Main > Posts from the Health And Wellness Category at Regina Lewis

Organic Food Coupons

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

My friend Sara is extremely diligent in her approach to "real food" and she dug up some terrific organic food coupon sites. I'm amazed how terrific these sites are & am excited to save on some of our favorite products & brands. Here's one of my new favorites:

www.mambosprouts.com

Real Food: What to Eat and Why

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Do you need a reminder to remember the troops?

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
More than 300,000 of our troops have come back from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with some form of a brain injury, PTSD, combat stress or debilitating depression. These servicemen and women need our help and a great way to get involved is via The Bob Woodruff Family Foundation, online at www.remind.org. The mission of the foundation is to assist service members injured while serving in the United States Armed Forces. They place a special emphasis on the "hidden signature injuries" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – traumatic brain injury (TBI) and combat stress injuries including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).



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Partners Against Pain

Tuesday, November 11, 2008
While pain is a serious public health issue affecting an estimated 75 million Americans, it is still often overlooked or misunderstood. Enter: Partners in Pain, a comprehensive online resource offering a wide range of information for patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals about a variety of pain conditions, both acute and chronic – from sports injuries and surgical pain to arthritis, cancer pain, fibromyalgia and much more. The site also provides pain measurement and pain assessment guides for patients, a pain advocacy toolkit and links to other relevant sites.


Coming soon, Partners in Pain will be adding a special podcast to partnersagainstpain.com focusing on military injuries and persistent pain. The podcast features Gerald Q. Greenfield, MD, president-elect of the American Academy of Pain Management; Army Corporal Shane Parsons, who was severely injured in Iraq; and his caregiver and mother, Cindy Parsons. They all have seen the devastating impact pain can have after a battlefield injury, and want to share their unique perspectives in hope of informing and inspiring others. An exceptionally noble use of the medium.

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United for Pink: Approachable Breast Cancer Resources

Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Every October, am amazed how expansive the breast cancer awareness efforts are. I can't help but think of the women who inspire so many to work so tirelessly. It is touching & the stakes are high. For more than twenty years, the month of October has been recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). A recent online poll indicates the vast majority of us know someone who has been touched by this disease, we fear it more than terrorism and we're willing to proactively do something about it. The Internet can help.


This October, AOL Health is honoring Breast Cancer Awareness month with the launch of its month-long "United For Pink" campaign. The campaign, presented by Fuze - Heroes for Help, provides galleries, quizzes, articles and videos on topics ranging from ways to assess the risk for getting breast cancer to the common myths and misperceptions about the disease.

They've also got information on finding a doctor and what getting a mammogram is really like (had my first this year .... is no biggie). The site is really well put together & uses a magazine-like style to make the information approachable, informative & compelling. The "myths" caught my eye, including this one from Prevention , which -- am afraid -- we often see in email chain letters:
Myth 5: Wearing a bra or using antiperspirants and deodorants increases your risk of breast cancer. These are two Internet rumors that never seem to quit. It's not true that wearing a bra, especially underwire bras, traps toxins by limiting lymph and bloodflow in your breasts, increasing risk. There's also no proof for the claims that antiperspirants and deodorants cause cancer by keeping the body from sweating out the cancer-causing substances that build up in the breasts, or because they contain harmful chemicals that are absorbed through the skin.

The AOL Health/Health.com Breast Cancer Poll surveyed more than 2,000 internet users on AOL Health, from August 22 - September 16, 2008. Results are available on both AOL Health and Health.com. Some highlights include:



-- A majority of respondents (73%) have had a close friend or relative who has battled breast cancer;

-- Forty-one percent said getting heart disease scares them more than getting breast cancer, while 29% said nothing scared them more than breast cancer. Coming in third and fourth, respectively, were a terrorist attack (17%) and getting fat (13%);

-- Fifty percent said they would have their breasts removed if they tested positive for the breast cancer gene;

-- More than half (59%) said they do self-exams sporadically and 15% said they do them every day, while 26% said they never do self-exams;

-- Almost three-quarters (71%) of respondents who are over 40 get an annual mammogram.

