With the induction of the new year, many of us are resolving to better our lives in 2012. That’s fantastic! I encourage resolutions, whether you make them now or at any other time of the year.

My New Year’s challenge, however, is that you think in terms of not only success but also significance.

Ken Blanchard, leadership guru and co-author of “The One Minute Manager,” said: “Many people measure their success by wealth, recognition, power and status. There’s nothing wrong with those, but if that’s all you’re focused on, you’re missing the boat. … Using your time and talent to serve others – that’s when truly meaningful success can come your way.”

The best-selling book “Halftime,” by Bob Buford, is a great resource to help change our game plans from success to significance. According to the Halftime organization’s website, “more than 12,000 people turn 50 each day in America, and a Harvard-Met Life study shows that more than half of these individuals want more meaning and significance in the second half.”

You don’t have to wait until you turn 50 or reach your halftime to combine the goals of success and significance. They say you can kill two birds with one stone. That is definitely true if you align your life goals and strategies to be as significant as they are successful.

Buford recommends we answer these questions:

• What have been the turning points in your life? What elements made them significant?
• Are there two or three things vying to put you into a box or limit your life? What can you do to overcome those obstacles?
• How would others close to you affirm and explain how God has gifted and likely called you to make a difference in this life and in the lives of others?
• What are five to 10 core life goals that could bring significance into your life and others’ lives?

I, too, am doing my best to follow Buford’s advice by specifically shaping the second half of my life for significance.

In the first half of my life, I fought my way (literally) to become a martial arts instructor and six-time undefeated karate world champion, before retiring from fighting in 1974. I then moved over into the world of entertainment, where I starred in 23 motion picture action films. Then, with help from my brother Aaron, I starred in and produced 203 episodes of “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

Though I still dabble in movies (including my part in “The Expendables 2,” which comes out in August), I’ve fashioned the second half of my life for more significance by being an author and columnist (to speak into others’ lives) and a philanthropist (to build up others’ lives). I have written seven books and currently am authoring a weekly syndicated culture warrior column, as well as a health and fitness column (“C-Force,” which you’re reading). Regarding philanthropy, my wife, Gena, and I spearhead our nonprofit foundation for children, called KickStart Kids. These avenues of aid allow me to address problems in society and help to repair them by my voice, actions and community service.

Speaking of significance, there is no greater example of it than those who serve in our military forces. As a New Year’s act of elevating their significance, too, on Jan. 7, I’m premiering a military documentary of my multiple trips to Iraq to encourage the troops. You can acquire tickets by visiting the KickStartKids website.

In this next year, Gena and I are committed to making our greatest annual progress in every aspect of our Norris enterprises in order to better others’ lives and our country.

What about you? How can you better focus your life on significance? And align or realign your goals to enhance others’ success and significance, too?

I might not have agreed with all his politics, but I sure agree with John F. Kennedy’s focus for our country when he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

It’s still a question worthy of pondering, especially at the beginning of a year.

Happy New Year, friends! Gena and I wish you all the success and significance that you can dream of.

For a more holistic medical approach, Gena and I recommend Sierra Integrative Medical Center, in Reno, Nev. The people there are pioneers in integrative medicine. They blend the best of conventional medicine with the best alternative therapies.

And we also must keep in mind that faith and prayer don’t replace the medical community; they complement it. They work in conjunction with one another. God heals through modern medicine and prayer, and we should seek both when we need it. To avoid either is to ignore one of the greatest resources that God has given us to empower and heal us.

In fact, the American Cancer Society acknowledges the potential power of faith and prayer but offers a stern warning for those who would exclude the medical community from their health and healing.

I think we need to heed the caution: “One review published in 1998 looked at 172 cases of deaths among children treated by faith healing instead of conventional methods. These researchers estimated that if conventional treatment had been given, the survival rate for most of these children would have been more than 90 percent, with the remainder of the children also having a good chance of survival. A more recent study found that more than 200 children had died of treatable illnesses in the United States over the past 30 years because their parents relied on spiritual healing rather than conventional medical treatment.”

Again, the key is utilizing both modern medicine and faith. And sometimes, they both are bottled up nicely in one agency, group or person, as it was in a nurse who played a pivotal role in my 90-year-old mother’s healing from a life-threatening disease when she was only 8 years old and torn away from her parents and siblings.

My mother spent two very long years in Oklahoma City Children’s Hospital, 120 miles from her home. In her new autobiography, “Acts of Kindness” (available only through my official website, ChuckNorris.com), she explains the power of that healing agent this way:

What I had was scrofula, which is essentially tuberculosis of the bones and lymphatic glands, especially common in children. Even more specifically, scrofula is a tuberculosis infection of the skin and especially the neck. In my case, it led to huge ulcerations there.

I was skin and bones and could barely walk when I left for the hospital. I had rheumatic fever and was nearer to death than ever. I remember Mama and Papa hugging me so tightly when I left. We all cried.

My mother later shared that it tore my parents’ hearts out to let me go, but they had no other alternative, especially if I were to have any chance of survival.

