Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Health Tips for September 18

Health Tip: Plan Healthy Family Meals

Families that regularly eat healthy dinners together often encourage children to make healthier food choices.

Here are suggestions on how to make family dinners both healthy and convenient, courtesy of the National Dairy Council:

* Plan to include three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt per day to boost calcium intake.
* Use the Food Guide Pyramid as a tool to make sure your family is getting plenty of nutrients. Choose different foods from each of the categories to keep variety in your family's diet.
* Plan your meals ahead, and buy groceries in advance. This can help prevent opting for an easy, less healthy option when nothing else is available.
* Keep plenty of healthy ingredients on hand so that it's easy to prepare a quick, healthy meal at home.
* While it's good to include some of the family's favorite foods and dishes in your meals, it's also important -- especially for children -- to try new foods and develop new tastes.

Health Tip: Yeast Infections Can Recur

Vaginal yeast infections are common and often recur in many women. But they are easily treated with either over-the-counter or prescription medications.

These are common triggers of yeast infections, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

* Becoming stressed or not getting enough sleep.
* Maintaining a poorly balanced diet, particularly one that's high in sugar.
* Being pregnant.
* Taking certain medications, including steroids, birth control pills or antibiotics.
* Getting your period.
* Having certain health conditions, including HIV or poorly managed diabetes.

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