Related:
Parade of Pink

10 Celebrities Who Battled Breast Cancer



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Running for a Reason

Wednesday, August 6, 2008
There's a guy at our church who has an Iron-man-like presence ... He's done the distance & is currently rallying a bunch of us to swim, bike & run for a reason ... In this pursuit, am trying to connect & share the online dots, so running a mile & providing running water for a young person is a couple of clicks away.

Here's widget from my fundraising page & the first in a series of related posts.

XO


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Debt Stress: DSI

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Forget, CSI. Do you know about DSI? A recent AP-AOL Health Poll reveals the reality of "debt stress." Debt stress is the toll owing money takes on the body – from insomnia and severe anxiety to muscle tension, digestive problems, high blood pressure and even heart attacks.

According to the survey, the average level of debt stress experienced by American adults is significantly higher than found in a similar survey by the AP in 2004. At the root of it – economic uncertainty, including a big downturn in the real estate market, coupled with the increased cost of living (skyrocketing food and gas prices), Americans are currently carrying $957 billion in credit card debt.


The Debt Stress Index (DSI):
Devised by research psychologist Paul J. Lavrakas and his colleagues at Ohio State University in the late 1990s to measure the extent to which a person is stressed by the financial debts she or he has taken on in life; The DSI ranges from 0, indicating "no stress whatsoever," to 100, indicating "extreme stress." The scale is formed by combining responses to the following four survey items:

1) I'd like you to think about your overall debt, including any that is on credit cards, store credit, a mortgage or home equity loan, a car loan, or any other outstanding loan you [and your spouse/partner] may have. Now, thinking about those debts you owe, how often do you worry about the total amount you [and your spouse/partner] owe in overall debt?

2) How much stress does the total debt you are carrying cause to you [and your spouse/partner]?

3) Now, thinking ahead over the next five years, how much of a problem, if any, will the total debt you [and your spouse/partner] have taken on be for you?

4) How concerned are you that you [and your spouse/partner] never will be able to pay off these debts?

How debt stress relates to health:
Those adults with greater debt stress are significantly more likely to have had stress-related health problems in the past 12 months.

Among those with moderately high or high levels of debt stress (i.e., DSI scores of 60 or greater), which includes approximately one in five adults:

• 51% have had muscle tension including pain in the lower back compared to 31% of those with low levels of debt stress
• 44% have had migraines or other headaches compared to 15% of those with low levels of debt stress
• 29% have had severe anxiety compared to 4% of those with low levels of debts stress
• 27% have had ulcers of other digestive tract problems compared to 8% of those with low levels of debt stress
• 23% have had severe depression compared to 4% of those with low levels of debt stress
• 6% have had a heart attack or other heart problems, compared to 3% of those with lower levels of debt stress


woman stressed about finances
Money matters when it comes
to financial and physical health.

Who has the most debt stress?
According to the survey, it's working mothers without a college education who in 2007 had a household income either between $10,000 and $19,999 or $60,000 and $79,000.

The least debt stressed?
Tend to be retired college-educated men who do not have children living at home whose income was either more than $150,000 or less than $10,000 in 2007.

What to do about debt stress:
The solution is a two-pronged approach – dealing with both out of control finances and your health. For strategies to help you start digging your way out of debt, check out these tips from AOL Money Coach Jean Chatzky. In the meantime, there are online resources for coping with and learning about ailments associated with debt stress, including mental health problems.

Related;
Five Sites that can put $50 in Your Pocket
Suddenly Everything's Negotiable
Make Money Working from Home
E-Haggling: Your Mouse as a Bargaining Chip



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Wii Fit - How will it move you?

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

We played ALL-things Wii ALL weekend at my sister's house. From tennis, to bowling to Guitar Hero it was NON-Stop action with an audience (we're a big family).


Looking ahead, here's what we'll all probably be playing when the holidays come around ... Can almost see my sister mastering her center of gravity with the new Wii Fit available now in Europe and on the ground here in the U.S. on May 19.

