Nancy S. Mure's Blog, page 4

3 Natural Ways To Combat Sugar Intolerance

Sugar. It's everywhere you turn. It's in your Starbuck's mocha, it's in your yogurt, it's in your barbecue sauce and it's even in your cellular makeup. That's right, your DNA is made of sugar.

Surprised? Most people are. Your DNA is made of molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a phosphate group, a sugar group and a nitrogen base. Deoxyribose sugar and the phosphate groups form what's known as the backbone of your DNA.  

Before you get all excited and grab a candy bar, understand that sugar is a broad term. To simplify, there's the sugar that nature provides in fruits and some vegetables, then there are man-made and processed forms of sugar. Sugar beets, sugar cane, High fructose made from GMO corn, and the fake stuff, known as artificial sweeteners are man-made sugars.

Man-made sugars and artificial sweeteners are what causes all the trouble. Because humans need sugar and are genetically hardwired to prefer sweet tastes, we run into major health troubles when we consume too much of it -- heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer can be caused by a lifetime of eating processed and artificial sugars.

It is a known fact that refined sugar - the white addicting stuff, is not only acidic in the body, it is a known depressant of the immune system. It is also the root cause of inflammation and disease. That being said, if your diet consists of fast and processed foods, it's a good bet you're getting too much man-made sugar.

It's hard to hear but if you don't decide to give up the junky white stuff your pancreas will decide for you. Your pancreas will resist the sugar and this insulin resistance will result in weight gain.

What does it mean to become resistant to sugar? Put bluntly, it means your pancreas is staging a revolt. The stressed pancreas refuses to process the sugar you take in. This is a problem because the pancreas' job is to release insulin every time you eat and because it isn't doing that, you automatically and unrelentingly begin to store fat.

Once there's sugar resistance it doesn't matter what kind of sugar or even starch you take in-- artificial sweeteners, fruit, pasta, potatoes, candy -- they'll all ignite the same fat-storing reaction. You may feel like no matter what you do, your body will not let go of the weight. This symptom is called pre-diabetes and if ignored, will progress to full-blown Type II diabetes, requiring insulin supplementation for your body to metabolize the sugar. 

You don't want that.

To make matters worse, insulin resistance is the main cause of fatty liver. The relatively new medical term "fatty liver" describes a buildup of excess fat in the liver. When your liver gets fat, it gets lazy and stops playing its role in fat metabolism. This is why 'insulin resistance' and 'fatty liver' are umbrella-ed under the term metabolic syndrome.

Candidates for insulin resistance tend to be mostly female, having an apple shaped figure. They hold the bulk of their fat in their belly. However, this doesn't exempt thin folks, men and pear-shaped women from sugar resistance or fatty liver-- anyone who has takes in to much man-made sugar is prone to metabolic syndrome. In fact, we're seeing it more and more in kids. 

The good news is there is a way to naturally and completely reverse the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, but to do so, you must remain committed;

Radical Nutrition -  Radical conditions call for radical action. If you can't correct your nutrition on your own, enlist a Certified Holistic Nutrition Practitioner to assist you. You must become a ninja at making food eliminations to your current diet plan, especially if you're on commercial diet plans like Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, SlimFast, Atkins or Jenny Craig. These plans "ok" the very fast and processed foods and artificial sweeteners that cause insulin resistance. Slashing all processed ingredients from your life removes the bulk of sugar you're taking in, giving your pancreas a much needed break. Next, a transition to a plant-based diet of at least eighty percent leafy greens, beans, nuts, sweet potatoes and low glycemic fruits like berries, lets the healing begin.Remineralize - Studies have shown that sugar cravings are strongly linked to a deficiency in two essential trace minerals. These minerals are chromium and vanadium. It has been scientifically proven that both chromium and vanadium help in normalizing blood sugar. Both essential trace minerals have been shown to be key for normalizing glucose metabolism. Sources of chromium and vanadium are found naturally in whole foods. If you are mineral deficient, which most Americans are, you may wish to supplement with a quality plant-based essential trace minerals in colloidal suspension until your diet is fully corrected.Exercise - Your muscles are great metabolizers of carbohydrates. Sugar is a carbohydrate. That means one of the most efficient ways to combat sugar resistance is by getting active. Weight lifting, cardiovascular exercise and yoga build muscle. These activities provide an outlet for the body to use sugar that the pancreas resists as energy, instead of storing it as fat. Over time, with continuation of proper nutrition your pancreas, liver and your body weight will begin to normalize.