[God] knew this young country girl needed her Mama then, so He delivered me the next best thing: A middle-aged nurse’s aide was the salve in my soul’s heartache. She became my surrogate mother.

She proved to me what I believed even at a young age: that God is impartial. He loves everyone and we should, too. And she loved me like I was her own.

For two years, she loved me unconditionally in ways that made me feel that everything was going to be OK, even though everyone doubted I was going to live. She believed and prayed for my healing, and she was committed to be there for me. She even replaced a wooden chair in my hospital room with her rocker. At night, I would cuddle up in her lap, just as I did with Mama back home. She was so gentle and so sweet all the time.

We would talk about Jesus, how much He loved me and how I was going to be well. As she tenderly rocked me, she would sing spirituals with the most beautiful angelic voice I’d ever heard, until I drifted off to sleep.

I’ll let you read the rest of my mother’s story in her book, but let it suffice to say that she lived, because she’s now 90 years old! She’s been healed many times like that through her life.

I’ll say it again: It’s great to see today a newly founded openness and resurgence of the marriage of spiritual and medical resources, a tradition that goes back far before my mother’s childhood to the very foundations of history and religion.

For example, the Scriptures say, “(Faith) will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” They also say that “the body is a temple” and that “physical training is of some value.” The Apostle Paul and “his dear friend and physician” Luke teamed up to help people, which I believe demonstrated God’s endorsement of faith and medical healing agents. Even Jesus, whose birth we celebrate at this time of year, said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

It’s no coincidence that 800 years before Jesus was born, the Old Testament explained about Him and His mission, and He repeated that message at the beginning of His ministry: “God has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners … to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve.”

Your well-being is just one more reason to celebrate the reason for the season this Christmas.

First, congratulations to Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., which was honored again by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi’s Regional Health Council for advocating healthy lifestyles. The church was highlighted in an August edition of The New York Times as a part of the National Baptist Convention’s goal of posting a health ambassador in each congregation by September 2012.

It’s great to see a newly founded openness and resurgence of the marriage of spiritual and health resources.

In modern times, a score of studies have been conducted regarding the relationship of faith, prayer and healing, most validating the positive role and influence of religion in health and fitness. In 2008, Dr. Harold Koenig – co-director of Duke University’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health – told U.S. News & World Report, “In the past eight years, there has probably been more research and discussion on the topic of religion and spirituality and health than was conducted from 1800 through the year 2000.”

For example, one website for health care professionals documents 25 such studies – 19 pro-faith and 6 anti-faith – conducted by prestigious universities, think tanks and eminent professors and scientists.

Some of those suggesting a link between faith and healing included a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that looked at how faith and spirituality helped with coping during times of illness and injury, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology that looked at how faith helped protect patients against symptoms of depression and a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that demonstrated that patients with cancer could experience a better quality of life when medical needs were joined with spiritual resources. A study at Duke found that those who prayed regularly and attended religious services often had lower blood pressure than those who didn’t. Another Duke study showed that cardiac patients receiving intercessory prayer in addition to coronary stenting recovered better than those who received stenting alone. A study from The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine showed how people who believed in intercessory prayer saw different results than those with less belief in it. Florida State University produced a study that showed that praying for someone else could better your relationship with that person. A George Mason University study published in Psychological Science demonstrated how meditation could enhance mental abilities.

Similarly, U.S. News & World Report noted that Dr. Ken Pargament of Bowling Green State University compared and contrasted the benefits of spiritual meditation versus secular meditation on those who suffer from headaches, particularly migraines. He and his colleagues asked a group of people to meditate 20 minutes daily by simply repeating a spiritual mantra, such as “God is good. God is peace. God is love.” The “secular group” was instructed to use a nonspiritual mantra: “Grass is green. Sand is soft.” After a month, the spiritual group reported a greater decline in the number and intensity of headaches, as well as a greater increase in pain tolerance.

Dr. Jeff Levin, a health and psychiatry expert at Duke, wrote a landmark work, “God, Faith and Health: Exploring the Spirituality-Healing Connection.”

In it, he wrote: “A study of Mexican Americans shows that frequent church attendees report higher levels of well-being and experience less disability, fewer days in bed and fewer physical symptoms than less frequent attenders. … Johns Hopkins University researchers learned that monthly religious attendance more than halved the risk of death due to heart disease, emphysema, cirrhosis of the liver, suicide and some cancers. … A study finds that coronary care unit patients who were prayed for by strangers fared better than patients who did not receive prayer.”

I can’t answer why faith and prayer heal some and not others, but we do know they heal many, so we should not shy away from them. Indeed, we should practice faith as we practice medicine.

We also must keep in mind that faith and prayer don’t replace the medical community; they complement it. They work in conjunction with one another. God heals through modern medicine and prayer, and we should seek both when we need it. To avoid either is to ignore one of the greatest resources that God has given us to empower and heal us.

I agree with Pargament: “There seems to be something special that spiritual resources offer in times of trouble.”

In Part 2 next week, I’m going to not only address the dangers of omitting medical or faith care but also let my 90-year-old mother tell you a story about when God used both to save her life.

