Body Healthy. Soul Happy.

There are a few things I think we can all agree on. First of all, this past 18 months has been a doozy for American workers. The economy has been topsy-turvy, jobs have been eliminated at light speed and making a living that you can depend on has been harder for more people than ever before in recent memory. Secondly, the American population is aging. In fact, by 2040 the largest segment of our population will be 65 or older and 85+ year olds are the fastest growing segment in our population overall. Lastly, and this is not an insignificant point, only 5% of seniors live in an assisted living community.

For people who can naturally spot an opportunity when they see it, the facts above are a big tip. American’s are living longer and more independently. And as we all know, the key to living independently is staying in good health. And wouldn’t you know it, the consumer spending analysts confirm that Baby Boomers invest a significant portion of their wealth in products that support their health.

As the video illustrates, there is no better time to enter the wellness industry. Baby Boomers are a growing, enthusiastic customer base and Herbalife is one of the most respected and best selling family of products available anywhere on the market. Today, Baby Boomers are spending 200 Billion dollars for wellness products and within 10 years that spending will increase to 1 TRILLION dollars. Will you be in a position to benefit from their spending?

You can be. You can take control of your future, create an income that you can depend on and that protects your family’s future for their entire lives. Best of all, you can enjoy the feeling of being your boss and earning what you deserve without having to first invest your life savings and then go through the stress of building a business from the ground up, all alone.

Becoming an Herbalife distributor opens up worlds of opportunity and you’re never alone. Over the past 29 years they have created a proven system that is guaranteed to be successful for anyone who follows the model and takes advantage of the resources and training they provide. I’m living proof. It only took 45 days from the day I made the decision to the day White Oak Nutrition opened for business. Within 3 months of opening White Oak Nutrition I had recouped every dollar it cost me to open the club and I’ve more than surpassed the salary I was earning as the National Advertising Manager at the Cincinnati Enquirer. But there’s something even more important than the money for me; I LOVE my job. Every day, I wake up and help people feel better about themselves and live longer, more vivacious lives. The time I spend at White Oak Nutrition is full of lively conversation, laughter and smiles and the worry “is today the day I get laid off,” never crosses my mind.

You don’t have to  jump into this business with both feet right off the bat if you don’t want to. I am more than happy to show you how you can earn an extra $500 each month in just a few hours of your time, working from your home or as an associate at White Oak Nutrition. But I’m willing to bet that once you live the happiness that you experience while you’re earning that extra $500, you’ll never want to go back to life as you knew it again.

This morning I was reading a very interesting blog that was recommended by Steve Browne (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-browne/2/ba6/4a6), Executive HR Director of LaRosa’s Inc.

 The blog, www.wingspouse.com is written by Steve’s sister-in-law and gives great insight to a role in marriage that I imagine is becoming more and more important to many families and it got me thinking.

Anyone who has ever had a job, whether is was delivering pizzas, serving drinks or in the C-Suite of a fortune 500 company, has been exposed to the company mission statement and been taught to internalize it, believe in it and live it. But even though we’ve been taught the value and importance of a mission statement to the creation of a successful business, few of us have incorporated the value of a strong and definitive mission statement into our own lives and families.

Mission statements are simple declarations of who we are, what we stand for and what we promise the world. They express the foundation or lens that we view the world through and give clarity to our beliefs, which comes in mighty handy when it’s time to make a decision about something.

Kathi mentions that her family has a mission statement (which doesn’t surprise me given the thought and intention she has put into creating a life that works for her, her husband and her children) but she doesn’t talk about what their mission statement consists of.

It left me wondering if Kathi (who is the wife and partner of a well respected doctor) or any individual or family that has a mission statement ever thought to make eating healthy and taking care of their body and health a central part of their mission.

The Harvard School of Public Health says right on their home page that with the exception of not smoking, eating right is the single more important factor in living a long and healthy life. Even more important than exercise! But how many of us really understand what ”eating right” is and actually make it a part of our life’s mission?

Well here is my life’s mission statement: ”I, Kim Blatt, dedicate my life to learning everything I can about the nutrition our bodies need to support a happy, active and most importantly, long life. I will freely share all that I know with anyone who is interested and I will spend my working hours helping people incorporate good nutrition into their busy schedules and the lives of those they love most. Additionally, I dedicate myself to helping others learn how to begin their own career in nutrition and open up the opportunity to build a protective wall of income around themselves and their families.” 

I believe in the positive power a mission statement can have on our lives and I’d love to know about yours. Please feel free to share your personal and family mission statements in the comments section of my blog!

Even 2-3 years ago, if your child snored or had trouble breathing while sleeping, the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor automatically urged you to have your child’s tonsils removed. For decades, it was assumed that enlarged tonsils were the leading cause of sleep dyspnea. 

But that thinking is being strongly challenged.  Researchers at Penn State recently published the results of a study involving 700 randomly chosen children, none of whom were previously treated for sleeping difficulty, in the medical journal Sleep.

Findings show that about a quarter of the children had mild or moderate sleep-disordered breathing. Tonsil size was not associated with disordered breathing, and nasal abnormalities were a factor only in mild cases.

But waist circumference and body mass index were strong independent risk factors for snoring and other breathing problems during sleep. “This is another red flag related to obesity, another reason to be concerned,” said Edward O. Bixler, a professor of psychiatry at Penn State who led the research. “The metabolic issues in adults associated with obesity are now beginning to be found in younger children.”

 Several additional studies have recently shown that obesity in expectant moms also increases the risk of asthma in infants and children.

Coupled together, weight is quickly becoming one of the greatest threats to our children’s ability to live a long, happy and healthy life. Unlike which genes we pass along, how our children’s cells organize during gestation or even what germs our kids are exposed to, we can control what we eat and what they eat. 

I often wonder how many studies will have to be published and how many children and their parents will have to suffer before our culture changes and begins to make healthy nutrition a real priority. When will we finally begin to see that the food we eat and the lifestyles we lead are actually reducing life expectancy instead of increasing it?

Below are three easy tips you can use today to make a change for yourself and your family. Pass them along and take a stand for your health and the health of those you love!

1. Replace white potatoes in your meals with cauliflower (which can be whipped up and tastes just like mashed potatoes) or use sweet potatoes which have many more nutrients (like beta carotene) than Idaho potatoes.

2. Play active games with your kids especially games like Wii sports or Dance Dance Revolution. These are games that many kids love and you’re likely to love too and studies have shown that playing these games for 40 minutes provides the same benefit as “traditional” exercise.

3. Consider supplementing your meals and your child’s meals with a high quality nutritional shake like Herbalife’s Formula One. These delicious shakes (which can be made with real fruit) offer perfectly balanced nutrition, are quick to make and are great for families who are always on-the-go. There are even kid tested and approved, great tasting, healthy snacks designed especially for your child’s growing body!

If you’d like more tips about how you and your family can live body healthy and soul happy, email me at kvkr2 at aol dot com.