Stay committed. Stay on course. In time, radically changing your diet, remineralizing and jacking up physical activity will reverse insulin resistance help with weight loss and turn your fatty liver back into a fat burning liver again.

Correct your nutrition and you will correct your health. 

 

 

Here's Why You Need To Make Black Bean Cookies this Valentines Day

There are cookies, then there are cookies that are healthy. Plus, who isn't down for a little splurge on Valentines Day? These chocolatey, black bean, chocolate-chip cookies are nutrified with black beans, sweetened with date paste and prepared with love. Chickpea flour, makes them gluten free!

Black beans are a good source of copper, manganese, vitamin B1, phosphorus, protein, magnesium, and iron. Is there anything cooler than a black bean cookie? You'll have to see for yourself! Here's how it's done:

Ingredients:

1 13 oz carton organic black beans, rinsed and drained (whole foods)2 tablespoons coconut oil2 tablespoons almond butter or the butter of your choosing2 teaspoons vanilla extract2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk1/4 cup date paste 1/4 cup cocoa powder2 tablespoons chickpea flour1 teaspoon non-GMO baking powder1/4 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)1/8 tsp non-iodized salt

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a mixer or food processor add all the ingredients except the chocolate chips. Blend until smooth. The batter should be a smooth consistency. Fold in chocolate chips. Using a spoon (or small cookie scoop) place batter on the cookie sheets. Use the back of the spoon to gentle flatten the cookies into round shapes. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Set a side. Allow to cook completely and serve!

 

Do You Date Paste?

It's a little known secret that your morning coffee, tea, baking, and especially your smoothies can be sweetened with something much more nourishing than toxic artificial sweeteners or immuno-depressive refined sugar. In fact, Starbucks could learn a thing or two from this ingredient's sweet, natural caramel and toffee flavor. What is it? It's a nourishing little powerhouse of nutrition called Dates. Healthful, delicious, and alkaline dates could balance your acidic morning coffee while adding a caramel toffee flavor for a fraction of the cost!

Terrifically, date paste can replace artificial sweeteners and sugar in everything you eat. In this post I'm going to tell you how to make a luscious and incredibly easy date paste that's nourishing and will help to kick up your nutritional intake in one fell swoop!

Unlike refined sugar, dates are health promoting! In a recent study dates were found to lower oxidative stress levels by “reducing blood triglycerides,” which “improves the quality” of blood cholesterol by reducing its oxidation.” It was also discovered that dates attach themselves to harmful, oxygen-free radicals and remove them from the body. Researchers concluded that the benefits of the above findings translate into a reduced risk for heart attacks, strokes, and thanks to date's copper content, vascular disease. The date study found that dates can even reverse “atherosclerosis [accumulation of fatty plaque] in the coronary arteries.”

The sugar in dates works with your body, not against it, thanks to date's high fiber content, which provides a slow and steady release of sugar  as well as essential trace minerals and vitamins into the blood system. The following nutritional data outlines some of the key nutrients found in dates, based on a 100g serving.

Fiber – 6.7 grams. Potassium – 696 milligrams. Copper – 0.40 milligrams. Calcium - 64 milligrams. Iron - 0.90 milligrams.Manganese – 0.3 milligrams. Magnesium – 54 milligrams. Vitamin B6 – 0.2 milligrams.Vitamin K - 2%Vitamin A  - 5%

Impressive huh? Here's how to make date paste a permanent part of your dietary repertoire. Use date paste by the heaping spoonful in recipes, beverages or anytime you want to replace refined or artificial sugar in your diet. 

Ingredients:

Organic datesPure Water (distilled preferred)Organic vanilla extractDash of himalayan pink salt.

Method: Soak dates in warm water for 30 minutes Remove pits and set some soaking water aside. Put dates and a small amount of soaking water in a food processor or high speed blender. Mix on high until you achieve a buttery consistency. Add a dash of vanilla extract, or you may flavor with cinnamon. Refrigerate and use as needed. Lasts about a week!