For a more holistic medical approach, my wife, Gena, and I recommend Sierra Integrative Medical Center, in Reno, Nev. The people there are pioneers in integrative medicine. They blend the best of conventional medicine with the best alternative therapies.

In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended against routine mammography to screen asymptomatic women ages 40 to 49 for breast cancer. But a new study, presented to the Radiology Society of North America, shows that women in their fifth decade of life actually do benefit from annual mammograms, regardless of their family breast cancer history.

CBS News reported that the study’s leader, radiologist Stamatia Destounis, spoke against criticism of screening younger women: “You find small cancers that will never be a problem,” Destounis said. “But we found a considerable number that can’t wait. Invasive breast cancers can spread and kill.”

Of 1,071 women screened by Destounis and colleagues, 373 were diagnosed with breast cancer, 61 percent with no history of the disease.

With more than 230,000 women in the U.S. alone diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 and more than 26,000 of them younger than 45, it appears to make good sense for women to start routine breast cancer examinations in their early or mid-40s.

However, one word of caution from Dr. David Katz, who is the founder of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center and who wrote the following in response to a similar study about mammography in 2010: “As for harms, we have long known that for every breast cancer found in women under 50, well over ten times as many women will have false positive results. Quite a few of these women will have biopsies. There are, of course, potential complications of the biopsies. In addition, the scar tissue left behind makes future mammograms harder still to interpret, increasing the risks of missing a cancer when there actually is one. And though small, the dose of radiation from routine mammograms can actually contribute, slightly, to breast cancer risk over time.”

Katz also called mammograms before age 50 “a 50/50 proposition” and “a toss-up,” so it might befit all women in that age bracket to heed his further advice: “There is no ‘right’ answer for all women in their 40s. But all you really need is an answer that’s right for you, and that’s what good clinical care is all about. Confer with your doctor; consider pros and cons; your risk factors and preferences. And together, make either heads, or tails, of this particular toss-up.”

I am newly married and heard that laptops can reduce male fertility rates. Tell me it ain’t so, Chuck! – “Ready for Reproduction” in New Hampshire

The medical journal Fertility and Sterility recently reported on a study by Argentine scientists who conducted tests to see whether sperm count lessens when in close proximity to a laptop connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi. Their research discovered that 25 percent of sperm were inactive after four hours of computer exposure, compared with only 14 percent of sperm samples that were at a distance from the computers. And DNA damage occurred to 9 percent of the sperm next to computers, three times the amount of comparison samples.

According to a Fox News report, the scientists who did the study say that the culprit is “electromagnetic radiation generated during wireless communication.”

In a couple of recent articles I wrote on electrosmog, I discussed the potential dangers of an electromagnetic field, or EMF – a collective mass of energy created by electrically charged objects that surround our lives and bodies. Individually, the health risks of the electrical appliances, devices and gadgets that engulf our lives may be minuscule, but cumulatively, they raise the health stakes, especially when placed right on or next to the human body.

This study needs to be verified by further studies, but I’m a firm believer in erring on the side of caution. Though the convenience of laptops is, indeed, found in their portability and placement and their EMFs are few and small, do we really want to be a generation of guinea pigs by daily placing them right next to our reproductive organs?

The answer is simple and common sense. If possible, don’t place your laptop computer directly on your lap. Place it on a table, or, at the very least, use protective pads and even an anti-radiation shield between your body and computer.

In related men’s health news, it was great to hear that mustaches raised awareness and more than $75 million around the world in November for cancers particularly affecting men. It’s true!

The November global charity movement, which began in Australia in 2003 with 30 participants and is now more than 800,000, is simply based upon each male participant’s starting the month with a completely shaven face and proceeding to grow and groom his mustache in an effort to raise funds and awareness for men’s health. One person described it as a walkathon but with facial hair.

The millions raised will go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Livestrong and the Movember Foundation, among other men’s health partners.

Congratulations, charities and men around the world!

If the movement ever advances from mustaches to beards, I think I can give anyone a run for his money!

Dr. Oz received significant flak when he reported in September that “some of the best-known brands of apple juice contain arsenic.” Since then, however, Oz has been redeemed and his claims substantiated!

After Oz’s initial comments, Dr. Richard Besser, a 13-year veteran of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ABC News’ chief health and medical editor, publicly lambasted Oz and his warnings as “extremely irresponsible” and “fear-mongering” and equated them to yelling “Fire!” in a movie theater. Amid the public debate, the Food and Drug Administration tried to steady the apple cart by saying that consumption of apple juice “poses little or no risk.”

But just a few days ago, I watched a humbled Besser on “Good Morning America” recant his fury against Oz’s conclusions, saying instead that new studies have just confirmed arsenic is indeed in many popular apple juices.

ABC News reported that Consumer Reports tested 88 samples of popular brands of grape and apple juice sold in the U.S., including Welch’s, Minute Maid and Mott’s. The results revealed that 10 percent of the juices “had total arsenic levels greater than the FDA’s standard for drinking water of 10 parts per billion (ppb), while 25 percent of juices also had lead levels higher than the FDA’s bottled water limit of 5 ppb.”

