How a simple, home-made PVC workout tool for less than $40 can get your upper body and core in shape. Contact us if you need help, advice or guidance with your nutrition, lifestyle or weight management - Enjoy!

Tip #4: How to Stay Healthy in Hotel Rooms (tips listed below)

We probably all know that hotel rooms are not that clean after all. And without being condescending, judgmental, critical, impolite or rude, hotel room cleaning is probably not the most exciting or high paying occupation, and I suppose the hardworking people laboring away at this chore are at best applying a minimum standard of care. I bet making all of these beds is tough enough. I'm pretty sure not all bedspreads or quilts inside the duvet covers are wash every day.

According to Dr. Philip M. Tierno, a professor of microbiology at the New York University School of Medicine, "common places of travel, such as cabs, airports, airplanes, hotels, restaurants and business meetings, are battlefields in the never-ending war against germs" (Source: news article Seattle times, 08/04/12).

The same article references a study done by a Yale researcher who found that a person entering a room could add about 37 million bacteria to the air every hour. So now that's pretty scary. What do we do to stay healthy? Your best bet is to boost your immune system. You want to do that a few days prior to your travels, and ideally, you work on strengthening your immune system every day of the week so you're ready to fight these germs.

DannyTheCoach.com can help you with that - reach out today!

A few tips to boost your immune system:

• Vitamin A: Snack on carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, cantaloupe, wild-caught Alaskan salmon, organic pastured-raised eggs, grass-fed & pasture-raised beef.
  
• Vitamin D: Get sunshine on your skin is the best. Look for raw grass fed milk, wild-caught Alaskan salmon, organic pastured-raised egg, high-grade cod liver oil.
  
• Vitamin C: Citrus fruits, leafy greens, bell peppers and broccoli, wild organic berries.
  
• Vitamin K: Important for healthy blood clotting - abundant in leafy green veggies, animal foods.
  
• Zinc: Helps create & activate immune system's white blood cells, helps with enzymatic reactions needed for wound healing. It's found in grass fed beef, turkey & chicken.
• Water: DRINK DRINK DRINK - it's vital to flush food through your system, flushing toxins out and keeping your body hydrated. Remember - A gallon a day will keep the doctor away!

It is impossible to live in a germ-free environment. And using toxic chemicals to clean every single space in your hotel room, cab or airplane is dangers, not possible and not recommended.

A few tips while at a hotel room:

• Wash your hands up to your wrists for 10 - 15 seconds. Backs, between fingers, fingernails. Use hot water.
  
• Try not to come in contact with the top comforter or duvet cover. Pull it to the end of the bed. Avoid touching it if you can.
  
• Bring sanitizing wipes or use a clean, damp towel and wipe down the sink, bathroom countertop, toilet handle & shower faucets.
  
• Clean/Wipe down all the door handles, knobs, TV remote, phone, refrigerator, bedside tables, chairs…anything that could harbor germs.
  
• Wash the glass you'll be using. They might not be as clean as you think.
  
• Watch out for air fresheners. They can disinfect the air a little bit but your lungs will suffer from all the toxic chemicals. Ask management to remove those air fresheners if any way possible.
  

Also keep in mind that about 80% of all infectious diseases are passed on by direct or indirect human contact. And when we travel, our encounters multiply exponentially. Try staying away from sneezing, coughing co-travelers.

Please contact DannyTheCoach.com today if you need help with your immune system, health, nutrition or lifestyle. The "30 min of free chat" promo is still going on. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.

Sources:

• 1st Article Reference
• 2nd Article Reference (newspaper)

Watch Out For These Hidden Dangers

What Hidden Dangers? Well, in short, they are Light, Air, Electricity and Water. The link below goes into great details about these 4 dangers. Here a quick summary on how to prevent some of these dangers. For example, place certain toxin-removing plants around you or figure out how to get natural light into your environment. Filter your water and check to see how you could make your environment more natural. Below a summary of the 4 hidden dangers.

