Medlin Law Firm - February 2021

Medlin Law Firm - February 2021

The Medl in News

FEBRUARY 2021

a part of how I enjoy life. Exercising and biking give me joy — why give them up just because they’re a little harder?

WHY I BIKE DESPITE MY INJURIES

In my journey, I’ve realized that it’s all about being faithful and engaging in rehabilitation as necessary. Having the support of family and loved ones can be a huge help, as well. It might be intimidating to get assistance when you’re used to doing certain things alone, but cheerleaders make a difference when you need it most, and that’s worth cherishing. Of course, taking care of the people who support me is also a huge motivation. I want to be in my best health so I can continue taking care of my wife and daughter, so I always try to be smarter than when I was younger. I never bicycle without a helmet, for example. Being aware of the risks in your daily life can help prevent injuries, and stretching before any physical activity can always decrease the risk of injury from overextending yourself. I’m very thankful for where I am today. Speaking of my family, this Valentine’s Day, I’m looking forward to exchanging cards and gifts with a nice family dinner and a bottle of my wife’s favorite pink champagne. My daughter won’t partake in the drinking, of course, but kids are still pretty fun on Valentine’s Day. I’ll probably get her some heart-shaped candies with messages (like Sweethearts) and other candies she likes. Not too many, but just enough to see her second-grader eyes light up. Anyhow, thank you so much for reading, folks. Whatever your goals are this year, I hope you celebrate National Get Up Day by not giving up on them. I look forward to chatting with you again next month

Celebrate ‘National Get Up Day’ By Not Giving Up

Feb. 1 is National Get Up Day, a fascinating holiday I’ve never heard of before. It was introduced by U.S. Figure Skating to celebrate the strength, resilience, and determination it takes to be a figure skater. All skaters and non-skaters alike can recognize the grit, passion, and perseverance needed to get back up in the rink and in life every single day, no matter what risks or failures they may face. This holiday really stuck out to me, especially after a year like 2020, but also because of personal experience. Many of my longtime newsletter readers may be familiar with this backstory, but I like to say I’ve had some literal experience with getting up after falling. When I was in my second year of law school, I suffered a gunshot wound to my lower back. It was a very traumatic injury and leftme with a permanent disability and a pretty big limp. It was difficult to recover from and left me in chronic pain. It forced me, however, to have a positive attitude. I quickly realized that I needed goals to continue reaching for in order to keep moving forward. Ever since then, my physical and mental well-being has been an ongoing battle. I’ve had more injuries along the way, too. Last June I had a biking accident that shattered my left femur. Now that I’m older, it’s harder to recover from injuries, so I’m still recovering from that.

However, recently, I’ve been bicycling again. Some people might say, “Gary, why are you still doing sports?” But for me, sports are

– Gary L. Medlin, Esq.

https://www.MedlinFirm.com | Pg. 1

THE TRUTH ABOUT DARK CHOCOLATE

As you give and get chocolate for Valentine’s Day (or jump on post- holiday chocolate sales), you’ll probably hear that dark chocolate is healthy for you. Before you decide to incorporate dark chocolate into your daily diet, you should ask yourself what that means. Can dark chocolate really be “healthy”? Studies on dark chocolate’s supposed benefits focus on compounds found within cocoa, specifically flavanols, which are found in most fruits and vegetables (and cocoa!) and help lower blood pressure and reduce low-density lipoproteins, aka “bad” cholesterol. By that notion, dark chocolate does have heart health benefits, but taking advantage of those benefits is not as simple as just eating dark chocolate. Each bar will include a percentage, which indicates the amount of cocoa. The higher the percentage, the better; 70%– 80% is considered the sweet spot in terms of balancing health

benefits and flavor, but as the percentage of cocoa increases, the more bitter the chocolate becomes.

However, the amount of flavanols found in a typical 1-ounce piece of 80% dark chocolate is very small. Alice H. Lichtenstein, a Gershoff professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University in Boston, says, “Dark chocolate has more flavanols than other types of chocolate; the >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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