Education

Running on Empty

By Dr. Trina Moore-Southall

trinaWhen I was in college, I had no money to spare. I quickly recognized how much money it took to fill my gas tank, and how many miles I could drive until I was empty. I was also keenly aware that Betsy, my 1988 Ford Escort, could drive for 7 miles after she hit empty. I sometimes parked my car 3-4 miles away from my apartment or from my job, or campus, and I would walk to my destination. This was not a good decision for the overall maintenance of my car, and I often drove on empty. I found myself praying that I could get to the gas station if I was approaching 7 miles past empty.

In the last few weeks, I have been 7 miles past empty. There is no gas station in sight. Some of what has taken away from my tank, is being a mother of two Black men. The mileage required for this role is unexplainable. The visibility of racial inequity and injustice across multiple platforms and media has stolen from my tank. The gas required to show up in predominantly white spaces and continue to operate when I am mourning, sad, hurt, and defeated has emptied my tank. (more…)

Health

What’s your exit plan after staying at home for months?

By Dr. Ara Suppiah, MD

araIf you’ve been cooped up eating comfort foods and binge watching TV for the last few months, chances are your body could use some TLC about now. Losing weight and getting back in shape can seem overwhelming. But emergency room and sports medicine physician Ara Suppiah reminds us, “The reason why people give up is because they focus on how far they have to go instead of how far they have come.” 

A map is useless without a starting point
In his book, “Lose Weight & Feel Great Forever, an insider’s prescription to turbocharge your life now,” Suppiah provides a self-assessment quiz to help set your personal health GPS on a path toward wellness. The questions cover everything from diet, sleep habits and stress levels to relationships, exercise habits and whether you suffer from such things as allergies, gastrointestinal problems or anxiety.  (more…)

Education

Hunger for Awareness Spreads Awareness About Eating Disorders

By Leila Shadgou
leila shadgouSocial media has grown to become a toxic environment for young generations, perpetuating narrow ideals. Unfortunately, this further institutes unattainable standards that lead impressionable individuals to manipulate their bodies to fit these “perfect” expectations. In effect, promoting edited images has produced a spike in concerns over body image and weight, forming a direct link to anxiety, eating disorders, and depression among social media users. This is a serious problem. If left unsolved, people will continue to alter their bodies in an unhealthy manner to reach an archetype that simply doesn’t exist. In order to eliminate this destructive cycle, Hunger for Awareness aims to have every person’s voice heard through normalizing discussion about these personal issues. (more…)

Education

Colleges Go Test Optional

Do your kids still need to take the Sat/ACT?

By Erik Klass

First of all, and most importantly, I hope everyone is healthy and keeping safe. As you may have heard, an increasing number of colleges are changing their admission requirements to “test optional” (regarding the SAT/ACT). Many of our clients have been asking about how this may impact their own SAT/ACT planning. I hope the following information answers the common questions.

Do I have to take the SAT/ACT?
Many colleges, including the UC schools, are now making the SAT/ACT optional for fall 2021 applicants (current high school juniors). I suspect many other colleges will follow suit. However, be careful: as of this writing, most colleges still require one of the standardized tests. My advice: unless you are sure all of your target colleges will go test-optional (which, I admit, is hard to figure out while things are still changing quickly), I think you should plan to take one of the tests. (more…)

Health, Health & Beauty

Permission to Say YES to Your Desires, Because it Makes You a Better Mom

By Gina DeVee

When mothers hear about my lifestyle of running my business while traveling the world, the thought arises: “Well Gina, YOU can do that because you don’t have kids.” Admittedly, the second part is true. However, the idea that my lack of children is the enabling factor for my fabulous lifestyle couldn’t be more false. I know because I’ve worked with hundreds of mama-preneurs who have proven the opposite: in the 21st century, a woman can truly have it all (including elite frequent flyer status), even with toddlers and teenagers in the house.

