If you need a quick boost, it may be tempting to reach for a something sweet like a soft drink or a candy bar. Thanks to people’s sweet tooth, not to mention a generous helping hand from the sugar industry, sugary snacks are cheap and readily available.  

The problem is that these drinks and snacks are not only bad for you, but they’re also an inefficient way to get through your day. These types of foods are good for quick energy, but they’re processed quickly and once they’re gone, you’re left feeling shaky and empty. Any excess calories you consume goes straight to fat cells, which does little to help your waistline. 

Sugary drinks like cola are particularly insidious because they turn off the body’s natural appetite control since liquid calories aren’t as satisfying to the body as solid food. If that weren’t enough, sugar is also bad for your heart and your liver. Your liver processes sugar in a similar way to alcohol, converting dietary carbs to fat. Over time it can lead to fatty liver disease, which contributes to diabetes and in turn raises your risk of heart disease. It’s a snowball effect you can do without.

Speaking of heart disease, sugar affects the heart in various ways. Consuming too much sugar can increase blood pressure and chronic inflammation. 

Because sugar is so common, it’s also hard to avoid. Reading the labels on the food you eat is one of the best ways to avoid it. Sugar comes in many varieties. Look out for labels that contain words like brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, malt sugar and molasses. 

Avoiding sugar altogether may be tricky, but if you plan ahead and make sure you have access to healthier protein snacks, you can save your waistline and your health. The sugar industry may not thank you, but your body will.

It’s been 20 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks, when two planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers, a third plane crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth into a field in Pennsylvania after a struggle between passengers and their hijackers.  

In honor of the 20^th anniversary of the terrorist acts of 9/11, let’s look at five powerful quotations and the lessons we’ve learned from this tragedy:

• “Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11.”— Barack Obama
• “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”— Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl.
• “Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children.”— George W. Bush
• “September 11 impressed upon us that life is a precious gift…. And I think we all have a duty to devote at least a small portion of our daily lives to ensuring that neither America nor the world ever forgets September 11.”— Bill Frist
• “What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.”—Author David Levithan

On this 20^th anniversary, remember the victims, the rescuers, and their families. Remember to tell your loved ones how you feel. Remember to help others. Just as importantly, remember that life is a gift, and it’s much too short to spend causing grief to others.

On the first Monday in September, you might wonder what family barbecues have to do with Labor Day. You might have asked the question while standing in a long line of shoppers gearing up for the last day of summer or during your workday when you were waiting on a long line of customers at a Labor Day sale.  

The answer is that all these events are part of the meaning behind Labor Day.  

Labor unions became prominent in the 1800s as workers during the Industrial Revolution faced long hours, low pay, and unsafe working conditions. Union strikes and rallies often became violent. That wasn’t the case on September 5, 1882, when tens of thousands of workers in New York took an unpaid day off to hold the first Labor Day parade, a nonviolent affair, followed by speeches and picnics in a park.

On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September a national Labor Day holiday. Many states protested allowing a holiday for their workers. This was in part due to the arguments by factory owners that they needed their laborers. But it soon became apparent that once work weeks were shortened and wages increased, the economy became much better. Now those American workers were consumers for the American-made products.  

Today “Labor Day sales” are frequently the most searched for terms, after Black Friday or Christmas sales. And these summer clearance savings are often more substantial than other sales during the year.

So, this Labor Day, whether you’re working, shopping, or enjoying a day of food-fueled festivities, remember that the holiday is a part of how the United States workforce has evolved. 

The morning was rough, but you’ve made it through lunch. Now the afternoon stretches out before you like a huge, inhospitable desert. Your first thought may be to reach for a burst of sugar to give you some quick energy. However, there is an alternative. Protein snacks can give you the lasting energy you need to make it through. 

The major difference between the protein snack and sugar, is how the body processes different types of foods. Foods high in sugar are processed quickly, which is why we feel that quick burst of energy. Proteins, by contrast, are more of a slow burn, giving lasting energy that won’t give out on us. Proteins are broken down and used to make other proteins and to build muscle. Excess fats, often found in sugary snacks, are stored in fat cells. 

As much as a third of our caloric intake comes from snacking, which means our choice of snacks is going to have a large effect on our overall diet and health. Snacks that contain protein help keep you full longer. It’s more bang for the buck as it were. 

Just as important as what protein snacks have, is what they don’t have— namely sugar, bad carbohydrates and extra calories that go into those aforementioned fat cells. A diet high in protein can help you reduce body fat and lower high cholesterol. It also reduces the risk of associated diseases like diabetes. 

 As a general rule, less processed snacks are better for you. A quick check of the ingredients lists on the back of the package is a good way to gauge. A short list full of things you recognize is a lot better than a long list full of complex chemicals you can barely pronounce.

Give protein snacks a try if you haven’t already. Check out this list for some easy ideas. Sometimes the simplest way is the healthiest way.

Summer is slowly winding down. You know what that means? Yes, it’s that most wonderful time of year: back to school season! Well, not quite. There’s still some summer vacation to go, but it is time to at least get ready to start getting ready. 

School is a different routine than you and your kids have been used to, and it can be a little jarring if you’re changing things at the last minute. The best time to get used to a new routine is before you must get used to a new routine. Before that all-important first day arrives, get the family used to the new time schedule. That means no more staying up all night. Establish regular bed times and meal times.

Knowledge is your best defense against the unexpected. If you’re going to a new school, learn the layout of the building. Check with your child’s teachers to get a sense of their methods and expectations. Find out if there are any forms to fill out such as registration or medical forms. Is there any special equipment you or your child will need beyond the basic notebooks and pencils? Now is the time to gather information and create a plan for success.

It’s a new school year and a chance for a fresh start. Talk to your kids about what you expect from them and what they can do differently, especially if the previous year wasn’t a roaring success. Make sure to listen to them and access their concerns. Being proactive in this way can help you nip problems in the bud.

Even if studying is not your child’s favorite activity, going back to school is exciting in a lot of ways. With a little prior planning you can make sure school days don’t become a school daze.

The Monday morning blues. A bad case of the mopes. Down in the dumps. We have all sorts of catchy phrases for when we’re feeling out of sorts. Feeling down, especially when we’ve suffered some sort of loss or failure, is perfectly normal. It’s what we do next that’s important.

There are times when our feelings of despair are more than a simple case of the blues, and it’s imperative that we realize the difference in severity between just feeling down and something more serious. In those cases, we may need to reach out and seek help. 

When coping with depression, it’s important to start small. A problem can seem vast and the solution too large to take on. Rather than trying to tackle everything at once, concentrate on small steps you can take to help the situation. Every journey begins with a single step.

Don’t feel down about being down. It’s okay to wallow a little. Just don’t make it a habit. If possible, try to use the time constructively. Consider writing in a journal about how you’re feeling. Also remember that just because today was a rough day, doesn’t mean the next day will be. If you didn’t accomplish your goals today, tomorrow is a chance to try again. Make sure your goals are realistic given your situation. You want to set yourself up to succeed. 

It’s okay to pat yourself on the back for a job well done, too. It may have only been a small step on a long journey, but you accomplished it. Recognize that success. The memory of a job well done will stay with you and help you fight the negative voices in your head.

Depression can be a tough adversary. These suggestions won’t always turn a rotten day into a cornucopia of sunshine and rainbows, but they can make things a little more pleasant in the meantime.