Women's Well: Let's Discuss All Topics, Hosted by Oiseau

Rejuvenate your diet with these healthy choices.

By Dr. Joey Shulman DC, RNCP
Anti-aging superfoods: 1-4
From skin care to workouts, many of us will do whatever it takes to look and feel our best at any age.

Research shows that certain foods can help to dramatically reduce free radical damage (cellular damage) and slow the aging process. These "superfoods" pack a powerful nutritional punch and have a high anti-oxidant capacity.

In general, superfoods are whole foods that have not been refined, processed or preserved. Here are the top 10 anti-aging superfoods that can boost your health and reduce the impacts of aging.

1. Nuts
Almonds, walnuts, cashews and pecans are great on their own or as tasty additions to salads, yogurt and stir-fry recipes. Walnuts are especially high in desirable omega 3 fats. In fact, ¼ cup of walnuts contains just 163 calories and 2.3 grams of omega 3 fats – that's 91 per cent of your daily recommended intake for omega 3 fat. Walnuts are also rich in monounsaturated fat, which improves cardiovascular health. In general, 10-15 raw unsalted nuts each day will provide you with the health benefits without going overboard on fat and calories.

2. Berries
From the acai berry to blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries – all berries contain very powerful plant nutrients called flavonoids that have been shown to have anti-cancer and anti-aging effects.

3. Green vegetables
Green veg offers an abundant amount of phytochemicals – plant chemicals that protect against a variety of disease processes. Plus, broccoli, spinach and kale are all nutritional superstars that are loaded with fibre, calcium and vitamin E.

4. Green tea
Green tea contains high concentrations of catechin polyphenols. These compounds work in your body with other chemicals to heighten levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis (a state created in the body by burning fat as fuel). Aim for three cups a day if you're trying to lose weight. Green tea has also been shown to be a preventative against cancer, heart disease and high cholesterol.

Set Yourself Free
Letting Go of Perfection

It is good to remember that one of our goals in life is to not be perfect. We often lose track of this aspiration. When we make mistakes, we think that we are failing or not measuring up. But if life is about experimenting, experiencing, and learning, then to be imperfect is a prerequisite. Life becomes much more interesting once we let go of our quest for perfection and aspire for imperfection instead.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t strive to be our best. We simply accept that there is no such thing as perfection—especially in life. All living things are in a ceaseless state of movement. Even as you read this, your hair is growing, your cells are dying and being reborn, and your blood is moving through your veins. Your life changes more than it stays the same. Perfection may happen in a moment, but it will not last because it is an impermanent state. Trying to hold on to perfection or forcing it to happen causes frustration and unhappiness.

In spite of this, many of us are in the habit of trying to be perfect. One way to nudge ourselves out of this tendency is to look at our lives and notice that no one is judging us to see whether or not we are perfect. Sometimes, perfectionism is a holdover from our childhood—an ideal we inherited from a demanding parent. We are adults now, and we can choose to let go of the need to perform for someone else’s approval. Similarly, we can choose to experience the universe as a loving place where we are free to be imperfect. Once we realize this, we can begin to take ourselves less seriously and have more fun. Imperfection is inherent to being human. By embracing your imperfections, you embrace yourself.

You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind,
But GOD kept me sane. (Isa. 26:3)

There were times when I thought I could go on no longer,
But the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15)

At times, I've wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong,
But the LORD kept my mouth shut.. (Psa.. 13)

Sometimes, I think the money just isn't enough,
But GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc.., (Matt. 6:25 -34)

When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up.
When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30)

I could go on and on and on, but I'm sure you hear me!
I'm blessed to be 'kept '

Do you know a 'kept ' woman?
If so pass it on to her to let her know she is 'Kept '
I'm "Kept" by the Love and Grace of God

xoxoxoxoxox to all of God's Creatures

The Journey of Finding a Relationship

Before we embark upon the journey of finding the relationship that is right for us, we may want to take the opportunity to refine our concept of who we are and our ideas of what we want from life. That way, we are clearer on the kind of person we want to attract into our lives. Part of the journey of finding a mate is learning how to become our own mate. When we can learn to meet our needs without relying on someone else to complete us, we don’t have to form relationships from the space of needing our emptiness to be filled. We can also discover our intrinsic value, separate from what someone else might be reflecting back to us. Getting to know who we are and learning to love ourselves creates a solid foundation of self that we can bring to any relationship.

We are fortunate to live in a time when relationships can unfold at a pace that is right for us and take unique forms. Friendship, dating, open relationships, long term relationships, long distance relationships, or committed relationships — we are free to choose the kind of relationships that we want. If you want to be in relationship, but haven’t found the right one for you, remember that the universe works in perfect order and, therefore, right now your life is unfolding exactly as it is meant to be. Maybe all this time has been part of your preparation period for meeting your intended partner. Even the relationships in our lives that haven’t worked out as we had hoped serve us by teaching us to make better choices in our next relationships.