At the same time, I completely understand why most mothers are convinced their dreams must wait until retirement (or at least until pre-k starts). From the moment we give birth till long after the kiddos are dressing themselves, it’s expected that we put ourselves last. In fact, the average woman tends to fall near the bottom of her own priority list even if she’s never thought of getting pregnant. It’s simply how we’ve been conditioned to survive and stay “safe” in the world. In our male-dominated culture, we’ve been taught that we must give tirelessly to prove our worth. We’ve learned that taking care of ourselves or indulging our desires is “selfish.” And thanks to all these untrue stories, we’ve unnecessarily cut ourselves off from receiving what we really want in life. (more…)

Fitness, Health

Proper Supplementation How to boost your immune system during the Covid pandemic.

By Daniella the Dietitian

I have always been a strong believer that food is medicine. Balanced nutrition with abundance of fruits and vegetables should always be the forefront of any diet. However supplements can also play an important role in not only enhancing your bone, heart and immune health but reversing conditions such as elevated triglycerides, anemia, hypertension, diarrhea, bariatric deficiencies and vegan B-12 deficiency.

People are always asking me about what supplements I recommend (prenatal, immunity, heart health, energy etc.). Since the FDA does NOT regulate supplements, like they do medicine, it is very important to find a company that does purity testing and that’s proven safe. After extensive research I have discovered Shaklee. This Californian company has been around over 60 years, more importantly they have surpassed US pharmacopeia screening standards for contaminants, pesticides and impurities. Scientist, peer reviews and the famous Landmark Study have shown that their supplements have increased biomarkers of heart, brain, and cognitive health in their users. Shaklee follows a non-GMO policy and produces over 100,000 quality control tests yearly! Plus the majority of the nutritional line is Kosher Star-K. They also stand behind their products with a 100% money back guarantee. For these reasons, I feel confident as a dietitian recommending this product line. (more…)

Health

Can taking NSAID medications like Ibuprofen (aka Motrin or Advil) really make COVID-19 infection worse?

By Elisa Song, MD

Elisa SongA possible correlation was noted by Olivier Veran, French Minister for Solidarity & Health, after doctors in France observed that young people presenting with more severe illness may have had NSAID use as a common risk factor. Mr. Veran then went on to recommend paracetamol (which is acetaminophen aka Tylenol) if you have a fever instead. Within 18 hours of posting this on his FB page on March 16, 2020, it has literally gone “viral” (no pun intended), and since then, I’ve been flooded with questions from concerned parents whether or not it’s safe to give their child ibuprofen if they suspect they may be infected with SARS-CoV-2.

On March 17, World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier stated at a Geneva press conference that UN Health Agency experts are “looking into this to give further guidance… In the meantime, we recommend using rather paracetamol, and do not use ibuprofen as self-medication.” Mr. Lindmeier notes, however, that if ibuprofen has been “prescribed by the healthcare professionals, then, of course, that’s up to them.” (more…)

Fitness, Health

Veggie noodles al pesto

Time: 10 mn
Serves: 5

This is really nice hot and cold as well. I am using store bought noodles but you can make you own at hope with a spiralizer! This can be served as a side of any protein or on its own with chickpeas for example.

Ingredients

  • 1 pack of spiralized carrots
  • 1 pack of spiralized zucchini
  • 2 tsp of olive oil
  • 1 cup of pesto (store bought works great or see below for recipe)
  • 1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 pinch of chili flakes
  • Pesto: 4 cups of spinach, 1 bunch of basil, 1/2 cup of walnuts, 1 lemon ( juiced and zested), 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • Parmesan or feta to serve

(more…)

Fitness, Health, Health & Beauty

Diet Myths

By Dr. Adrienne Youdim

By now, either your New Year’s Resolutions are in full swing or if you are like most of us you have lost some wind behind your sails. That’s how it goes right? You resolve, you waiver and then you throw in the towel. You are not alone! And the reasons why are universal.

1. Militant approach- when we decide on a resolution, we often take a militant, all or nothing approach, leaving no room for negotiation and no room for inevitable slips ups. This approach sabotages our success. Why? Because slip ups are human, particularly if you have set the bar so high that any indulgence is considered a failure. And here is the thing…in my decades experience of doing this work, it is not the cake you chose to eat last night that gets you off track, it is the inability to move past it. The all or nothing approach results in the throw in the towel effect and sabotage, period. (more…)