Tag Archives: tips

Great Resources & Tips for the Holiday!

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The holiday season is here and that means that there is going to be lots of family and friend gatherings accompanied by presents, music, and delicious foods. And remember to take care of yourself so that you can be in your best shape for the holiday! So forget to check out these resources down below for helpful information and fun tips:

  • The 12 Ways to Health Holiday Song was created by CDC and it’s a song about keep yourself safe and healthy for this holiday!
  • Want to try out new recipes for the holidays? Check out this link for recipes of Korean food! Or how about Hmong food recipes? And, you don’t have to choose from the links posted here as there are various websites you can choose from.

pork_soft_bone

http://hmongrecipes.com/

  • An alternative to hot drinks like coffee and hot chocolate is tea! Tea is a much healthier alternative with less calories and sugar. Bonus: the variety of tea available on the market is tremendous so you’ll probably find something that suits your taste. Also, you can always add ice, sugar, and mix it with other tea leaves if you want to.
  • Want to give gifts on a budget? If you’re on a budget, it’s still possible to give great gifts as long as they’re meaningful. Check out this link here for 101+ diy gift ideas and YouTube for creative and fun ideas!

candy-cane-dip

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

Staying Healthy & Fit this Holiday

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AMA STEP UP YOUTH 2015

With the holiday season around, it is easy to forget how to maintain a healthy lifestyle! So take this time of the year to review what you can do to improve your overall health. Also, it’s a good time to think about what kind of health goals you want to achieve now and in the future. But don’t worry, it is easier than you think. Here are 5 easy steps you can do to stay active and healthy:

  1. Work out on a schedule! If you already have a work out schedule, try your best to stick with it. In this way, your body and mind will get use to it. Consistency is key to keeping your body healthy and active! But if you don’t have one yet, try to work out or go to the gym as often as you can. Then find the proper time that you are available each week to work out and try to stick with that schedule!
  2. Stay warm! It is colder around this month with the snow and windchill, so make sure to protect yourself with appropriate clothing. If your body temperature drops, you can get ill or even frostbites! Ouch, nobody would want that!
  3. Keep yourself healthy with healthy habits! Little things that you may do will affect your overall health and it is very important that you try to keep your life balanced. In between work, free time, sleep, being sanitary, and other things, being able to manage them will reduce your stress level!
  4. Talk with friends and family! This is the season of gathering so not discuss things with your loved ones? It can help you destress, get to know people better, and you can learn new things. Having a social life is part of a healthy lifestyle!
  5. Join a community event! It can help you stay active physically and socially! Whether it is a marathon, a fundraiser, or a social gathering, it is a great way for you to interact with your community.

5 Tough Questions to Ask Aging Parents

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See Mou, wife of Robert Lor (not pictured), carries a basket full of ripe tomatoes on their rented land north of Stillwater. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

See Mou, wife of Robert Lor (not pictured), carries a basket full of ripe tomatoes on their rented land north of Stillwater.
(Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

The financial well-being and long-term care needs of aging parents can be among the most sensitive, difficult issues for families to discuss. The Minnesota Department of Commerce is encouraging Minnesotans to take the time to talk with their loved ones this holiday season about their financial commitments and long-term care wishes.

1. Do you have any serious health issues?

Openly discuss with your parents any chronic illnesses or conditions that require recurring treatment. Request a list of medications and doctors’ contact information. If a parent has a history of prolonged physical illness or disability, you may want to research long-term care options.

2. What is your financial situation?

If an elderly parent’s health suddenly takes a negative turn, out-of-pocket expenses can add up quickly. Discuss all sources of income and insurance coverage to determine how and if your parent might cover unanticipated medical treatment. If your parents agree, familiarize yourself with their insurance coverage and financial assets such as savings, pension plans, stocks, IRAs and 401K plans. Income, assets and insurance affect Medicaid eligibility and Medicare options.

3. Where would you prefer to live if you could no longer care for yourself?

Is your parent comfortable with the prospect of living in a nursing home, or does he or she have plans to move in with a family member or friend should special care be required? Be open and direct about your ability to honor these wishes. If your parents need nursing home care, it’s important to know if their monthly income meets state eligibility requirements for Medicaid.

