Realty Rave May 2015

David Burke Tel: 760-250-2570 May 2015 Welcome to this month's edition of the RealtyRave newsletter. We hope that you find it filled with interesting and useful information! Please think of me with any real estate related questions you may have - now and in the future. It would be my pleasure to be of assistance to you. The single highest and best compliment a Real Estate Professional can receive is a referral to friends, family or colleagues. As appropriate, please feel free to forward this Newsletter and/or my contact information. Thank you! David Burke HEALTH AND SAFETY Under pressure: How to manage stress before it affects your health (BPT) - Maintaining a healthy diet that includes all the recommended vitamins and nutrients can be a challenge, particularly when the current food landscape is full of overly processed foods that rarely contain essential nutrients. Supplements can provide a great way to enhance a healthy diet with those elements you might be missing, but how do you go about figuring out what you need? "Everyone stands to benefit from adding high quality supplements to their diets," says Registered Dietitian Paul Kriegler, Life Time weight loss and training supplementation expert. "The supplement industry, which is regulated by the FDA, though loosely, has a tarnished reputation with many consumers. There are irresponsible manufacturers who routinely make low quality products with inflated claims. However, there are also highly-reputable supplement producers who routinely earn the support and praise of medical professionals and fitness enthusiasts alike; the trick is finding out which companies are out for profits and which are focused on your health.” When looking for supplements, keep these tips from Kriegler in mind, so you know you're getting exactly what you need: 1. Read the label – Nutrient forms can vary dramatically from one like product to another. The nutrient form not only determines the price of a product, but also influences whether that nutrient will be absorbed or not. After all, if you don’t absorb what you’re taking, you throw away a lot more money than when you spend more for something that actually works. Look for methylcobalamin over cyancobalamin, natural folate (5-methyl-tetra-hydro-folate) over folic acid, and mineral bisglycinates over cheaper carbonate and oxide forms. 2. Know your needs – Each body functions differently and has different supplemental needs. Lab testing clinics offers a variety of lab tests and assessments that give valuable insight into how your body operates. Registered dietitians can evaluate results to determine which supplements would best suit your body composition, diet, hormone, stress and sleep needs to ensure you're supplementing accurately. Cliff Edberg, registered dietitian, notes that you are not what you eat, but what you eat, digest and absorb. 3. Look for certification – There are several certifications you can look for to ensure the supplements you buy follow a good manufacturing process and contain high quality ingredients. Certifications to look for include: Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CMPG), Therapeutic Goods of Australia (TGA), National Science Foundation (NSF) and United States Pharmacopeia (USP). For fish oil, look for International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS). In its clubs across the country and online, Life Time offers a line of branded products that carry only the highest quality, most efficacious and purest nutritional ingredients available. 4. Be wary of over-promising in the messaging – If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is when it comes to supplements promoting weight-loss miracles. Supplements are designed to enhance missing nutrients from a daily diet that the body needs. So if the label – or the commercial – is promising a huge change in your life from a simple pill, be suspicious and don't waste your money. In the end, Kriegler encourages men and women to eat high quality, whole foods to get the nutrients they need, adding a high-quality multivitamin to fill in where your natural diet may be lacking in addition to other supplements recommended by a registered dietitian to enhance a healthy way of life. HELPFUL HINTS 7 big (but easy) ways businesses can reduce employee absenteeism (BPT) - An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure – especially for small businesses grappling with the high costs of worker absenteeism. Employee time lost to health issues costs American businesses $84 billion a year. For U.S. businesses, helping workers stay healthy costs far less than the financial impact of having them miss work for illness or injury. With cold and flu season in full swing, HR directors and other business leaders should take steps to help employees stay healthy and on the job. Here are seven steps your small company can take to help reduce worker absenteeism:   1. Encourage healthful habits. Simple factors such as getting enough sleep and frequent hand washing can go a long way toward keeping people healthy. While you can’t make workers get seven to eight hours of sleep, you can spread the word on how it’s done. Key tricks? Turn off the electronic devices an hour before bedtime, avoid caffeine and alcohol, and go to bed at the same time every night. Employers can more directly encourage other healthful habits, such as hygiene. Create mini-health stations throughout the office and include hand sanitizer, fresh tissues and a covered receptacle nearby. Post signs with proper hand-washing guidelines in company restrooms. You can promote a healthy diet by providing healthful options such as trail mix and water in vending machines. Distribute healthy recipes (try the spaghetti squash!).   