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Chapter 3 – Your Winter Warming Diet

The best part of winter is you don’t have to diet at all.

Now, there are people that may argue just the opposite, but when you look at diet logically, you CAN discover tools that will help create internal heat, the kind that warms you from the inside out.

When it comes to saving money on heating costs, most people think of things they can do around the house. There is however, another approach you can take to help “warm” your home during the winter, and it has more to do with what you put in your mouth than what you do with your home.

Most people don’t give much thought to the foods they eat - whether it is winter, spring or summer. Eating the right types of foods, however, can help you “warm up” internally during the colder months of winter. When you “feel” warmer, you naturally are less inclined to turn your furnace up higher to keep you and your home warmer.

If you manage to eat just the right combination of foods, you may even find you avoid gaining excess wait during the winter. Now that’s a benefit EVERYONE can enjoy. This is true especially during the holidays, when most people are prone to putting on a few pounds.

Summer Foods

There are winter warming foods and then there are summer foods. While this book is dedicated to keeping you warm during the winter, you should have an idea of what foods are better saved for the spring or summer.

If you tend to eat too many “summer” foods in the winter, you’ll likely feel cold no matter how high you turn the heat up in your home.

What does that mean? You should avoid eating large quantities of summer foods during the cold months. It isn’t a coincidence that some fruits, vegetables and other food products thrive during certain times of the year.

Typically cold foods including salads are helpful during the summer as they tend to keep your body cool. During the winter you are far better off eating stir fried or steamed vegetables than salad. Cold soups like gazpacho are another luxury item you should avoid during the winter to keep warm.

At the same time you may find gazpacho just the treat you need during the summer to cool off after a hard day’s work. Remember, think of your body as its own heat-creating machine. The more you work to stay warm from the inside out, the less energy you will expend heating from the outside in.

Warming Foods for Winter

So, what types of foods should you concentrate on eating during the winter? Here are some excellent ideas.

Curry – foods containing curry, an ingredient that helps spice foods, tend to be warming. Examples may include vegetable curry or Thai curry. You don’t have to be a chef to learn how to add curry to your diet. Simply go to your local grocer and look for the international foods section. Curry in scrambled eggs is excellent. Curry also tastes good when mixed with potato soup and other delights. Consider investing in a cookbook that teaches you fun and simple recipes you can adopt to help warm your body during the coldest months of the year.

Chili – chili is one of the simplest foods to make. Whether you are a vegetarian or a meat lover, you are bound to find a chili recipe you love. For the most part, chili is nothing more than some beans, vegetables and if you like, some form of meat mixed together and then spiced with various ingredients including cayenne pepper. If you don’t want to make your own chili sauce you can buy small packets for pennies on the dollar at the grocery store. You can make big batches of chili and freeze some to use later, for those extra cold days you need a lift.

Tea – Tea and other warm drinks are helpful for warming the soul during the winter. You can also enjoy other hot drinks like coffee, just be sure to eat something with your coffee so the acid doesn’t upset your stomach. Hot chocolate is another popular and tasty choice. You can even sip warm water with a splash of lemon to help cleanse your body and keep you warm during the winter.

Cayenne – Cayenne and other peppers are sometimes used in diet products. Why? They heat the body. They may also help boost your metabolism and may help keep the blood in your body circulating. There are many types of foods you can add cayenne spice to. If you prefer less spicy foods, you can actually get cayenne in a capsule at most health or herbal food stores. Check it out and try it.

Peppers – You don’t have to down a bowl full of jalapenos to stay warm (unless you want to). However, you can add a blend of various peppers to help add to the flavor of your main dishes and help warm your body during the winter. Peppers taste great with chicken, Thai or stir-fry dishes, in vegetable soups, with stews, in chili and more. Experiment with peppers and see what you like. You can even dice them and add them to hamburger mix to make a mighty hot meatloaf!

Here is another fun and helpful tip. You may already do this, but in case you don’t here is some good advice.

When you cook foods in your oven, leave your oven open to let heat escape into a room and provide instant relief from a chilly breeze or cold hands and feet. Certainly you’ve opened your freezer or refrigerator more than once during hot summer months to “cool down” haven’t you? The same concept applies to your oven. Stand next to any heat source, and you are likely to enjoy and reap the benefits of more heat.

Track Your Warm Winter Food Using Our Diary

The healthier and warmer foods you eat, the more likely you are to combat colds and other illnesses, which can contribute to feelings of cold or loss of heat. What are some foods you like to eat that provide you warmth and comfort? Create a list of your top five choices here, and make sure you have them readily available for times when the weather turns cold.

