Women Blog

Most people can agree that it can be difficult to balance their work and home lives once they get married and have children. Somehow it seems that work life or home life is always encroaching on the other and causing problems at work, at home, and many times both, especially when you are working from home. However the following a few tips are great options to help with balancing work and home.

1) The best thing to do when trying to balance work and home is to make a schedule. Know how much time you have and schedule your work time and your home time. Then, you will know when you need to schedule work and home events. This will make your life significantly easier and you will know which activities fit into which time frame. Just make sure you stick to your schedule.

2) Many times work and home responsibilities can become overwhelming because one person is handling more of the responsibilities than the other. So, learn to share responsibilities at home and each spouse can be responsible for their work. Also, older children should have some home responsibilities as well to help parents balance work and home.

3) A great way to keep home and work separate is to always focus on home activities during weekends, or at least on days off from working from home if you happen to work on weekends. When certain days are home days and other days are work days then it makes balancing work and home considerably easier. Take time off and do things together. Go shopping for discount classroom furniture, have a picnic in the park or just chilling out in front of a good movie.

4) Balancing home and work can be difficult because your home office is just next door. If you really want to balance work and home then you will always leave your work in your home office and keep home a relaxing place for family and home activities.

As women working from home, we not only have to plan our time well to ensure that we get all work done while our kids are at school, we need to ensure that the children are leading a healthy lifestyle. If you are in charge of the cooking at home, you would agree that it isn’t easy to get your kids to eat the healthy meals you place on the table.

To encourage our children to eat healthy food, it takes time and creativity. There are many healthy foods that your kids can learn to enjoy. It’s a matter of making gradual changes and allowing their taste buds to adjust to the changes. These days, kids are used to eating foods high sodium and fat, and need to adjust to eating new healthier foods. As women working from home, you can make small changes to the normal routine for a start.

There are many ways to teach our kids to lead a healthy lifestyle. You need to first be active before sharing your activity with your kids. You can play with them, cycle or swim with them. Take family walks and hikes together. Being more active as a family will improve physical and emotional health. Help your kids to find activities that they enjoy by showing them different possibilities.

During the weekends, you can spend time with your children and relax in your patio with your outdoor pillows. You can chat and plan games together, enjoy each other’s company and treasure those special times together. These are simple ways all women working from home can do with their children while encouraging them to lead a healthy lifestyle as a family.

Lactose Intolerance Has a Serious Impact on the Health of Latinas

A new Lactose Intolerance in Multicultural Communities Survey sponsored by the LACTAID Brand found that 77 percent of Latinas reduce the amount of milk or dairy in their diet as a way to manage their lactose intolerance. Yet, 63 percent of Latinas who have lactose intolerance worry the condition keeps them from consuming important nutrients, such as calcium and vitamins A and D. Despite their concerns, only 14 percent have talked to a health care professional about lactose intolerance.

The study found that more than half of Latinas are unsure about what foods may cause discomfort and 12 percent remove dairy from their diet completely as a way to control their lactose intolerance. This is concerning as dairy foods and beverages contain key essential nutrients that are important for a healthy lifestyle.

Since 50 to 80 percent of Latinos may have symptoms of lactose intolerance, there is a need for a greater understanding of how to manage the condition. In fact, lactose intolerance is easy to diagnose and easy to manage, without forgoing dairy and the foods Latinas and their families love. That’s why to help educate women about lactose intolerance, the LACTAID Brand has partnered with Angelica Vale, Mexican comedian and actress, who is lactose intolerant and who has learned to enjoy dairy and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“Although I am lactose intolerant, milk and dairy products are an important part of my diet. I rely on LACTAID Milk to ensure I drink real, delicious milk everyday and consume the nutrients necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” said Vale. “I love to make fruit licuados for breakfast, and because I have a sweet tooth, desserts like flan are a perfect ending to dinner. So it’s great that I can manage my lactose intolerance without giving up my favorite traditional dishes.”

The LACTAID Brand recently conducted the Lactose Intolerance in Multicultural Communities Survey to gain insight into how multicultural women, who are more likely to have lactose intolerance, understand and manage the condition. Additional findings include:

– Fifty-eight percent of Latinas feel inconvenienced by their condition.
– Seventy-eight percent want to keep dairy in their diet because of its health benefits – 40 percent because it is a natural source of calcium and nutrients and 38 percent to maintain healthy bones.
– A majority of Latinas are worried about managing their lactose intolerance in social settings.
– Seventy-eight percent worry about experiencing symptoms when enjoying a meal with others.
– Sixty-five percent feel they have to avoid certain foods before or during social events.
– Forty-six percent are uncertain about eating foods prepared by friends or family.
– Sixty-three percent of Latinas do not know that lactose-free products, like LACTAID Milk, Ice Cream and Cottage Cheese, have the same important nutrients found in regular milk and dairy products.

Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest foods containing lactose, which is found primarily in milk and many dairy products. The condition creates discomfort such as gas, cramping, bloating and diarrhea. The LACTAID Brand is dedicated to helping consumers manage their lactose intolerance by providing information and resources about the condition on their website. Consumers can visit www.lactaidenespanol.com to find facts about lactose intolerance, a Dairy Digestion Test to determine if symptoms are a result of lactose intolerance and recipes to help manage their condition.

Lactose Intolerance in Multicultural Communities Survey

The Lactose Intolerance in Multicultural Communities Survey was conducted on behalf of the LACTAID Brand by Richard Day Research between July 1-31 2009. The online survey interviewed a national sample of 401 African American and 405 Hispanic women living with lactose intolerance, age 18 and older. The sample is balanced according to the age and regional dispersion of this population as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The sample of Hispanic women was also balanced to reflect the nativity of the Hispanic population.

Source: McNeil Nutritionals, LLC