(ARA) – Health and wellness is a privilege that everyone should be able to afford even in difficult economic times. With the right experience and know-how, anyone can make smart choices about healthy living while also being wallet wise. 

Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg has mastered the art of staying fit, while also being financially responsible. She is a busy mom of three, runs a private practice in New York City and serves as chief pediatric officer for RealAge.com – an informative Web site that helps people live healthier, longer lives. Through her extensive experience of balancing work, life and wellness, she has learned how to keep living a healthy lifestyle, while keeping out of the red. 

Dr. Trachtenberg shares her top five tips for staying healthy on a budget: 

Tip 1 – Buy Frozen for Good Nutrition 
The fresh produce section at the grocery store can be a budgeter’s nightmare as pricey fresh foods can really add up. The budget-conscious can find much needed relief in the frozen food section. Frozen fruits and vegetables typically have the same levels of nutrients as their fresh counterparts, because the produce is frozen at the peak of its ripeness, locking in the maximum amount of nutrients . 

Tip 2 – Get Fit in the Great Outdoors 
No matter what the season, the outdoors is a great place to move your body and bond with family and friends without the confinement and encumbering expense of a gym membership. Calorie-shedding activities can be enjoyed year round: 

* Spring – Get some friends together and form a softball league, or ride a bike on weekends

* Summer – Try to walk instead of driving short distances or take up swimming 

* Fall – Get some cardio by raking leaves or challenge yourself to participate in a local road race 

* Winter – Ice skate at a local rink or work the biceps with some snow shoveling 

On rainy or chilly days, visit the local library and check out a workout video. It can be a lot of fun and doesn’t cost a thing. 

Tip 3 – Let the games begin! 
Lately, board games are making a major comeback with the reinvention of the traditional Family Night. Flexing your mental muscle by opting to play cards, trivia games or parlor games of yesteryear can help cut costs on expensive movie rentals and excessive cable charges. Plus, leisure time spent with friends, family and neighbors is always a healthy and fun way to de-stress. 

Tip 4 – Drink to your health! 
Water is a necessity and getting the recommended eight glasses a day is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Switching from bottled water to tap can save hundreds of dollars (not to mention it also eliminates the amount of plastic bottles that get discarded!). To ensure tap water is healthy and clean, consider a PUR Water Filtration System, which could save up to $600 each year in comparison to bottled water. PUR is certified to reduce many unwanted contaminants to help ensure drinking water is clean and healthy. Visit www.purwater.com for more details. 

Tip 5 – Sweet Dreams 
Getting much needed sleep no matter what your age is crucial to mental, emotional and physical health. You will feel better, be more productive at work, have increased levels of physical and mental alertness, and your body will get the rest it needs to fight off diseases. For these reasons, make a commitment to schedule your day so you get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep. Children, depending on age, might require more. 

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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The muscadine grape, for example, is causing a buzz among people seeking natural ways to look and feel healthy. Scientists have found muscadine grapes are loaded with more healthy compounds than other much-touted foods such as blueberries, goji berries, green tea, red wine and dark chocolate. Muscadine grapes and their seeds are one of nature’s best sources of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.

Called “America’s First Grape,” muscadine grapes thrive in hot climates of the southeastern United States where regular grapes cannot. This environment makes them unique in their ability to heal themselves from disease, bacteria and fungi. These protective qualities benefit all who consume muscadine grapes and especially the seeds, where phenolic compounds are highly concentrated.

The muscadine story begins more than 400 years ago, when Native Americans taught North Carolina’s earliest settlers about their medicinal benefits. Now, scientists have proven them right. For instance, compared to other grapes, muscadine grapes have 40 times more resveratrol — the polyphenol, found in red wine that is proven to benefit cardiovascular health, blood sugar levels and the aging process, among other health issues.

“Muscadine grapes are no secret to many southerners who remember picking the sweet, juicy fruit growing along the wood lines or eating their grandmother’s muscadine pie,” says Rick Tomkinson, food scientist for North Carolina-based Nature’s Pearl Corporation (www.naturespearlproducts.com). Nature’s Pearl is cultivating the most potent muscadine grapes and making them available for the masses year-round in all-natural capsules.

“But, even those who have eaten muscadine grapes their whole lives probably didn’t realize they were helping their bodies to fight what ails them,” he says. “And, they most likely didn’t eat the seeds, which offer the greatest health benefits.”

Nature’s Pearl has trademarked their product “The Smarter Grape” because Muscadine grapes have two more chromosomes than regular bunch grapes, which mean more functional genes and greater health benefits. Muscadine grapes not only have 10 times the antioxidants of blueberries and cranberries, they also contain unique combinations of other phenolic compounds, remarkable anti-inflammatory properties and combinations of over 100 nutraceuticals simply not found anywhere else, including Resveratrol, Ellagic acid, Quercetin and OPCs (oligmeric proanthocyanidins).

People around the country are now taking muscadine grape seeds to lower cholesterol, control blood sugar, alleviate arthritis, help erectile dysfunction, control migraines and even look and feel younger. Muscadine seeds also have been found to have an effect on PSA levels (or prostate specific antigens, an indicator of prostate cancer) and menopause, too.

As human clinical trials and more laboratory studies are under way, science is proving what our country’s first inhabitants knew all along: Muscadine grape seeds are one of nature’s most powerful and healthy foods.

To learn more about the history and health benefits of muscadine grapes and seeds, or where to buy Nature’s Pearl Premium Muscadine Grape Seed Supplement, go to www.naturespearlproducts.com, or call (877) 998-2386.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

* Heart health
* Blood sugar
* Menopause
* Brain health
* Bone and joint health
* Circulation
* Anti-aging
* Sexual health
* Prostate health
* Immunity
* Longevity
* Headaches
* Fatigue

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