• Light: Artificial light has a whole list of negative health effects. It can negatively affect your eye-sight, age-related macular degeneration, metabolic disorders and sleep to name a few. You want to expose yourself to as much natural, blue light as possible in the morning (sunshine - go for an early walk), and eliminate as much of the bad blue light at night (any type monitor - don't be on your cell phone too much). You can wear blue light blocking glasses.
• Air: Indoor air quality can greatly affect your health. You might be able to use essential oils to improve quality, depending on your co-workers of course. A humidifier could help, too. Similarly here, go outside when possible and breath some fresh air.
• Electricity: We all like the convenience of electricity and we need it every day. We just can't be without it anymore. However, we are exposed to the "dirty electricity" every day via things like WiFi routers, cell phone signals, cell towers, microwave radiation, computer equipment, appliances to just name a few. We are exposed to these EMFs ("electric magnetic fields" every time we use these devices. Simple things to help reduce this stressor: unplug your WiFi router at night when you go to sleep, turn your cell phones off at night, put your phone on airplane mode when driving (you shouldn't use the phone anyway), use an "airtube by Aircom" instead of a Bluetooth headset.
• Water: It's essential for life, so we need to make sure we drink clean water. Many toxic chemicals are lurking in municipal water from chlorine to fluoride to chlorine dioxide to ozone. So install a Reverse Osmosis System (RO System) in your house. Ideally install a whole-house water filter system so your showering and kitchen water is filtered, too.

For more details & sources - click here

Quick little workout routine to get your legs, arms and shoulders going. Go strong, go hard, stay fit! Try to work out 20-30 min per day. Look at it this way, if you can work 9-12 hours for someone else, you should be able to spend 30 min for yourself. You only have one body, make the best out of it.

Tip #3: What To Eat At Airports

Ideally, prepping your food & snack before you get on your trip is recommended. You can scroll down for a list of options. However, if you do need to eat at the airport, use your "at-home brain" and try to eat what you would have eaten at home. Meaning, don't eat a bunch of Pop Tarts or a slew of overpriced, high-sugar, high calorie dishes. Look for the little snack stores and buy some fruits, nuts or a Greek yogurt. Some of these stores sell somewhat healthy beef jerky for example, which is a good source of protein. But make sure to read the ingredients label. If the jerky is loaded with sodium, "natural flavors" and other chemicals, opt not to buy it. Another option is to try making a meal out of an appetizer and a side dish to avoid the calorie bombs. The appetizer portion of wings, or the burger sliders - and ditch the buns - can give you the protein you need to keep hunger at bay, and a side salad or a portion of the steamed vegetables can round out a fairly well-balanced meal. Here a list from the "SmartTravel" website on somewhat healthy airport food options. Again, best would be to bring your own food (see below) but time and life won't always let you be prepared.

Tips for Restaurant Options at Airports:

• Au Bon Pain Vegetable Soups
• McDonald’s Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad
• Starbucks Classic Whole-Grain Oatmeal
• Dunkin’ Donuts Egg White Veggie Flatbread
• Panda Express String Bean Chicken Breast
• Chick-fil-A Grilled Market Salad

Unhealthiest Airport Options:

• Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll
• Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust Pan Pizza
• Dunkin’ Donuts Sausage, Egg and Cheese on Croissant
• Au Bon Pain Mediterranean Chicken Harvest Hot Bowl
• McDonald’s Grand Mac
• Burger King Double Bacon King

 
Your best option is to bring your own healthy, organic and unprocessed snacks (tips summarized below). Prep your sandwiches the day before if any way possible. Most airports do not offer healthy food choices. If you arrive hungry to the airport, most of your options are junk food or processed food. The best advice is to avoid these choices. And unfortunately, this also goes for most in-flight meal options, too. These meals are often nothing more than heavily processed food containing unhealthy substances. Sadly, junk food is loaded with too much sodium (salt), too much sugar and bad meats. These three things will do more to weaken your germ fighting abilities than they will to fight off any disease. If you didn't bring your own healthy foods, your best bet would be to fast. Fasting is superior than eating junk food when traveling and it does less to weaken your body's natural disease fighting mechanisms. Your body can do without food for a while. Actually, you could go for about two to three weeks without food. However, water is a different story. Make sure you drink enough water. At least 60% of an adult body is made of water and every living cell in the body needs it to keep functioning. So drink plenty of water before, during and after your travels.

Tips to Prep Your Food:

• Prep your foods prior to your flight. Make a few sandwiches at home then put them into a separate bag so you can easily pass the security check
• After the security check, go get a large bottle of water. Hydration is key at any airport, as well as in the airplane
• Bring healthy snacks such as a bag of mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts) and dried fruits such as cranberries and apricots
• Bring a few healthy bars - "Kind" is a good option (www.kindsnacks.com)
• Pack a dark chocolate bar - at least 70+% dark chocolate (no milk chocolate please!)
• Bring a bag of natural, uncured jerky - "Epic" does it right (www.epicbar.com)
• Bring an unsweetened gluten-free oatmeal packet with a single-serve packet of almond butter, and ask for hot water and fruit on the plane
• Pack an apple or two. It can fill you up a bit so it's easier to turn down the starchy foods
• Bring an avocado or two. It's a meal on itself and can help build healthy cell membranes and is an easy way to get healthy fats in your diet every single day. Important for brain health

 
Please contact us today if you need help with your health, nutrition or lifestyle. The "30 min of free chat" promo is still going on. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.