Furthermore, data on arsenic in adult urine from the CDC demonstrated that men and women who drank apple or grape juice in a 24-hour period “had, on average, about 20 percent higher levels of total urinary arsenic than those subjects who did not.”

Consumer Reports went on to report that the arsenic tested and detected is inorganic and a human carcinogen. CR further explained that there is “mounting scientific evidence suggesting that chronic exposure to arsenic and lead even at levels below federal standards for water can result in serious health problems, especially for those who are exposed in the womb or during early childhood. FDA data and other research reveal that arsenic has been detected at disturbing levels in other foods as well.”

So who wants organic or inorganic arsenic in his water, juice and food? (Oz further notes that though many say organic arsenic is safe, there is clear evidence that both forms are ultimately hazardous to our health.)

Tragically teetering on a huge U.S. health cover-up, the FDA posted eight “previously undisclosed test results” for apple juice samples from across the country that had arsenic levels that superseded even its own “level of concern” for inorganic arsenic. Two of those eight samples had an arsenic level of 27 ppb. One had a level of 42 ppb, and two others were at 45 ppb.

Strangely, the FDA has limits for arsenic in water (including bottled) but no such regulations on fruit juices. At the very least, the FDA should not allow more arsenic in apple juice than it allows in Americans’ drinking water.

Dr. Urvashi Rangan, director of consumer safety and sustainability at Consumer Reports, rightly delivered this staunch warning: “We’re concerned about the potential risks of exposure to these toxins, especially for children who are particularly vulnerable because of their small body size and the amount of juice they regularly consume.”

With apple juice lacing children’s cereals, snack bars and holiday party tables, we need to heed this countrywide health warning and blow the trumpet to our neighbors. The fact is that the U.S. is getting more and more of its fruits and vegetables from other countries, and many of them do not preclude or limit arsenic in their pesticides or even their water supplies as the U.S. does. Oz reported that apple concentrate comes from up to seven countries; 60 percent of it is imported from China alone.

I agree with Oz, Rangan and Consumer Reports; it’s best for consumers to reduce their exposure to these juices. CR is recommending, until this juice fiasco is remedied, that you not give any type of juice to infants younger than 6 months. Also, no more than 6 ounces daily should be given to children up to 6 years old, and older children should have no more than 12 ounces daily.

This is a perfect example of why my wife, Gena, and I and other health enthusiasts encourage everyone to buy local and organic, always, and, where it’s possible, to grow produce and juice it.

So let buyers beware! Poisonous apples are definitely not just being offered in fictional Snow White adventures.

For a more holistic medical approach, my wife, Gena, and I recommend Sierra Integrative Medical Center in Reno, Nev. The people there are pioneers in integrative medicine. They blend the best of conventional medicine with the best alternative therapies.

I recently was reminded of the importance of eye health as I was watching a news interview with April Lufriu, who recently was crowned Mrs. America. Lufriu and her three children were diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which is a group of retinal degenerative diseases with common attributes that lead to incurable blindness. The first symptom of RP is generally the loss or impairment of peripheral and night vision.

An estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. have RP, which is inherited from mutated genes in one or both parents. As the Foundation Fighting Blindness website explains, these “mutated genes give the wrong instructions to photoreceptor cells, telling them to make an incorrect protein, or too little or too much protein (cells need the proper amount of particular proteins in order to function properly).”

Though she wasn’t diagnosed herself until 2010, Lufriu has been a lead spokeswoman for the FFB since 2007, when her kids were diagnosed. Now as Mrs. America, she’s taking that message of hope for the visually impaired to the whole country and beyond, in pursuit of raising awareness and funds for more research that will lead to treatments, preventions and cures for retinal degenerative diseases.

Though presently there is no known cure for RP (hence the need for further research), vitamin A has been found to slow RP’s progression.

Based on a study of retinal degeneration at Harvard Medical School, FFB researchers write, “Most adults with blinding retinitis pigmentosa should take a daily 15,000 (international unit) vitamin A palmitate supplement and avoid high dose vitamin E to help prolong their vision.” (Of course, health practitioners always should be consulted for proper assessment of individual dosages.)

Among other eye ailments, there are several other retinal diseases and detrimental diagnoses, including diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, macular hole, epiretinal membrane and intraocular eye infection. But one of the most prevalent retinal diseases is age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.

There is bad news and good news here.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, AMD alone affects more than 10 million Americans and is the leading cause of vision loss in people older than 60. AMD originates when the macula, a part of the retina in the rear of the eye that is responsible for central vision, is impaired. Advanced stages of AMD are treated by surgery and a couple of different drugs, including Regeneron’s new drug, Eylea, which was just approved by the Food and Drug Administration at a staggering cost of $1,850 a dose. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that a balanced diet and a fitness program make a natural path to maintaining good overall health, including the health of our eyes. They even can lessen the impact of many AMD risk factors – such as obesity and inactivity, high cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure, drug side effects, etc.

