Christa Cassilis-Hayburn is the CEO of Connecting the Dots Solutions that offers pro-active health and wellness solutions to law enforcement officers and families. Christa was a police officer with the Philadelphia Police Department for 11 years. She worked in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the city of “Brotherly Love” as an officer on a task force that responded to all Priority Jobs. At the age of 30, Christa suffered from nerve injuries in her left shoulder, elbow and forearm while on duty as a police officer. After two surgeries and being placed on six different medications for pain relief the medical community told her that her only choice for pain relief was to have a spine stimulator placed in her back for the REST of her life. She said, “No Way!” Instead she took a more holistic approach; which included changing her diet, taking vitamins and practicing stress reduction techniques. Now after 6 months, she is living 90% pain free with NO medications and is very passionate about teaching others to overcome physical and emotional challenges beginning by what you put in your Mouth. Christa’s approach is not to dwell on calories, carbs, fats, proteins or “Fad Diets”. It is not to create lists of restrictions or good and bad foods. Instead, she works with her clients in creating a happy, healthy life in a way that is flexible, fun and rewarding. Christa works with her clients to reach their goals in areas such as achieving weight loss, maximizing energy, reducing food cravings, increasing sleep and reducing stress. As you work together with Christa, you will develop a deeper understanding of the food and lifestyle choices that work best for you, and implement lasting changes that will improve your energy, balance and overall health. Please contact Christa if you or someone you know is interested in Losing Weight, Increasing Energy or Reducing Stress without "Dieting". Connect with Christa Hayburn, CHHC ADDP: On Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ChristaHayburn On LinkedIn at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/christahayburn

Glorious Grains Can Improve Your Health

brownricebydanoAccording to the US Department of Agriculture “Eating grains, especially whole grains, provides health benefits. People who eat whole grains as part of a healthy diet have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Grains provide many nutrients that are vital for the health and maintenance of our bodies”.

Things like wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grains are all included in the grains category. For the purposes of this article we are going to focus on one of the more beneficial grains: brown rice.

I want you to consider adding brown rice to your diet to improve… Continue reading

Energy: You either Have it or Want More of it

Law enforcement officers need the proper nutrition and hydration to give them the energy required to handle the tough challenges of police work.

Police Officers are juggling many different jobs. If you are a cop then you are an enforcer, defender, protector, social worker, friend, mother/father, sister/brother, aunt/uncle, grandmother/grandfather, daughter/son, student, chef, chauffeur, sports coach, business owner, accountant, personal secretary and landscaper. I am sure that I missed a few of our everyday duties but this is what consisted of a day in the Life of a Philadelphia Police Officer when I was on the force not so long ago.

So where do you get the Energy to be able to… Continue reading

Sugar – The Other “White Powder”

Editors Note: We are proud to welcome Christa Cassilis-Hayburn as a new contributor to CopsAlive.com. Christa was a police officer with the Philadelphia Police Department for 11 years until she was forced to leave the job due to chronic pain from an on the job injury. Today Christa leads a healthy, relatively pain-free lifestyle and teaches others how to do the same. In this installment Christa will tell us about the dangers of too much sugar in our diets.

How much Sugar do you think you consume in ONE day?

Police officers and other law enforcement professionals have had a love affair with sugar and caffeine for centuries. A cop with a cup of coffee and donut is the stereotypic image used to typecast law enforcement officers. In this article I want give you an alternative to that nutritional choice and help you find something that will get you through your shift and help you survive the rigors of your career in law enforcement.

Here is another question that will really make you think… Are you ADDICTED to Sugar?

Like heroin, cocaine and caffeine, sugar is an addictive, destructive drug, yet we consume it daily in everything from cigarettes to bread -William Dufty, author of Sugar Blues.

How dare I ask such a question like that but I certainly remember those days where I “knew” that I needed to eat Sugar just to wake me up mid afternoon.

When I went into the police academy I never drank a cup of coffee in my life. After a few months on the job, I was drinking one to two 16 ounce cups of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Here was the order that I gave: “Medium coffee with X-tra –X-tra”. That’s right Extra Creamer and Extra Sugar. Did I have any idea what Sugar would do to me in the long run? NO Clue!

As law enforcement officers we need to… Continue reading