You have probably heard the expression…..’Health Is Your Greatest Wealth’. The company tag line or motto for A Health Connection is ‘What Is Life Without Your Health’? And there’s a similar one from Winston Churchill: ‘Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.’ I imagine anyone with a chronic illness that impacts their quality of life would attest to these sentiments.

In my nursing practice, I have seen chronic illness and the debilitating results that people have to deal with. At the same time, I have seen the results of good health as I have practiced in holistic nutrition; not only personally, but in the lives of clients I have had the opportunity to work with.

After working in both fields for several years, this brings me to the questions at the top of the page, ‘Is health your greatest wealth and /or what is life without your health’? This is a question for each of us individually to answer.

It has been my experience as an RN, Certified Holistic Nutritionist, and Holistic Health Practitioner working within the company, A Health Connection, I am not only able to perform nutrition assessments, but also to write nutrition plans and programs that greatly benefit, improve, and in many cases, reverse debilitating conditions. As we enter into the winter season, it is very important that we do all that we can to strengthen our immune systems and follow protocol to stay healthy.

I would love to talk with you on a one to one basis for one of these services. I also teach nutrition classes in which these things are looked at in a group setting resulting in a fun and enjoyable learning experience. Go to my website at www.ahealthconnection.com and click on Holistic Health and Nutrition or email me at brenda@ahealthconnection.com or bihle@fuse.net. I look forward to talking with you soon.

Brenda Ihle, RN, Certified Holistic Nutritionist

Some common ingredients used in smoothies really can help you lose weight. Here are a few of the best—-along with how much to use:

Apples: 1/2-1 apple, with skin

Avocado: 1/4 avocado, peeled and pitted

Cultured Foods: 1/2 cup

Chia Seeds: 2 Tbs.

Herbs: 1/4 cup fresh leaves

Hulled Hemp Seeds: 2 Tbs.

Nuts: 1 Tbs.

Probiotic Supplements: 1/4 – 1 tsp. powder (or according to label directions)

Turmeric: 1/4-1 tsp………Better Nutrition, 2015

A Health Connection offers products that will enhance even more the flavor of these ingredients resulting in a delicious, healthy and refreshing summertime drink that is kind to your waistline……….Brenda Ihle, RN, HNP

Every five years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which tell us what we ‘should’ be eating. Here are the new guideline rules……

1  STOP  eating too much….For the first time in their 31-year history, the Dietary Guidelines are speaking to a nation where the majority of us are now overweight. That’s why the guidelines tell Americans to ‘enjoy your food, but eat less.’

2 GO for more fruits and vegetable…..The guidelines tell us to ‘make half your plate fruits and vegetables.’

3  STOP eating junk….The guidelines say to ‘reduce the intake of calories from solid fats and added sugar.’  Combined solid fats and added sugars make up a staggering 35% of all our calories and the top source of calories in the American diet is starchy desserts (cookies, cakes).

4  MAKE WAY for leaner meats and poultry and vegetable protein….Bad-for-you saturated fat isn’t just hiding in butter and lard. It also lurks in whole milk, full-fat cheese and certain cuts of meat and poultry.

5  GO FOR MORE….whole grains. When it comes to grains, most of us could do a whole lot better. We gobble twice as many refined grains as we should, which may explain why the guidelines tell Americans to ‘limit consumption of foods that contain refined grains.’

6 GO fish….Here the guidelines are pretty clear: ‘increase the amount and variety of seafood to an intake of 8 ounces or more per week.’……….Karen Ansel, M.S., R.D.

A Health Connection……. not only offers a license for healthy, unrefined, unprocessed whole grain bread products that are so necessary to good health, but also one to one nutritional assessments, nutrition classes and a Lifestyle Management Program with wonderful and successful results……….Brenda Ihle, RN, A Health Connection LLC

from a Cardiac Specialist….
2 glasses of water after waking up helps activate internal organs
1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal helps digestion
1 glass of water before taking a bath helps lower blood pressure
1 glass of water before going to bed avoids stroke or heart attack
Water at bedtime also helps prevent night time leg cramps…..

A Health Connection…offers an affordable license to bake our delicious products that are healthy for all of the above conditions as well.

Magnesium is a very potent vasodilator, and hypertension is a symptom of its deficiency. Magnesium helps to regulate contractibility of smooth muscle, like those surroundig arteries, at the cellular level. Studies have found consistently low levels of magnesium in hypertensive patients, and the greater the level of hypomagnesemia the higher doses of antihypertensive medications patents tended to be taking. The British Medical Journal reported a study which gave 20 hypertensive patients magnesium supplementation for 6 months. The average blood pressure of the group dropped 12/8 mm Hg……..Health Masters

Brenda Ihle, RN CHN HHP

Concern over gluten intolerance is increasing in direct proportion to the growing promotion of whole grains. As a result, people are often confused regarding the role grains should play in a healthy diet.

We are often bombarded by hype in advertising about cereals and breads containing whole grains. The net result is that along the way, the true story of grains – both good and bad – gets lost in a barage of sensationalized hype.

While the Hallelujah Diet includes limited use of grains, is a gluten-free diet beneficial or even necessary? And if there are benefits to including whole grains, what are the options for people who are gluten intolerant?…….Health News, 2011

In a final analysis of our clients at A Health Connection LLC, we have learned that most people who believe they are gluten intolerant find out that they are not. After looking at the results of an individualized nutritional analysis and making food suggestions based on that person, the client discovers he/she can eat whole grains and a wide variety of other wheat products without difficulty. In fact, they find out that their G.I. tract (gastrointestional tract) becomes balanced and functions properly. This is due, in many cases, to simply getting the proper digestive enzymes that are needed for proper digestion and distribution in the system so that nutrients get into the cell where they are needed to ‘nourish’ the body and produce energy instead of fat. Many times these enzymes lie dormant due to preservatives in the diet as well as medications a person may be taking. Once the G. I. tract becomes balanced and functioning properly, the gluten issue becomes a non issue.

With the winter months just ahead of us, how do we know if we are getting enough Vitamin D?

For light-skinned people, 15 to 30 minutes of mid-day sun exposure five or six times per week to the face, arms, hands, or back without sunscreen during the summer months is usually sufficient to provide adequate Vitamin D. Dark-skinned people require up to six times that amount of exposure to arrive at the same level of vitamin D as fair-skinned people. So, during the winter when this may not be possible, it is a good idea to use daily supplementation of Vitamin D from a good source of D3 (cholecalciferol) of 2,000 to 5,000 IU’s. A whole food source is best………Hallelujah Acres Health News…..

A Health Connection LLC….offers a wonderful, natural whole food source of this supplement at a very reasonable price.