The University of Maryland Medical Center calls nutrition alone a “valuable treatment” for AMD. Researchers at the university noted that “a combination of antioxidant vitamins plus zinc helped slow the progression of intermediate macular degeneration to an advanced stage, which is when most vision loss occurs.”

The doses of nutrients to treat AMD include:

• Vitamin C (500 milligrams per day)
• Vitamin E (400 international units per day)
• Beta carotene (15 milligrams per day or 25,000 international units of vitamin A)
• Zinc (80 milligrams per day)
• Copper (2 milligrams per day, to prevent copper deficiency, which can occur when taking extra zinc).

Lutein and zeaxanthin – carotenoids that are found in high concentrations in such agents as spinach, corn and egg yolk – are antioxidants, which help lower the risk and progression of AMD.

The University of Maryland Medical Center also recommends eating leafy greens. Researchers discovered that risks of AMD were lowered by individuals eating dark, leafy greens – such as spinach, collard greens, kale and watercress.

It also recommends eating more fish, which is high in omega-3 fatty acid. Studies show that the risk of AMD is cut in half for those who eat fish just once a week.

The center also calls the use of herbs “a time-honored approach to strengthening the body and treating disease.” Specifically, ginkgo (160-240 milligrams daily), bilberry (120-240 milligrams two times daily) and grape seed (50-150 milligrams daily) contain flavonoids, which researchers believe can treat and prevent AMD.

Be cautious, however, when taking or combining herbs and vitamin supplements. For example, zinc at a dose of 80 milligrams or more also can be harmful; ginkgo can increase the risk of bleeding (and shouldn’t be taken with other anticoagulants); and herbs, when combined, can have side effects.

So always consult with your health practitioners about your vitamin and supplement intake, especially in light of your particular health history and diet. And most of all, don’t forget that you always should maintain regular annual examinations by your eye doctor.

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In this case, so is our health.

By the way, good luck to Mrs. America, April Lufriu, in her December competition for the crown of Mrs. World. America will be rooting for you! Even more, my wife, Gena, and I join all Americans in saying, “God bless you in the success of your mission to reverse the tide of retinal diseases!”

I covered priming the holiday pump with daily positive mental input, hydration, nonalcoholic beverages, butter alternatives, healthy hors d’oeuvres, low-calorie side dishes, etc.

Here are my remaining nine points for gaining victory over holiday gorging:

• If you’re making a leafy salad, dump the typical iceberg or romaine lettuce for a fancied mix or spinach. Scrap the croutons, bacon bits and fatty dressings, such as ranch and blue cheese. Instead, add a crazy mix of colored veggies – a rainbow of natural nutrients, with some black, red or pinto beans, slightly sprinkled with vinaigrette.
• Fruit salads are amazing, but allow the vibrant natural colors and tastes of the fruits to market their appeal more than the drippings engulfing them. Few ever will notice that you’ve junked the Jell-O and cut the calories with light whipped cream.
• And regarding that mouthwatering turkey, remember that white meat means light meat, as it has fewer calories. CBS News, summarizing an interview with registered dietitian Cynthia Sass on “The Early Show,” stated: “If you love dark meat, going for the drumstick will save you a little – 240 calories compared (with) 270 – but because much of what’s in a drumstick is bone and (because) it takes longer to eat, you may feel like you’re eating more. And you may use less gravy; eating a ladle less … saves another 60 calories.” If you remove the turkey skin, you’ll save even more calories. And don’t use turkey fat or giblets in gravy. Instead, use fat-free turkey broth or packet (powdered) gravy. Also, stuffing cooked outside the turkey has half the calories.
• Some swear by using smaller utensils, saying we can shed pounds by doing so. With plates, forks and spoons being supersized alongside our appetites, Johns Hopkins Health Alerts cited recent research that we will eat less if our shovels (utensils) are smaller. But another new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research discovered that the larger the fork the less people eat. (The rationale is that the brain doesn’t believe hunger is satiated with small utensils.) So you’ll have to do a little trial for yourself – maybe with a combination of larger forks and smaller plates! One thing is certain: If you place your utensils down when you’re between bites, you will further belabor your bloating.
• Consciously chew your food twice as long as you normally do. As many Europeans do, focus on enjoying the taste more than filling your tummy. In September, Masaaki Eto, M.D., informed delegates at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes’ annual meeting that recent research revealed that extensive chewing fuels the release of two intestinal peptides that reduce appetite and food consumption in those who are obese. And if you go for a second helping of food to compliment the chef or appease your stomach’s yearnings, then you know what to do: Treat yourself to a single serving of one of the lower-calorie entrees on the table.
• Respectfully prompt conversation during dinner. When we talk, we obviously don’t eat, and we allow our stomachs to expand with what is already inside them. Share and celebrate the holidays. Ask guests what childhood customs they cherished while growing up. Give guests written facts about the history of Thanksgiving (or Christmas), and ask them to read them aloud. Or talk about health and fitness goals for the holidays.