 

 

The Number 2 Reason You're Not Losing Weight

The first and foremost reason many people don't lose weight is due to improper diet. People generally become obese from eating food that is fast and processed. They overeat because they are vitamin and mineral deficient and as a result, malnourished and this makes them truly hungry. People whose palates are untainted by sugar and salt are better able to taste the subtle flavors of their food. They are better able to enjoy fresh fruits and salads without overeating or becoming obese for two reasons. The first reason is because the enzymes, minerals and vitamins are still intact in these foods. The second reason is that the body's natural cues to stop eating become activated thanks to a powered-up and unstimulated palate. So, when the body fulfills its requirement of proper nutrients, it naturally signals the brain that it's satisfied.

Since processed foods lack these nutrients and are loaded with The White Trifecta (sugar, salt and flour) no signal is sent to the brain to stop eating.

That being said, you cannot become overweight on a natural diet. If you are overweight and you go on a diet of nature's fast foods, which are mainly raw natural, unprocessed, plant-based whole foods your weight will rapidly normalize even if your caloric intake is exceeded!

Fascinating huh? You bet. You can lose weight and eat all you want as long as you eat the correct foods. However--and this is the second reason people don't lose weight--it is an absolute MUST to throughly masticate (chew) your food.

Food that is thoroughly chewed and liquefied in the mouth becomes more flavorful and more filling. When food is fully tasted it not only becomes more filling, it becomes more gratifying. This is one of the biggest secrets of losing weight and keeping it off forever: eat slowly, and throughly chew your food. Throughly chewing and eating a proper diet will not only make you more conscious of what you're eating, you'll want less junk. In fact, it is nearly impossible to overeat when food is thoroughly chewed. This trick of liquifying food in the mouth gives the brain a chance to send off the message that you're full. 

The fatter we are, the faster we tend to eat, and vice versa, but if we concentrate on eating and carefully chew before swallowing, then we improve out digestion, absorption and assimilation of nutrients -- we nourish ourselves at a cellular level.

Another general rule in keeping weight loss permanent is to avoid eating unless you're truly hungry. Even if you put the best food in your body, when you're not truly hungry, the food could result in weight gain. 

It is essential that correct eating patterns be learned to succeed with any weight loss program. You need proper eating habits that are permanent. Do not do any of the following:

Overeat, eat foods that are overcooked, eat unnatural foods, eat fast food or processed foods, like synthetic energy bars and shakes.Avoid additives. These jam up the cells and stimulate the palate to make you want another bite. Additionally, flavor enhancing additives can irritate the gut and stress organs, especially sugar, MSG, spices, condiments, high-fructose corn syrup, mayonnaise, dressings and toppings.Avoid alcohol, coffee, tea, soda, cake, candy, ice cream, canned foods, bread, cigarettes or drugs.

To lose weight permanently, eat and drink properly, remain active, avoid toxins, fast during illness, secure adequate rest, meditate, sunbathe,  and control stress and chew your food throughly.

RECIPE: Broccoli Rabe (Rapini) with Toasted Chickpeas

photo credit nancy s. mure

Aside from pasta, Italy is all about the vegetables. This is likely the reason Italy has been ranked as the second healthiest country in the world. That being said, whenever I want a little taste of The Mother Land, as I call it, I make this satisfying dish and it never disappoints. Nutritionally this dish stands alone. To call it a side-dish would be an insult. 

I would not be exaggerating if said that with this dish alone, you could greatly improve your health. Rapini and chickpeas are packed with nourishment.

Rapini and chick peas are made with Rapini, (Broccoli Rabe) and garbanzo beans (chick peas). Rapini is an impressive source of fiber, Vitamins A, C, K, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and iron. Studies show that the cancer preventing glucosinolate compounds in rapini are particularly effective against stomach, lung, and colon cancers. Promising research hints at protective effects against breast and prostate cancers as well.

Garbanzo beans, or chick peas as they're known, completely outrank rapini nutritionally. Chick peas are an astounding source of Vitamins A, C, folate, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, copper and selenium! We're going to combine the two for an extra nutritional punch!  You will need:

Ingredients:

1-2 bunches broccoli rabe, flower stems only, bottoms trimmed2 cloves garlic sliced.1 carton Organic Garbanzo beans (whole foods) drained and rinsedGood quality cold pressed olive oil or organic coconut oil (Trader Joes).Himalayan pink salt for seasoning (Trader Joes)

Method:

Heat a cast iron pan. To toast the chickpeas add olive oil and chick peas and season with pink salt and cover. You will hear the chick peas will pop. This is ok.  Keep the pan covered. Shake the pan until the peas are a golden color on all sides.