4. Who do you trust to make decisions for you should you become incapacitated?

Encourage your parent to officially ask someone to serve as his or her medical and financial proxy or power of attorney. It is best if your parent chooses someone to trust with making their financial decisions, and if that is possible, there is agreement within the family about who is being entrusted with these responsibilities. It is also important for this person to maintain clear communication with family members.

5. What are your end-of-life wishes?

Individual feelings vary regarding the prospect of having one’s life prolonged by the use of medical equipment and medication. Know your parents’ views, and make sure their preferences are recorded in an official document such as a living will or advanced health care directive long before they no longer are capable of expressing informed consent.

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November is National Diabetes Month

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It’s Your Life. Treat Your Diabetes Well.

http://www.cdc.gov/

“November is National Diabetes Month, and the City of Minneapolis wants to help prevent diabetes by encouraging people to get screened for Type 2 diabetes and then take action if they’re at risk for developing it.

The Minnesota Department of Health estimates that one out of three Minnesotans have prediabetes, but most of them don’t know it. People with prediabetes are likely to develop Type 2 diabetes within five years if they don’t take action.” – http://www.minneapolismn.gov/

The Minneapolis Health Department, with funding from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsors the prevention program for Minneapolis residents in four community clinics and one community organization.

Under the guidance of a trained coach over 16 weeks, participants learn healthy eating, physical activity, managing stress, staying motivated, and solving problems that can get in the way of making healthy changes.

New classes are forming now. For more information, people can go to www.minneapolismn.gov/health/living/diabetesor call a class provider directly:

  • Native American Community Clinic (Brian Joyce at 612-872-8086 x1041).
  • Hennepin County Medical Center (Pa Xiong at 612-873-6641).
  • Neighborhood HealthSource clinics (Julie Lor at 612-287-2447).
  • Stairstep Foundation (Sylvia Amos at 612-521-3110).

For more information about the National Diabetes Prevention Program, go to www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/index.htm.  Credits belong to the rightful owner.

Nov 19: the Great American Smokeout

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AMA STEPUP 2015

One problem that the U.S. and in other parts of the world still face today is the usage of tobacco. Tremendous research and data has proven that it can ruin your health. If you’re a smoker, take the steps now to live a healthier life. It is easier said than done as many smokers are addicted. But there is always help available for those who wants quit smoking.

“That’s where the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout can help. This event takes place on November 19 and encourages smokers to quit or to use the day to make a quit plan. Free help is available at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) and at 1-855-DÉJELO-YA (1-855-335-3569) (for Spanish speakers).

When you quit smoking during the Great American Smokeout, you have the support of many other people across the nation. And you’re taking an important step towards a healthier life.” – http://www.cdc.gov/

Five Ways to Get Ready to Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking can be hard, so a good plan can help you get past symptoms of withdrawal. Five steps can help.

  1. Set a quit date. Choose the Great American Smokeout or another quit day within the next 2 weeks.
  2. Tell your family and friends about your quit plan. Share your quit date with the important people in your life and ask for support. A daily phone call, e-mail, or text message can help you stay on course and provide moral support. Try SmokefreeTEXT for 24/7 help on your mobile phone.
  3. Be prepared for challenges. The urge to smoke is short—usually only 3 to 5 minutes. Surprised? Those moments can feel intense. Even one puff can feed a craving and make it stronger. Before your quit day, write down healthy ways to cope.
    • Drink water.
    • Take a walk or ride your bike.
    • Listen to a favorite song or play a game.
    • Call or text a friend.
  4. Remove cigarettes and other tobacco from your home, car, and workplace. Throw away your cigarettes, matches, lighters, and ashtrays. Clean and freshen your car, home, and workplace. Old cigarette odors can cause cravings.
  5. Talk to your pharmacist, doctor, or quitline coach about quit options. Nicotine patches, gum, or other approved quit medication can help with cravings.

Other benefits include:

  1. Financial savings! As you slowly quit, you’ll realized that all the side cashes that you usually spend on cigarettes can be spent on better things or put into your savings for future use.
  2. Health recovery and improvement! The sooner you quite smoking, the better condition your body will be in. Within 3 days, the nicotine in cigarettes are completely flushed out of your system. Within 1-9 months, your lungs, and other parts of your body will start to repair itself from the damage of smoking tobacco. Within 10 years, your chances of getting cancer decreases by 30%-50%!
  3. Having an environment with clear air! By being a non-smoker, you can help lessen the pollution that goes into the air. Also, you would be lessening the amount of trash that comes from leftover cigarette parts.