Post-game meal strategies:

• Instead of immediately and lethargically going over to the couches after dinner, encourage others to take a pre-dessert 30-minute walk with you. You will burn calories while bonding with your guests.
• And when it comes to dessert, I’m all for nuts, but packing on the pecans can also pack on the pounds. Research low-fat, low-sugar pie recipes. Prefer the pumpkin pie even over apple, and opt for whipped cream toppings over ice cream. Sass calculated that “a half-cup scoop of premium vanilla ice cream tacks on an extra 250 calories, as opposed to just 25 for 2 tablespoons of whipped cream.” Light versions are even better.
• Lastly, because alcohol can be an appetite stimulant, consider just drinking water or coffee after dinner. And if you bypass the eggnog, you’ll spare yourself hundreds of additional calories. As the University of Rochester documented, a 12-ounce can of regular beer contains 140-200 calories, and a light beer has 100 or more calories. A 4-ounce glass of wine has 62-160 calories, and a single shot of liquor has 115-200 calories. And 1 cup of eggnog has 343 calories! It takes 2,100 jumping jacks to burn off 8 ounces of eggnog!

If you heed and utilize these pre- to post-game meal strategies, I guarantee you that you will not only gobble more than you gorge, but also cut calories and conquer the holiday consumption wars.

And remember this most of all: According to Harvard Health Publications, watching football on TV burns about 70 calories an hour (Did you read that, Gena?).

For a more holistic medical approach, my wife, Gena, and I recommend Sierra Integrative Medical Center, in Reno, Nev. The people there are pioneers in integrative medicine. They blend the best of conventional medicine with the best alternative therapies.

The mere mention of Thanksgiving makes our glands salivate. We anticipate the smells and tastes for days and sometimes weeks ahead of time. It’s the all-American, eating frenzy holiday – Thanksgiving – one of America’s favorite pastimes.

Let’s hear it for those pre-game chips, dips and hors d’oeuvres! Who can resist those fluffy, cloud-like mashed potatoes cascading with butter, or fresh-out-of-the-oven turkey dressing that virtually melts in your mouth? Green bean casseroles and candied yams are a must, right? And don’t you have to top it all off with that apple or pecan pie, mounted with a truckload of ice cream? And let’s not forget those joyous post-Thanksgiving days of eating leftovers that even rivals the fresh-baked cuisine.

This reminds me of a hilarious thought by the renowned humorist and columnist, Erma Bombeck.

She spoke for many Americans when she wrote: “What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?”

I, above all health and fitness trainers, don’t want to spoil anyone’s Thanksgiving festivities. And it’s no mystery when I write: The truth is that most of us overindulge during the holidays. According to ABC News Health, the average American gains up to seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

Health Management Resources, a national weight loss organization, reports that an estimated 50 percent of Americans ditch thoughts of diet and exercise during November and postpone them until January. And on seemingly good ground, as HMR estimates, the average Thanksgiving meal has 7,100 calories!

Our typical approach to Thanksgiving is to starve ourselves before devouring the bird. Deprivation drives us to the dinner table. But nothing could be worse.

Our path to victory is often averted because we have no consumptive war strategy for the holiday season. But I agree with Maribel Rodriguez, program director for health risk management at The Austin Diagnostic Clinic: “By making some simple changes, you can enjoy special holiday foods without gaining the traditional holiday weight.”

So what can we do to maximize our holiday taste buds without increasing the size of our bellies? In short, how do we gobble without gorging and gaining?

I have a pre-to-postgame meal strategy to help you have victory over holiday gluttony and even improve your guests’ health, if you’re hosting the gathering.

Here are 15 consumptive strategies that will help preserve waistlines without forfeiting food enjoyment and holiday fulfillment. By doing these, you will also cut your calories and minimize foods high in salts, sugars, starches and saturated fats.

Pre-game meal strategies:

• Though fun and festive, the holidays can also exacerbate feelings of loneliness and loss. The mind can be a battlefield, launching a holiday food consumption war in your head. Fight not to fill the emotional voids with holiday treats. Rather, gorge your mind daily on positive reinforcements, whether that is reading inspirational materials, meditating, praying or listening to your favorite media motivational tracts.
• Drink 16 ounces of water an hour before any party or big meal gathering. It not only hydrates your body’s system, but also fills your stomach, reduces the intensity of cravings and will help you control consumption.

Meal-time strategies:

• Since alcohol can be an appetite stimulant, try no alcohol or alcohol-free drinks at your gathering. Drink bottled water or unsweetened ice tea with lemon slices or sweetened with Stevia, a natural alternative. If you’re hosting, offer those drinks in some fun and festive way as soon as people walk in the door. You’ll be surprised by how many people keep drinking them.
• Try healthy hors d’oeuvres, such as potato chip alternatives like whole-wheat pita rounds cut into small triangles. You can even toast them to make them crunchy. Consider hummus, salsa or black bean dips instead of queso, ranch or refried beans. Even better, you might try some vegetable trays – carrots, edamame, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli or celery with a little organic peanut butter make great appetizers.
• Cooked green beans might not titillate cravings for creamy casseroles, but a few additional spices on a batch can rival any scrumptious syrup. At the very least, use a can of reduced fat, cream of mushroom soup in your green bean casserole. And instead of candied yams or sweet potato casserole, loaded with brown sugar, butter and marshmallows, consider that baked sweet potatoes or yams wrapped in foil can lock in juices and natural sugars to satisfy most sweet teeth or palates.
• Use butter alternatives where possible or no butter at all. And I’m not talking about margarine, which can be equally artery clogging. Instead of spreading butter on multi-grain or whole-wheat rolls, as the Food Network recommends, try jam, nut butter or at least a light margarine such as Smart Balance Light. You can reduce butter in stuffing and mashed potatoes by boiling potatoes in chicken broth or simply adding the broth to holiday recipes. The fact is that one tablespoon of stick butter contains 102 calories. So at least switch to an unsalted whipped butter, which contains 67 calories per tablespoon.

