Your Mother was Right
My wife Sandi & I host a weekly 30-minute show called, Sunsets with Dan & Cindi. We started the show during the COVID-19 Pandemic as a way to encourage and get information out to Sandi’s music followers as concerts, along with many things during the Pandemic, came to a halt.
Each week we try to focus on something practical, inspirational and educational; if you can remember the word ‘pie’ you’ve got it. The show’s viewers have continued to grow, despite Sandi’s & my technological blunders which I guess, in part, is central to some of the show’s charm and appeal.
This past Saturday, our special guest was CONIZO’s own, Dr. Andrew Rosenson, or as we like to call him, Dr. Andy. He answered many viewers’ questions on COVID-19 and the impending vaccine concerns and questions. We’ve had great response already and it could be that we have a regular ‘Ask Dr. Andy’ moment in our weekly show.
Dr. Andy, in answering a question on how to boost our immune systems, answered, “I’m going to say something that you’ve probably heard over a thousand times? As a matter of fact, it may go in one ear and out the other.” He then said the following: What your Mother said was, in all probability, correct:
Don’t smoke
Get enough rest at night
Eat your vegetables
Exercise daily
Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup is actually good for you
In a split second, I thought to myself, “My Mother said the same things?!?” I’m guessing that many of our Mothers said the same thing and that has spurred me onto this week’s blogs focus; Your Mother was right! As I did a little research on the topics, I was surprised again that there’s a wealth of data to back up our Mothers, as well!
Don’t smoke.
In a CDC article on smoking and tobacco use in the US, the data is overwhelming: Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths.
In 2019, nearly 14 of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (14.0%) currently smoked cigarettes. This means an estimated 34.1 million adults in the United States currently smoke cigarettes. More than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease.
Current smoking has declined from 20.9% (nearly 21 of every 100 adults) in 2005 to 14.0% (14 of every 100 adults) in 2019, and the proportion of ever smokers who have quit has increased. Current smokers are defined as people who reported smoking at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime and who, at the time they participated in a survey about this topic, reported smoking every day or some days.¹
Get enough rest at night.
More than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis, according to a new study in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. This is the first study to document estimates of self-reported healthy sleep duration (7 or more hours per day) for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend that adults aged 18–60 years sleep at least 7 hours each night to promote optimal health and well-being. Sleeping less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and frequent mental distress.
“As a nation we are not getting enough sleep,” said Wayne Giles, M.D., director of CDC’s Division of Population Health. “Lifestyle changes such as going to bed at the same time each night; rising at the same time each morning; and turning off or removing televisions, computers, mobile devices from the bedroom, can help people get the healthy sleep they need.”²
Eat your vegetables.
Adolescents and adults aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetables. A new report out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that very few adults and even fewer adolescents are eating enough fruits and vegetables.
The report shows that all states in the country fall short of national objectives for consumption of fruits and vegetables, which aim for 75 percent of Americans to eat at least 2 servings of fruit, and for 50 percent of Americans to eat at least 3 servings of vegetables daily.
Nationally, CDC supported state surveys indicate that only 33 percent of adults are meeting the recommendation for fruit consumption and 27 percent are meeting the vegetable recommendation each day. When you remember that all product forms matter; fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices, it really is easy to add more fruits and vegetables throughout the day.
The Fruits and Veggies—More Matters website can act as a resource to assist with your efforts to add more fruits and vegetables to meals and snacks.³
Exercise Daily.
Recent data from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition reports that most Americans are not getting enough daily physical activity. Here are a few of the findings:
Only one in three children are physically active every day.
Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day; only one in three adults receive the recommended amount of physical activity each week.
Only 35-44% of adults 75 years or older are physically active, and 28-34% of adults ages 65-74 are physically active.
More than 80% of adults do not meet the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, and more than 80% of adolescents do not do enough aerobic physical activity to meet the guidelines for youth.
Children now spend more than seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen (e.g., TV, video games, computer).
Nearly one-third of high school students play video or computer games for 3 or more hours on an average school day.
The bottom line is that we need to get out there and get moving! Even a 20-30-minute walk will help relieve stress, get your heart beating and begin to make you feel better all around!⁴
Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup is actually good for you.
Chicken soup is one of our favorite foods to eat when we're not feeling well. But was grandma right—is it actually good for you? Here’s a closer look at why a bowl of chicken soup is comforting and healthy.
Let's look at what the science says and if, yes, your mom was right all along. In fact, chicken soup has been "prescribed" for the common cold for centuries. Cure is probably a bit aggressive of a word, but there is some data, that at the very least makes it super healthy.
The real question starts with, "How it is made," says John Whyte, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer at WebMD. "The best and healthiest chicken soup is usually the one you make yourself. The key is ingredients. All the vegetables and herbs are great sources of vitamins and minerals, so that's a huge advantage.⁵
Here are some research findings on the benefits of Chicken Noodle Soup:
Helps break up congestion: In one 1978 research study in the journal CHEST, 15 research subjects were provided with either cold water, hot water or hot chicken soup. The researchers then measured nasal mucus velocity (um, yuck) and found the soup was superior to either the hot or cold water in increasing the movement of nasal mucus.
May reduce inflammation: There have been a few more studies that are more recent that support that theory as well; one in 2000 in the same journal, Chest, suggested a mild anti-inflammatory benefit of chicken soup, which could also come from adding in plenty of quality ingredients that can certainly boost the nutritive value as well. Make your chicken soup with garlic and lots of veggies—especially dark, leafy greens—to boost up the inflammation-fighting compounds.
Rich in nutrients: Chicken noodle soup can be made with a variety of ingredients but the healthiest pots will have lots of vegetables and include whole grains. The chicken itself delivers protein, which is an important nutrient for satisfaction, immunity and your muscles. Chicken also delivers zinc, a key immunity nutrient. Most chicken soup recipes starts with onion, carrots, celery; but any vegetables you add will deliver fiber, vitamins and minerals. (5)
Go Greek: And, as a nod to my heritage, the Greeks have their own recipe for Mother’s Chicken Noodle Soup; it’s called Avgolemono. You'll love this authentic Greek Avgolemono Soup Recipe. Ahvo-lemono, as the Greeks pronounce it, is a silky, rich, fragrant chicken soup, prepared Greek-style with avgolemono sauce (lemon-egg sauce.) Best part, this weeknight version comes together in just over 30 minutes.⁶
See this Mediterranean Dish link for the full recipe: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/avgolemono-soup-recipe/
Well this week we’ve made nods to both Mother’s and our Spirit, Mind & Body focus, as all of Dr. Andy’s suggestions are healthy components of a well lived life! We hope you’ll stop by our Conizo website, and do ask Dr. Andy any health/medical related question…as he’s ready with practical and applicable answers!
Remember at Conizo, we seek to be the leading innovator and provider of intergenerational experiences, resources, products and services because we believe that the wisdom of one generation can intersect with the hope of another. And remember, your Mother was right!
Thanks for stopping by…Live Life Well!
Notes
CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/index.htm#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20nearly%2014%20of,with%20a%20smoking%2Drelated%20disease.
CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html
Fruitsandveggies.org, https://fruitsandveggies.org/stories/adults-and-adolescents-arent-eating-enough-fruits-and-vegetables/#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20only%2014%20percent,3%20vegetable%20servings%20each%20day.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/index.html
Eating Well, Is Chicken Noodle Soup Healthy, https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7871311/is-chicken-noodle-soup-healthy/