Finding the relationship we want can come early or later in life. It may even happen again and again in one lifetime. There is no right or wrong for how to find a relationship nor is there a timeline that you have to follow. Follow your heart, listen to your inner voice, continue to become your own soul mate, and stay open to love. The journey of finding the right relationship begins with being in right relationship with yourself.

For more information visit dailyom.com

Women demand the right to vote,
five years before American law guaranteed it

Today, it's hats off to the American women who made speeches and demanded to be heard decades ago--because, as more than a few of this week's primetime political speakers have pointed out, this month marks the 88th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave American women the right to vote.

How did the suffragists persuade a nation to change its laws? What happened in the years before the 19th Amendment's approval to change what most men (and women) of the time believed about who should vote? We'll tell you.

1. The Suffragists Got Organized

In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott lit a fire under 300 freethinkers at a meeting in Seneca Falls, New York, with passionate speeches in favor of women's rights. Before long, similar conventions were being held around the country. Female abolitionists, women educators, and bottle-smashing veterans of the Christian temperance movement eagerly joined the movement.

Two major factions of the suffragist cause emerged. Stanton and Susan B. Anthony's group wanted to free women from all restrictions, including social ones such as restrictions on divorce. This was too much for Lucy Stone, who worried her group would lose valuable support if it challenged notions of genteel behavior. For years, the two egged each other on. In 1890, they merged into one formidable group: the National American Women Suffrage Association.

2. The Suffragists Had a Plan

The women had to choose between two paths. They could focus on persuading the states to allow women to vote, or they could set their sights on amending the U.S. Constitution so women across the nation would have the same rights.

By 1860, the suffragists had a strategy. Kentucky and a few other states had granted women partial voting rights in school elections, so women tried to gain the vote little by little, through state law. But after a constitutional amendment gave black men the vote in 1870, women asked, why not a federal law, and why not now?

The country wasn't ready. In 1878, a California senator introduced the amendment that would be ratified in 1920. It was soundly defeated, with only 40 of 76 senators even bothering to vote. Passing a federal amendment required a daunting two-thirds majority. Both houses of Congress had to be filled with men who supported the cause.

3. The Suffragists Were Publicity Hounds

The campaign for suffrage began with the humble petition. Between 1868 and 1920, volunteers solicited millions of signatures seeking pro-suffrage amendments. But petitioning had drawbacks: it was only mildly effective, and it was glacially slow. To attract widespread sympathy for their cause, suffragists needed media attention.

In 1908, the movement switched tactics. American suffragists took cues from their more militant British sisters and brought their speeches into the streets. Conservative newspapermen reeled at the spectacle of women on soapboxes, but the aggressive open-air meetings gave the movement new vitality and recognition. "Votes for Women" was the rallying cry on every corner.

Marches also got the message across. In 1915, more than 30,000 pro-suffrage women and men paraded up Fifth Avenue while a quarter-million New Yorkers turned out to watch. Elaborate theatrical pageants were the icing on the cake. In 1913, the steps of the U.S. Treasury served as backdrop for a flamboyant procession of women dressed as "Justice," "Charity," and "Liberty." News about the pro-suffrage cause slowly moved from the back pages of the paper to the front.

4. The Suffragists Won the West

As the country expanded westward, so did the suffrage movement. The frontier proved fertile ground for women in search of votes. Susan B. Anthony and others traveled across the Plains, Rockies, and Pacific Coast, drumming up support in the most desolate of tumbleweed towns.

Out west, other motives prevailed for granting women the vote. Woman-starved Wyoming, where men outnumbered women 6 to 1, became the first state to grant women full voting rights in 1890. In Utah, Mormon men supported enfranchising their multiple wives in hopes their votes would help defend the faith. Colorado and Idaho, full of lonesome silver miners, followed suit.

5. The Suffragists Convinced the President

By 1918, the movement had won the right to vote in 15 states. World War I had brought women new independence, as they poured into factories and hospitals. Now that women were armed with electoral power as well as economic clout, national party leaders began to pay attention. President Woodrow Wilson encouraged fellow Democrats to vote for a federal amendment, as "an act of right and justice," that would allow all American women to vote.

Though the House of Representatives passed the suffrage amendment in January 1918, the bill stalled in the Senate. Furious suffragists burned Wilson's speeches outside the White House. That fall, Wilson made an unprecedented appearance before Congress, saying the success of the amendment was vital to winning the war.

Wilson's words and the suffragists' hard work helped turn the corner. The amendment passed Congress in June 1919. It took more than a year for the required 36 states to ratify it, but the 19th Amendment became part of the Constitution in August 1920. After a 70-year struggle, American women had won the right to vote.

--Claire Vail

From Knowledge News