing to adult levels over the years.

At Full Circle Market, we’re happy to bring the bountiful goodness of vegetables to your family.

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Wake-up call: A morning routine for the kids

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Back-to-school time presents a lot of logistical challenges. Parents who plan will make the transition to the school-year routine a lot easier for everyone.

  • Start with a family-friendly checklist. Put it at eye level for the kids. Use pictures and bright colors.
  • Begin the list with a consistent wake-up time.
  • Include all the logical steps that your family takes to get out the door:
  • Go potty
  • Make bed
  • Wake mom & dad
  • Eat breakfast
  • Brush teeth
  • Get dressed
  • Gear up with backpacks and lunchboxes
  • Put on jackets, coats, gloves and hats as needed.

Develop a clothes organizer

Speaking of getting dressed, here’s a great tip from planning experts: create your own system of five plastic boxes or cubbies that contain an outfit for each day of the school week. If you plan wardrobe in advance, you’ll avoid morning chaos and serious fashion mistakes. Try to have all five outfits packed up and ready to go right after Sunday dinner.

Create a lunch menu

Use a magnet board as a cool lunch planning tool for children. You provide the menu options, the kids select their lunches. Make sure to cover nutritional bases by offering categories: a sandwich or other main dish, fruit or vegetable, and snack item. The act of planning lunch empowers kids to make good food choices and predisposes them to enjoy the meal. (As a finishing touch, pack a little note or special treat in the kids’ lunch. These little surprises will brighten the whole afternoon.)

At Full Circle Market, we love to help bring good things to your family’s everyday life.

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Workouts that work into your day

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Exercise is important. But sometimes, it takes heavy lifting just to open time in your schedule. Here are expert hints that help you get a new and more productive perspective on fitness.

Minutes

  • Block out time on your calendar. Treat exercise like any other real commitment, like a meeting or an appointment. Set alarms on your phone calendar to make sure you make your workouts.
  • Book and pay for classes or personal training sessions that happen at a specific time. The sense of financial responsibility makes you much more likely to follow through with your fitness plan.
  • Spread exercise time throughout the day. Get up from your desk and take a brisk 10-minute walk in the fresh air. Keep a kettle ball in your office and do 5-minute high-intensity exercises. The short bursts of activity can make a real difference, and help you build incrementally to longer workouts.

Motivation

  • Respect your health and yourself. You deserve to be fit, and your investment in regular exercise pays off in ways that benefit you for years to come. And you’ll almost always feel better right away after a good workout.
  • Stop and think about the ways your health impacts everyone who matters to you. Write down the altruistic reasons you should take care of yourself: to be present for your family and friends, to be stronger to take care of those who depend on you, to be more productive. Make your list very specific to your life so that you feel the real importance of your health.

Mingling

  • Exercising with others makes fitness more fun. When you make a date, do something active, like a bike ride or a walk on the beach followed by a healthy picnic. The emphasis on activity can work into your time with friends, too. Try something new and a little adventurous like an afternoon of indoor rock climbing, or do a yoga class followed by a cup of herbal tea.

Mornings

  • Start the day right; it’s a tactic that many professionals recommend. Exercise before the other demands of the day encroach on your best intentions. Put your workout gear out the night before, and get up ready to get fit.

Enjoy breaking a sweat! With these new perspectives, you can make great workouts happen.

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Everyday Ideas For Your Dog’s Health

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text] ‘Wellness’ is a wonderful word. You want your whole family to experience wellness–and that includes the four-legged members of your household.

Vet care

Timing is everything, and it’s even more important when it comes to the health of your pet. That’s because our pets live several years of their lifespan in each individual year on our calendars. Begin by diligently scheduling regular exams at your dog’s veterinarian. It’s important to stick to annual checkups to diagnose any conditions that arise before health issues become serious. Early treatment is always better.

Watch over your pet

It’s also good to spend a little time, every day, observing your pet. She can’t speak for herself, so it’s up to you to notice if her habits are changing or she’s moving differently or she’s losing her appetite. You might like to keep a pet health diary to note what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s a bit puzzling. Over time, you’ll see patterns and detect changes. And besides, one of the joys of living with a companion animal is observing their smart and silly and snuggly presence in your home.

 Good nutrition

Something you do every day is eat, and so does your dog (usually with a lot of enthusiasm!). Just as you would for your human family, consciously select a good, nutritious diet for your dog. Spending more than the bare minimum for dog food will pay off in a lifetime of better health. We’ve all heard about those scary pet food recalls in recent years; research recall information on the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Facebook page.

 Get exercise

Dogs are active by nature. Give them at least one good leash walk a day, and make time for more whenever you can. You’ll help keep your dog at an appropriate weight, increase your bond, and enhance your own health, too.

Training is a positive

“A well-trained dog has more opportunities to improve its physical health,” says Pat Miller, author of The Power of Positive Dog Training. Positive training methods help your dog come when called, wait when asked, and politely greet other people and pups, making walks, fetch, agility training, and doggy social encounters more manageable and just plain fun.

We hope these reminders help you and your pets enjoy a healthier and even happier life together.

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