Soon you'll be able to start doing muscle workouts, yoga poses and balance games, like ski racing and jumps. Check out this downhill run & blocked shots on soccer goal. Total Score! The winner: Nintendo!


There's some talk on message boards re: what mats you do & don't need + what is & isn't included bundled Wii offers. Those can be tricky. Sometimes significantly cheaper, but only if you need/want everything included. If you're a gamer, you might actually find some of the things listed in this article remotely doable: 10 EASY WAYS TO GET MORE FROM YOUR WII

Having seen the demand in my sister's living room & remembering the trouble Santa went to for Guitar Hero this year, am getting in on this early & pre-order. The trick will be resisting breaking them out on a rainy day ...


RELATED: This parody is kind of a riot. And, of course, the Internet wouldn't be complete without a baby laughing video. This little guy's giggle is contagious!:)

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RACHAEL RAY - CLEAN UP YOUR DIGITAL DIRT

Friday, April 25, 2008

Rachael and her terrific producers were kind enough to dedicate the entire first 1/2 hour of her show to two increasingly important causes: MANAGING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION & CYBERBULLYING. Both issues are hotter than ever. We'll stay on the story ... In the meantime, here's what we sat down with Rachael to discuss + links to additional resources & previous coverage on Fox News Channel. Bottomline: Am afraid it's probably time to add CLEAN UP DIGITAL DIRT to your Spring Cleaning List!

SEGMENT ONE: WHAT'S YOUR ONLINE REP?/WHY FAMILY SECRETS AREN'T SO SECRET ANYMORE


Click to watch.

SEGMENT TWO: IS YOUR CHILD A CYBER-BULLY? OR BEING CYBER-BULLIED?

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GreenDaily.com - Easy Ways to go Green on Earth Day

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Going green is a huge trend & can't watch TV, listen to the radio or get through an interview on either without it coming up. Not to date self, but remember when Nickelodeon launched ground-breaking Earth Day efforts. To their credit, seems they were ahead of their time. Now, everyone & everything is well represented online.

See: Earth Day 2008.



Browse over to GreenDaily.com for tips like: Five ways to start going green if you already haven't: Bring your own bag to the grocery store, unplug appliances when you're not using them and lots more.

There are also a regular features on Celebrity "ecoists" like Ted Danson:



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Jott it Down, Ping Me, Oh Don't Forget & Remember the Milk!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Too much to do and not enough time to get it all done? Silly question. Here's a few sites to help you take back your life, or at least some of your time. They're all free and try to get you a little closer to having your own personal assistant & who wouldn't want one of those ...

· Jott: As the name suggests, Jott lets you easily send reminders to yourself or to friends. Just call Jott and it turns your voice into written email and texts when you speak your messages. Perfect for when you're away from your computer or a pad of paper and need a reminder. If you can't keep up with the Blackberry addict or teen in your life who types a million miles an hour, this might be good work-around. It could also be smart way to avoid texting while driving. Nearly 90% of Americans Support Ban on "DWT"

Pinger

· Pinger: For times when you just want to leave a voice mail and not get caught up in a lengthy phone conversation there's Pinger. Just call Pinger, leave a voice mail message for a friend and your friend gets a text on their phone alerting them to the new voice mail. We tested this product when it first launched. It's pretty neat if you want to get the same phone message to a lot of people at once. You record it once (just as you would any voicemail), but you can send it to multiple numbers. They also suggest using it when the tone of a text need to be crystal clear. Lord knows a lot of arguements between couples stem from simple misunderstandings about what "OK" really meant and what time "PM" starts & ends.

· Remember The Milk: Remember The Milk lets you set up to-do lists you can update online or via email from a cell phone. Friends or family can add to your list too. RTM even keeps you on top of your lists with email, text message and even IM reminders through AIM. I haven't gone down the notes & alerts path yet, but some people are really big on it.

Campbell Brown & I once tested something similar www.ohdon'tforget.com -- LIVE on TODAY SHOW ... You could tell it was LIVE, cause -- well -- it didn't exactly go as planned. We couldn't get the reminders to stop ringing on-air! The producers in the control room thought it was a riot. I was a wreck.