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Today is #WorldStrokeDay!

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ginormous

www.strokeassociation.org

Today highlights the importance and awareness of stroke. By being more knowledge in what stroke is, we can better understand how it affects people afflicted with stroke. According to http://powertoendstroke.org/, “stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die.” What can you to spread the knowledge:

  • Share, tweet, and tell your friends about #WorldStrokeDay
  • Tell Congress that stroke survivors on Medicare deserve better. If Congress does not act before next spring, stroke patients on Medicare will face limits on the outpatient therapy needed to regain vital skills, like walking and talking. The typical Medicare beneficiary has a $1,900 therapy cap. On average, that amounts to a single evaluation and just 19 outpatient therapy sessions. However, stroke survivors often need 3-5 therapy sessions a week, which means they’d reach the caps in less than two months. We must do better for these survivors! Tell Congress to remove this harmful cap on stroke patients once-and-for-all! (http://www.strokeassociation.org/)
  • Symptoms include sudden numbness, severe headaches, and troubles with walking, and seeing. The faster you call for help, the quicker it can be helped!
    • If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T.1 and do the following simple test:F—Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
      A—Arms:       Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
      S—Speech:       Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?
      T—Time:       If you observe any of these signs, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Here are some quick facts about stroke (www.cdc.gov):

  • Stroke kills almost 130,000 Americans each year—that’s 1 out of every 20 deaths.
  • Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability.
  • On average, one American dies from stroke every 4 minutes.
  • In 2009, 34% of people hospitalized for stroke were younger than 65 years.
  • The country’s highest death rates from stroke are in the southeastern United States.2 Below is a map showing the prevalence of stroke across the United States.

stroke_death_rates

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MN’s Obesity Rate Rises

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“MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Obesity rates across the country are still high despite the billions of dollars being spent on programs aimed at lowering than number, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control.

Minnesota is one of only five states that saw an increase in adult obesity rates last year – just shy of 28 percent.

Despite the rise, Minnesota’s rate is the 15th lowest in the U.S.

Overall, more than two-thirds of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese.

The average American today is 24 pounds heavier than his or her counterpart in 1960.” – http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/

Obesity is a real health issue arising in Minnesota. Sometimes, it is about the choices of a unhealthy lifestyle that affects people’s. So what can we do as a community to lower the rates of obesity?

  • Encourage your family, friends, and community to exercise! Whether it’s a daily or once a week, it is much better for your health than not being physical at all.
  • Buy groceries and foods from your local farmers and markets! There are actual organic and affordable food on the market. One just have to research a little bit to get information on where to get healthier food alternatives.
  • Stray away from fast food as much as possible. Although they’re cheap, fast, and easy to get, fast foods have more fat and sodium than you need on a daily basis. You can try to reduce the amount you eat fast food as you go on.
  • Join community marathons! These opportunities are a great way to exercise, support organizations, and meet new people. You will learn that there are many people out there who share the same cause as you do.
  • Living healthy is making smart choices! Being obese is a physical struggle and a mental challenge. Anyone can be healthier just by making healthier choices. It is always hard in the beginning, but once you make it a habit to life it won’t seem as difficult as before.

Stay Motivated in School

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www.annarborfamily.com

Many students return to school with new motivation, but it is quite hard to maintain it! Sometimes, you just want to give up because many things can affect you. But don’t worry, you’re not alone as many other students are going through the same problems. These tips will help you get through the year!

  1. To feel good and energized, you need at least 8 hours of sleep! If your body is on a stable sleeping cycle, you will fall asleep much quicker. You’ll find that you will feel better the next morning as you won’t wake up exhausted.
  2. Eat a balance meal with healthy snacks. It’s normal for students of all ages to feel constantly feel hunger throughout the day. Chances are you may be tired, didn’t get to eat a proper meal, or too busy to worry about eating right. But you can try to avoid unhealthy snacks and meals. Try to bring healthy alternatives to satisfy your cravings!
  3. Along with eating well, try to live a balance life. That means make time for your education, family, friends, exercising, and free time. It will assure you more freedom to do what you need and want. So having a planner and being organized helps out a lot!
  4. Ask questions in class! You probably don’t want to stand out or feel less smart than other students in class, but chances are other students are wondering the same. It’s all about trying to educate yourself without worrying what others may think of you.
  5. Build positive relationships with peers and teachers! The closer you are with the people around you, you all can help and educate each other. Also, they provide new perspectives and knowledge that you may not know or have.
  6. Take effective notes! Everyone has their own styles when it comes to note taking. But don’t relentlessly write down notes without proper organization . You won’t be able to find things easily when you need them to study. A popular note taking style is Cornell notes.

