Summer is a great time to refocus your energy into revamping your health and living habits for a better you! Take a look at these simple tips to get jump-started this hot season:

Give Your Diet a Berry Boost: If you do one thing this summer to improve your diet, have a cup of mixed fresh berries -- blackberries, blueberries, or strawberries -- every day. They'll help you load up on antioxidants, which may help prevent damage to tissues and reduce the risks of age-related illnesses, including lowering cholesterol and preventing some cancers. Blueberries and blackberries are especially antioxidant-rich.

Get Dirty - Stress Less: To improve your stress level, plant a small flower or vegetable garden, help your folks mow the lawn - just get out and get dirty in nature! Simply putting your hands in soil is "grounding." And when it feels like your life is moving so fast your feet are barely touching the stuff, being mentally grounded can help relieve physical and mental stress.

Get Outside to Exercise: Choose an outdoor activity - going on a hike, taking a nature walk, playing summer games such as beach volleyball, boating, or swimming - to shed that cooped-up feeling of gym workouts.

Be Good to Your Eyes:To protect your vision at work and at play, wear protective eyewear. When outdoors, wear sunglasses that block at least 99% of ultraviolet A and B rays. Sunglasses can help prevent cataracts, as well as wrinkles around the eyes.

Vacation Time: Improve your heart health: take advantage of summer's slower schedule by using your vacation time to unwind. Vacations have multiple benefits: They can help lower your blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones such as cortisol, which contributes to a widening waist and an increased risk of heart disease.

Sleep Well: Resist the urge to stay up later during long summer days. Instead pay attention to good sleep hygiene by keeping the same bedtime and wake-up schedule and not drinking alcohol within three hours of bedtime. It's also a good idea to avoid naps during the day unless you take them every day at the same time, for the same amount of time.

Resource: WebMD

It’s no surprise that foodborne illnesses  increase during the summer months. To make sure you and your friends are eating safely at the next summer cookout, follow these tips:

· Cool It: To prevent foodborne bacteria from paying a visit to your picnic, keep food as cold as possible during transport—40 degrees or colder. A full cooler stays colder longer than a partially filled one, so pack food straight from the fridge and pour on ice to the brim. 

· Marinate Smarter: Marinate meat and fish in the fridge, not at room temperature. Also, never use marinade that’s touched raw meat or fish as a sauce for cooked food.

· Keep Everything Clean: Be sure there are plenty of clean utensils and platters. To prevent foodborne illness, don't use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Harmful bacteria present in raw meat and poultry and their juices can contaminate safely cooked food.

· Safe Minimum Cooking Temps: Cook meat fully to kill common foodborne bacteria like salmonella, listeria, and E. coli. Using a food thermometer, ensure that all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts are cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F, all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to 160 °F, and all poultry to 165 °F . NEVER partially grill meat or poultry and finish cooking later. When reheating fully cooked meats like hot dogs, grill to 165 °F or until steaming hot.

· Leftovers: Refrigerate any leftovers promptly in shallow containers. Discard any food left out more than 2 hours (1 hour if temperatures are above 90 °F). 

Visit these websites for more information:

http://foodsafety.gov/
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/Barbecue_Food_Safety/index.asp