Right now, the yellow "pad" on my iPhone is calling my name. If I had my whole TO DO list it will surely explode. What's your trick? We'll be doing TV & Radio stories on this topic in coming weeks, so let us know by COMMENTING below. Thanks!

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**Super Bowl Snack WARNING ... Beware of DOUBLE-DIPPERS **

Sunday, February 3, 2008
Super Bowl snackers ... consider yourselves warned ... If you're attending a Super Bowl party on Sunday, in addition to the big game, there's something else you should be focusing your attention on ... double-dippers – snackers who dip their chip, take a bite and then dip it again.

If you're a fan of "Seinfeld," you're probably familiar with the classic scene from season four where George double-dips his chip at a funeral reception. His snacking habits are immediately called into question by a young man named Timmy, who tells George, double-dipping is like "putting your whole mouth in the dip."



Is double-dipping really that bad? A new scientific study, inspired by the 1992 Seinfeld episode and performed by a team of undergraduates at the University of Clemson, shows double-dipping can actually transfer significant amounts of bacteria into the dip.

According to the New York Times, the team of nine students had volunteers bite a wheat cracker and dip the cracker for three seconds into a tablespoon of dip. They repeated the process with new crackers, for a total of either three or six double dips per dip sample. The team then analyzed the remaining dip and counted the number of aerobic bacteria in it. The students found that on average, three to six double dips transferred about 10,000 bacteria from the eater's mouth to the remaining dip. Don't pretend to know how bacteria is measured, but that's an awfully big number.

Paul L. Dawson, the Clemson University professor overseeing the study, concluded the follow: "The way I would put it is, before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here? Because you don't know who might be double-dipping, and those who do are sharing their saliva with you."

So, looks like the best advice to any double-dippers you encounter on Sunday ... "just take one dip and leave it at that." Easier said than done sometimes. Though, if you've gotten to this point in this posting, it 's probably just got a lot easier. Nothing like being grossed out to keep your calories in check.

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YOU as the Biggest Loser

Monday, January 7, 2008

The term "diet" spikes every Monday .... Hot Diet-Related Searches invariably go up as millions of people decide this is the week they're "really, really going to do it." It is especially true this week as many of us return to our regular routines at home &/or work. My sister & I call it "re-entry." If you're fighting the post-holiday battle of the bulge, there's plenty of help online to get back on track.

Some insanely disciplined friends & family members of mine have had tremendous success with The Master Cleanse.

The Master Cleanser



If you lack discipline on this front, work extra hard, save up money & travel to "WE CARE SPA" IN PALM SPRINGS this controlled environment to hang with celebrities & models preparing for their next music video, movie or photo shoot. Here's all the info to book a reservation. CALL: 800-888-2523



America Takes it Off - Choose Your Resolution pulls together diet tips, strategies, meal plans and motivation. Speaking of motivation ... You've seen her on NBC's hit The Biggest Loser and on the new Biggest Loser Couples, now you can get free advice from fitness expert Jillian Michaels. From tips on cutting carbs - to what kind of water to drink to maximize weight loss - to avoiding empty calories ... Just click for your daily fix of Jillian.

woman scale



Click here to get the 411 on dozens of popular diets including the Cabbage Soup diet, the Fat Smash Diet and the Ultimate New York Diet, developed by Heidi Klum's personal-trainer ... seems to be working for her! Then again, 800 calories a day probably makes this more about math than magic & well, she's a supermodel for a reason ... She's designing Birckenstocks? No matter how much weight you lose, this could be tough look to pull off:




There are more "fad" diets listed here, for easy access.


Martha's Vineyard Diet, promises a loss of 21 pounds in 21 days
. Enough to convince me to buy the book &/or plan a retreat to Martha's Vineyard B&B pictured below. If you don't see me on TV for a week, you'll know where I am ... ;)


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Freeze Your Gizzard

Saturday, November 17, 2007

My daughter & I did a 5K cross-country race this morning, appropriately titled "Freeze Your Gizzard." That we did:) My boys were there to cheer us on, which was especially nice.

