At Home With Valerie

(Family Features) There isn't a better time than now to start getting fit with health information and products so easily accessible. Simply incorporate the basics into your daily routine - good nutrition, adequate exercise and a daily supplement - and start down the path toward better health.  Plan a Nutritious Diet   The Dietary Guidelines for Americans describes a healthy diet as one that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, whole grains and fat-free or low-fat milk products. It should be low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, salt and added sugar. * Warm weather makes fresh produce more easily accessible. Eat more fruits and vegetables by setting freshly washed and prepared produce on the kitchen counter or at eye level in the fridge. At every meal, make sure half your plate is made up of fruit and vegetable servings. * One-fourth of your plate at every meal should be made up of grains, such as wheat, rice, oats, corn...

(Family Features) Even if you don't own the house you lease, there's no reason you can't make it feel like home by taking a creative approach to designing and decorating your space. More U.S. households are renting now than at any point in the last 50 years. That's why Invitation Homes, the premier home leasing company in the United States, put together a team of design experts to create the "Make It Home" design forecast with lease-friendly, affordable design and decor ideas created with renters in mind. Before starting any design, you need a plan. Here are a few tips to reimagine your rental home: Embrace Color and Pattern Emily Henderson, author of "Styled," a "New York Times" bestseller, believes color gives a room life, but it doesn't have to be on the walls. With rugs, textiles and furniture, you can have a lively, fun, lease-friendly room by choosing colors that are on the opposite sides of the color wheel to ensure balanc...

Farmers use antibiotics in farm animals for the same reason antibiotics are used in people – to treat, control and prevent disease that causes pain and suffering. Keeping farm animals healthy helps improve food safety for all of us by reducing bacteria in the food supply. Learn more about the benefits of treating animals with antibiotics at animalantibiotics.org .

(Family Features) From dark and moody to vibrant and bold, colorful design is gaining favor among homeowners ditching safe, neutral palettes to create more daring, dramatic spaces. Decorating with deeply saturated colors can be intimidating. Explore these ideas to welcome more bold colors into your home and create inviting spaces for living and entertaining. Walls of color Say goodbye to beige and embrace the bold color trend by enhancing walls with hues that make a statement. The trick is to avoid making colors so loud that the space loses its stylish appeal. Bold doesn't necessarily mean bright, so look for muted variations of the shades you prefer. Also remember that when it comes to design, there is such a thing as too much. If painting all the walls in a space will close it in or make it feel lost in the dark, try adding color in more subtle ways, such as an accent wall (or two), or painting the ceiling as your accent. Another option for implementing vibrant wall colo...

(BPT) - With cooler days and temperate weather, fall is a good time to get outdoors and tackle some larger home projects, as well as prep your home for winter. “Cold weather can wreak havoc on your house, leaving you with a long list of repairs,” said Cathy McHugh, director, brand management at DAP. “It’s important to take preventative action now so you can enjoy the coming weather change, rather than making costly repairs later.” Don’t know where to start? Here are the top five “must-do” repairs from the experts at DAP. Refresh around windows and doors Temperature fluctuations and weather extremes can cause cracks and crumbling in sealants around windows and doors. The resulting gaps allow air to creep inside, putting your energy bills on overdrive. In addition, if current sealant has any dirt build-up, the hot and humid weather of summer can foster mold and mildew. Protect your home and give your windows and doors a refresh and waterproof seal that stands up to the elemen...

(BPT) - For kids who live with allergies and asthma, back-to-school can spell trouble with symptoms. Late summer/early fall is the height of ragweed season. When you add in exposure to environmental factors found in school classrooms, playing fields and eating areas, you have the perfect recipe to jump start your child’s otherwise-under-control allergy and asthma symptoms. These six steps from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) can help get your child off on the right foot for the school year. Feeling as good as possible means being able to stay focused on learning. 1. Schedule an appointment with your child’s allergist Before the first bell rings, make an appointment with a board-certified allergist. Allergists have the best training and medical expertise to offer the most effective treatments for your child’s allergies and asthma. Your allergist can work with you to create an allergy action plan to help your child’s tea...