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Chapter 3 - How to Become an AAT Specialist

Now that you understand how beneficial AAT is, you may have an interest in starting your own program or becoming an AA therapist. Fortunately, since the practice is now more commonplace than ever before, there are established guidelines that dictate who can offer AAT and how therapy should be conducted.

Standards Of Care

The American Kennel Club and Canine Good Citizen tests are often used to assess whether an animal meets the appropriate behavioral guidelines and socialization guidelines needed to provide supportive care.

Anyone participating in AAT must recognize that all care is very objective or goal-oriented, thus a licensed professional should supervise all therapy sessions. Typically, an animal therapist engages with a team of experts to ensure successful outcomes.

Before commencing a session, the therapist will discuss the goals and objectives of therapy with patients before practicing any treatment. Here are some strategic steps you can implement to get started with AAT:

First, find out if there is a local organization near you that offers training. Try to find a group that is nationally certified. Often you can find a group simply by conducting research on the Web, a local healthcare center, or veterinarian may be able to point you in the right direction.

Next, find out if your dog or other animal will qualify for participation. Most programs require dogs be at least one year before evaluation. Evaluations will include health evaluations, obedience and behavioral evaluations and temperament. Of these the temperament test is often the most telling, as it places the dog or animal purposely in a stressful or emotional environment then encourages a response. What most trainers look for is a dog that will remain neutral in a setting where chaos, crowding or other stressors may be present.

As an example, a dog may be exposed to a sudden loud noise. The evaluator will assess how much this stresses the animal and how the animal responds. Since the environments an animal will enter as a therapy dog are so diverse, it is important to asses how an animal will react. The goal here is to ensure the animal does not act in a violent or aggressive manner. Animal therapy sessions are truly enjoyable when you have an animal with a mild-mannered temperament.

Some dogs are more amicable than others. For example, some of the more popular breed of dog used in AAT include: Labradors, German Shepherds, Sheepdogs and Golden Retrievers.

Next, you will probably be assigned an evaluator to accompany you on observation visits, which is a time when you and your animal are objectively observed to see how comfortable you are and how you react in stressful situations. This step is a very important part of the process. We are often subjective about our own reactions to others, and about our pet’s abilities around others. An evaluator provides an objective review of your pet’s readiness to help others.

If you feel comfortable and your dog or other animal does as well, often you can proceed with certification. Keep in mind AAT typically refers to very formal treatment programs, where a handler works one-on-one with clients.

Good therapy pets are usually those that are calm and enjoy socializing with others. If you own an attack dog, a herder, or other boisterous animal chances are they are not a good choice or option as an animal assisted therapy pet.

What We Learned

Not every animal is ideally suited for pet therapy, nor is every pet owner a proper candidate to act as a volunteer or paid animal assisted pet therapist. Fortunately, with the increasing popularity of AAT, new standards have been established that outline the exact procedures one should follow if they want to become an animal therapist or if they want to train a pet as “pet” therapist.

If you have more questions about becoming an animal assisted therapist, there are many organizations that now offer training programs for people and pets alike.

Conclusions

Since the dawn of time human beings have used pets in various ways. Pet therapy is not something new, though it is something attracting more and more attention.

By nature, most pets are nurturing, caring and supportive. Many therapists are now using pets as part of routine practice. They are very capable of helping patients overcome disabilities, emotional barriers to communication and positive therapy and beneficial for patients suffering from isolation, depression or loneliness.

Not all pets are suitable for pet therapy. But, if you have an interest in training your dog or other pet as a “pet therapist” there are AAT training and certification programs throughout the nation that can assist you. Many of them are listed in our resources section. Pets truly are mans best friend.

Keep in mind you don’t have to own a pet to benefit from Animal Assisted Therapy. Many therapists have their own animals they bring to therapy sessions. Volunteers often bring their own pets to assisted living facilities or hospice, to act as companions or playful friends to those in need of comfort. This form of therapy can dramatically improve the quality of life of anyone, in a simple, easy and unique manner.

If you think you may benefit from AAT, talk with your healthcare provider and find out what types of therapy may be available near you. And don’t be surprised if the next time you visit your doctor, you find a dog sitting by his or her side. Tell your kids the same, because more and more animals are being introduced into ordinary classrooms to foster greater socialization and active learning.