Connect2Recovery Alumni Newsletter
Winter, 2012
New Year's Resolutions Solutions
Ringing in the New Year typically includes declaring New Year's resolutions. As an alumnus of Gateway, you know through experience how a single resolution can positively and profoundly create lasting change in your life and help to make the world a better place.
To help you achieve your New Year resolutions for 2012, a little planning can go a long way. If your resolution is to take better care of yourself and get your finances under control, you'll have a much better year if your resolution sticks. Here are some helpful tips to help get you started.
Be realistic. The surest way to fall short of your goal is to make your goal unattainable. Strive for a goal that is attainable, such as avoiding fried foods and soda pop more often than you do now and replacing them with healthier options, such as an apple, air popped popcorn, water and green tea.
Outline your plan. Decide how you will deal with the temptation to skip that exercise class or have one more cigarette. This could include calling on a friend for help, practicing positive thinking and self-talk, or reminding yourself how your bad habit affects your health.
Make a "pro" and "con" list. It may help to see a list of items on paper to keep your motivation strong. Develop this list over time, and ask others to contribute to it. Keep your list with you and refer to it when you need help keeping your resolve.
Talk about it. Don't keep your resolution a secret. Tell friends and family members who will be there to support your resolve to change yourself for the better or improve your health. The best case scenario is to find yourself a buddy who shares your New Year's resolution and motivate each other.
Track your progress. Use a journal to keep track of each small success you make toward reaching your larger goal. Short-term goals are easier to keep, and small accomplishments will help keep you motivated. Instead of focusing on losing 30 pounds, say, focus on losing that first 5. Keeping a food diary or a symptom journal may help you stay on track.
Don't beat yourself up. Obsessing over the occasional slip won't help you achieve your goal. Do the best you can each day, and take each day one at a time.
Stick to it. Experts say it takes about 21 days for a new activity, such as exercising, to become a habit, and 6 months for it to become part of your personality. Your new healthful habits will become second-nature in no time.
Keep trying. If your resolution has totally run out of steam by mid-February, don't despair. Start over again! There's no reason you can't make a "New Year's resolution" any time of year.
Health Focus: A Healthy Liver Linked to Vitality and Wellbeing
Your liver depends on you to take care of it, so it can take care of you. It serves as your body's engine, pantry, refinery, food processor, garbage disposal, and "guardian angel." Unfortunately, your liver is a silent partner; when something's wrong it does not complain until the damage is far advanced. So it needs your help every day to keep it healthy. To do that, you need to eat a healthy diet, exercise, get lots of fresh air, and avoid things that can cause liver damage.
One of the most remarkable accomplishments of this miraculous organ is its ability to regenerate. In fact, three quarters of the liver can be removed and it will grow back in the same shape and form within a few weeks.
The good news, if you no longer drink, you also are giving your liver a break - a chance to heal, a chance to rebuild, a chance for new liver cells to grow. However, overworking your liver by heavy alcohol consumption can cause liver cells - the "employees" in the power plant - to become permanently damaged or scarred. This is called cirrhosis. What does your liver do? People generally have little knowledge of the complexities and importance of the thousands of vital functions their livers perform nonstop.
- The liver is about the size of a football, the largest organ in your body.
- It plays a vital role in regulating life processes.
- Its primary functions are to refine and detoxify everything you eat, breathe, and absorb through your skin.
- It is your body's internal chemical power plant, converting nutrients in the food you eat into muscles, energy, hormones, clotting factors and immune factors.
- It stores certain vitamins, minerals (including iron) and sugars, regulates fat stores, and controls the production and excretion of cholesterol. The bile, produced by liver cells, helps you to digest your food and absorb important nutrients.
- It neutralizes and destroys poisonous substances and metabolizes alcohol.
- It helps you resist infection and removes bacteria from the blood stream, helping you to stay healthy.
What foods aid liver health?
