LiveWell Vermont

We are so lucky to live in a state that has so many recreational opportunities. From Lake Champlain to the Long Trail to all the State Parks, lakes and rivers in between there is never a lack of places to escape to. Keep active this summer while exploring all that our state has to offer. Check out some of the great ideas below: July 2-6,  Ancient Arts Intensive Now for Adults! This is an immersion into creativity, the natural world, and the wide variety of natural materials and mediums that are available to the artist. This course is heavily focused on drawing: from real life as well as from the mind’s eye. Awareness and perception are foundational to the creative process, and therefore is a strong emphasis in this immersion into nature, art, and our human origins. This is a great class for you if you want to develop and refine your drawing skills, love visual art, nature, music, or making things with your hands. www.RootsVT.com P.O. Box 932 Montpelier, Vermont 05601 802.4...

We all need to eat more fruits and vegetables! Not only do they add vibrant colors to our meals, but they are packed with all sorts of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that promote good health. This time of year you’re in luck – a vast array of fruits and vegetables are in season during the summer months, making it easier than ever to include them in your daily meal plan.   What exactly do we mean when we say something is “in season”? When something is in season, it is the time of year that the crop ripens and is harvested for people to eat. Therefore, it is the time of year when a fruit or vegetable is most readily available. Want to get more for your money? Buying in season often helps! Prices come down when a fruit or vegetable is in season. In addition, the quality of the produce (taste, texture, freshness, etc.) is usually better than at other times of the year. When you buy out of season, (for example, buying berries in the winter), you are probably buyin...

Does this sound familiar? You're doing well on your diet, getting proper nutrition, you've been working out steadily, and all of a sudden the weight stops coming off. What gives, right? It's likely that you've hit a plateau; a frustrating thing that almost anyone who has embarked on a weight loss journey is far too familiar with. Plateaus happen when your body becomes accustomed to the type and amount of exercise you are doing each day. Your body no longer has to work as hard to burn as many calories, leading to a stoppage of weight loss. The fact is, after week of doing the same repetitions with the same amount of weight, our body doesn't respond as well and we stop recruiting muscle fibers to do the work. Your body literally "loses" interest. A good rule of thumb is to change out your routine every two to three weeks. You should also consider taking a week off every third or fourth month. Avoid taking it off completely, however, as you don't w...

Where can you find fresh, local produce at an affordable price in a fun, family environment? Your local farmer's markets typically feature fresh baked goods, specialty foods, arts and crafts, and of course a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese, eggs, meat and maple syrup. Many markets feature live music and activities such as sheep shearing, weaving and spinning. Experiencing food at its finest can encourage even the pickiest eater to try a few bites.   When it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables, the market is the perfect place to locate some fabulous food finds for everyone in the family! The Vermont Agency of Agriculture has a wonderful resource where you can find your local market with dates, times and locations. Need more convincing to visit your local market? Check out some of the amazing benefits below. Benefits of shopping at the Farmers Market   The fruits and vegetables are grown locally and picked when perfectly rip...

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found clues to why our bad habits are so difficult to kick. Not only that, they're working on developing strategies to help us change. Habits in general play an important role in our health. By understanding the biolodgy of harmful routines and how to break our bad habits and adopt new ones, this may help us embrace healthier lifestyle behaviors. Habits, whether it's brushing your teeth or eating sweets, develop over time through repetition. Habits are a normal developmental process in our lives that can either be helpful or detrimental. If you really think about it, we all shower, comb our hair or brush our teeth without being aware of it, which frees our brains to focus on different things. Habits can also develop by triggering the brain's "reward" centers, setting up potentially harmful routines such as overeating, smoking, drug or alcohol abuse, gambling and even compulsive use of computers ...

Summer is just about here and so are yummy CHERRIES! There is no better time of year to enjoy a bowl of chilled sweet cherries! This month, we chose to feature this dessert-like fruit, which is unmatched by any other fruits for its sweet indulgence. There are numerous varieties to choose from inlcuding the premium, golden Rainier cherries, dried tart cherries, or the preserved bright-red maraschino cherries. Summer is the peak season for sweet cherries, such as Bing and Rainier cherries, which are typically grown in the Northwestern states of Washington and Oregon. Tart cherries, like the Montmorency and Balaton varieties, are produced year-round in Michigan, where 75% of the nation's tart cherry crop is grown. Sizing Up the Nutrition: 1 cup of fresh sweet cherries (with pits) contains: Calories : 87 kcal Fat : 0.28 g Carbohydrates : 22 g Protein : 1.46 g Fiber : 2.9 g Glycemic Index (GI) : Fresh cherries : Low (below 55) Dried cherries : Moderate (56-69) Canned che...