2. Provide 24/7 support through a wellness program. Businesses that offer employee wellness programs like the health and wellness solutions can lower their medical costs and offer a spectrum of additional benefits, including reduced absenteeism. Customized workplace wellness programs give employees round-the-clock access to valuable information, health professionals and advice, live or via technology, that can help them stay healthy. Plus, these programs can help employees manage diseases, assess their health and set personal wellness goals.   3. Reward well-being actions. Sometimes inertia is all that stands between employees and improved health. You can inspire employees to be healthier by offering, say, an exercise class at lunch, reimbursement for gym memberships, health challenges for most miles walked in a month, insurance premium reimbursements, or rewards points (good for merchandise) for healthful habits have seen marked increases in engagement and significant health risk migration for those rewarded for their healthy choices.   4. De-stress the workplace Stress is part of having a job, but you can help workers stay healthy and be more productive by helping them manage that stress. Give them chances to get up from their desk – how about making that next meeting a walking one? Offer a workshop on relaxation techniques, and make sure your health plan offers an Employee Assistance Program for mental health help. Have a de-stress zone in the office.   5. Provide auxiliary benefits. Auxiliary benefits such as dental or vision coverage support employees’ overall health maintenance and value-adds such as partnerships with local farms for vegetables, dry-cleaning drop-off service, and onsite fitness classes create a convenience factor that encourages healthy engagement. In addition to supporting employee health, they are a low-cost way to round out a benefits package without increasing monthly premium costs.   6. Tell them to stay home. Despite their best efforts, employees will get sick. When that happens, it may be best to encourage them to stay home. Workers suffering with a virus like the flu or a bad cold could spread the illness throughout the office if they come to work when sick. And those with non-communicable illness or injuries may extend the total amount of time they miss from work if they push themselves to return too soon or don’t take the time they need to make a full recovery.   7. The obvious - Get a flu shot. Sometimes the answer is right under your nose. Make it easy to get flu shots. You can even bring nurses right to your workplace or offer a remote flu program, making it convenient for individuals to get vaccinated. RECIPE OF THE MONTH Super Easy Egg Casserole Makes 4 servings and ready in 35 minutes! Ingredients: 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 6 eggs, whisked    6 slices bacon, diced 2 slices bread, cubed 1/3 red bell pepper, diced 2 green onions, chopped    3 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, or to taste (optional) salt and ground black pepper to taste   Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Stir Cheddar cheese, eggs, bacon, bread, red bell pepper, green onion, milk, garlic, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl until well-combined; pour into prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven until eggs are set, 20 to 25 minutes.      View my website  Email me  View Featured Listings  Property Search   Compliments of: David Burke Realty Executives Desert Lifestyles 78065 Main St. Suite 101 La Quinta, CA 92253 Tel: 760-250-2570 Cell: 760-250-2570 Fax: 800-774-5902 David@LaQuintaRE.com e-Pro Household Tips Flattened Shag Carpeting Raise flattened spots in your carpeting where heavy furniture has stood by using a steam iron. Hold over the spot and build up a good steam. Then brush up the carpet Candle Drippings For spilled wax on carpet, use a brown paper bag as a blotter and run a hot iron over it, which will absorb the wax Dog Stains Blot up excess moisture with paper towel. Pour club soda on the spot and continue blotting. Lay a towel over the spot and set a heavy object on top in order to absorb all the moisture Rug Care When washing and drying foam-backed throw rugs, never wash in hot water, and use the "air only" dryer setting to dry. Heat will ruin foam. Crayon Marks on Floors Use silver polish to remove crayon marks from vinyl tile or linoleum Spilled Nail Polish Allow to almost dry, then peel off of waxed floors or tile. Tar Spots  Use paste wax to remove tar from floors. Works on shoes too. Dusting Floors Stretch a nylon stocking over the dust mop and discard when used. Varnished Floors Use cold tea to clean woodwork and varnished floors. Spilled Grease Rub floor with ice cubes to solidify grease. Scrape up excess and wash with soapy water. Quickie Shine Put a piece of waxed paper under your dust mop. Dirt will stick to the mop and the wax will shine your floors. DID YOU KNOW? Did you know the electric chair was invented by a dentist Did you know a crocodile can't stick out its tongue Did you know rubber bands last longer when kept refrigerated Did you know women blink twice as much as men Did you know only female mosquitoes bite Did you know household dust is made of dead skin cells Did you know the past tense for the English word 'dare' is 'durst' Did you know hummingbirds can't walk Did you know wind doesn't make a sound until it blows against an object Did you know the Taj Mahal in India is made entirely out of marble Did you know Bill Gates began programming computers at the of age 13 About Us Whether you are looking to buy or sell, we are here to assist you in accomplishing your real estate dreams. Burke and Associates has been awarded the "Top Listing Agent, 2011, and 2012" by Keller Williams Realty. Call today and let us put our tools, techniques and skills to work for you! Also, be sure to ask us about our monthly specials for our new construction developments! P.S. Referrals are the highest compliment a sales professional can receive from a client. Please pass my name around to your friends, family, and acquaintances so that I can provide them with the best real estate experience possible!