Eating healthy foods for the liver can improve and support liver function on a daily basis. A healthy liver results in greater energy and general well-being. A poorly functioning liver can result in tiredness, headaches, bad breath, allergies and intolerances, problem skin and weight gain. Foods healthy for the liver fall into two main categories. First are those that promote the detoxification process of the liver. And second, are those that are high in antioxidants and therefore protect the liver while it's carrying out its detoxification processes. Below is a list of the top eight foods that are considered to be good for your liver. Garlic and onions. Garlic contains allicin which is a sulphur-based compound needed by the liver for effective detoxification. Garlic helps the liver rid the body of mercury, certain food additives and the hormone estrogen.
Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage).
These vegetables are very powerful detoxifiers of the liver. They contain chemicals that neutralize certain toxins such as nitrosamines found in cigarette smoke and aflotoxin found in peanuts. They also contain glucosinolates that help the liver to produce enzymes it needs for its detoxification processes.
Freshly squeezed lemon in hot water.
Drinking freshly squeezed lemon juice in a cup of boiled water first thing in the morning helps to cleanse the liver and promote detoxification. It also stimulates bile production, cleanses the stomach and bowel and stimulates bowel motion.
Beets.
It's a blood-purifying tonic that is also capable of absorbing heavy metals.
High-antioxidant fruits.
In a study done by the US Department of Agriculture at Tuffs University, it was found that the following list of fruits had the highest levels of antioxidants (in descending order): prunes, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, pink grapefruit, cantaloupe, apples and pears. Antioxidants help to protect the liver from the high levels of free radicals that are naturally produced during the process of detoxification.
Apples.
Apples contain pectin that bind to heavy metals in the body (in particular in the colon) and help their excretion. This reduces the load on the liver and its detoxification capacities.
Artichoke.
One of the jobs of bile is to remove toxins through the bowel, as well as 'unfriendly' micro-organisms. It has been suggested that 30 minutes after eating globe artichoke, bile flow is increased by over 100 percent.
Bitter leafy salad greens (dandelion, chicory, endive, rocket).
The bitterness of these foods helps to stimulate bile flow within the liver.
Source: International Hepatitis Foundation
Get a Jump On The 2011 Tax Season
Don't let tax season catch you off guard. The process can be less painful and more seamless if you start early and get organized. Here are some suggestions to help make filing your 2011 tax return more efficient and less taxing:
Make a system. By taking the time to lay the foundation for an organized, easy-to-navigate file system, you set up a platform to make it easier for following the next tip. Aside from that, you won't waste time searching all over the house for receipts and paperwork.
Stay on top of things. Get into the habit of reviewing and filing all your tax documents as they come in. Also, if you didn't keep track throughout the year, round up receipts and if you have deductions, begin to itemize them while you wait for your documents to arrive in the mail.
Read the news. Know about all the latest changes in tax law and how these changes affect you. This can help you prepare for when it comes time to file.
File electronically. Electronic returns have 13 percent fewer mistakes and, if you are entitled to a refund, quicker processing means your extra money arrives sooner.
Get on it. If you start early you may find you are entitled to deductions and write offs and get a larger return.
Don't forget deductions. Consider if any of these tax deductions and write offs apply to your household:
Job-hunting expenses. If you or your spouse is unemployed and looking for a job in the same line of work, you may deduct the cost for things such as resumes, business cards, postage, employment agency fees and travel expenses for out-of-town interviews. Expenses related to finding a new line of work are not eligible.
Charitable donations. If you contributed to the corporate giving campaign at the office, donated goods to the needy or purchased charity raffle tickets, you may deduct your donations as long as you have receipts.
Education and licensing. Fees and expenses related to education that improves your current job skills or are required to maintain your job (e.g., continuing education credits for medical professionals) are tax deductible, but education for obtaining a new job or for simply meeting the minimum requirements of your current job (such as going to medical school) are not.
Subscriptions and dues. Subscriptions paid for magazines and trade journals related to your work are deductible, as are union dues and membership fees for professional organizations that improve your job skills and aren't strictly social.
Moving expenses. You can deduct costs related to moving if you relocate more than 50 miles away and do so for reasons related to your current job or business, or in order to obtain your first job. The moving deduction does not apply if you move in order to get a new job.
Alimony. Claiming this deduction could take the sting out of writing a check to your former spouse. Alimony and back alimony is deductible in the year in which it's paid. Child support isn't deductible.