Once the chick peas are golden, chop your broccoli rabe into two-inch pieces and add to the pan. Season again with a pinch of pink salt. Cook until the rapini is tender and serve. 

 

 

3 Unchallenging Ways To Push Through A Weight Loss Plateau

Weight loss plateaus are the dreaded occasion when no matter how good you are on your diet plan or how hard you workout, that nasty little red needle on your scale gets stuck on a number you hate. While it's frustrating plateaus are a time of adjustment and a necessary part of losing weight. But never fear, there are three natural, unchallenging things you can do to get weight loss moving again. 

Behold the pickle! A pickle is your best friend when conquering a weight-loss plateau because it squelches the appetite. It's taste is pungent to the palate. This sour or half sour taste is what makes a pickle the perfect appetite deterrent. When food cravings hit, eat a pickle and watch your sugar and salt cravings subside. Notably, pickles have an excellent probiotic effect on the gut. Best part is, pickles are virtually calorie free! 

Declare a green week - A green week is a seven day devotional to green foods. It is not to be mistaken for a detox or a cleanse. Since the human body is self-eliminating. It detoxes and cleanses itself all the time. Greens simply help the body to get this done. Have salad for breakfast topped with a poached egg or soft boiled egg and some sliced avocado. Make green smoothies with loads of leafy greens like spinach, kale cucumber, and lemon. Prepare mixed greens for lunch. Enjoy some homemade pea soup or cooked green veggies like escarole or broccoli alongside your dinner salad. Then stay green for seven days and watch the pounds fall off. Green weeks do wonders for you waistline and your health!

Power-up your palate! Last but not least, powering-up your palate is the permanent solution to busting through any weight loss plateau. I tell you how to do this in my book EAT! -- Empower. Adjust. Triumph!: Lose Ridiculous Weight  In fact, the uncomplicated method of powering-up the palate is so effective that your body's cravings will turn into a cut-off switch. Once you're palate is powered-up you will naturally begin to stop eating when you're full. This is what you want!  You can permanently learn to reign in palatal cravings by powering-up! 

So, what are you waiting for? Bust through that plateau, squelch those dreaded sugar cravings, declare a green week, power-up your palate and lose ridiculous weight! 

 

 

 

For Better Health Open The Damn Windows!

Air, air, it's everywhere, yet air sometimes gets a bad rap. Air has been erroneously passed on by word of mouth as the cause of every joint pain, cold, flu and seasonal ailment known to man. Yet, there's no concrete proof that the March winds are cause of any illness or malady. In fact, the winds, as they're called, are no more the cause of illness than wearing damp clothes or leaving your house in the morning with a wet head. Science proves this is just an old wives tale. 

We take water baths and sunbaths, but a little known fact is an air bath can aid in healing a cold, the flu or pneumonia. When we breathe in fresh air, especially if we're surrounded by trees, we breathe in something called phytoncides. Phytoncides are airborne chemicals that plants give off to protect themselves from insects. Phytoncides are known to have antibacterial and anti-fungal qualities which help plants fight off disease. In the same way, when humans breathe in phythoncides, our bodies respond by increasing the number and activity of a white blood cell known as natural killer cells or NK. Research shows these NK cells kill tumor- and virus-infected cells in our bodies. In one study, increased NK activity from a 3-day, 2-night forest bathing trip lasted for more than 30 days. Impressively, Japanese researchers continue exploring whether forest emersion can help prevent certain kinds of cancer. 

Today with more modern and confined working and living, forced air hurts the quality of the indoor air we breathe. Air-tight energy-efficient doors and windows contribute to what is known as stale air. According to the American Lung Association, poor indoor air quality or stale air contributes to the development of infections, lung cancer and chronic lung diseases such as asthma. 

Opened windows are a natural healer's best kept secret. If you can't get outdoors for long periods of time during the day, take advantage of the night air by sleeping with a warm blanket and open windows no matter the season. Of course night air isn't any different than day air except if you happen to live near the ocean or among plenty of trees. Night hair is 'cleaned' by the ocean during the night according to new research, and trees have long been known to cleanse the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and air pollutants while producing oxygen. 

The babies of Stockholm,  are another testament to the benefits of breathing plenty of fresh air. Exposure to fresh air, whether in the summer months or the depths of winter, has been proven to prevent coughs and colds in these children.