Tip #2 - Airplane Hygiene Tips

A major US airline estimates that its aircraft fly an average of nearly six flights per day. With about an average of 130+ people on each flight, 780+ people per day may pass through any one plane. After a week, that exposure rises to more than 5,400+ people, each with the potential to share their own bacteria, viruses, and other microbes with the aircraft seats, tray tables, toilets, arm rests, and virtually every other surface on the plane. The key is a strong immune system. It will always be your best defense against any pathogenic bacteria you come across anywhere, and it will serve you well if you nourish it properly. Here a few tips to support your immune system and keep those bugs off you:

• Get a good night's sleep and minimizing stress as much as possible
  
• Exercise regularly and effectively. 30 min a day should do it
• Get enough sun exposure in order to optimize vitamin D levels (previous article about vitamin D - click here). 15-30 min a day if possible. Or use high quality fish oil as a supplement
• Avoid sugar and grains, and instead eat plenty of whole, real, unprocessed foods (previous article - click here)
• Frequently wash hands, bring hand sanitizers, use wipes on board
• Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. Grab a large water bottle before boarding a plane
• Avoid placing food that you plan to eat directly on the tray table. Try to keep it in its own container
• Keep your mouth clean and bring a toothbrush
• Use blue light blocking glasses in airports & airplanes. Artificial lighting and computers can keep you up and disrupt your circadian sleep rhythm
• Use Oregano Oil - it can keep you from getting sick when you travel. It can stop airborne pathogens in their tracks. 4-6 drops into your mouth before you jump on that plane could help

Lot of us have to travel and we are stuck at airports for hours. How do you stay healthy? What are your best options when you do not have many options at all? What can you do to keep up your energy and focus?
These Business Trip Tips Series (BTTS) posts provide quick and easy tips to get ahead of the game while on the move.

Tip #1 - Workout in Airports: You have to spend a few hours at an airport? You are looking for a quick and easy workout to stay sharp, stay in shape? Here a few simple tips: Use stairs instead of escalators and walking mills. Use them often. Find a gym close to your airport (www.airportgyms.com lists gyms in the USA & Canada close to airports). Bring a suspension strap (TRX is one brand but others on the market for less $ do the same trick - GoFit Gravity Strap is another option). Attach it to stairwells, door frames, or anywhere where it could be wrapped around and do suspended push-ups, suspended sitting leg lunges, suspended corkscrew twists, or a variety of different exercises. You can get a really great workout while waiting for your flight. Pack a jump rope or an elastic exercise rubber band, two other great, simple and light weight items you can bring and use at any airport. Or simply use the chairs to do simple push-ups, reverse dips, or step ups. Here is a site for "Quick and Dirty Tips" on workout sessions: www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/exercise

Think about those drinks when you're out next time. Alcohol depresses the central nervous system, which slows down the communication between the brain cells. The limbic system, which controls emotions, is also affected. This is why alcohol consumption lowers inhibitions. The prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with reasoning and judgment, also slows in response to alcohol, leading to more impulsive behavior and poor judgment. At higher doses, the cerebellum, which plays a role in muscle activity, will also be impacted, leading to dizziness and loss of balance.
Moderation is definitely the key here. "Moderate" intake of alcohol would be a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a 12-once beer, or a 1 ounce hard liquor. Ideally, eliminating all forms of alcohol would be best. Not always possible but ideal. Even if it provides some benefit, it's unlikely that alcohol will add much to an otherwise healthy diet and lifestyle.

Good news is exercise can help! Research suggests exercise can go a long way toward mitigating the health risks, including reducing your risk for heart disease. This makes sense when considering the fact that exercise may be one of the most effective strategies for protecting and strengthening the heart. So much so, research shows regular exercise can significantly lower health care costs if you have heart disease.

Source & Research Data - click here.

Simple and quick workout using a chair. This can be done at the beach or your office. Just make sure the chair is strong enough to hold your weight.