High Quality of Life Category

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Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Increase Your Life Span and Have Fun While You’re Doing It

Good news! The latest in anti-aging research shows there are some new ways to significantly increase your life span which, especially in the retirement years, should enhance your lifestyle with measurable happiness and fun.

Obviously, there are ways to turn back the clock physically, and these are surely important, especially when it comes to adopting healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet, avoiding smoking, and getting adequate rest and exercise. Research is showing, though, that it’s habits that affect people on the inside that really yield anti-aging benefits, things which lead to a sense of inner peace, connection to others and a happy mood.  Researchers show that there are four main activities that can result in this age-defying inner life—volunteering, connecting with friends, practicing one’s faith, and keeping oneself in a good mood.

Boosting your health and defying the aging process doesn’t have to be a chore. If you follow these health and longevity boosters, the last years of your life are sure to be the best!

Tina Turbin

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Learn to Recognize the Difference between Malnourishment and Mental Disorders in Children

     If you’re like me, you’re probably alarmed to hear so much about the prevalence of “mental disorders,” particularly among children. It seems that every year there are more and more disorders are emerging, along with psychotropic medications to treat them. However, as the mother of three grown-up, mentally healthy children and with a strong background and experience in nutritional research, I counsel mothers to be careful before mistaking your children’s odd behavior with a mental illness. It turns out the symptoms of malnourishment and mental disorders are actually quite similar in children.

     Even just the signs of a deficiency in B vitamins will sounds familiar to you as the symptoms of childhood mental disease. Deficiency in Vitamin B1 can result in fatigue, poor memory, irritability, and insomnia. A B2 deficiency can cause depression. Deficiencies of B3 may begin as depression, but untreated may progress to psychosis or even dementia. Deficiencies in Biotin may cause a variety of problems, including skin disorders and eczema, dandruff or hair loss, fatigue, depression, even hallucinations.

     Children can also suffer from a classic case of low blood sugar. Studies show that breakfasts rich in protein keep the body’s blood sugar level higher and more stable than breakfasts such as, say, the American breakfast staple of sugar-packed cereals. Kids are bound to peak in the morning and then crash later in the day, exhibiting hyperactivity and lethargy during the school day.

     The consequences of improperly diagnosing a mental illness instead of treating malnourishment in a child can be severe. If you care about your child and children in general, it is imperative that you and your child’s teachers learn the crucial difference between children’s mental disorders and inadequate nutrition.

Tina Turbin

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Americans Need to Make More Friends!

Statistics are showing that Americans have fewer friends than they used to, according to a recent study, “Social Isolation in America,” which was published in the American Sociological Review. The authors found that the number of Americans who feel they have someone with whom they can discuss important matters dropped by nearly one-third from 1985 to 2004, and the number of people who said they had no one they could discuss such matters with tripled to nearly 25 percent of Americans. The authors suggest the cause for this decrease in intimate friendships may be longer work hours and the increased popularity of the Internet and television.

The same study also determined that the number of people who discuss important subjects with family members only increased from 57 percent to 80 percent, and those who depend solely on their spouse for such intimate discussions increased from 5 percent to 9 percent.

So what does this mean for you? It may be harder than ever to fight loneliness in society and to form intimate connections with others, but the health benefits are worth the effort to forge friendships with a large number of people.

Start visiting with friends on a regular basis and befriend their own friends, family, and acquaintances to instantly increase the number of friends you have. There are countless ways to meet people in your community as well. You can get involved in volunteer work, take local classes in subjects and hobbies you’re interested in, or start a book club at your neighborhood bookstore or café. You can also take advantage of online social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, but with the view of using these to set up real-life meetings with the friends you make online, taking the safety precautions of meeting new people in groups of people you already know and in public places, of course.

Tina Turbin

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Overcoming Life after Mom-Hood

     Here is the moment you’ve been waiting for—your last child has moved out of the house and is now “on his own.” You can finally enjoy some “peace and quiet,” you tell yourself, some “me” time for yourself and “we” time with your spouse. Life after Mom-hood has begun!

     Well, if you’re anything like me, the mother of three grown children, or like many other women out there who have raised their children and watched them leave home to start lives and families of their own, you may find that life after raising children has some definite challenges.

     First of all, there is the matter of you. Who are you, after all? Many moms tend to identify themselves as moms, of course. Twenty-four hours a day, that’s what you’ve been doing for the past couple of decades. As a supporter of women and mothers, I know how important it is to take on this identity as a mother and I applaud any woman who does this. However, it is also important to have your own identity apart from motherhood. 

     This ties into the second challenge. Now what? Studies show how important it is to have goals and show a direct link between writing your goals down and achieving success. This one is up to you. What would you like to do now? Come up with one or more goals, and you will have something to serve as a foundation for your hard work and dedication in this new life after mom-hood. You know you are strong and capable—you successfully raised a child, after all!

     Life after mom-hood is something you’ve been looking forward to for some time now, after all. You deserve to make it as rewarding as it was raising your children!

Tina Turbin

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Gluten- Free Dining in Chicago- Review on Tina Turbin

Through my lovely sister-in-law Marsha , I had the pleasure of connecting up with Laura Hansen,  “Best of the Best Dining in Chicago”.  They met at an event and then discussed gluten-free foods, lifestyle and eating and what do you know, the name Tina Turbin came up. The rest is history.

Laura contacted me to ask to do a review on me and my site and of course we  got into the conversation of celiac and gluten-free, some of my favorite subjects. I have a new friend who loves food as much as I do and she is a phenomenal reviewer and writer on foods and restaurants. We have so much in common.