Next week, in part 2 of this gameplan, I’ll give you the top nine strategies in my pre-to-post-game meal list of “15 tips to master turkey temptations.”

Until then, ponder one last “wise word” from Erma Bombeck: “Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 110 children have autism spectrum disorders, which is strikingly more than just two decades ago (ASDs are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause communication, behavioral and social challenges). The National Autism Association calls the 644-percent increase of ASDs among U.S. children since the early 1990s “a tragic epidemic of autism.”

Many attribute the increase in the rate of ASDs to children’s being exposed to significant quantities of thimerosal, a mercury-based compound that has been used since the 1930s as a preservative in certain vaccines and pharmaceutical products to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination.

According to the CDC’s website, however, “to date, the studies continue to show that vaccines are not associated with ASDs. … The most recent and rigorous scientific research does not support the argument that thimerosal-containing vaccines are harmful. … Is thimerosal in vaccines safe? Yes.”

But PR Newswire reported recently that the Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs exposed a federal cover-up between the CDC and vaccine researchers. Despite the fact that the CDC received an email from CoMeD in 2002 that revealed a causal relationship between the removal of thimerosal from vaccines and a decline in the rate of autism, the CDC encouraged the publication of a study in Pediatrics that ignored certain data and misled the medical community and public by insinuating that thimerosal in vaccines does not increase the risk of autism.

Almost inconceivably, the study in Pediatrics actually purported that autism rates increased after thimerosal was removed.

And to add insult to injury, PR Newswire reported, “One coauthor, from Aarhus University, Denmark, was aware of the omission and alerted CDC officials in a 2002 email, stating, ‘Attached I send you the short and long manuscript about Thimerosal and autism in Denmark … I need to tell you that the figures do not include the latest data from 2001 … but the incidence and prevalence are still decreasing in 2001‘ (emphasis added).”

The deliberate avoidance and falsification of medical data to support CDC bias is heinous enough, but the fact that such information is manipulated to practice medicine on our nation’s children is monstrous malpractice and even premeditated malevolence.

I agree wholeheartedly with Lisa Sykes, president of CoMeD, who summarized the CDC cover-up: “This type of malfeasance should not be tolerated by those who are entrusted with our children’s health and well-being.”

But even the Institute of Medicine, the nation’s bastion of authoritative health advice, just cleared vaccines as an autism culprit in a recent report.

The truth is, as the National Autism Association reports on its website, “There are over 1,500 studies and papers documenting the hypoallergenicity and toxicity of thimerosal (ethylmercury) have existed for decades,” with recent research revealing commonness of speech delays and tics.

The NAA adds, “Recent studies have confirmed the association between the use of thimerosal and autism has moved from ‘biologically plausible’ (in 2001) to a ‘biological certainty.’”

Hence, justification for thimerosal’s inclusion in any product is unwarranted at best and dangerous at worst.

The NAA categorically states in its series of warnings about thimerosal: “Mercury is hazardous to humans. The use of a toxic poison as a preservative is undesirable, unnecessary and should be eliminated entirely.”

That is why the United Nations Environment Programme is proposing a global treaty ban on mercury in vaccines, something SafeMinds, a parental advocacy group, applauds based upon the group’s longevity in trumpeting the dangers of thimerosal.

But according to another recent PR Newswire report, though thimerosal is not used in vaccines for measles, mumps, oral polio, yellow fever or tuberculosis, it still is found in many diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and influenza vaccines, especially in developing countries.

Since 2001 in the U.S., no new vaccine licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for use in children has contained thimerosal, except for ones to prevent influenza. Nevertheless, the CDC continues to recommend some routine vaccines with “trace amounts of thimerosal” for children younger than 6.

The FDA has approved many seasonal flu vaccines, which come in both multi-dose vials and single-dose units. Those that are produced in large quantities and are in multi-dose vials contain thimerosal, whereas the single-dose units (including nasal spray) do not contain thimerosal, because they are opened immediately and used only once (So if you or yours insist on seasonal influenza shots, ensure they are single-dose).

But do we really want to swap the flu bug for thimerosal? And isn’t “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” a total misnomer when the agency allows “trace amounts of thimerosal” in our children’s soup of medicines? Are we really going to allow our children to be mercury-laced vaccinated guinea pigs? At the very least, shouldn’t we avoid all thimerosal-containing products for precautionary reasons?

