Summer is just around the corner, which means there will be a multitude of different diet advertisements on TV.  Weight loss should be done conservatively and with the intention of living a healthier life.  With this in mind here are my top five favorite summer activities, foods, and drinks:
1)  Take a walk.  In the northeast we only get a few months of long days, warm nights and rain free weather, so take advantage of it.  After dinner take a long leisurely stroll.  Walk with a dog, friend or significant other because having someone else to talk to will make the time fly by and talking has been shown to increase endorphins and make us feel happier.  By walking you will burn excess calories and be distracted from after dinner snacking. 
2)  Switch soda for water with lemon or iced tea.  I am a huge iced tea fan (unsweetened) and actually drink this all year long, but I know some people associate iced tea with being a summer beverage.  Unsweetened tea doesn't have any calories and has a bit more flavor than water with lemon, both pluses in my book.  Cutting out the sugar and caffeine from soda will help you drop weight and feel energized.
3)  Eat fresh, local fruits and veggies.  I love summer because of the excess of fresh local veggies and fruits.  I try to eat organic fruits/veggies when possible (they can be expensive), and enjoy weekend trips to the local Schenectady farmer's market.  I was also considering joining a local CSA (community sustained agriculture), where you pick up a set amount of fresh produce every week!  If you have any favorite recipes make sure to send them my way and I'll be sure to post them.
4)  Try a new sport, or play an old favorite.  Again take advantage of the great weather and go outside and play.  Just like with your after dinner walk, being outdoors and enjoying a pickup game of football, throwing the Frisbee around, or playing catch will burn calories and keep you from being glued to the TV inside.  Look up local adult sports clubs and consider joining one.  I personally look forward to horseback riding more this summer.
5)  Lastly, remember to relax!  Being stressed, along with many other negative impacts on your health, causes us to produce cortisol which makes it harder to lose weight.  If you’re always on the run, try to schedule 15-20 minutes to just relax, with no TV, cell phone, kids, or distractions.  Concentrate on your breathing and zone everything else out.  You will be amazed at how this small bit of time can make a huge impact on your mood.  Also consider joining a yoga or meditation class, both are fun and will encourage you to set aside time for yourself.
    Being active, consuming less sugar, caffeine, and processed foods will all help to make us feel and function better.  Remember that if you are going to consider any of my suggestions above, make sure to do it for the right reasons and to start small.  Don't go for a 5 mile walk if you’re not used to exercising or start a diet of raw veggies and water if you usually eat lots of carbs.  Start small, try a 1/2 mile walk or add in a few new fruits/veggies before you start to take out foods from your diet.  Starting small gives your body time to adapt to change and will increase your chances of making good life style changes.  Now stop reading this blog and go outside!

    Niskaday is a free event, held once a year, where people from the community get together for activities, food and fireworks.  I haven't been to one for a quite a few years, but this past weekend I attended the festivities.  The last time that I went to a Niskaday the high school hosted the event, there was not business tent, and the turnout was much smaller.  This year the community get together was held at Craig school elementary and I was absolutely amazed at the high turnout rate.  There were people everywhere!  
    I found out a little too late that there was going to be a business tent with local vendors talking about their businesses, because I would have loved to purchase a booth for the day.  This is something that I will have to look into earlier next year.  That being said I was able to meet several fellow small business owners and even got some good advice for the web page and learned about the new shop rite that will be opening in St. James Square.  Not only did Shop Rite say they were going to be offering a large selection of local and organic foods, but they are also hiring a full time nutritionist, Sarada Bernstein, to answer questions and help customers learn how to eat healthy.  I spoke with Sarada, and when the new grocery store is ready to open she said that she would be delighted to come to the office and do a short talk about nutrition and answer any questions you might have.  I will keep you all posted about this event as the time comes nearer. 
    I also met with several different fitness centers, a Reiki specialist, and a financial planner (who also happens to be a member of the Glenville rotary club).  Everyone was very informative and I had fun meeting with other business owners from the capital region.  I look forward to the summer and will hopefully be attending more events like this one and possibly getting a booth at a few 5K races.

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates around 36 million people in the United States alone suffer from seasonal allergies.  This means that if you don't directly suffere from allergies, you probably know a friend or family member that does.  The signs of allergies are easy enough to spot.  They slowly creep up on you as soon as the weather starts to get nice.  As the grass turns green and flowers start to blossom you start to get a runny nose and ithcy eyes.  What happnes is that your body mistakes pollen for damaging invaders like fungal spores and dust mites. This triggers the release of histamine, a natural chemical that's part of an immune response. Histamine causes inflammation and irritation of soft tissue, thus resulting in sinus congestion, watery eyes and all the other symptoms of allergies.
    Many people swear by the use of local honey to ward off their allergies.  It makes sense that by consuming local honey, that has the same pollens in it that your body is reacting to, your body is slowly able to build a resistance to it.  If you consider trying honey as a natural remedy for allergies, follow these few guidelines: 1) start early!  Give your body time to build up its immunity to the allergens.  I would recommend starting a few months before spring, maybe around the beginning of the year; 2) start slow!  Make sure that you start with a very small amount of honey in order to give your immune system a chance to defend itself.  If you overload it too quickly you may have an allergic response to the honey.  Start with a 1/4 tablespoon per day for a week or two and if you don't have a response, slowly increase the amount until you have reached a tablespoon/day; 3) make sure its local!  This remedy only works if you use local honey that has the same allergens that you are reacting to in the first place.  The closer the honey source the better.
    While this natural remedy may not work for everyone, it is a great natural and inexpensive alternative to help combat seasonal aller

    The intervertebral disc is the largest avascular structure in the body.  This means that it has no direct blood supply.  It is able to get it's nutrients by a process of diffusion from the vertebral bones above and below them.  During the day when we are standing and sitting our spine is in a compressed state and there is a limited amount of diffusion that occurs.  When we go to be and lay down, our spine is able to decompress and as the vertebrae move further apart the discs inbetween them basically suck in the nutrients from the bones around them.  The disc becomes larger and the spaces between our vertebrae increase in distance.  Just think of the disc like a piece of memory foam, it takes a little time for the foam to become compressed and decompressed You can check this theory by looking in the mirrors in your car when you drive to work in the morning and when you leave work in the afternoon.  In the morning your disc are larger, but by the end of the day they shrink a little, which is why you might have to constantly adjust your mirrors.  
    This is also why people who are not able to get enough sleep may experience more back pain than someone who can get 8-9 hours/night.  When you are unable to sleep the muscles of you back are unable to relax and the disc are not able to decompress and take in the proper nutrients.  In turn the disc do not 'inflate' and they remain in a compressed state, resulting in nerve irritation and increased hypomobility.  Chiropractors can help to break the cycle of pain, therefor allowing them to sleep and feel better.  Along with chiropractic care, you may also want to look into purchasing a new pillow or mattress if yours is over 10 years old.