CONGRESSMAN PETER ROSKAM PROMOTES COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN DOCTORS AND PATIENTS. ACCORDING TO ROSKAM, WE NEED TO ENHANCE DOCTOR -PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS.

Summer is here, and we all know what that means: schools out, cookouts, road trips, and long days at the beach! These extra activities may bring to mind picnics, vacation, family reunions and summer parties with hot dogs, potato salad and chips, alcohol, fast food and sweets. Summer months should be associated with the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, combined with grilling foods, having fruit kabobs, which offers many tasty alternatives to the high-fat foods choices we face with our busy summer schedule. Too many people use their vacation as an excuse to eat whatever they want, whenever they want. For our family, a vacation is venturing out on our sail boat and not always finding a place to eat a meal. The ideas and tips I am giving you here is what we do for our meals on the sail boat or when we are traveling by car. We have limited space for food so we have to pack smart and yet get the most healthy, nutritious food that we can get while out sailing. Snacks for travel and your hotel room can be easy. Focus on simple snacks that don't take much prep work. Keep fresh berries in the refrigerator to add to salads or to eat by the handfuls. Wash fresh, raw vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, etc and keep in your produce bin. Side note: If your hotel room does not have a refrigerator, be sure to have an extra cooler with you or fill up your sink in the hotel room with ice and keep your food on ice. Avoid restaurants as much as possible. Am I saying you cannot eat out during your vacation? No, that is not what I am saying. When you do eat out make wise choice, order extra and take it back to the hotel to eat for the next day. While at the restaurant order one meal and share it with your spouse. Portion sizes in restaurants usually triple what we should be eating. If you are traveling by car, it's easy to take a cooler stocked with items that will provide meals and snacks. Bring home-made, healthy treats with you for snacks. Be sure to include some sturdy zip-lock bags so you can make fresh ice packs every day to keep things cool. In your cooler keep aged hard cheeses, wrapped in parchment paper and stored in air-tight plastic containers, a small bottle of olive oil and good vinegar to put on salads (many restaurants do not serve olive oil), whole grain crackers stored in air- tight plastic containers, hard boiled eggs and fresh fruit and vegetables. Some recipes that you can make and bring with you are artichoke and spinach dip or some hummus for your vegetables. For breakfast bring from home some healthy, nutritious muffins, power bars (watch for the sugar content), oatmeal packets, fresh fruit, etc. They are easy and fast so you can run out the door to venture the day’s activities. Make your own trail mix to take with you for snacks. There are so many items that you can put into your own trail mix. You can bring with you homemade soups that are meant to eat cold such as gazpacho, vichyssoise, cucumber soup, etc. With the food that you could bring with you means more money to spend on souvenirs, more rides for the kids and an enjoyable family evening out watching a concert, enjoying a play, etc. Have a fun evening with your family making snow cones, using 100% juice and adding some fruit to the snow cone. What a wonderful, cold treat for a hot, humid, hazy summer night at the beach. Try homemade popsicles by freezing 100 percent juice. Don't forget to stay hydrated. Summer heat and extreme temperatures can cause dehydration. Pure, clean water is the best option to staying healthy this summer. You can add slices of lemons, limes or strawberries for natural flavor. Eating healthy and staying healthy during the summer can be accomplished. Your options for a healthy summer are limited only by your imagination. Laurie Nitschke About the author: Laurie Nitschke is a Holistic Health Practitioner who can guide and counsel you. If you have a disease you should seek advice from a licensed health professional, but there is a much more important point here. We are all responsible for our own health. Learn about nutrition and health so that you can make informed decisions to preserve or regain your vibrant good health. Read More >>

This summer, learn the skills you need to respond to emergencies—right in your own neighborhood. Sign up now to attend a training near you during National CPR/AED Awareness Week, June 1-7: http://american.redcross.org/cpraedevents Throughout the week, Red Cross chapters across the country will hold classes and demonstrations where you can gain the knowledge and skills you need to respond with confidence to life- threatening situations. You can learn how to perform effective CPR and can be trained to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), which can help save the life of someone who has gone into cardiac arrest. Sign up now to attend an event in your community: http://american.redcross.org/cpraedevents

Where: North Riverside Village Commons at 2401 DesPlaines Avenue, North Riverside Advocate Health Centers Call: 800-323-8622 Advocate holds free blood sugar screenings the first Wednesday of each month. For more accurate results, participants should fast for eight (8) to ten (10) hours, before the test.