Dial it back on your smartphone usage
Common Sense Media estimates that 90 percent of movies, 68 percent of video games (kids start playing themaroundage4)and60 percent of TV shows depict violent acts.
Add to that the fact that many parents opt for interacting with their smartphones over paying attention to their child. Half of parents in one survey said they ignore their children in favor of their phone at least three times a day.
If you’re battling digital addictions — choosing your phone over your child is a sure sign — chances are you’re also upset. A study in Neuro Regulation found that digital addiction can trigger anxiety and loneliness.
So, put your phone on mute when you’re playing with your child; ban devices from family meals; and don’t turn away from your child midsentence to get an email or answer a ring. Your lifelong relationship depends on smart choices you make today.
Eat your tree nuts
When European missionaries headed into the jungles of West Papua in Indonesia in 1974, they discovered a tribe of cannibalistic people living in trees. That contact is thought to be the first time the Korowai became aware that other humans existed.
But for centuries many tribes have known that tree nuts are a great source of nutrition. One Israeli archeological dig found evidence that 780,000 years ago our early relatives ate wild almonds and two varieties of acorns and pistachios!
Almonds, pine nuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans and especially walnuts can lower your risk of heart disease and boost brain function. (Only walnuts have appreciable amounts of omega-3’s.) Now we know that nuts also can help people with non-insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes control their glucose levels.
For a recent study published in Diabetologia, researchers divided 117 adults with diabetes into three groups: One ate 1/2 cup of tree nuts and peanuts daily; another group had 1/4 cup of those nuts and part of a whole-wheat muffin daily; and the last group had a whole-wheat muffin and no nuts each day. After three months, those who had eaten more nuts than (carbohydrate) muffins had better glucose control and lower levels of lousy LDL cholesterol.
So, for better glycemic control, add nuts to your diet and skip the muffins. Track your intake and glucose levels, and after 12 weeks, you will see a difference!
Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare. com.