A Healthier You - Fall Cleaning

Now that the calendar says it’s officially fall it’s time to do a little housekeeping to help fight the germs and keep your home safe as your family huddles inside during the colder days.

Here’s a few spots that need extra attention now:

• Vacuum/Dust tops of cabinets.
• Wash Blankets that have been stored over summer.
• Wash/Dust blinds and curtains. 
• Disinfect switch plates, outlet covers, and door handles.
• Replace air unit filters.
• Flip mattresses.
• Shampoo your carpet.
• Dust off top of refrigerator and refrigerator condenser coil.
• Check batteries in smoke/carbon monoxide detectors.

Checking these off your list now will also help you avoid some of the cleaning pressures before holiday visitors come knocking at your door!

Happy fall y’all! 🍂
Wenona Mertens

A Healthier You - Prepare Your Body for Autumn

Right now in Alabama we’re still nearing triple-digit temps but if you look at the calendar we are only a few days from fall. Soon we’ll be facing shorter days, cooler weather, and the desire to hibernate until springs coaches out the first bright green leaf buds. With all of these changes coming it’s a good time to reevaluate your body’s needs because they differ very much from that bronzer version of yourself from summer.

1. Start taking Vitamin D Supplements:  Vitamin D is great for your mood and immune system. We get most of this vitamin from the sun but as the days get shorter and colder chances are you’re not going to get the amount you need naturally.
2. Get your Flu Shot: Low sun = low immunity so do yourself a favor and lower your chances of getting the flu while your most susceptible. 
3. Don’t Skimp on the Exercise: I’m sure you all knew this one was going to make my list but working out is extremely important when cold weather hits. Getting your heart rate up not only helps fight those holiday pounds but it can chase away those winter blues. 
4. Get Adequate Sleep: I use the word “adequate” instead a “plenty” for a reason. Get what your body needs to keep your immune system and mind healthy but don’t give into the temptation to sleep away the cold days. Not only will excess sleep damage your internal-clock and immunity but it could cause/increase depression. Keep making plans with friends, rake those leaves, enjoying coffee outside, or maybe start a new hobby – Just don’t sleep your days away.
5. Be Extra Kind to Your Skin: Colder weather is tough on skin so make sure you’re using a good daily moisturizer and don’t forget about the sunscreen.

Sweater weather, bonfires, and hot chocolate☕ are just a few of the wonderful parts of colder weather and with a few extra self-care steps you will stay happy and sniffle-free 🤧 through it all!

A Healthier You - Sugar vs Fruit

With everyone being an armchair-nutritionist we are constantly facing conflicting information, especially when it comes to sugar. Recently I read a comment on social media that stated fruit was just as bad as eating a doughnut when you considered the sugar. Well, this made me take a step back 😮. Yes, we know fruit is sweet, juicy, and quite frankly tastes like it’s heaven sent, so maybe there’s some truth lurking in this random “Fruit is bad” statement. Isn’t that usually the case when something is amazing? So, being my own armchair-nutritionist, I turned to the internet to see if treats like cupcakes and candy have the same effect on us as a piece of fruit.

Short answer: No –Fruit sugar does not have the same effect on our system as refined sugar 🥰.

Turns out that both fruit sugar and processed sugar are made up of the exact same components: Glucose and fructose. 

What makes all the difference is the context in which sugar is being consumed.  

With a piece of fruit you’re also getting fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and water all which slows your body’s absorption process allowing you more time to use up the glucose and fructose as fuel instead of being stored as fat.

On the flip side, a cupcake has little nutritional value so your system is flooded with glucose and fructose faster than your body can burn it so it’s stored as fat which ends up as extra weight on you.

To the keyboard-jockey posting that fruit is bad: 

“You’re incorrect, internet person”😝. 

Fruit is amazing for you and it would take way more fruit than you could eat at one time to even compare to the sugar you get in that candy bar so keep making the good choice with natural fruit sugars🍉🍇🥝🍎🍊🍍.

Here’s some great articles on the subject if you want to read more: Aaptive, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and Eaton.com

Written by Wenona Mertens

A Healthier You - What 15 Minutes Can Do

15 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot of time when you consider there’s 24 hours every day. 15 minutes is over in a flash, especially when you’re late or when it’s your mid-morning work break.

A lot of you fill those short breaks at work with quick walks outside or on the treadmill. I just wanted to say, “Go you!!”  and to remind you that you are doing amazing things for yourself. According to this Women’s Health article 15 minutes of exercise has many health benefits.

Here’s my favorite 4:

1. LIVE LONGER ❤: Study after study has told us this. Just 15 minutes of exercise per day could actually increase your lifespan.

2. Manage Weight ⚖: 11 minutes of strength training, three days a week, increases resting metabolic rate (calories burned while sitting) and fat burning.

3. Boost Your Brain Power💡: 10 minutes of exercise can boost your brainpower for a short time afterwards. Great cure for that 2 pm slump 😊

4. Stay Happy😁: Recent studies say that a total of 1 hour per week of exercise could prevent up to 12 percent of depression cases.

So all you break-time walkers 🚶‍, weight lifters🏋️‍, and bike riders 🚴‍ keep up the good work!!

Written by: Wenona Mertens

10 Qs with C2 - September 2019

Who: Scott Miller

Positions held: Carrier Coordinator

1.   If you could live anywhere, where would it be? At the beach

2.   What is your favorite family vacation? At the beach

3.   What motivates you to work hard?
a) To please God - "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." - Colossians 3:23

b) To provide for my family

4.   What was the last movie you went to?
Spiderman – Far from home / MIB International – Double feature at the drive-in

5.   What is your favorite game to play or sport to watch? Football

6.    What would you sing at Karaoke night?
Nothing, I do however sing Amazed by Lonestar to my wife on occasion. (The song played for our first dance at our wedding)

7.   How would your friends describe you?
Family focused, dedicated, hard working.  

8.   What was the last thing you recorded on TV or binge watched? NCIS - Netflix

9.   What's your favorite fast food or chain restaurant?
Buffalo Wild Wings – love me some wings

10.   If you had a warning label, what would yours say? 
Caution – Sometimes does stupid stuff