It's hard to deny that more people than ever are turning to the Internet for instant access to information on any topic. From surfing the net to downloading an app, the opportunities are endless when it comes to finding out information about how to manage your health. According to recent research, approximately eighty percent of Americans have, at some point in their life, searched for health information online. This statistic makes it the 3rd most popular web-based activity of Internet users! The problem, however, is that only fifteen percent of those individuals actually check whether or not the information they are reading is from a credible source or if it is current, up-to-date information. Why is checking your source a big deal? Because anyone - even your next door neighbor who knows nothing about health and wellness - could post health information on the Internet. Just because you find health information on the Internet does NOT mean it's factual information. How...

Looking for another reason to enjoy a glass of wine?? The men and women of Sardinia, Italy enjoy moderate consumption of locally made Cannonau wine and they have the world's highest concentration of male centenarians and are a designated Blue Zone!  Blue Zones were identified in 2004 as places where people consistently have longer lifespans. Over a decade or so of research has identified a list of 9 factors that prolong life in theses established regions. Among these factors was drinking some form of alcohol. Sardinians are famous for their daily consumption of the robust, regional red wine called Cannonau aka "Garnacha" (Spain), "Garnatxa" (Spain). Cannonau wine has   TWO TO THREE TIMES  the level of artery-scrubbing flavonoids  as other wines. Another reason Sardinians may experience these wine health benefits is the way they consume it – always surrounded by good friends and good food! Good company makes everything better!  ...

The National Bike Challenge is off to a great start and we are in store with some beautiful weather coming up this weekend. Take the time to get outside and enjoy it. For those who enjoy cycling the National Bike Challenge is a great way to get motivated, track your progress and help Vermont represent it's cycling dominance nationwide. We are currently 1st place in the country. It's not to late too join the challenge and anyone who tracks their days before May 31st will be eligible for this month's raffle. Check out the site: http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national Have a wonderful, spring weekend!

Sardinians follow a their own version of a Mediterranean diet! That may seem like a drastic change to your current lifestyle. Wiping the slate entirely clean may not be necessary. Instead, take steps toward eating more in the Mediterranean-style. Choose one of these strategies below, and make it a habit. When you're ready, move onto the next strategy. The Mediterranean Diet is abundant in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and olive oil. It features fish and poultry—lean sources of protein—over red meat. Red wine is consumed regularly but in moderate amounts. 1. Switch Up Your Oil If you've been cooking with vegetable oil or coconut oil, make the switch to extra-virgin olive oil. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids which may improve HDL cholesterol, the "good" type of cholesterol. HDL cholesterol ferries "bad" LDL particles out of arteries, according to a 2017 study in Circulation. Use olive oil in homemad...

Feeling kind of stressed? You're not alone. Stress is an inevitable part of our modern existence. Whether you're the president of a Fortune 500 company, a Kindergarten teacher, a construction worker, or a stay at home mom, you have stress to deal with. But you don't have to let it get the best of you. By battling stress in your day-to-day routine, you can stop pulling your hair out and get back to living a more relaxed life. How can you turn your stress-filled life on its head? With one of the best weapons against stress: EXERCISE. Working Out Works: When stress is getting you down, you need something to kick you out of your funk. You need something that makes you feel good. Did you know? Every time you exercise, you increase your body's production of endorphins. In case you didn't get the memo, endorphins are responsible for those good moods you get in after a race or the euphoria you feel while chomping down on a piece of chocolate. Before you gra...

With only 95 calories per 1/2 cup and an abundance of disease-fighting antioxidants, sweet potatoes are an extremely healthy choice.  Sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant which studies have shown can help to protect against certain cancers and heart disease, as well as, improve the texture and appearance of our skin. While there’s no official recommendation on how much beta-carotene we need each day, recent research suggests that 3 to 6 milligrams per day is sufficient to help lower the risk of chronic disease.  Just one half-cup (125 ml) serving of cooked sweet potato has a whopping 12 milligrams of beta-carotene!  That’s twice the beta-carotene found in one ½ cup of cooked carrots. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of alpha-carotene, fiber, niacin, carbohydrates and vitamin B6. While a small amount of beta carotene can be converted to vitamin A, plant foods, despite what you read, DO NOT contain vitamin A. Vitamin...

Why should we eat and buy local foods? Fresh food tastes really, REALLY good. Foods that don’t travel long distances can be bred for best taste, not for traits like durability that help them ship well. Buying food within your community is a way to learn about the farms and farmers who produce it. Local food is an investment in your region’s working landscape Local food can reduce energy demands, from the equipment used in the fields to transportation to the amount of packaging. Local farmers carry on their region’s food traditions, including through raising heirloom varieties of products that are not commonly found in the commercial marketplace. Buying local food keeps money in the local economy. Anyone interested in where their food comes from will find that eating local food is a great way to learn about every meal! Eating 100% local makes us break our normal mealtime routines and look more closely at the food around us. 100% local meals unlock the creative cook inside...