Oh, and the weight loss...

Another recent study confirms that sleeping in colder rooms can actually help your weight -- first by lowering your body temperature so you fall asleep quicker, then by allowing your body to release more of the natural hormone, melatonin. According to studies melatonin improves weight control by increasing "beige" fat, a heat-generating type of fat that helps the body burn calories.

Just the smell of fresh air can also reduce stress and produce happiness according to research, but don't take my word for it, go ahead and open a damn window! 

 

 

 

RECIPE: Get Your Green On With Escarole!

Photo credit Nancy S. Mure

Escarole is the vegetable many Italians use to get their green on! I make this escarole dish three ways and every version is more delicious than the next. With added beans, this signature dish is popularly known in Italy as escarole and beans, pronounced fagioli and scarola. No better marriage of beans and greens can compare to this easily prepared warming and nourishing dish. 

Escarole can be found at your local market. To get the maximum health benefits of any green, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises increasing your intake of dark leafy vegetables, such as escarole, regularly to boost health and manage weight. 

Nutritionally speaking, a serving of escarole is super high in dietary fiber, full of protein, abundant in Vitamins A & C and loaded with essential minerals and antioxidant compounds. Throw in beans, and potassium and magnesium levels go through the roof. The fiber alone, kicks this dish into high gear at 19 grams per cup. When eaten frequently, these nutrients help boost health and weight loss substantially decreasing the possibility of disease. 

Notably, escarole is an excellent source of non-heme iron which is proven safer to consume than heme iron from animal products, even though it's slightly more difficult for the body to absorb. To repeat, escarole is super easy to prepare and transitions beautifully from a green gorgeous side dish, to a scrumptious meal, or glorious soup. I grow my own escarole during the summer, but it's easily available throughout the year. Always buy organic when you can. For all three recipes, you will need:

Ingredients:

1 head of escarole, well cleaned.2 tablespoon cold pressed imported Olive oil or organic coconut oil2 cloves garlic sliced 1 tablespoon stuffed green pimento olives (optional)1 tsp capers (optional)1 carton Organic Cannellini Beans (for escarole and beans)1/4 cup pure water2 cups Bone Broth (for soup)Himalayan Pink Salt for seasoning.

Methods:

Simply sauteed as a vegetable side dish: In a large frying pan on low heat, gently heat the garlic until fragrant. Place washed escarole leaves in the pan, add water and cover. Season with pink salt, then allow to steam on low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes until tender. During the last five minutes of cooking add pimento and capers, heat through, and serve.

With Beans: For this dish you are going to need the cannellini beans. You can get them in a convenient carton at whole foods or you can buy them fresh and soak them yourself. In a large frying pan on low heat, gently heat the garlic until fragrant.

Place washed escarole leaves in the pan, add water and cover. Season with pink salt, then allow to steam on low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes until tender. During the last five minutes add one carton of organic cannellini beans with juice until heated, then serve. 

For Soup: Follow the directions for escarole and beans above. During the last five minutes of cooking add 2 cups of bone broth with the beans. Cook until heated on a low simmer (another 10 minutes) then serve. 

 

3 Ways To Defend Yourself Against Food-borne Illness

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of food borne diseases. 

Perhaps the most passionate topic of this discussion is related to the harsh take-down of Chipotle for food poisoning outbreaks while other fast food establishments have been poisoning the public for years, but I digress since McDonalds, Taco bell, Subway-- all of them, have mounting health violations for sickening the public year after year.

While most people are aware that eating fast food is bad for their health, they eat it anyway to the tune of $100 million spent annually. While fifty percent of accountability lands on fast food establishments for cleanliness and public health, the other fifty percent is dependent on the consumer to keep their immune system in tip-top shape.

Many people who eat in fast food restaurants unknowingly walk into these establishments at a tremendous disadvantage when it comes to their health. It is highly likely that most fast food frequenters have diets that tax their immune system on a regular basis. It is also highly likely that their diets consist of high amounts of refined sugar, are high in protein and include processed foods. As a result of their living habits their digestive tracts are likely stressed by these foods as well as by overeating, and many of them suffer from GERD, indigestion, food sensitivities and other digestive discomforts. Many of them may even have a cold.

Someone has to say it, so it may as well be me -- walking into a fast food establishment while feeling under the weather and/or eating unhealthily is an welcome mat for food-borne illness. How many kids do you see with runny noses eating in McDonalds? I rest my case.