Jose Dorea, professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Brasilia, hit the health nail right on the head when he recently said: “The evidence continues to mount that mercury in vaccines is not safe, that negative effects happen even with vaccine levels of exposure. We must end the use of thimerosal as soon as possible. No pregnant mother or child should have to trade getting mercury injected into them for the prevention of an infectious disease.”

So let the buyer beware! Or, should I say, let the booster beware! Don’t check your brain in at the door of your family’s health care. And don’t ever be afraid to ask the hard questions of your health practitioners – for example, “What are the exact ingredients in that syringe?”

It is your health, and they are your children, entrusted to you by God, so be bold in ensuring their safety and welfare. You still have the constitutional right to refuse any health care you deem unnecessary.

It’s true. Many news sources have reported over the past couple of months how Monsanto Co., the world’s biggest vegetable seed-maker, will begin selling biotech, or genetically engineered, sweet corn this fall for U.S. consumers.

There are at least three alarming aspects to this particular veggie-gene mutation and its distribution.

First, if you wonder why the sweet corn’s genes are being triple-altered, wonder no more. Bloomberg reported that “the sweet corn seeds are engineered to kill insects living above and below ground and to tolerate applications of the company’s Roundup herbicide, Consuelo Madere, Monsanto vice president for vegetables, told reporters at company headquarters in St. Louis.”

In short, this is the first time seeds have been genetically modified to allow farmers to spray their fields with Monsanto’s Roundup.

Madere added that though Monsanto is presently in dialogue with companies that can and freeze corn, the new sweet corn seeds will at first target the 250,000-acre market for fresh corn in the eastern U.S. (roughly 40 percent of the sweet corn market).

Second, corn is used in more products than any other type of produce, though admittedly, much is grain corn. For those who think they can merely avoid corn-based products, consider that out of the 10,000 or so items in an average grocery, roughly 2,500 use corn in some aspect of content or production, according to the Ontario Corn Producers’ Association.

Consider just the ABCs of corn – that is, some of the products that begin with the letter A, B or C and utilize corn. Ready? You’re going to be surprised. They are adhesives (glues, pastes, etc.); aluminum; antibiotics (penicillin); asbestos insulation; aspirin; automobiles (wheels and tires, cylinder heads, ethanol fuel, windshield washer fluid, spark plugs); baby food; batteries; breakfast cereals; candies; canned vegetables; carbonated beverages; cheese spreads; chewing gum; chocolate products; coatings on wood, paper and metal; corn chips (of course); cosmetics; crayons; chalk; and instant coffee. Imagine what D-Z might contain!

Third, the science of genetic food tampering is still spurious at best and hazardous at worst.

A plethora of reports have been published to show the potential dangers to not only crops and the environment but also humans.

The Daily Mail, a British newspaper, reported in 2010, “According to the research, animals fed on three strains of genetically modified maize created by the U.S. biotech firm Monsanto suffered signs of organ damage after just three months.”

Despite tests that prove genetically altered organisms in crops become a part of the bacteria in our digestive tracts and the fact that polls show that the American public wants more labels on foods that utilize genetically engineered, or GE, ingredients in their production, the U.S. Department of Agriculture now wants to eliminate any controls from genetically altered corn and cotton. The Los Angeles Times reported a short time ago that the Obama administration has approved an “unprecedented number of genetically modified crops,” such as ethanol corn, alfalfa and sugar beets.

Food & Water Watch warned in a recent letter: “Monsanto’s sweet corn variety flew through the approval process, because it combines two genetically engineered traits that were approved in 2005 and 2008. The USDA does no independent testing of GE crops, and the ‘stacked’ combination of these traits for herbicide resistance and pesticide production has never been through a safety evaluation of any kind.”

Most alarming to me are the hazardous warnings offered by those like the late George Wald, Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine and one of the first scientists to speak out about the dangers of GE foods: “Recombinant DNA technology (genetic engineering) faces our society with problems unprecedented, not only in the history of science, but of life on the Earth. … Now whole new proteins will be transposed overnight into wholly new associations, with consequences no one can foretell, either for the host organism or their neighbors. … Going ahead in this direction may not only be unwise but dangerous. Potentially, it could breed new animal and plant diseases, new sources of cancer, novel epidemics.”

Again, if Monsanto’s own confession is that “the sweet corn seeds are engineered to kill insects living above and below ground and to tolerate applications of the company’s Roundup herbicide,” what exactly will the long-term effect be upon humans?

Answer: We don’t know. But you can bet we will in due time.

Fourteen states have introduced legislation on genetically modified organism labeling, but most face governmental gridlock. So please take action and keep foods safe (non-genetically engineered) by contacting your representatives and demanding that genetically modified food be labeled as such.

The Center for Food Safety, another great watchdog organization, offers a new and free “True Food Shopper’s Guide” download on its website and even a mobile application for smartphones to help you avoid GE ingredients wherever you shop. Go to www.FoodAndWaterWatch.org.

Incidentally, Madere told the Los Angeles Times that Monsanto doesn’t expect much consumer outcry.

I guess she doesn’t know about “C-Force”!