She previously reviewed Deerfield Bakery in the Schaumburg, Illinois and it just so happens that I just had a terrific conversation with Tim Schmitt, the owner and will be reviewing his products and his 3 bakeries next month!

Laura wrote and published an article released today about me and my website http://GlutenFreeHelp.info , the article is entitled  Entrepreneur spreads the word about wheat allergies.

You are even treated to my gluten-free flourless chocolate cake recipe!

Thanks you Laura!

Tina

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

A Guide to Personal Goal-Setting

I have found setting goals to be an especially useful tool since my children left the house, leaving me with a lot more time to reconnect with and realize my dreams of being a children’s author and helping others. Whether your children are grown, your children are still young, or you don’t have any children at all, it is vital to establish your goals.

So, where do you want to go in life? Get a precise “big picture” of what you want to do in all of the fields of your life. These “big picture” goals should embrace various areas, such as artistic, education, career, spiritual, family, financial, physical, community service, and friendship goals. If you’re anything like me or the average woman, you probably have many different facets of life that are important to you—your marriage, your children, your career, and wellness or faith, for example. Make sure to write your grand vision down and all of the more detailed goals your vision encompasses.

By setting sharp, clearly-defined goals, you can measure your progress and celebrate the achievement of your goals, raising your self-confidence and your ability to achieve further goals. Your smaller goals should include dates and amounts where applicable so you can measure your achievement. Keep them realistic and attainable so you can reap the rewards of having attained what you want. Determine which goals have priority so you don’t feel overwhelmed by everything you’ve set out to do. Lastly, don’t let anyone but yourself determine what your goals are, and the sky is the limit in what you can dream.

Tina Turbin

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Strengthen Communication, Strengthen Your Marriage

Now that the kids are older, or even out of the house, you’ll probably find that you’re more able to focus more attention on your marriage. Divorce statistics for the over-50’s age group continues to rise steadily. Happily married for thirty years now, I’m often asked for tips on how to strengthen marriage. Open communication is the number one element of a successful marriage, I tell them.

Make sure to listen to your partner, and let him know that he has been heard. Set the example of the communication you like to give and receive from others. Chances are you don’t like to be interrupted, and you like to know that when you’re talking to someone, he is listening to you. It is likely your partner feels the same way, so set the example yourself. Be honest and encourage honesty in your partner. You can’t truly face the problems of life unless you’re working together. Communication is how you’ll solve problems, work out differences, get on the same page, and express admiration and gratitude to each other.

Open communication also means not letting others interfere with your relationship. In-laws and friends will often have a lot to say about your marriage, but you’ll find that you can often do much better without their advice or comments. If you’re unhappy about something your spouse does, sit down and talk it over in a positive way, geared toward a resolution. Sometimes friends and family can exacerbate already-existing non-optimum conditions in your marriage by adding their own “two cents,” and the next time you confront your spouse about the subject, you may find yourself spewing out to him angrily, word for word, what your mother has to say, for example. You may like it when your girlfriends agree with you that your spouse’s overspending has to stop, but the best person to discuss this with is your spouse.

Tina Turbin

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Gluten-Free and Dining in Chicago

Through my lovely sister-in-law Marsha , I had the pleasure of connecting up with Laura Hansen,  “Best of the Best Dining in Chicago”.  They met at an event and then dicussed gluten-free foods, lifestyle and eating and what do you know, the name Tina Turbin came up. The rest is history.

Laura contacted me to ask to do a review on me and my site and of course we  got into the conversation of celiac and gluten-free, some of my favorite subjects. I have a new friend who loves food as much as I do and she is a phenominal reviewer and writer on foods and restaurants. We have so much in common.

She previously reviewed Deerfield Bakery in the Schaumburg, Illinois and it just so happens that I just had a terrific conversation with Tim Schmitt, the owner and will be reviewing his products and 3 bakeries next month!

Laura wrote and published an article released today about me and my website  http://GlutenFreeHelp.info , the article is entitled  Entrepreneur spreads the word about wheat allergies.

You are even treated to my gluten-free flourless chocolate cake recipe!

Enjoy…I sure did,  Tina

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Walk for Exercise

If you don’t want to hit the gym or purchase equipment for your home, walking is the easiest low-impact exercise. The key to this particular exercise is to challenge yourself to walk faster and faster and also by moving your arms more exaggeratedly as you go. You can also do interval training to increase the challenge, which proves to be an effective calorie burner. This can be done by walking as fast as you can for one minute followed by two minutes of a slower pace for recovery, back and forth, for at least thirty minutes total.

Tina Turbin

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

A Mother’s Role is a Valuable Asset to Our Society

     Chances are, you have an idea of just how important you are as a mother in your household. For instance, what if you were to go out of town for a week? Who would get the kids ready for school, take them to soccer or ballet, help them with their homework? And could you imagine the state of the house after such a length of time?

     My experience as a mother started long ago when I married and became pregnant with the first of my three children at the age of twenty-one. Not only is this role the basis of my work as a children’s author, inspiring me to create my children’s series, Danny the Dragon, but it also serves as the foundation of my work as a researcher, writer, and humanitarian. Believe me, this mother thing is no small job.

    Now that you’ve taken a look at how your role as a mother is a valuable asset in your own home, which is a fact I’m sure you have figured out all on your own, I urge you take a look at a mother’s role in society. Typically, aside from rare exceptions, it is the mother who is charged with the responsibility for rearing children.  When it comes to all matters of hygiene, cleanliness, nutrition, schoolwork, etc., it is Mom who oversees these. On a collective scale, statistics of childhood illness and disease, childhood nutrition, and children’s literacy could largely be attributed to mothers everywhere just like you and the decisions they make about their own children. Clearly, moms everywhere are an asset to our society and they deserve our support, too!

Tina Turbin