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New School Year = Fresh Start

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backtoschool

ashfieldpandc.com

It’s that time of the year where students are returning to school. Everyone wants to have a new start at school and have a positive experience. But it will be different for everyone. Are you worried about your schedule, making friends, joining sports, and such? Here are some tips to help you out:

  • Don’t be shy to ask for help whether it’s for something small or big. School nurses, staffs, and counselors are there to help students out.
  • Finding your classes can be easy or challenging. The best thing to do is ask the school staffs who can help guide you to the right classroom.
  • Want to a join a sport/club? Meet up with the staffs at the athletic/club office. They can help you with the paperwork and fees that may apply.
  • Having problem with or wanting to change your schedule? You are able to change it if you set up an appointment and meet up with your assigned counselor. Just know that people who are grade above you will be in consideration first.
  • Trying to make new friends? Often time, you just need to reach out first (volunteer or partner work, speak first, invite others, etc.). It could be in the classroom, club, or sport team setting. You have more opportunities to make friends with people who share more similarities.
  • Stray away from drama, peer pressure, and negativity. Focus on important things such as your homework, grades, and friends. Don’t get too hung over school drama or with unwanted peer pressure because those things won’t do you much good.

Focus on School Adjustment Problems

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Focus on School Adjustment Problems:
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Some students experience difficulties adjusting to new classes (content and standards), new schools, new teachers, new classmates, etc. It is particularly poignant to see a student who is trying hard, but is disorganized and can’t keep up.
Over the first few weeks, teachers realize quickly who has and hasn’t made a good adjustment to their classroom and to the school. This is the time to address the problem before it gets worse. If adjustment problems are not addressed, student motivation for school dwindles, and behavior problems increase. Misbehavior often arises in reaction to learning difficulties.
The first month is the time to be proactive. This is the time for staff development to focus on the type of strategies that enable good student adjustment, as well as identifying and addressing problems as soon as they arise. This is the time for student support staff to work with teachers in their classrooms to intervene before problems become severe and pervasive and require referrals for out-of-class interventions.
While some schools already have a proactive approach to student adjustment problems, many do not. These are the type of concerns that are regularly addressed by a transformed system of student and learning supports.*
Making it Happen
(1) To facilitate a strong focus on school adjustment, use a staff development session to encourage structured staff discussions about what teachers can do and what other staff (e.g., student support staff, resource teachers, etc.) can do to team with teachers in their classrooms to enhance school adjustment. Also clarify ways to use aides, volunteers, peer tutors/coaches, mentors, those in the home, etc. to help with additional strategies designed to enhance social, emotional, and cognitive engagement.
(2) Establish September as “Addressing School Adjustment Month – Getting the School Year Off to a Good Start” (see Is the School Year Off to a Good Start? — http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/goodstart.pdf )
(3) Let staff know about the following free and easily accessed Center resources:
• Supports for Transitions – Chapter 4 in Transforming Student and Learning Supports: Developing a Unified,
           Comprehensive, and Equitable System–  http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/book/book.pdf
            • Addressing School Adjustment Problems — http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/adjustmentproblems.pdf
• What Schools Can Do to Welcome and Meet the Needs of All Students and Families –
• Welcoming Strategies for Newly Arrived Students and Their Families –
• Welcoming and Involving New Students and Families – http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/welcome/welcome.pdf
• Learning Supports: Enabling Learning in the Classroom — http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/rtipract.pdf   
For more, use the Online Clearinghouse Quick Finds to link to other Center resources and to online resources across the country. For example, see:
>Transition Programs/Grade Articulation/Welcoming – http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/p2101_01.htm
>Classroom Focused Enabling – http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/classenable.htm
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