DASH Diet, Allergy/Sinus Tips, Family&Faith

I hope you had a wonderful Holiday weekend! The Bleeke-Miller's did with the beautiful summer weather and pool time, family dinners,church and small group,and the 500 (my husband Bruce grew up by the Speedway). We are now busy with our son Nathan graduating from Zionsville (will be going to Purdue to major in Math and Environmental Science), Brendan starting 9th grade football pratice, Annika finishing soccer, and Christina starting a summer internship. Bruce and I thank God for all His blessings of Him, each other, children, and work, and daily strive to keep all in balance with intention, direction, values and regular priority evaluation!

The next time you are in our office, check out our added excellent books! (Some insights from the 1st two are included under then Faith and Family section of my blog.)
"For Parents Only - getting inside the head of your kid", by Feldhahn & Rice
"Red-Hot Monogamy - making your marriage sizzle", by Farrel & Farrel
"Midlife Manual For Men", by Arterburn (my husband Bruce really liked it)
"The DASH Diet for Hypertension", by Moore, et al

The DASH Diet

This diet has been around for years, but does not get much press anymore. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It was known as the Low Salt Diet when it first came out. But there is a lot more to this diet than counting refined sodium, and it is a great general health and diet plan for everyone.

We all seem to know that refined salt can increase blood pressure, and therefore many people don't use the salt shaker at the table anymore. However, more and more people are eating out and eating convenience and processed foods that have more refined salt AND more sugar and fat than simple foods. We can't really know how much salt is in the restaurant foods, but odds are that there is alot more than is healthy for us.

The DASH diet has been studied for many years and claims to lower blood pressure in 2 weeks. It is also great to lower cholesterol and help you lose weight. The meal plan is high in fiber and nutrients and has whole foods that will help keep you satisfied during the day. You also can find more information at the website: http://diashdiet.org.

To put the DASH diet into action, you need to calculate your calorie target, learn the number of food servings from each food group for your calorie target, and learn what counts as a serving.

Calorie Target
1. Maintain your weight - eat 12 x your weight in calories/day (for a person weighing 150 pounds, that would be 1800calories/day)
2. Loose one pund per week - eat 8 x your weight in calories/day (for a person weighing 150 pounds, than would be 1200 calories/day)

Servings per day from each food group
-Grains(G), Vegetables(V), Fruits(F), Dairy foods(D), Meats/Poultry/Fish(M), Nuts/seeds/legumes(N), Added fats/oils(fat), Sweets(S)

1000-1400 Calorie - 4(G), 3(V), 3(F), 1 1/2(D), 1(M), 1/4(N), 1/2(fat), 1/4(S)

1400-1800 Calorie - 6, 4, 4, 2, 1 1/2, 1/4, 1, 1/2

1800-2200 Calorie - 7, 4, 4, 2 1/2, 1 1/2, 1/2, 2, 1/2

2200-2600 Calorie - 6, 5, 5, 3, 2, 1/2, 3, 1

2600-3000 Calorie - 11, 6, 6, 3 1/2, 2 1/2, 1/2, 4, 2

Serving Sizes
Grains and grain products - 1 slice bread or 1/2 cup dry cereal or 1/2 cup cooked rice
Vegetables - 1 cup leafy veggie, or 1/2 cup cooked veggie
Fruits - 1 medium fruit, or 1/4 cup dried fruit,or 1/2 cup frozen or fresh or canned fruit
Low -fat dairy foods - 8 ounce milk, or 1 cup yogert, or 1 1/2 ounces cheese
Meats/poultry/fish - 3 ounces cooked meat/poultry/fish
Nuts/seeds/legumes (beans) - 1 1/2 ounces or 1/3 cup nuts, 2 tablespoons seeds, 1/2cup cooked legumes
Fats and oils - 1 teaspoon butter or margerine, 1 tablespoon low fat mayonnaise or regular salad dressing, 2 tablespoons light salad dressing
Sweets - 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 tablespoon jelly or jam, 1/2 cup Jello, 8 ounces sugared drink3 pieces hard candy, 1/2 cup sherbet, 1 popsicle, 1/2 cup low-fat frozen yogurt

Susan Harris, NP
& Dr. Lisa

Fitness Tips by Eric - will return next blog! Eric is in Thailand attending his brother's high school graduation ( Eric's parents are missionaries in Thailand).

General Tips/Info on Allergies:
Work to identify and avoid your allergens (like not having your window open at night if you have seasonal outdoor alleries).
Use saline irrigation with a nettipot or squirt bottle. This is what I use daily to irrigate my sinuses (made by Neil Med), and at any sign of increased congestion or infection I use it two or more times a day.
Antihistamines: -help with the sneezing, itching, runny nose (& can add sudafed to make the "D" to any of these - but use sudafed with careful caution if you have high blood pressure)
Usually nonsedating
-Clariten (Alavert) & Zyrtec - available over the counter
-Allegra - available generic - only by presciption
-Clarinex - by prescription
-XYZall - by prescription
Sedating
-benedryl (best used at night)
Decongestants
-Sudafed (see above)
-Mucinex
Rx Nosesprays
Cortisone-take several days and need to continue to see best effect
-Flonase - abailable generic
-Nasacort
-Nasonex
-Veramyst
-Omnaris
-Rhinocort
Antihistamine-quick acting, and can use as needed
-Astelin
-Astepro
OTC Nosespray
-types like Afrin you can only use for short periods of time (no more than 1 week)
Eyedrops
OTC - Naphcon A or generic brand (my husband Bruce's favorite)
RX - Patenol, Optivar
If signifcant symptoms despite medicines - see us to discuss possibility or allergy testing and immune therapy (weekly to every other week injections)
If recurrent infections - see us to consider a sinus CT scan

Family and Faith

Parenting Tip:

Why your child secretly hopes you will stand your ground (and the good things about being the "bad guy")
-teens and children see you taking charge as a form of love and security (and if you do not, they will lose respect for you)
-even good kids need watchful attention and discipline (we must be involved with our children's lives and not be oblivious)
-kids appreciate rules more when they understand the reasons behind them (or else they can feel we are trying to control them for no reason)
How to stand your ground
-understand and be purposeful in taking charge/authority in ways that build our kids up and nuture responibility (make a plan ahead of time rather than putting our fires)
-establish clear rules and help kids "own" them - teach wrong vs wise (not wrong vs right)
-forget one size fits all - each child is different and learn who they are
-expect emotionalism and testing - REMAIN CALM!
-be their watchdogs and don't get drawn into debates (such as, "You don't trust me"...) - remember you are the adult
Adapted from "For Parents Only", by Feldhahn

Marriage Tip:

Schedule sex with your spouse AT LEAST one night or time per week!
This will develop a high sexual comfort level since you know you will have sex at least once a week.
-scheduling sex eliminates "The Ask" (and potential rejection from the spouse with the higher desire)
-scheduling sex increases desire (it engages the brain because it is the largest sex organ in the human body)
-scheduling sex increases anticipation (can anticipate and prepare for your marital recreation!)
-scheduling sex allows for prime time planning (put it in the best time for each of you)
-scheduling sex helps couples prepare physically (hot bath or shower or freshly shaved body)
-scheduling sex builds trust and intimacy in a marriage (if we commit to this, we must honor our word and agreement)
Spontaneous sex can have its place in life, but scheduling sex always has its place on our calendar!
Adapted from "Red-Hot Monogamy" by Farrel
Next blog - traits of a red-hot lover!

With my prayers for all our marriages and families,
Dr. Lisa