FEATURED ARTICLES
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
- Plums, and their dried version known as prunes, are very high in phytonutrients, which function as an antioxidant and provide much benefit to the body.
- Eating plums helps in the production and absorption of iron in the body, thereby leading to better blood circulation leading further to the growth of healthy tissues.
- Because plums contain blood cleansing agents that help keep the blood pure, plums can help you reduce the risk of contracting heart disease.

Recipe: Chicken Breasts with Plum Salsa and Basmati Rice
- 1 ½ cups of water
- 1 cup uncooked basmati rice, rinsed and drained
- ¾ pound plums, pitted and chopped
- ½ medium red onion, minced
- 3 habanero peppers, seeded and minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh minced cilantro
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Place water in medium saucepan and stir in rice. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and fluff with fork. In a bowl, mix the plums, peppers, onions, cilantro and sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Season chicken with rosemary, salt and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in skillet over medium-heat. Place chicken in oil and brown 1 minute per side. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 additional minutes per side. Serve over rice with plum salsa.
Recipe: Fresh Summer Fruit Salad
- ½ cup water
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 cups thinly sliced rhubarb
- 15 seedless grapes, halved
- ½ orange, sectioned
- 10 fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 apple, cored and diced
- 1 peach, sliced
- 1 plum, pitted and sliced
- 15 pitted Bing cherries
- ¼ cup fresh blueberries
Bring water and sugar to boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the rhubarb, turn heat to low, cover and simmer until rhubarb is soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Mash and chill in the refrigerator about one hour. To serve, mix the grapes, orange, strawberries, apple, peach, plum, cherries, and blueberries with 2/3 cup of the rhubarb sauce. Stir gently, but thoroughly to coat. Refrigerate for at least two hours for all of the flavors to blend well.
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
Childhood obesity is constantly on the rise, so as parents we need to be sure that we are always monitoring our children's fat intake. In order to help your child maintain a healthy lifestyle, be sure to establish good eating habits like the following:

- Children with a family history of cholesterol and heart disease should drink 2 percent milk.
- After their 2nd birthday, all kids should drink 1 percent milk.
- Serve your child lean meats and fish.
- Limit your child's cheese intake.
- Limit fruit juice intake to 4 to 6 ounces per day.
- Offer low-fat snacks like yogurt, pretzels or fresh fruit.
- Prepare foods using low-fat methods like broiling, steaming or roasting.
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
Spring is here again and it's time to take advantage of all of those great springtime fruits and vegetables. Here's how to choose the best ones:

- Apricots : slightly soft, not bruised
- Artichoke : compact head, bright green color
- Asparagus : closed and compact tips, bright green stalks
- Avocado : should be a little “give” when squeezed
- Carrots : crisp, healthy tops
- Collard Greens : dark green, vibrant color
- Mango : more orange/red than green
- New Potatoes : last only a few days
- Pineapple : sniff the bottom for sweet aroma, check for firmness
- Rhubarb : check for bright, crisp stalks
- Spinach : avoid dried out or yellow stems
- Strawberries : pick fragrant, slightly soft ones
- Sugar Snap/Snow Peas : bright green, should feel like they have a snap (not limp)
And while you are grabbing those great spring fruits and vegetables, it's also time to get rid of some of those bad foods, too!
While they may be quick and easy, oftentimes processed foods are causing you more harm than good. If you are looking to get healthy and lose some weight in the process then you must get rid of these processed foods.
- Flavored yogurt
- Fat free potato chips
- Diet soda
- Instant oatmeal
- Packaged egg whites
- Bottled barbeque sauces
- Bottled salad dressings
- Sugar free candy bars
- Multi-grain tortilla chips
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
Here are some surprising clues that could mean that you are more apt to being diagnosed with skin cancer than others,
Clue #1: You wear flip-flops often. If you wear flip-flops most of the spring and summer, your feet are prone to more sun exposure and sun damage than those who wear socks and shoes.
Clue #2: You wear baseball hats. While baseball hats protect your head from sun damage, your ears are constantly exposed and are often overlooked when your skin is checked for signs of skin cancer.
Clue #3: You are a male. Whether it's habits, hormones or genes, or even a combination of these three, men have three times as many squamous cancer cells and twice as many basal cancer cells as women. Also, white men over the age of 50 have the highest incidence of melanoma.
Clue #4: You have dark skin. While skin with more pigment has a natural shield against UV rays, many African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian Indians get a false sense of security and
typically do not pay much attention to protecting their skin from these harmful rays. Skin cancer is also detected much later in dark skinned people, therefore making it harder to treat.
Clue #5: You live in the South or in the Mountains. Rates of skin cancer are obviously higher in places that receive more sunlight, like in the South or in the Mountains. Altitude is also a factor as UV radiation increases about 4 to 5 percent for every 1,000 feet above sea level.
Clue #6: You are a runner, cyclist or swimmer. The more miles men and women run the greater their chance of acquiring skin cancer. The same goes for swimmers and cyclists who spend countless hours out in the climate.
Clue #7: You have a lot of moles. The average Caucasian has 30 moles : relatively round spots that are brown, red or pink. But the moles that are asymmetrical, with raggedy borders, discoloration or changing size, are the ones that are more likely to develop into melanoma. People over the age of 20 with more than 100 moles or people under the age of 20 with more than 50 moles are also at risk.
- Details
- Written by Lisa Jillanza
For more than 120 years, experts have been researching the benefits of massage therapy, and besides the obvious stress-free feeling that people have following a massage, there are plenty of other benefits to this ancient healing procedure.

One major benefit of massage therapy that researchers have found is that people who get massages on a regular basis have noticed a decrease in their blood pressure.
Massages also help to alleviate the pain of those who suffer from migraine headaches.
Massage can also: reduce your heart rate, increase blood circulation and lymph flow, relax your muscles, improve your range of motion, and increase endorphins.
Research has also shown that while massage therapy does not increase your muscle strength, it can stimulate your weak and inactive muscles and can thereby aid muscles that you may not have worked out in quite some time.
Massage therapy can also speed up your recovery process if you do have an injury.
Some other physical benefits of massage therapy include: relieving muscle tension and stiffness, alleviating discomfort during pregnancy, reducing
muscle spasms, promoting deeper and easier breathing, enhancing the health and nourishment of your skin, and improving your posture.
Massage therapy, while a physical act, is not all about physical benefits. There are plenty of mental benefits that having a massage can give you.
Some of these mental benefits include: promoting mental alertness, relieving mental stress, reducing levels of anxiety, improving motor skills, creating body awareness, and fostering a feeling of well being.
