National Diabetes Awareness month

Chicken Black Bean Soup

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast 

5 cups low sodium chicken broth or water

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 onion,chopped

2 tomatoes,chopped

3 to 5 cloves garlic,crushed

2 16-ounce cans low sodium black beans , rinsed and drained 

1tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried oregano 

Directions : 

1. In a large  pot, put the chicken breast, broth or water. Carrots ,tomatoes ,onion,garlic ,and seasoning. Cover and bring to a boil,reduce heat,and simmer for about 20 minutes or until done.

2. Remove the chicken pieces from the broth and set aside , to cool. Keep the broth warm over low heat.

3. Dice the chicken into small pieces . Return it to the soup and  heat it through. 

4.Garnish with grated cheese and red pepper flakes, if you like to 

Copy or original

In today's society imagine is a very big thing. You look at magazines that have Kim Kardashin . Saying she looked like a beached whale while pregnant. Or Angelina Jolie is way to skinny. When you look at models they look as if one piece of lettuce and one carrot is enough to fill them up. By us having all these imagines force feed to us by the media.  This causes people to question their self image . They start to wonder am I too skinny, too fat. No two people are the same . So stop basing the way you look on the Kim Kardashins and Buffy The bodies of the world . Become comfortable with who you are . Yes there are standards for how much you should weight at a certain height. But it's just that a standard. Stop trying to make your self fit into a mold of what society says is the standard. Stop worrying so much about if the numbers on the scale are going up or down . Start focusing more on things such as . If you have more energy , does your pants fit looser. Are you able to climb at least 2 flights of stairs now with out becoming out of breath. Thats what you should focus on. Focus on not becoming some one else , but the best you that you can be . When you start to focus on you and only you. You will notice a change in your mental health. It will also make it easier for you to work on your physical health. 

Just as no two snowflakes are the same . Neither are people so instead of comparing yourself , just do you. 

Remember when your rolling with me your Homegirls of Health "No prescription needed"

No more GMO

Sky High

Many people often mention their blood pressure in a joking manner. Saying things such as lawd these children are gonna make my blood pressure go up. Truth be told 20 million Americans suffer from high blood pressure (hypertension). Most of this 20 million is over weight African American women.  

If you have high blood pressure, think you have it or it runs in your family. You need to take a long hard look at your lifestyle , then make some changes.  There are some simple things that you can do to get your blood pressure under control. 

* If you're over weight , lose some weight 

* Cut down on or cut out meat

* Reduce stress ,try meditation 

*Exercise , even if you just go for a walk every day

* If you smoke , STOP IT

* If you drink, STOP IT

*Cut salt out of your diet 

High blood pressure is not a joke. Many, many people suffer from this and even die from this. Because they don't know what a normal BP is or how to get it down .  120/80 is considered a normal BP .

So stop letting kids, husband, jobs and what ever else get your blood pressure up. Until the next time your Homegirl of health has that hot health & wellness 411. Remember in order to live a better and healthier lifestyle "No prescription needed"

GMO Food

Every time you watch the news read the newspaper or surf the web, GMO foods keep getting mentioned. But do most of us even know what GMO Foods are? GMO foods that are genetically modified foods that have foreign genes from other foods and plants. I know your probably wondering why do we even care if our food is a GMO or not. some of the reasons that we should care is because foods that have been genetically modified have not been proven to be safe. GMOs require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

Top 10 genetically modified foods

 

1. Corn

2.Soy

3. Papaya

4. Rice

5.Potatoes

6. Tomatoes

7.  Peas

8. Dairy products

9. Cotton seed

10.Rapeseed(canola)

 

 

Companies against GMO labeling

 

 

1.Goya

2. Post

3. Sara Lee

4. Del Monte

5. Heinz

6. Ocean Spray

7. Nestle

8. Kraft foods

9.Coca Cola

10. Welch's

11.Hershey

12. Godiva

13. Hormel foods

14. McCormick

15. Sargento

16. Land O Lakes

17.Smuckers

18.Morton

19.Kellogs

20. Dean Foods

21.Tree Top

 

These are not all of the companies of course this is just to give you some idea of what we are dealing with in the United States of America

 

So the next time your watching the new and they start to mention GMO, instead of you going here we go again please pay close attention to what is said. Because this can affect your health, the health of your family and those around you.

 

 

Until the next time your Homegirl of Health has the hot 411 on the health tip, remember no prescription is needed.





How the Doctor determines if you have Crohn's Diseases or not

Before your Doctor just ups and tells you that you have Crohn's disease he or she will run several test to rule out other conditions. Such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is something that I am all to familiar with . He or she will also want to rule out that you do not have colon cancer or even diverticulitis(when one or more of your diverticula in your digestive tract becomes inflamed ). To rule out these other conditions test must be ran. The test that your Doctor will require you to take are a blood test, fecal occult blood test , Colonoscopy, Double ballon  endoscopy, MRI(Magnetic reasonace imaging ), CT scan (Computerized tomography), Capsule endoscopy, small bowel imaging and last but not least a Barium enma .

Your doctor may suggest blood tests to check for anemia a condition in which there aren't enough red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your tissues or to check for signs of infection.  
 You may need to provide a stool sample so that your doctor can test for blood in your stool. 

A Colonoscopy is a test that allows your doctor to view your entire colon using a thin, flexible, lighted tube with an attached camera. During the procedure, your doctor can also take small samples of tissue (biopsy) for laboratory analysis, which may help confirm a diagnosis.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy is a  procedure where , your doctor uses a slender, flexible, lighted tube to examine the sigmoid, the last section of your colon.

The CT scan and the MRI are both used as another way to get a bigger picture of organs and tissues.

Capsule endoscopy is another test that the Doctor will give you,  If you have signs and symptoms that suggest Crohn's disease but other diagnostic tests are negative. In order for you to take this test you swallow a capsule that has a camera in it. The camera takes pictures, which are sent to a computer that you wear on your belt. The images are then downloaded, displayed on a monitor and checked for signs of Crohn's disease. Once it's made the trip through your digestive system, the camera exits your body painlessly in your stool.

Double balloon endoscopy is when a longer scope is used to look further into the small bowel where standard endoscopes don't reach.

Small bowel imaging is the test  that looks at the part of the small bowel that can't be seen by colonoscopy. After you drink a solution containing barium, X-ray, CT or MRI images are taken of your small intestine. The test can help locate areas of narrowing or inflammation in the small bowel that are seen in Crohn's disease. The test can also help your doctor determine which type of inflammatory bowel disease you have.

Barium enema  This diagnostic test allows your doctor to evaluate your large intestine with an X-ray. Before the test, you receive an enema with a contrast solution  containing barium. The barium dye coats the lining of the bowel, creating a silhouette of your rectum, colon and a portion of your small intestine that's visible on an X-ray. This test is rarely done anymore because of the availability of colonoscopy and CT scanning.

I know that this sounds like a lot of test to take to figure out if you have Crohn's disease or not. In the long you will be thankful to find out if you really do have Crohn's or could you be actually suffering from colon cancer. Or something nonlife threatening should as IBS, but just as uncomfortable and life changing.  So if your doctor suggests these test , please take them its better to be safe than sorry.

Until the next time your chilling with your Homegirl of Health listening to the hot health 411 , remember "No prescription needed" to start working towards a healthier life