Nothing.... and I mean nothing... will penetrate a healthy immune system. Not cancer, not salmonella, not listeria --- nothing.  Here are three common sense ways to keep yourself and your family immune from food-borne illness:

Avoid sugar.  People who eat high amounts of refined sugar are at a huge disadvantage when they walk into a fast food establishment, a doctors office, their own office, the hospital or the buses and subways, because sugar depresses the immune system. We've known this as a fact since 1973. An undisputed study done by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed without a doubt, that refined sugar, not starch or fruit sugar, depresses the immune system, leaving humans susceptible to disease. If you are eating a diet high in sugar, or if your children are eating a diet high in sugar, they are susceptible to food-borne contamination. Period.Eat the fastest foods on earth!  As I say in my new book  EAT!--Empower, Adjust. Triumph!: Lose Ridiculous Weight, there's nothing faster than grabbing a banana, an apple, some grapes, or all three and having that as your fast food a meal. A meal like this is highly nourishing, loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber, there's no prep involved, no cooking, no hassle, no waiting online or sitting behind ten cars at a drive thru to get a food fix. Preparing food from scratch is one essential way to avoid food-borne illnesses. Pack these foods and take them to go. Wash produce well before consuming it. Avoid packaged, pre-washed salads and eat local when you can. These are sure-fire ways to ensure your immune system protects you.Eat a diet high in foods that have a so-called prebiotic and probiotic affect on the gut.  All health originates from your gut. Foods known to have a prebiotic affect on the gut are fruits and vegetables. Again, these are the real fast foods. Your diet should include eighty percent of these foods. Additionally, other plant-based foods known to have a probiotic affect are foods like sauerkraut, kimchee, olives and pickles.

While it's easy, and most times warranted, to blame a fast food restaurant for tainted food, it's is equally important to take accountability for our immune system and health. Protect yourself! Lay off the sugar, fill yourself with nature's fast foods, wash your produce well and be mindful of knowing the basics of what your body needs to maintain its health. I'm not saying that fast food establishments are off the hook for cleanliness or aren't to blame for making people sick -- what I'm saying is the number one way to defend yourself against any disease, food-borne or otherwise, is to have a unbreakable forcefield of immunity.

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The Healthy Way to Shovel Snow

Winter tends to creep up on us.  A few days notice and bam! we're covered in snow! Thing is, many of us aren't physically prepared for the task. Relax, you don't have to be Hercules to shovel out after a monster storm, you just need to use some good ol' common sense. Below are four healthy tips for shoveling sanely after a winter storm.

Always shovel on an empty stomach - It goes without saying that eating, then shoveling or doing any form of exercise is counterproductive. That's because digestion takes up a lot of your body's energy. After we've eaten, most of our body's energy sources go to the stomach, leaving less energy for the limbs. In the case of shoveling or any cardio exercise, you're getting less blood flow to the heart. This is why it's important not to eat beforehand -- so that your limbs and heart muscles have sufficient blood flow for the task at hand. If you must have something to eat before you shovel, a fresh vegetable juice will nourish you enough to get the job done since it's easily and quickly digested.Use your knees during lifting, not your back - Not all of us are in olympian shape to get out there and shovel snow. Snow can be quite heavy to lift. There's a way to handle the snow mounds systematically -- a little bit at a time. Have patience! Remember, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."Pace yourself. Stop when you're tired. Shoveling is both a cardio and weight lifting exercise, or a workout, depending on how you look at it. If you are not in the shape to be doing cardio and weight lifting exercises, then you shouldn't be shoveling. The healthy way to look at shoveling is to know your limits: know what you can and cannot do and accept this! That being said, ask for help. Enlist a neighbor to help out. Invest in a snowblower or pay to have someone to do it for you. Trust me, it's worth the expense. Eat once you are rested and keep the meal light. After shoveling we tend to want to wolf down food because hey, shoveling makes us hungry! That being said, it's important to give yourself a brief period of rest beforehand. Shoveling is stress on the body, the heart and the limbs... like any workout, you'll need a brief period to cool down.  Once your body has calmed, it will be better able to ramp up again to handle digestion. Keep meals light and nutritious for the best recovery. A green smoothie or a salad will give you all the replacement vitamins, minerals and water you'll need to reenergize.