4th Annual Freeze Your Gizzard 5K Cross Country Run. Click here for more info...


This time of year is filled with so many special traditions. Hope to making freezing our gizzards one of them. Up next: Turkey Trot - a venerable tradition.


For more info on races in your area, check out some of these fantastic resources:

** RUNNING TRAINING & EVENTS

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**BE ALERTED OF TOY RECALLS**

Thursday, November 8, 2007

This is one of the most important things we've ever posted & I hope you'll pass it along. Toy Recalls are serious business. Look no further than the latest breaking news. One of the best kept secrets (and we're going to try to help raise awareness by talking about it here, on TV + Radio in next 24 hrs, including on CNN Hedadline News) is, if you purchase toys online, you can be alerted via email if there is a recall of that specific toy. Seems like a no-brainer to me. Here's how ...

Breaking News: Another major -- and tragic -- toy recall was announced late yesterday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Being pulled from store shelves and Internet retailers, over 4 million units of the toy Aqua Dots, found to contain a chemical that converts into a powerful date-rape drug when ingested. Serious stuff.

aqua dots
Full information about the Aqua Dots
recall can be found at www.aquadotsrecall.com.

Here's what's being advised: Aqua Dots, distributed by Spin Master Ltd. of Toronto, sold for $17 to $30 and were available at stores including Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart. and Target. Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact Spin Master for a replacement product or toy of equal value. Also, check to see if you may have already purchased Aqua Dots as a Christmas gift. If so, be sure to return those units as well. You can find the very latest information about this recall online at www.aquadotsrecall.com.

**DON'T MISS TOY RECALLS - HOW TO BE IMMEDIATELY ALERTED BY EMAIL**

As previously posted on ReginaLewis.com – If you shop for toys online, sites like eToys, Amazon.com and ToysRUs.com will automatically attempt to send online shoppers email notifications about recalls the same day they're issued. This is a nice – maybe even critical – value-add and something to keep in mind as you do your holiday shopping this year.

eToys Toy Recall Basics:
You'll receive an e-mail from eToys. If you purchased the recalled item from eToys, they'll attempt to notify you via e-mail with details on which toy you ordered, plus recall specifics and who to contact for a replacement. Be sure to use a permanent e-mail address when you order, eToys sends recall e-mails to the address used when the order was placed. It's a service our company has provided to their customers since 2000. More...

Will Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us alert me about a recall?
All customers who are registered at www.Toysrus.com or www.Babiesrus.com to receive email updates and special offers should also receive information about recalls the same day they are issued. Specifics about product recalls are also available online at www.Toysrus.com/Safety and on their Safety Board in stores.

Amazon.com Recall Information:
Amazon.com handles product recalls on an individual basis. When they are notified an item has been recalled, they stop selling the item and write to customers who have already purchased it to resolve the issue.

Walmart & Target
While Walmart.com (Walmart Recalls) and Target.com (Target Recalls) both have recall links and related information on their sites, there's nothing stating customers will be notified by email if they have purchased a product that is later recalled.

Still Mail in the Registration Card
Just because some e-tailers are beginning to offer recall alerts via email, this doesnt' mean you shouldn't also send back the product registration/product warranty card that comes in the box. Look at it as a extra protection or a second line of defense in making sure you're notified about any recalls. And if you're shopping offline, whether you're in Toys "R" Us or other retailers, always look in the customer service areas for bulletin boards highlighting the latest product recalls.

Email Alerts from the CPSC
Also worth doing: visit the site for the Consumer Product Safety Commission and sign up to receive notifications regarding recalls for any toys or child products. There's also a link where you can report an unsafe product.

I'd like to see them take this to the next level, drawing on mobile capabilities. When it comes to saving lives, minutes matter -- these kinds of things should come directly to your cellphone in the form of an "alert." The more people take advantage of these offerings, the more likely we'll start to see those kinds of applications.


Receive recall alerts by signing up at CPSC.gov.

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